Welcome to the 93rd instalment of the new Leave Your Spandex @t the Door! Wednesday is Comic Book Day in the U.S., and LYS@D is here again with this week’s First Reviews, so you can catch up on what rocks and what flops this week before you head to your local LCS! Many thanks to Travelling Man Manchester for providing the advance look copies for review!
This weekend the British Nexus Squad (me, Iain Burnside and Will Cooling) are heading to the International Birmingham Comics Show (9-10 December)! If you’re headed there, come over and say hi to us when you spot us. I’m already planning to spend a ridiculous amount of money on original art from Duncan Fegredo and Mark Buckingham this weekend, while also chasing my favourites Andi Watson and Michael Lark for some sketches! Will plans to sleep a lot while Iain is off getting liquored and passing out on the floor. FUN!
LYS@D now has its own MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/lysad , so be sure to drop by and add me to your friends list!
Panel of the week:
Panel A: “¦Iron-Mean! (Sensational Spider-man #32)
Panel B: “¦Super-Clichés (Planetary Brigade Origins #1)
Panel C: “¦pot(head), kettle (NEXTWAVE: Agents of HATE #10)
BONUS: Best Comeback of the week:
Ben Reilly Vs Luke Cage’s ‘Fro
VERSUS
November ‘06 HOT Grade
1. X-Factor #13 (Marvel)
2. NEXTWAVE Agents of HATE #10 (Marvel)
3. Planetary Brigade Origins #1 (Boom Studios)
4. Crossing Midnight #1 (Vertigo)
5. Runaways #22 (Marvel)
6. Batman/the Spirit (DC)
7. Astonishing X-Men #18 (Marvel)
8. Manifest Eternity #6 (Wildstorm)
9. 52 #29 (DC)
10. American Virgin #8-9 (Vertigo)
The week in (advance) review: evil clones, evil twins, evil strangers in space, evil swords, evil pharmaceutical companies, and a Mental Organism Designed Only for F..
Hero Squared #4
Boom Studios
Writer: Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
Artists: Joe Abraham
Review Content: Giffen and DeMatteis do the Clone Saga!
“¦
Seriously, do you need any more info to urge you to pick this up?
Ok”¦ For those whom I haven’t indoctrinated into the wonders of Hero Squared yet, the series follows everyday slob Milo, living in the ‘real’ world, whose life is turned upside down when his alternate reality self appears on his doorstep: the superhero Captain Valour! Valour is everything Milo. Hero Squared is the hilarious sitcom exploring the difficulties of a man living together with the idealised version of himself. The setup is only made more intriguing by introducing Caliginous, Valou’s villainous ex girlfriend who is an alternate version of Milo’s own girlfriend, Stephie. After Caliginous reveals to Stephie that she seduced Milo, the two break up once more and Milo again goes into stalker mode.
In the current issue Caliginous has unleashed her latest plan: a clone of Captain Valour with a single-minded objective to punch his lights out! The plot kick-off is simple and a great excuse to shoehorn an explosive action sequence into the book. The fisticuffs aren’t really the actual focus of the book though, even if they provide a fun distraction.
G&DM use Valou’s fight against himself to portray his self-obsession; while Valour is locked in combat with himself, he becomes singularly motivated to defeat his opponent without pausing to thing about his real motivation or the collateral damage they’re causing; although he’s the super-hero, and supposedly the ‘super-improved’ version of Milo, they’re slowly exhibiting the same character flaws; in Valou’s case they are super-magnified: first Valou’s cheating on Caliginous which literally destroyed their world and now this obsession with his personal problems while completely blanking out the world around him falling to pieces because of his actions. The most interesting after-effect of this ‘falling from grace’ of the super heroic archetype, is how it’s slowly driving Milo into a better character; it is the human Milo after all who cares about an injured bystander while the fight rampages the city.
Joe Abraham has been improving his craft with each issue. He is finally given the opportunity to illustrate a comic book fight scene and delivers with a powerful punch! The panel-to-panel sequences are every bit as exciting as the splash pages. Unlike other recent examples, the fight is economically plotted, with the two splash pages and the final double-page spread earning their extra ‘cost’ to the pacing by being significant moments in the plot. Abraham’s greatest attribute that makes him the ideal artist for this book is his ever-improving talent for portraying the emotions of his characters. Although at some points he still veers on the excessive (Caliginous’ happy face in the opening sequence runs too close to incontinence), he makes p for it with the subtler change of expressions on the same character in the last page sequence which immediately communicates her true emotional reaction, even as it goes contrary to what she is trying to express through her words.
Grade: A
Beyond #6
Marvel
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Artists: Scot Kollins
Review Content: For five issues a variety of Marvel’s heroes and villains have fought each other on Battleworld at the behest of someone claiming to be ‘From Beyond’. After las tissue’s shocking turn of events, Hank Pym has emerged victorious after eliminating all other contestants, including his ex and current girlfriends, the Wasp and Firebird.
Yeah, right. As far as cliffhangers go, last issue’s had as much credibility as Spider-Man dying in issue 1 of the series. Pym uses this ploy to outsmart the strange mastermind behind this new Secret War, reveal his true identity, and then get on with the butt-kicking.
In the last issue McDuffie plays one final death card, as a core cast member doesn’t make it out of the adventure alive. The series has toyed around with ‘dead means dead’ from issue to issue, with one character or the other ‘dying’ or disappearing to their doom almost with every final page. In this unfortunate characte’s case though, there is no Beyond #7 to bring him/her back. Although this isn’t of course a major character, it’s still a beloved one, and one that had been rumoured a lot as having future potential within the Marvel Universe post-Civil War.
The series had taken mostly obscure and second-rate characters from various mini-series and succeeded into making them work together in the context of the shared Marvel Universe. Although some, like Gravity, experienced amazing growth throughout the series, others like Kraven Jr and the Hood seemed to pass through the events without any significant character arcs and without really contributing much to the overall plot apart from smart quips. Pym, Wasp, Firebird, Medusa and Deathlok formed an interesting ‘Avengers’ core group as the experienced heroes of the mix. When the dust of Civil War settles I really hope McDuffie revisits these particular team dynamics into one of the core Avengers titles, breaking the Bendis monopoly that is currently dragging the franchise (not sales-wise oddly enough).
An important aspect of the final issue is the presence of Uatu the Watcher. Kolins has updated Uatu’s design for the series, coming up with the smartest take on the character yet, emphasizing his eyes and shrouding the rest of his face in shadows, while adapting his Kirby toga into a more otherwordly and regal design. The writer cleverly utilises Watche’s presence as a catalyst to the resolution of the story, without him actually intervening or even uttering a single word.
This series flew under the radar of most fans in the wake of more widely-advertised events like Civil War and Annihillation but for me this one was the real winner of the big event war. In terms of story and art, it is a worthy successor of the original 80s crossovers, and it can hold its own next to other Avengers classic stories.
Grade: A
Doctor Strange: The Oath #3
Marvel
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artists: Marcos Martin
Review Content: Doctor Strange has gone into the demon dimensions and wrestled the potion to cure cancer from the Demon Otkid (get it? It’s an anagram), in order to cure his manservant (dirty!) Wong. Previous issues found Strange in the care of the Night Nurse after an assassin was sent after him for the cure, but now the assassin has been captured and the Strange Scooby gang are after the identity of their opponent.
Vaughan uses the layout of the pages to his advantage to effectively play with the readers’ anticipation of the opponents’ identity, with Strange being the POV character, as he shifts through the assassin’s mind to uncover his employer.
The theme of the series is the conflict between science and magic, a controversy that defines the character of Dr. Strange himself. A doctor turned sorcerer, he is now faced with a challenge of science, cancer. In his old identity as a surgeon, he could tackle this obstacle, but it’s beyond the scope of his new calling, magic. What drives Dr. Strange to find a cure is beyond his bond to his old friend, it’s another remnant of his old life: the Hippocratic Oath he took as a doctor, to do ‘everything in his powe’ to help those in need. And that includes going against a demon to procure a magic potion against cancer. But these plans come in contrast with the humbler motives of other men of science who are opposed to magic solutions and attempt to destroy the cure. The contrast of Magic versus Science flows through every facet of this adventure, from Strange’s history to the current challenge and even his blossoming attraction to a woman of science, Night Nurse.
Grade: B
Marvel Holiday Special #1
Marvel
Writers: Carey, Gray, Garrity, Farago
Artists: Perkins, Lim, Langridge
Review Content: They’re cheesy but I love them! Holiday specials run the gamut from valueless mediocre fill-ins to priceless mindless fun vignettes. And if there’s one thing Marvel can do better than DC lately, it’s mindless fun one-shots and minis!
One by one:
The framing sequence between the stories, written by Gray and Garrity, and illustrated by Ron Lim (currently on the up and up) features A.I.M.’s Christmas party, and a pure slob who has been brought in as a date by one of their personnel. As you’d expect from any criminal mad scientist collective, things don’t take too long to get weird, with appearances by MODOF (not a mistype), Arnim Zola and the Hulk! One-liners aplenty and smart quips under the mistletoe.
Scott Gray and Roger Langridge revisit Fin Fang Foom during Christmas after their hilarious Marvel Monsters: Fin Fang Four oneshot. Wong is out shopping for the Christmas table when he runs into his idol: the legendary dragon fin Fang Foom, now reduced to human size and wondering the streets hidden in a trenchcoat. This is the Marvel Universe N.Y. though, so it doesn’t take long before Hydra agents show up with a terrorist plan involving a Giant Santa Claus Killer Robot. Fin Fang Foom makes a great protagonist and reluctant hero under Gray’s guidance, as he is detached from the human traffic but still abides by his ancient code of honour. Langridge’s art impresses me more with each sample I see; he is now a name that I follow to each new work he does.
Mike Carey and Mike Perkins reunite for an alphabet-themed story: ‘A is for Annihillus’. The Thing is home alone on Christmas ay when Annihillus decides to invade the Baxter Building. This type of story usually follows a simplistic rule of one word after each letter of the alphabet for each panel, in alphabetic order. The humour here more often comes not from the actual story or plot (which as the narrator confesses is rather thin), but from how long Carey manages to stretch the acceptable use of the alphabet structure. It’s a fun experimentation in storytelling that wouldn’t fit anywhere else but in this type of self-deprecating anthology.
Finally, the one-shot closes with a Handbook style entry on Santa Claus in the Marvel Universe (a character who has a different interpretation and continuity with each appearance) and a cover gallery from previous holiday specials with some gorgeous gatefolds by Arthur Adams.
Buy yourself some holiday cheer!
Grade: A
Uncanny X-Men #481
Marvel
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artists: Billy Tan
Review Content: It’s already been 7 months into the X-space adventure and the plot keeps trudging at turtle’s pace. Lilandra faces betrayal from within, the Professor is abducted and anally/mentally probed, and Rachel feels the Phoenix pull, in more ways than one.
Phoenix-Boy seems to be conditioned by Brubaker to become a regular part of this team; his backstory is fleshed out more while he is the cause of both new friction in the team, and a new romantic interest for Rachel (who didn’t see that coming after last issue?). Rachel herself seems to be reacting badly to the Phoenix Energy she came in contact with. None of the X-writers really seem to learn their lesson from previous generations, here. You don’t mess with the Phoenix entity, you can only get burned! Everyone from Seagle, to Morrison to Davis, Pak and now Brubaker have their own additions to make to the Phoenix myth, but they only end up complicating an already delicately balanced chapter in x-history. The original retcon was already controversial without subsequent writers trying to fly on its edges to bring back the cool-looking fire raptor visual. Jean Grey became the Phoenix. Jean Grey was possessed by the Phoenix. The Phoenix is linked to the Greys. The Phoenix was created by Jean. The Phoenix is attracted to women Scott Summes sleeps with. And now”¦ the Phoenix wasn’t even actually the original one. Ed Brubaker is trying to put in his own pebbles into the mythos, but I’d prefer it if he focused on creating new stories rather than snooping around what was already established and trying to sneak his stories inside the cracks.
Billy Tan ebbs and flows in quality throughout this storyline, and this is an issue on the rise: not bad enough as last issue, but not close to what he’s shown he’s capable of.
Grade: D
Last weeks:
Whisper #1
Boom Studios
Writer: Steven Grant
Artists: Jean Dzialowski
Review Content: Whisper is the story of Danae Young, a girl mercenary with a foul disposition, a predisposition to cut things with her designer blades and waking nightmares about getting slashed by her mirror reflection and drowning in the sea of her memories and her secret past.
Whisper offers the golden standard of Boom Studios series, and what fans have come to expect from the majority of their books: a strong cinematic plot, fast-paced action and professional quality art. The art serves the story, but doesn’t deviate from the standard to create a lasting impression. The story also follows the walked path offering some twists and turns before the great reveal in the end which again follows the expected clichés of Hollywood action and mystery movies.
Whispe’s character is the only aspect of the comic that elevates it above the average; her backstory and situation are original and can provide fodder for interesting future stories, but they aren’t taken advantage of in this issue, as they only rise to the surface in the closing pages. The solicitations mention that Whisper is in fact a re-imagining of a First Comics heroine of the same name; I’m unfamiliar with the original series so unable to judge it on these merits so I can only approach this as a new reader.
The first issue didn’t knock me off my feet but it has drawn my interest to the character and I’d be hooked to read her continuing story.
Grade: C
CURRENTLY
Listening to:
Helena Paparizou: The Game of Love
on TV
Survivor: Turkey-Greece
reading
Writing comics with Peter David
in Cinemas
The Prestige
Aaaaand that’s a wrap for this week! I’m waiting your comments and feedback through email to Manolis@gmail.com. If you self-publish your own comics or represent an Indy comics company, add me to your press release list, and I will run your news in this space every week.
Manolis Vamvounis
a.k.a. Dr. Dooplove
