Secret Avengers #2

SA2

Writer-Ed Brubaker

Artist-Mike Deodato

Secret Avengers is a series that I was very much looking forward to when Marvel announced the relaunch of  Avengers series. I mean, look at it, it’s an all-star team: We have Steve and the Beast spearheading the team as the most prominent and well known members of the team, Nova and War Machine as the powerhouses, Black Widow and Valkyrie as the femme fatales, and Moon Knight and Ant Man rounding out the cast as the eccentric could-be-awesome members.

Secret Avengers #1 was great. It was everything I wanted from the book; it was everything X-Force should have been. Superheroes doing real covert ops espionage. Sure, they’re powerful heroes with uncanny abilities but they’re also working under the radar, a true black ops ensemble.

Issue 2? Not so much. It wasn’t bad by any means of the word. It was just a whole lot of exposition. We’re early in the stages of the comic so of course a decent amount of set up needs to occur. Issue one gave us the preliminary stages of the plot but we still got to see the team work as secret agents. We don’t get to see that too much here, we just see a furthering of the plot, and a bit more of the team dynamic developed.

Brubaker writes the comic like he writes every comic. Extremely well. The story is developed well but it still hasn’t quite sunk the hook in. The great thing is that Brubaker fleshes the characters while forwarding the story along. My one issue, however, is that Moon Knight is written somewhat off character. There is one particular moment where he calls Steve, “Commander.” It’s not really suited of him and he talks a decent amount which just isn’t very much like the White Knight. The dialogue between War Machine and Ant Man makes up for this and then some and it’s great to see why Cap put Ant Man on the team.

I usually don’t like Deodato’s art very much, it seems muddy and watercolor-esque, but it’s actually very suitable for the comic. It fits the mood and the overall feel; these characters are all somewhat comic pariahs. Rebels. Loners. This art makes them almost mysterious and it’s far more tolerable than his run on Dark Avengers.

So while the story and art are both decent, this issue, it still falls short of being anything too interesting. It’s just a lot of set up and the real climax is the last page of the issue. While this ish is okay it really shows that next issue should be great.

–Ryanscribbles

Rating: 7/10

Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia #1

DAUXU1

Writer-Matt Fraction

Artist-Marc Silvestri

We all knew it was coming. We just never knew it would be this epic. When Dark Reign started it was toted as the next Marvel mega event and we finally see it crossover into X-Men territory, something Marvel promised to do to help integrate the mutants back into the current events of the Marvel U. Between Fraction and Silvestri we see a potential superstar team come together on what looks to be a promising and amazing mini.

A number of things are going on with the X-Men and they’re all very important and coming to a climax with this series. The team has found themselves headquartered in San Francisco, being led now by Scott Summers, and Simon Trask is trying to completely wipe out Mutants by proposing that they not be allowed to have children anymore. It’s a high tension zone all over the place in this comic and having Norman and his Dark Avengers thrown into the mix just creates a hot pot of nerves at end. It’s a very chaotic issue but Fraction handles it extremely well and sets up a plot that is intriguing and action packed.

Things get really crazy when the Mutants and Trasks rally meet up and things explode from there. Fights break out, not only between the humans and X-Men, but even inner team turmoil. This is something Norman considers the last straw and he finally gets involved. He intervenes, using the Dark Avengers, and Professor X accompanies him and commands Scott to to stand down. A number of other stories are piggy backing on the main story and they’re all equally as interesting. Seeing Emma being cornered back into her old mentality, the fights and interaction of the Dark Avengers with the X-Men, and the revolutionary twist involving Professor Xavier all keep the story flowing along fluidly while never letting the overlaying plot to drop out of groove.

What’s really great here is we get to see how the X-Men are going to interact with this governement sanctioned team. The X-Men have always been a little bit unfriendly towards government and now they are faced with this conflict that involves to most powerful government operated team in comic book existence. Also, Fraction uses the team to exploit social commentary and this is a tool that has been proven effective time after time, and it looks as though Fraction will prove it succesful yet another time. Silvestris veteran art is a welcome addition to the team, molding the craft of human emotion perfectly, and he captures the pure hate of some of the characters and the smug demeanor of others. It’s well crafted art that has a major storyline to mold itself too.

Rating:

-Ryanscribbles

Dark Avengers #6

DA6

Writer-Brian M. Bendis

Artist-Mike Deodato

Dark Avengers has something I call “The Sonic Disease,” a reference to a different sub genre of geekdom, I am referring to Segas classic mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. When “Sonic” was released it was a blast, a great 2D side scrolling platformer that became an instant classic for an entire generation of gamers. And then “Sonic 2” came out and it usurped the first. After this, however, things start getting a little sloppy.We now are well into double digit numbers for “Sonic” games and nothing is quite as good as those progenitor’s of the series. DA has caught this disease and it’s ravaging it’s way through it’s system like a cancer.

This issue ultimately ends up feeling incredibly shallow and too short, with almost no real movement, and a number of circumstances that are not only frustrating but questionable as well. It starts out with a meeting of the Cabal, involving the attack the rogue Atlanteans made, and Norman giving Namor a verbal lashing. And Namor takes it.

That’s the first big glaring mistake. In the close to 20 years I’ve been reading comics, not to mention the 60 years of comics I’ve covered in that time, I’ve never seen Namor take orders from anyone. Alas, he takes it. This leads to Osborn telling Sentry to attack the Atlanteans, which he does because Norman has a psychological hold on the demigod like man, which leads to the second annoying and awkward moment in the comics. I realize The Sentry is a very insecure person but he joined the team because he thought he was fighting for good but now Normie has some hold on him, despite the fact that Norman almost had him killed and also sent him to mindlessly murder a slew of Atlanteans.

While the issue maintains its humor quota, a quality of Bendis that never fails, the rest seems to falter. We finally start to see some resistance in the team and this leads to Norman losing his cool a bit but it really felt like nothing happened this issue. Pure filler almost. I want to see more of a team dynamic with the book because with the way it’s sitting right now it could basically be called Norman Osborn. Deodato doesn’t help with his sloppy art that is entirely unrefined and although it does have a grim quality that suits the title it still is just ugly. Sorry Mike. Not to mention that the cover is one of the most misleading covers I’ve ever seen.

Rating:

-Ryanscribbles

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1

DRYA1

Writer-Paul Cornell

Artist-Karl Story

It’s hard to place blame on anyone for this atrocity. One could blame Marvel for allowing it. It’d be nice to track down who pitched it and then who had it approved and then subject them to some shouting. Paul Cornell is not to be let off the hook either. The person that deserves the least amount of shame on their shoulders is artist Karl Story.

I don’t really know where to start on why this is so awful. It could be because the Young Avengers have been on hiatus from a monthly for years now and the fan-favorite team is brought back in this…sort of. Or maybe it’s because the team is comprised of characters that we have no connection to and aren’t really interesting because they are knock-offs of the Young Avengers…who were knock-offs of real Avengers. So we’re playing with knock-off knock-offs here. That’s like being a vampire LARPer. It’s just bad.

The characters are so incredibly stereotypical and bland and boring. The story is already confusing and it just sucks to know that this is a substitute for what we could be getting instead of the actual team. It’s beyond annoying to see Dark Reign, as intriguing as it is, spill over into every other Marvel title.

Cornell is usually an amazing writer but it seems like this is just an irreparable plot to begin with. His stuff over in Captain Britain and MI13 and his work on Wisdom shows that he has a flare for turning things around, making boring items interesting, but none of that magic appears in this waste of a title. Karl Story is perhaps the most redeeming aspect of this comic. Although the story suffers from major lack of interest, Story is able to at least make the ugly plot look pretty.

There is just no heart and no depth in this. It’s a toss away title and just another series that Marvel is ushering in under the Dark Reign moniker. Sure, the Dark Avengers and Dark X-Men are an interesting concept but we don’t need “Dark” teams of everyone. It’s stretching itself thin very quickly and it’s already about to snap back and bite them in the ass.

I am so happy this is a mini and I am praying that this team disassembles or even merges with the old and better Young Avengers. It’s possible that it will flip a 180 and turn itself into a better comic but this first issue yields little hope for that dream. And I thought DC was bad with their tie-ins.

Rating:

-Ryanscribbles

Ms Marvel #38

Ms. Marvel #38

Writer: Brian Reed

Artist: Rebekah Isaacs

I’ll admit, when Carol Danvers was taken out of the Ms. Marvel title, I was very upset. I loved the series and became a huge fan of the character because of it. The new Ms. Marvel however, or Moonstone as she still is to me, was never one of my favorites. Recently however, I have begun to develop an appreciation for the character, and this issue only expanded on that. Karla is not a hero, and she is not Carol Danvers by any stretch of the imagination. But you can tell she is really starting to want to be a hero of that caliber. It’s always nice to see serious character development in comics, and I think this is one character who is beginning to make a strong transformation. There is a great scene in this issue where she explores what it takes to kill someone, and the will you need to have. It was a powerful and interesting moment. If you never read the Ms. Marvel series before when it was Carol Danvers, now is a good time to jump on board for what is sure to be a solid title, at least through Dark Reign.

-Vlaz

Rating:

Top Ten Weekend #3: Top Ten Favorite Avengers

Ryanscribbles Top Ten

(in no particular order)

1. Captain America

Cap is the quintessential Avenger. He represents everything that the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes strive to be. He is not only a patriot but he is the icon of being a leader and fighting for justice. He’s the proudest hero around and when you’re an Avenger that’s what you need to be: damn proud.

2. Hawkeye

The expert marksman is one of my all time faves for a number of reasons. He’s the darker side of the team that they almost never embrace. Him and a few others are the couple of teamsters that break that perfect image the Avengers portray. He’s got a mouth on him, he fights down and dirty but it’s all for the greater good.

3. Black Knight

I’m such a sucker for B-List characters (as you’ll see more on in this list) and he is my all time favorite of second stringers. Everyone tends to forget that Dane is a brilliant scientist and an amazing fighter with a good amount of leadership skills. He is an excellent weapons master and fucking tougher than he gets credit for.

4.  Stingray

Another underrated scientist on the team. The only water-dweller I’ll admit to liking (just kidding, I dig Namor and Aquaman too) he’s a fascinating character. He has an awesome suit, totally a genius, and a corporate goliath. They could do SO much with him.

5. Wiccan

Sure he’s a newbie but he has a truckload of potential and is already a powerhouse. I love seeing a character that doesn’t have super strength who can still bring the pain and magic users usually fit that description fairly well. The way his powers are summoned is awesome and so is his costume. I love the Young Avengers and Wiccan is most definitely my favorite character on the roster.

6. Captain Marvel

He’s a favorite of mine for some strange reasons. He wasn’t around for very long and he has had some strange comebacks and stories but he made a mark. He showed the world that a hero, even an Avenger, can die. Truly tragic.

7. Mister Immortal

This list is expanding through every roster of Avengers. This includes the humorous and well-written Great Lake Avengers. Of the Great Lakes greatest team I’m most fond of Mister Immortal, who happens to be one of the very first Omega-level mutants. He’s the fearless and clueless leader of the World’s Worst Team and I love every minute of his page time.

8. Vision

I used to be so bored by Vision but over the years I grew to love the character. He reminds me of the Martain Manhunter, not just because of power similarities, but also because he is the team tactician, the voice of reason. But even though he is this super intelligent being he is still struggling with his human emotions that he can not fully express.

9. Miss Marvel

Super strong, a brilliant strategist, a military tactician. She’s an all around renaissance woman. She’s always been a very strong character and her more prominent roles in years of late have allowed my feelings for her to expand, even embracing her as one of my all time favorites.

10. Moon Knight

The should-be Batman of the team. I still don’t believe he’s ever been written to his fullest extent and his costume, design, and story make him such an amazing character. If only the could tap into his potential a tad bit more he would stand out in a group of so many other awesome superheroes.

Vlaz’s Top Ten

(in order)

1.

Captain America: Is it cliché when it’s true? It is hard to argue against Captain America being the greatest Avenger of all time. While not a founder of the original team, he was granted founder status after Hulk left the team. And Cap did form the New Avengers, the Secret Avengers, and organize all of the anti-registration teams during Civil War. The ideal solider, the ideal leader, the ideal man to lead a team of Super Heroes. ‘Avengers Assemble!’ will go down as one of the all time battle cries.

2.

Hank Pym: No one has had the effect on the Avengers quite like Dr. Hank Pym. Founding member of both the Avengers, and the West Coast Avengers, creator of The Wasp, Ant-man, Giant Man, Goliath, Yellow Jacket and Stature, Pym’s influence has been felt in every possible incarnation of the Avengers. Sure he was booted from the team and imprisoned, but he never gave up, fought back, and proved his innocence and worth. And now Pym is back as The Wasp leading an all new world wide team of Mighty Avengers. You just can’t keep this man down.

3.

Iron Man: Tony Stark may have fallen from grace, but you can’t take away his importance to the Avengers legacy. Founding member of both the original and New Avengers, he has lead, financed, housed, and supported the team in just about every other way possible. Though seemingly selfish and self centered at times, Stark has always put his team first, and that is why he will always be one of the best there ever was.

4.

Hawkeye: Originally joining the Avengers as Goliath, Clint Barton has carried the Avengers flag and cause no matter what costume he wore. Founder of the West Coast Avengers, and currently leading the New Avengers as Ronin, Clint is one of the few to have actually given his life in the name of the Avengers cause, and he’d be willing to do it again if it meant success for the great good of the team.

5.

Thor: OK, obviously founding members are taking up a lot of spaces on my list. But come on, it’s friggin Thor. Thor can win fights just by showing up. It doesn’t matter who you are, the God of Thunder Shows up in the Avengers corner, and you back down. Thor is the pure definition of Earth’s Mightiest Hero, and is one of it’s most dedicated protectors.

6.

Dr. Strange: Although Dr. Strange may have not been an active member of the New Avengers for very long, his involvement was crucial in many of their endeavors and without him failure would surely have been imminent. And were it not for his protective magics, it is likely that the Secret Avengers would never have survived the Civil War. I for one am very glad he has finally returned to the New Avengers.

7.

Norman Osborne: Ok ok, I know what you’re thinking, Osborne is a villain. And he is. But if we are talking power, influence, and legacy, Osborne has it all to be on of the greatest Avengers in history. He founded the (Dark) Avengers, made a worldwide popular team out of villains, dismantled S.H.I.E.L.D. and built his own organization H.A.M.M.E.R., and is the only person to ever successfully duplicate Iron Man. As the Iron Patriot Osborne has made himself the official face of the Avengers and the hero of Earth. I’d say that counts.

8.

Spider-Man: When it comes to putting your team before you, Spidey is the poster boy. Whether he just really likes his teammates, or his constant guilt stops him from letting any harm come to anyone else, he is the ultimate team player. His recent unmasking to his teammates just further shows that he will do any and everything he can to give his full support to the team. And that’s the way it always has been.

9.

Janet Van Dyne-Pym: The Wasp has had a tragic going of things. And she died. Janet cemented her place in Avengers history when she became the only casualty of the Secret Invasion. A full time member of the team who always put her missions and teammates before her personal troubles, Janet even put her trust in her ex husband Hank when she thought it was for the betterment of the Avengers. Of course Hank was a skrull and she died. But that wasn’t her fault.

10.

Ms. Marvel: Carol Danvers has been all over the Avengers. Recently she lead the pro registration Might Avengers team, until she finally realized the world had gone funny and joined up with the Secret Avengers. Ms. Marvel has always fought hard for what she believed to be the right thing, selflessly throwing herself in the way of any and all oncoming harm. She may wind up on the wrong track, but her smart thinking and quick decisions get her back fighting for the right every time.

New Avengers #52

NA50

Writer-Brian Michael Bendis

Artist(s)-Billy Tan, Chris Bachalo

-SPOILERS INCLUDED-

I think I stand in the clear if I call Bendis the best writer in comic books right now. And this series, The New Avengers, stands as one of the most impressive and standout titles on the shelves. If you haven’t been reading NA…you really need to be. Every issue is a new adventure, another funny quotable conversation, an introduction to amazingly dead-on art, and damn near perfect.

Hot off the heels of their run-in (well, almost run-in) with the Dark Avengers, Bendis throws Marvels Greatest Heroes into a whole new story arc, ‘The New Sorcerer Supreme.’ Doc Strange is no longer the Master of the Mystic Arts and he is tasked in finding the new owner for the Eye of Agamotto and the other assorted mystical items. His quest is taking him to the dark and under-explored corners of the Marvel U., much to my content, to the major players of the Arcana.

This arc is not only interesting but it is opening readers up to a whole new cast of characters and the chance to witness something not seen much in comics: a consecutive run of amazingly well written and intriguing comics that never drop off at any point. In the last year I have read comics that are much more interesting, great stories, beautiful art, but the thing about New Avengers is that it is a constant. No matter what crap I read each month, I know, without a doubt, that New Avengers is going to keep me entertained, excited, and pumped for the next issue.

Also, the further exploration of The Hood is dark and mysterious and Bendis has brought it up at the most opportune time, corresponding the events of Parker Robbins with those of Stephen Strange, two magical powerhouses both undergoing major events in their life. The juxtaposition of good and evil and magic is so exquisitely composed that it’s easy to call Bendis an expert composer of storytelling. The art is also some of the best in a Marvel book right now. I keep meaning to discuss it more, but to be brutally honest, I miss Yu quite a bit and I’ve grown quite biased.

Without a doubt, my second favorite comic release this week. If it weren’t for Gaiman, New Avengers would have the number one slot…again.

*Note: The only reason I did not give this comic a Five Star Rating after such high appraisal is because, ultimately, I was giving props for the ability to rollercoaster around with how good the comic is. This, unfortunately, does not merit a Five Star for the standalone issue.

Rating:

-Ryanscribbles