I've always found Jeph Loeb a somewhat empty writer. Very few words per page, but many splashy two-page spreads by the artists
With the beginning of tI've always found Jeph Loeb a somewhat empty writer. Very few words per page, but many splashy two-page spreads by the artists
With the beginning of the Red Hulk intro, there's a mystery but this is no Batman Long Halloween. It's basically just Hulk and Red Hulk fighting and smashing, on a tour through the Marvel Universe with fun guest stars whether it makes sense for them to be there or not.
The art by Ed McGuinness is perfect for this. These stories are successful for what they intend to be, and it's frankly not that deep. If you want comics to just be entertaining, then that can be ok....more
Al Ewing has become one of the best writers at Marvel, and his new Immortal Thor series is quickly catching up to the iconic level of Immortal Hulk.
HeAl Ewing has become one of the best writers at Marvel, and his new Immortal Thor series is quickly catching up to the iconic level of Immortal Hulk.
He's long used the Roxxon CEO Minotaur as a villainous critique of capitalism, and now goes even further with this awesomely douchey "Roxxon Presents: Thor" comic.
The premise is clever, brilliant really, and also hilarious. There's a magical spell to buy the rights of Thor comics, and therefore change Thor's personality by publishing terrible sellout comics. And then they actually published the comic, in real life!
The self-awareness gets better and better, as it's illustrated by noted tracer Greg Land. That's just so good.
Within this book, there's satire after satire about tech bros and Elon's cybertruck and sucky apps, and even fake ads get in on the fun. And yet, there's also a certain darkness in it, as the Minotaur breaks the fourth wall and outright tells the reader that when corporations admit their own parody, it actually shows their own power and how society and all of us can never escape.
So many levels. I am glad Marvel/Disney actually released this book. Al Ewing is subversive and amazing and perfect....more
Roger Stern was a solid writer in the 80s. Not reinventing the wheel, not deconstructing superheroes on a deep level, but fun and dependable at tellinRoger Stern was a solid writer in the 80s. Not reinventing the wheel, not deconstructing superheroes on a deep level, but fun and dependable at telling Spider-Man and Avengers stories some of which are minor classics in their own right.
This grand reprint of his first year on the Avengers has different levels of quality. Some of the crossovers with Fantastic Four and Dr. Strange are completely unnecessary. There's also the origin of Monica Rambeau as Captain Marvel from a Spidey annual. And one funny off-chapter about some characters going on the David Letterman show. But overall, it's called Absolute Vision because of a longer plot about Vision which was quite smart.
Some of it is really silly, with She-Hulk and Starfox for example, and the art is inconsistent. Still, as a broad overview of this era at Marvel this book is as good a sample as any of what was a pretty good time for Marvel. ...more
I know I said there are too many all-new number # 1's coming from Marvel, but Immortal Thor really is that good. To put it another way, Immortal Thor I know I said there are too many all-new number # 1's coming from Marvel, but Immortal Thor really is that good. To put it another way, Immortal Thor is worthy.
Al Ewing is just such an excellent writer. Although not directly connected to Immortal Hulk, using that adjective works as a running theme of his and this will no doubt be seen as legendary as run as his Hulk.
Ewing seems to know exactly how to play with genre. With Immortal Hulk, it was fantasy. With this current Thor, it's high fantasy.
So, the status quo is that Thor is still the king of Asgard and is using his classic Silver Age look. It works. There is the introduction of 'Utgard-Thor' (look up the mythology of Utgard-Loki), who is truly feels like a serious villain with high stakes. Ewing also references his excellent take on Loki, Agent of Asqard--fabulously queer and now the god of stories.
Storm ruler of the planet Arakko/Mars also shows up, from his X-Men Red, and it's even valid to the story. In the end, there is a satisfying and creative conclusion in defeating this new threat to the earth.
Furthermore, the next storyline will be a capitalist satire about Roxxon Oil owning the "rights" to the Thor character--clearly mocking Disney. Everytime that Minotaur CEO shows up, I know there will be some clever and socially conscious storytelling.
I'm calling it now, Immortal Thor by Ewing will be remembered as the same caliber as Jason Aaron's Thor. ...more
Maybe there have been too many all-new, all-different # 1's for me, but this new Avengers doesn't quite do it for me. No offense to Jed MacKay, it's aMaybe there have been too many all-new, all-different # 1's for me, but this new Avengers doesn't quite do it for me. No offense to Jed MacKay, it's a fine modern superhero story, and it's a noble effort to introduce new villains and do something different. But it's a little exhausting that the world is always ending, that's the nature of mainline teams like the Avengers though.
To compare to the previous run, I was one of the few people who liked Jason Aaron's. His sense of humor and weird scifi concepts worked for me. However, it went on far too long with the multiversal war stuff. It would have been a better followup to take this new team, led by Carol Danvers and featuring Sam Wilson and also Vision is back, to be more character-based and have smaller moments. In my humble opinion.
It will be interesting to see how the story develops in the long-term. Perhaps this will be a beloved run. I would recommend to new readers, but old school Avengers fans should at least wait for the trade(s)....more
Very fun and cool Hawkey take by Matt Fraction. The whole funny loser version of Clint gets a little old after a while, in my view, but there's no denVery fun and cool Hawkey take by Matt Fraction. The whole funny loser version of Clint gets a little old after a while, in my view, but there's no denying this was a fresh perspective and Fraction brought a unique writing style to the character. This first volume is definitely worth reading....more
Gerry Duggan's been an interesting X-Men writer. He's very smart and witty, full of all the mind-bending ideas that the mutants have been embracing inGerry Duggan's been an interesting X-Men writer. He's very smart and witty, full of all the mind-bending ideas that the mutants have been embracing in recent years. However, the issues are great individually but they lack a sort of 'season arc' style of storytelling that falls a bit flat compared to some of the spinoff with long building plots that develop over time.
With that in mind, his new Iron Man run is something different. It's also not a team book, focusing singularly on Tony Stark. Apparently, that makes it harder to come up with content and it feels like there should be more. Starts out with Rhodey and Ironheart as supporting characters, and then they don't show up again much. The main story is about Tony struggling without money now and there's only so much to tell.
Lastly, it turns out businessman Feilong is the new villain. Guess that means Iron Man is an X-title now. And not only is he facing off an antogonist introduced from Duggan's X-Men run, he's also sweet on Emma Frost. This is an excellent and fun idea, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it's going. Avengers have had enough Stark for a while. Just be warned on Duggan's focus. ...more
The Onslaught crossover mercifully ends, with the overindulgent Onslaught: Marvel Universe one shot which takes this X-storyline and throws in all theThe Onslaught crossover mercifully ends, with the overindulgent Onslaught: Marvel Universe one shot which takes this X-storyline and throws in all the main Marvel superheroes into a giant epic fight which makes no sense. But, it succeeded at the reboot that the editors wanted. Story just got in the way of that.
There were strong chapters of Onslaught, all within the main X-Men titles, which had progress and moved forward in interesting ways. What didn’t work were the tie-in issues with Sentinels flying around New York randomly running into Iron Man or whoever. It was the pinnacle of comics trying to look cool and essentially do nothing else.
That poor final chapter of Avengers, Mark Waid and Mike Deodato trying their best to give the flagship team a proper sendoff which ultimately only felt like filler. Fantastic Four fared better, with excellent art by Carlos Pacheco where many classic villains showed up (and turned out to be illusions) and it at least seemed like good closure.
Anyhow, in the Marvel Universe finale Onslaught was now in its most over-the-top final form. What was this “psionic entity’s” point again? To look super evil and buff, in edgy Magneto-esque armor, and rant about the destroying the world. That was it? Not much of a plan, actually.
The parts illustrated by Adam Kubert were awesome, which I do have to admit. And then it was over, the non-mutant heroes had to jump in a portal for poorly explained reasons, apparently that was like a big tragedy.
We all know the real reason. Behind the scenes, Rob Liefeld and also Jim Lee had decided to return to Marvel after upending the industry by founding Image Comics. In one of the worst ideas ever, titles like Waid’s great Captain America run had to be cancelled so that they could reboot everyone in a new universe with terrible art. Jim Lee’s side was decent, by the way. It was Liefeld’s infamous Avengers and Cap that was embarrassingly awful.
That being said, I am reviewing 90s X-Men here so I’ll stop now. Much has been written about the strange Heroes Reborn experiment elsewhere. Suffice to say, when the Heroes Returned a year later things got much better.
Onslaught leaves a bad taste in my mouth, partly because it’s one of those stories where the good guys save the world from a problem they created. Like, mutants are supposed to be a metaphor for marginalized groups who are unjustly discriminated against. Right? But in this case, fears of mutants are very valid. It’s not that an evil mutant was defeated by a good mutant. It’s that Professor X—supposedly the most saintly leader ever—accidently created a being so evil that it “killed” over a dozen of the biggest superheroes in the world. Yes it makes for drama and irony. But overall, isn’t the lesson therefore that mutants are inherently a danger to the world and should be controlled?
Afterwards, Xavier is hauled off by the government and that’s supposed to be such a sad scene. Yet if you think about the implications seriously, that would be very obvious and sensible.
Which is where Bastion comes in, the next big bad for Operation: Zero Tolerance. He was the mystery figure who had been leering in the shadows here and there, slowly preparing for the following summer’s required crossover. More on that next post, because it never ever ends…...more
Somehow, this Marvel event went under the radar for me at the time it was released. It's a quality story, although very similar to Civil War, about thSomehow, this Marvel event went under the radar for me at the time it was released. It's a quality story, although very similar to Civil War, about the Kingpin being mayor of New York and outlawing superheroes. Now that's entertainment.
But it also feels down to earth and relatively grounded, which is why it works. The fate of the universe isn't at stake. Even though the Fantastic Four are there, it's ultimately about fighting the system as well as less-cosmic classic supervillains.
It's somewhat an Avengers story, with Captain America and Iron Man and they even visit the old mansion, but the star is of course Daredevil. The focus is more on something akin to the television Defenders, with Luke Cage playing an important role. As well as Purple Man.
It's just a fun comic. Balancing the right amount of character development with a plausible threat to the superheroes, and doesn't need to be over the top to work. They don't make many crossovers like that anymore. ...more
Surprisingly blown away by this X-Men crossover, a Marvel event tying in the Eternals and to a lesser degree the Avengers. Feels like real stakes, andSurprisingly blown away by this X-Men crossover, a Marvel event tying in the Eternals and to a lesser degree the Avengers. Feels like real stakes, and sort of makes sense as a proper plot as these different titles have gone in that direction.
Kieron Gillen's Eternals didn't seem necessary to me, but then the Immortal X-Men series led up to this in a perfect way. These days, the X-books are all about mutant society politics and weird science fiction ideas. Seems every writer is trying to top the previous, and Gillen keeps up alright.
The 'Judgment Day' part of the story felt like real stakes, with every character exploring how the end of the world shows whether or not they're personally worthy. I'll say little else, other than read the main series and decide for yourself if the endless tie-ins are also something to read. Comics in 2022 do tend to be of high quality, this is not some approachable Secret Wars for fun, rather it's the culmination of various Big Ideas utilized in big ways. ...more
Peak Warren Ellis, taking an established mainstream property and just riffing in dialogue about transhumanism and psychedelic-drug themes that he findPeak Warren Ellis, taking an established mainstream property and just riffing in dialogue about transhumanism and psychedelic-drug themes that he finds interesting. Honestly, this is what works.
The storytelling structure is fairly straightforward in the Iron Man classic of Extremis, beautiful realistic art with high concept scifi and simple occasional fight scenes. Although not quite as pithy and trying to be funny as the film version, it is always interesting to see how these iconic 21st century graphic novels ended up influencing the MCU...
Well, canon or not, the perfect succinct story to introduce the character to hardcore geeks and casual novices alike. ...more
Well, it is a quality Marvel comic that makes for a good jumping-on points with new readers. Good art, somewhat well written, etc.
It's a new iteratioWell, it is a quality Marvel comic that makes for a good jumping-on points with new readers. Good art, somewhat well written, etc.
It's a new iteration of the Avengers, so that's always easier for those intimidated by too much continuity.
However, I am an old school fan and I never likes Bendis's dark style with these iconic characters... I'm still upset about his Disassembled arc years later. And the way it was simultaneously trying to be like the Justice League--with Spider-Man and Wolverine joining--yet also down to earth and edgy. It didn't work for me, but to each their own...more
The epic of epics, Jonathan Hickman's Avengers (and entire Marvel Universe) arc finally concludes.
It doesn't get more high concept. 2015's Secret WarThe epic of epics, Jonathan Hickman's Avengers (and entire Marvel Universe) arc finally concludes.
It doesn't get more high concept. 2015's Secret Wars is basically Marvel's Crisis on Infinite Earths, but taken in a completely different direction. After the end of the multiverse, Dr. Doom is now omnipotent and takes all the remains of the various realities and timelines to one remaining planet. It's called Battleworld--a clever reference to the original 80s Secret Wars crossover.
Yet this isn't just for geeks who only read books with pictures. There are also major references to Dune and Game of Thrones, and this does have the feel of a dense fantasy novel. There's the God-Emperor, the warring houses and wall shielding civilization from anarchy.
While much of the point of the Battleworld premise was to revel in nostalgia and publish a hundred tie-ins catered for every conceivable fan, the core story works surprisingly well. It truly seems like the culmination of decades of storytelling, as if that was the plan all along. This is something only Hickman can excel at: creating a meta-narrative that takes all the mythology from the very beginning and turning it into one grand plan.
The power of the Beyonder, Black Panther and Namor's rivalry, Reed Richards' love for his family, the Ultimate Universe, and Thanos. Remarkably, these concepts and more get wrapped up in a mostly satisfying climax for all that has come before. Even if endings aren't Hickman's strong suit, an understandable challenge considering how many big ideas he kept adding and adding back then. The very last line, however, is quite a perfect coda to the first line of his New Avengers # 1... From "Everything dies," to "Everything lives."
And the Esad Ribić art is consistently gorgeous. Reads more like a high-end European graphic novel than a superhero comic, even as it stars all those familiar super characters/IP we know from the movies and cartoons. It is an ambitious work, about power and genius and the end of the world, and the visuals take this very seriously. Overall, a five-star story if ever there was one. If one does actually read the eighty or so chapters that preceded Secret Wars, it really is worth the effort to have made it here. ...more
With Avengers vs. X-Men, you get what you pay for. It's the Godzilla vs. Kong of comics, all you need to know is right in the title, with a bunch of AWith Avengers vs. X-Men, you get what you pay for. It's the Godzilla vs. Kong of comics, all you need to know is right in the title, with a bunch of Avengers fighting a bunch of X-Men!
The plot isn't that ambitious, something about the Phoenix and how hard mutants have had it lately. It's really just a pretext for the battles which begins quickly in the first issue.
Lots of different writers and artists, definitely an editorial decree kind of event, but somehow it flows pretty naturally. I was never a fan of Bendis's edgy Avengers by the way, but this comic did come out back in 2012 when the movie thing started taking off and the Avengers do feel like the flagship core of Marvel. Within the X-Men, there's the classic Wolverine and Cyclops rivalry that takes center stage. Captain America and Iron Man get plenty of focus on the other side, and it's genuinely surprising as well as fun to see how various combinations of characters from across the universe interact with each other.
Comparisons might be made to the Civil War from a few years prior, but that storyline was trying to be relevant and have something real to say about the political-societal implications of superheroes. Avengers vs. X-Men just isn't that.
There's the main miniseries tells the story from a big picture perspective, with all the fun strategies and emotional drama. For more of the fights, there were a lot of spinoffs to read because y'know it's a comic book crossover event. Personally, AVX where Thing punches Gambit or whatever isn't as interesting to me.
The resolution was a big deal and impactful, for a while, until it faded into a new status quo as all these things do. Yet I am still re-reading it nearly a decade later and it's very enjoyable for what it is.
And lastly, no I don't think it would be a good idea for a movie. This only works in one medium, IMHO......more
This is objectively not a good comic, but it was ahead of its time as an early proto-crossover before Secret Wars and Crisis on Infinite Earths.
All tThis is objectively not a good comic, but it was ahead of its time as an early proto-crossover before Secret Wars and Crisis on Infinite Earths.
All the early 80s Marvel characters are brought together, and I mean all, and a random assortment fight each other for seemingly no stakes whatsoever. It is definitely fun to see the room full of dozens, even hundreds of heroes. But very little interaction.
Even for all it's criticisms as a cash grab and the writing, Secret Wars has a far more engaging characterization and plot.
That said, one thing I like about Contest of Champions is how big it made the Marvel universe feel. Many international heroes, obscure ones and new ones, are introduced (and sadly most are not seen much again). The implication is that the world is bigger than just Avengers and X-Men comics, and these other heroes are having adventures we don't get to see.
Nowadays, as much as bloated crossovers leverage every minutiae of continuity, it doesn't feel like the planet is bigger with more going on offscreen. This is a problem with many current franchises, and could go for a lot of other science fiction universes which no longer hint at more but instead get way too inwardly baroque... ...more
The Bloodties crossover is an immediate sequel to Fatal Attractions, with the fallout from Magneto’s attack on the world being sufficiently a big dealThe Bloodties crossover is an immediate sequel to Fatal Attractions, with the fallout from Magneto’s attack on the world being sufficiently a big deal enough to involve the Avengers.
It was 1993, the 30th anniversary of both premier super teams, and for a while the X-Men had been doing their thing without much contact in the rest of the Marvel Universe. It was a good time for one of these crossovers.
Genosha was in bloody civil war, which is a shame. If the country represents South Africa, then what does it say when a civil war is written in after freeing the oppressed mutants? It’s something of a “ripped from the headlines” approach, but an unfortunate take.
(And, since it’s a fictional place, it’s always easier to write an extreme dystopia. Grant Morrison’s E for Extinction would be even worse on Genosha, though that’s years later.)
Fabian Cortez, the Ramsay Bolton of mutantdom, is so sleazy here. He kidnaps Luna, the daughter of Quicksilver and granddaughter of Magneto, and kills everyone to take over. I suppose he would be the anti-Mandela in this scenario.
Then Nick Fury and SHIELD forbid the Avengers from interfering, as Luna is also the daughter of the Inhuman member Crystal in one of those complex superhero family trees, and the Avengers disobey orders to do the right thing because that’s always how these stories go.
The Avengers writer then, Bob Harras, also happened to be the X-Men editor at the time. The story is organized smoothly, and Steve Epting’s art is excellent in the years before he became the classic Winter Soldier artist in the aughts. The best part of this would have to be Andy Kubert drawing Captain America, it’s so epic.
This wasn’t the most popular time for the Avengers, far before the blockbuster films. Some of the designs age badly, like how they seemed to be desperately copying X-Men/Image style with some of their costumes like Hercules. And what’s with the jackets everyone wore back then?
Another thing: Exodus was a main antagonist in this story, who does come across as an Avengers-level threat, and more than a little evil. It’s kind of weird that he’s in the Krakoan council now but he’s far from the only reformed villain in the current status quo.
Well, it’s a product of its time, yet if you’d like to read an Avengers and X-Men crossover in one sitting then one can’t go wrong with these five chapters. Not as much commitment as the latter mega events Avengers vs X-Men and Judgment Day. Just the right amount of tragedy and action, a successful reminder of why we love crossovers....more
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