Review: Fear Itself #3 By Matt Fraction And Stuart Immonen

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Fear Itself #3

Written by Matt Fraction

Art by Stuart Immonen and Wade Von Grawbadger

 

Alright, so I thrashed the last issue of this book, but hey look! I’m still here! Fraction’s pacing in this issue is a hell of a lot better, and the focus is much, much clearer. While last month he penned a glorified advertisement for the tie ins, this month he goes ahead and stays with the stories that remain the most key to the series. Like the attack on Washington D.C. (which I’ll admit would have more impact on me if D.C. wasn’t a regular target) receives a lot of focus in this issue, as Bucky, Falcon, and the Black Widow make up the ‘A-team’ dispatched by Steve Rogers to try and save the day.

D.C. is supposed to be a big deal, right? Super nazi’s attacking the nations capital, that’s a big deal. Maybe I’m just desensitized after watching Kang level it during Busiek’s Avengers and the entire events of Ultimates 2. It’s like hitting New York, there’s an implied ‘oh my God’ effect, but it’s done often enough that we kinda expect it. That said, the fight there is pretty well handled, albeit brief, and while I could easily complain that it isn’t long enough…Frac does a damn good job with it.

Thor’s focus in the issue picks up where it left off, and while I’ll admit that I’m not reading Journey into Mystery, and thus have no idea if Loki has been being sneaky leading up to this moment, I didn’t feel lost or confused by his actions. If I have any complaint to make it’s that I feel that Thor’s story in Asgard could have been stretched a bit longer, but if Frac has immediate impact in mind for him then I’m fine with that too. His arc just feels rushed, but again, hey, I haven’t been reading Journey, so maybe I’m way off base in that judgement.

The vignette style comes back for seconds in this issue as several of our Worthy are given single panel appearances, while others gets two to three pages, including a recent addition to their hammer wielding cast. Of course, the last page of the issue goes ahead and tells us what books all of those plots are picked up on, so just like last issue…joy! Thankfully, and I stress that, this issue doesn’t make the fatal flaw of last issue. It doesn’t read like a giant advertisement. Sure, there are incidents in this issue spinning out, and yes, I thrashed the bejezus out of this book last month for that, but this time around? This time around I felt like I got enough story in this title to make me not mind it quite so much, whereas the last issue read like a bunch of previews. Yes, I know that if I want to see several of the highlighted Worthy do their things I have to go and buy more books, but I have a general idea as to where next issue is going, and that’s pretty nice.

Stuart Immonen does a very nice job on art, as to be expected. The stuff with Thing looked amazing, and Worthy Hulk is growing on me. Actually, having seen the stuff with Hulk, I kinda started wanting to see Immonen tackle the Jade Giant more often. Asgard has some nice visuals to it, but the Washington D.C. stuff takes the cake. The battle between Sin and Bucky looks phenomenal, and I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job with everything going on there. Stu hit all the right beats and made a well written scene even better with his keen visuals.

This issue is something of a game changer. It’s funny though, a lot happens, but not a lot really seems to happen. There’s a few big moments, and some really cool stuff, but the story really just inches forward…and yet I’m fine with that. The climax of the issue isn’t totally unexpected, but it still is enough to leave you with a pause and a sad feeling inside. It’s a big moment, and it sets the table for what I presume to be a big return in the next issue or two. Now I really just want to know what the hell the Serpent plans to do.

 

Overall?

7.5/10

A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.