You ever go to the comic book store, can’t really find anything that you were really looking for, but you didn’t want to leave empty-handed?
I can’t really say what other reason I had for buying this…
…except maybe that I wanted to talk about it on here. (and isn’t it ironic…)
I’m sure I won’t be the only person to shell out money for the ASTONISHING X-MEN SKETCHBOOK, which outlines the creative direction Marvel’s mutants will be headed – as expounded upon at the Wizard World Philly X-Men Panel this past weekend. In this sketchbook we have some new costume tweaks and a blueprint for the X-Men’s new headquarters, as they will now base themselves on the West Coast near San Francisco.
I have to say, I’ve been thoroughly satisfied with what Marvel has been doing with in the X-corner of their universe over the last couple of years under Ed Brubaker, Mike Carey and Joss Whedon especially. I also really dug the explanations behind their change of location and costume changes. However, I can’t shake the feeling that this Sketchbook is probably something that would’ve been better suited with a lower price, or even as a free extra in the back of…
It’s probably a safe bet that Marvel will do just that and call it a “Director’s Cut Edition” or something, but as it stands, right now I have the same feeling I always used to have after leaving a strip club. Sure I enjoyed the experience, but should I have had to pay that much?
Now, as far as Wizard World Philly – can I get a shout-out from anybody who actually went, and went to the panel discussions? I was reading some of the reports and from the sound of things, Marvel took a couple of lumps at their Mondo Marvel Panel. Seems they heard a few notes of dissatisfaction on two of their more heavily promoted moves of late – namely Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s run on FANTASTIC FOUR – apparently, one reader spoke up and said that he was actually enjoying MARVEL ADVENTURES: FANTASTIC FOUR more than the regular title! – and of course, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN.* According to the Newsarama report, a fan asked the panel when Spider-Man was going to be changed back. When Quesada asked, “Back to what?” “Back to when it was good.”
‘Scuse me a moment. (Heh…burn.)
Okay, back to bidness. Quesada promised closure for those of us still waiting for this all to make sense. But then again, he also said that “divorce was not the way to go for Peter and Mary Jane, as he sees that as the ultimate quitting, raising a white flag” so…take that for what you will.
And speaking of wrongs being righted, ROBIN fans were treated to a big one recently!
Those of you who remember BATMAN: WARGAMES know how that all went down – after having been told by Batman to quit crimefighting after a brief stint as the fourth Robin, Stephanie Brown – a.k.a. the Spoiler put one of Batman’s contingency plans into effect for when he was ready to take down the supervillains of Gotham. It went awry, and left her at the mercy of the crimelord Black Mask, who tortured her to the brink of death. She was then brought to longtime Bat-ally Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who…let her die.
Yeah. That Leslie Thompkins.
Well, who should show up in recent issues of ROBIN, but a mystery girl running around in the Spoiler’s outfit…fed up with this stranger disrespecting the memory of his partner and ex-girlfriend, Robin and Batman track her down, and…
TA-DAAAAA!
“Everything about it felt wrong” – No kidding, Batsy. So it appears that Dr. Thompkins faked Stephanie’s death and took her to Africa to try and get her away from the vigilante’s life in Gotham. But, as George Costanza would say…it didn’t take.
I’m not necessarily that big of a fan of ROBIN or the Spoiler character, but I understand the importance of Leslie Thompkins in the Bat-mythos. As such, I’m not a big fan of contrived plot twists that ruin longstanding characters. So kudos to Chuck Dixon for fixing that mistake. Now if only somebody could get on that costume…
On to another recent purchase – THOR #9. As I understand it, there are some out there who aren’t enjoying the pace that J. Michael Straczynski has been writing this book. That’s understandable, but speaking for myself – with each issue I get a feeling that this is the title JMS was itching to get his hands on, and the man’s just savoring every word. That kind of joy really shines through in a creative work, and it connects with me as a reader so that’s why I have no complaints. It’s like when my girlfriend makes meatloaf in her slow-cooker. It’ll take a while, but damned if it ain’t worth the wait.
In this issue, I’m seeing a great payoff in the making, as Loki does what she (yes, she) does best – cause trouble:
You know, bringing back Loki as a woman turned out to be a pretty sharp move on Straczynski’s part. As a man, Loki may be the God of Mischief and lies and all that, but ultimately he just comes off as little more than, well…a douche who likes wearing giant yellow horns on his head. Or, as Jarvis once described him: “a creampuff…Norse God of the hotfoots.”
I need another moment. (BURN! Nice one, Edwin!)
Okay…so like I was saying, as a guy, he’s just a troublemaking jerk. But as a woman who, as the reader, you know was originally a dude…well, now the creepy that’s supposed to be inherent in the character really comes through.
So anyway, in this issue we see her planting seeds in the heads of her fellow reborn Asgardians…seeds that yield some interesting results….some of which are pretty amusing – such as Volstagg weighing the possibility of joining the Avengers:
Well, if the Avengers don’t take him, he should definitely think about auditioning for Spamalot. Although one gets the feeling that “taunting a second time” could very well involve a broadsword upside the head. And don’t think for a second that JMS wouldn’t write a scene involving the Voluminous one, an analogue of Clay Aiken and a well-timed banana peel.
Or even the aforementioned broadsword.
Nothing against Clay; I’m just sayin’ is all…
But the real trouble looks like it could come from the effect Loki’s words had on Balder the Brave, who has been suffering a great crisis since his rebirth – not to mention, we get a bit of insight as to just why Thor found his essence inhabiting the Destroyer armor, of all places.
After orchestrating a Frost Giant attack on Earth for Balder to interrupt, Loki further puts the screws to the vulnerable Balder…
…Honey, the meatloaf will be ready in five minutes!
And I think I’ve yammered on enough for this installment…ooh, wait – got one more thing…
…you have been reading, right?
It’s gonna be good, I’m tellin’ ya…
