CB Reviews the Marvel (Comics) Universe

[calgaryballer]

Well, I'm sitting over here in England and my supply to new comics has been cut off. A, they are just too damn expensive at £2.20 an issue. B, I don't have the space or the desire to store and pack them back. I could go digital (and have done for some), but if I am going to pay day and date cover price I'd much rather have a physical issue to hold. That all said, I decided to sign up for the Marvel Unlimited service. I'd had a subscription a couple of years back and found it to be extremely limited (i.e. I was reading Invincible Iron Man and continually found gaps in the issues like 1-4, 6-7, 10-11, etc). I can handle a 6 month delay on new issues, but when I go in to the back issues I want to be able to read complete runs with no interruption. I decided to give it another chance when I got an e-mail and found that most everything is complete and they are being pretty diligent about getting the Marvel NOW! stuff in at a reasonable rate.

With that said, I wanted to take the opportunity to delve in to some of the random and under appreciated comics that sit in the MU database. I've chosen and gone through the first series I plan on reviewing, but I am open to other suggestions be it comics you'd suggest, creators or artists you think are worthwhile, or storylines that you'd like my opinion on. To give you an idea of what I already have in My Library with plans to review:

Alpha Flight Vol 3 (2004-2005)
Alpha Flight Vol 4 (2011-2012)
Avengers Academy
Bullseye: Greatest Hits
Cable & Deadpool
Captain Britain and MI13
Captain Marvel
Defenders 7-12 (I reviewed 1-6 in the comic book thread)
Eternals
Excalibur (2004-2005)
Heroes for Hire (2006/07 and 2010/11 runs)
Immortal Weapons
Incredible Hercules
Irredeemable Ant-Man
Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers
New Warriors (2007-2010)
Osborn
Punisher: War Journal
Runaways
Secret Avengers
Sentry (2005-2006)
The Thanos Imperative (2010)
X-Factor (2005 - Present)
X-Statix (2002 - 2004)

First review will be:

[calgaryballer]

Alpha Flight Vol 3, 1-6, 'You Gotta Be Kidding Me!'
Writer - Scott Lobdell
Artist - Clayton Henry

I doubt many people know this, but I have a massive soft spot for Alpha Flight. Obviously they are Canada's premier (only?) super heroes, so that certainly goes a long way. Beyond that they've always inhabited their own weird section of the Marvel universe. Their stories are campy and play heavily on American sterotypes of Canadians. A lot of the time that can work and the charm comes across to North American readers of all kinds. Other times, it seems heavy handed and patronizing. Unfortunately for Alpha Flight fans, that's where the first arc of Lobdell's story picks up.

For those unfamiliar with Alpha Flight, the traditional lineup consists of Vindicator, Sasquatch, Northstar, Aurora, Shaman and Snowbird. Many might be familiar with Puck, who was introduced a bit later and is now a part of Uncanny X-Force. This volume sees most of those characters missing, with only Sasquatch around to help defend Canada. That means we spend the first issue getting to know our new team, with Sasquatch travelling around Canada recruiting. Lobdell falls back on an old trope here as each character initially resists Sasquatch's invitation, only to come around at the end. And who are these great new hopes? We get a 97 year old man freshly awoken from a coma; Major Mapleleaf, who reads like a bad impression of Dudley Do-Right; Nemesis, an anarchist who gets next to no development in the first 6 issues; Puck II, the daughter of the original Puck (she doesn't know that yet though); and Yukon Jack, who gets to fill the Native American card that Shaman did in the original team.

I am focusing on the first storyline of this series which means that Lobdell had 6 issues to make me care about these characters. And he failed miserably. Each of the characters comes off as one note, defined by an extremely obvious character trait and never going beyond that. Puck 2 is a sassy bitch. Nemesis is difficult just for the sake of it. Yukon Jack feels he is better than all these white people (only to come to realize maybe they aren't so bad). Centennial, the previously mentioned 97 year old, feels like they gave a character from Boondocks super powers and then removed anything remotely interesting from him.

All that said we now have a new team with no character development. Does anything happen in the story that's worth while? Unfortunately not. The mystery the team is after is to figure out what happened to the original Alpha Flight. Over a 4 issue arc, the team discover that they've been captured by an alien race called the Plodex. I'm a big Marvel fan, but again, this threat feels entirely empty. The team discover their ship, determine they are here to destroy Earth, etc, etc. BUT WAIT! The Plodex are a dying species and fortunately there is a young innocent around to change everyone's mind about blowing the ship up. The original Alpha Flight are saved and everyone can go their own way.

Final Score: Two Alpha Flights out of Five

[Liquidrob]

John Byrne!

[calgaryballer]

John Byrne!

He's in my mind. Any stories I should keep an eye out for?

[Liquidrob]

He's in my mind. Any stories I should keep an eye out for?

I only ready Alpha Flight when they first came out, I was a John Byrne fan and loved his art

I have all the old ones somewhere, I cant barely remember the stories, Guardian being 'killed', the fake Guardian, the intro of Puck, the twins splitting and the girl getting new powers

Oh, and Northstar was a prick

[calgaryballer]

Finished the first six issues of Robert Kirkman's Irredeemable Ant Man last night. That's the break in the trades, but it doesn't seem like a naturally breaking point in the story so I think I am going I finish the run and review all 12 as a whole.

Never did finish Alpha Flight. It was too awful. Then listening to my fave comics podcast this morning (House to Astonish), Lobdell came up with a particular focus on just how many terrible things came from that book. Glad I'm not the only one.

[calgaryballer]

The Irredeemable Ant-Man, 1-12, 2006-2007
Writer - Robert Kirkman
Artist - Phil Hester

For most fans of the comic book industry, I assume the name Robert Kirkman is one that they know. Even those that don't read comics probably have cause to know his name in this day and age. Either through his Image books (most notably the Walking Dead and Invincible) or the TV series based on the Walking Dead, Kirkman's work has broken through to the mainstream in a way that most comic creators can only dream of. Still only 34, Kirkman started doing some small work for Marvel in 2004, near the start of his run on Walking Dead. And with the exception of a 27 issue run on Ultimate X-Men, most of that work was one shots or mini-series (Jubilee? Perhaps in a future issue of this write up).

Regardless of the rather meagre back catalogue of Marvel work, we ended up here, in late 2006. Kirkman had created quite a fan base and perhaps used some of that cache to work with a niche character. Being an Ant-Man book, you'd likely expect this to revolve around Hank Pym, erstwhile Giant Man/Yellow Jacket/original Ant Man (and creator of Ultron). You'd be wrong. This is the story of Eric O'Grady, a low level SHIELD employee who sucks at poker. For a long time in the Marvel U, Hank Pym was regarded as one of the scummiest characters after punching his wife. Eric doesn't quite sink that low, but you're not going to confuse him for Captain America by the end of the series.

Being a 12 issue run, we get two broad arcs to focus on. The first tells the story of how Eric became Ant Man flashing between the past and the present, with each issue bringing the flashbacks closer and closer to the present. Asked to protect the Ant Man armour from a rampant Wolverine (this story runs concurrently to the Enemy of the State line in Wolverine, wherein he was controlled by Hydra), Eric and his best friend Chris accidentally mistake Pym for an enemy combatant. Eric encourages Chris to take advantage of the unguarded Ant Man armour, to fulfil a life long super hero fantasy, only to see him brutally gunned down in front of him during a Wolverine break out. The right move for Eric, obviously, is to steal the armour from his friends dead body and use it for his own means. In the present part of our story, we see Eric using his new found powers to set up robberies that he uses to seduce women. When those don't work out, he just spies on them in the shower. The past part of the story details SHIELD's search for the armour, led by former friend Mitch. The first arc comes to a semi-conclusion, with Eric and Mitch duking it out. Eric, not a fighter, attempts to escape, only to blast his former friend in the face with a jet boost. This scars him permanently and sets up the subplot for the second half of our arc. We have an added subsplot with Eric using his friends death to try (again) to get with his girlfriend.

The second half of our story begins to see an emergence of a 'good' side in Eric. After spying on Ms Marvel in the shower, Eric finds himself thrown in to the midst of a battle the Mighty Avengers have in NYC. At first seeing it as an opportunity to ransack and loot (which he does anyway) he also manages to use the shrink power to rescue a little girl. Seeing this, Damage Control Inc (Marvel's company who come in to clean up NYC after battles) offer Eric a role. Largely taking the job to get in the pants of the sexy mutant team member, Eric finds himself relating to her and to the rest of the team. By the end, Eric has proven his innocence (or relative harmlessness) to SHIELD and is offered a role with the Initiative by Director Tony Stark

To be honest, this book was a major surprise for me. Kirkman approaches his hero in a way that's more commonly found in the books that Image puts out, that of a truly shitty anti-hero. Eric seduces his dead friends girl. He steals money from girls. He spies on girls in the shower. He runs from fights. But through it all, you really can't hate him. He knows that he's a bit of a sociopath and by the end of the book you can see that while it might never work, he's at least found a reason to try. It's a legitimately funny comic book, with Kirkman and Webster working together to put forward a book that's aware of it's precarious position in the Marvel universe. In a World War Hulk tie in, for example, Eric gets whooped on the outside, and then whooped again when he tried to damage the Hulk from the inside. Each issue is introduced by recap ant, a kind of narrator voice to catch up readers on what's happened. This is used rather frequently in books, but I've not seen it used to such a good effect.

I haven't mentioned the art here yet, which is something I'd be remiss to do. The characters, the colours, etc are all very well done. I particularly enjoyed the intricate panel design's that Hester uses to tell the story. It reminds me a lot of the work that Aja is doing on Hawkeye right now. Different panel sizes, locations, etc, allow Kirkman to spread his story out and fully utilize the page.

I'd highly recommend this book to comic fans. You don't need a background knowledge of the Marvel universe as it's a relatively self-contained book. Things that are going on around (Wolverine, the Civil War, M-Day, WWH) are breezily alluded to but aren't of such significance that you'll feel lost if you've never read another book.

5 Ant Mans out of 5

[calgaryballer]

If anyone does read these, I am open to feedback. Sometimes I feel I am doing more of a recap and not enough of a review. Thoughts are appreciated.

Not sure of what to read next. Might read Enemy of the State, as it seems like an interesting story and I like the synergy of how it ties in to Ant Man. Other thought is Osborn mini series.

[calgaryballer]

Finished the Osborn mini by de Connick and Rios. That'll be the next review when I can get back on my PC for a bit of time

One after is something longer. Got into Milligan and Allreds X Force/X Statix series and want to do it all in one. Trying to read everything that is in the omnibus but I don't know if some of the one shots are on Unlimited

[Buzzman]

If anyone does read these, I am open to feedback. Sometimes I feel I am doing more of a recap and not enough of a review. Thoughts are appreciated.

Not sure of what to read next. Might read Enemy of the State, as it seems like an interesting story and I like the synergy of how it ties in to Ant Man. Other thought is Osborn mini series.

I'll say that I agree with you that most of the review is actually a recap and kind of spoils a lot of things, but I don't really see any other way to review these things. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that is completely blind to most of the characters so without some recap of the plot and characters, I wouldn't really grasp at your thoughts after the recap. In a perfect scenario, we all know the characters and the backgrounds so you could just jump right in. That's not the case, so I think they are fine.

[calgaryballer]

Evil Incarcerated: Osborn, 1-5
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Artist: Emma Rios

It's not very often that you find a series put together by two women. It's probably even more rare that you find a creative team as talented as DeConnick and Rios. While both are relatively new to the comics game, it's a certainty that we'll be hearing more from both of them. DeConnick is starting to make a name for herself with extremely solid work on Avengers Assemble and Captain Britain (she's also married to Matt Fraction, as if anyone cares). Rios, an extremely talented Spanish artist, has been cutting her teeth on a fair bit of Dr. Strange. I have previeously reviewed the Strange Season One OGN (Original Graphic Novel) and found Rios' art to be a bit muddled at times, even if I enjoyed her overall use of colour and shape. Here though, I think she shines. Her panels are gorgeously drawn and serve to highlight the evil that burns within Norman Osborn.

The series traces the moral grey area that surrounded Norman at this point in the Marvel timeline. For context, Osborn used the Civil War to manipulate his way to control of the Thunderbolts, a team made up of criminals who are forced to work for the government. After using the team to aid the world in defeating the Secret Invasion, he's put in charge of SHIELD (later HAMMER). This ties in to later events, when Norman tries to use his new found power to attack Asgard, only to be defeated. With Norman now in custody, the US government is faced with a dilemma. He's proven himself to be dangerous and uncontrollable. Is he still owed due process?

Some folks feel that he isn't. That he's too dangerous. And because of that, he's swept away to a top secret military prison. Which is where we pick up the second part of our story, that of Norah Winters. Throughout the Civil War, Peter Parker's Daily Bugle was transformed in to Frontline. A respected investigative reportage business, Winters is tipped off to this illegal rendition and begins to dive deeper. Her work only serves to add shades of grey to Norman Osborn. We all know he's evil, but why does he do the things he does? What does he gain?

Overall, this series is well written and well drawn. The only drawback is that it does require a passing knowledge of the Marvel universe at the time (Wiki can catch you up). Civil War, Siege, Dark Reign, Secret Invasion, etc are all hefty events and it was very easy to get event fatigue at this time. It's pretty obviously a reaction to the current events of the time, as the world learned about the US' (and coalitions') secret rendition programs for Middle Eastern prisoners. As a stand in for those questions, I believe this story captures the grey area quite well. DeConnick doesn't shy away from providing a resolution as to how she feels about it, which I think is better than leaving it 'up in the air'. The only other 'negative' is that it does leave you wanting more. The situation at the end of the book raises more questions than it answers. As far as I can tell, this story is taken up in the Dark Avengers book that replaced the Thunderbolts. If it's half way as good as Ellis' Thunderbolts, I'd recommend it.

I'd also recommend reading this book. It's a great view in to the mind of Norman Osborn, and the charisma that continually makes him one of the most dangerous minds in the Marvel Universe. You get a view of two artists who are still on their way up in comics, but who show a mastery of their craft that's pretty unusual for newbies. You'll be well served to give this one a read on Unlimited, or the $15 at your local shop.

Four Green Goblins out of Five

[calgaryballer]

I'll say that I agree with you that most of the review is actually a recap and kind of spoils a lot of things, but I don't really see any other way to review these things. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one that is completely blind to most of the characters so without some recap of the plot and characters, I wouldn't really grasp at your thoughts after the recap. In a perfect scenario, we all know the characters and the backgrounds so you could just jump right in. That's not the case, so I think they are fine.

Thanks. I'm still feeling out the process. I think I straddled the line a bit better with Osborn, but maybe that's because I feel there are more characters people are familiar with.

[calgaryballer]

I mentioned that X-Force/X-Statix was my next plan. I think I am going to break it up in to chunks, for the sake of easier reading. It'll hopefully allow me to form a coherent narrative.

To start, I'll be reviewing the last 13 issues of X-Force before it was rebranded X-Statix!

(Bonus is that Wolvie/Doop mini and Dead Girl mini are both on Unlimited! Can do the full X-Statix run)

[IamMedellin]

Curious to hear what you think of "Runaways"

Finished Volume 1 and just started Vol 2 of Vaughn's Run. Excellent so far

[calgaryballer]

It's definitely on the list. I love BKV, and this has always gotten huge amounts of praise. I'd wanted to try and start out with some shorter comics, but that's gone out the window pretty early with X-Statix. I might do a couple mini series and then jump in to Runaways