Another week, another Weekly Crisis Comic Book Reviews. Diamond decided a Monday holiday means comics ship on Thursday this week, so if you were looking for reviews yesterday, I will have to blame the delay on them. This week brings a rather Marvel biased list of books as nothing really enticed me from the DC side of things this week. I took a look at the new Infinity Inc and Outsiders' books this week, but neither overly impressed me and I saved myself some money by not picking them up. I have not reviewed Countdown lately, but I am still picking it up. I just cannot bring myself to write more negative reviews about it each week. The Flash encounter with the Rogues this week was pretty good though, but did not make up for the rest of the book. I might start reviewing it again if my opinion changes or there is a demand for it. As always, enjoy the reviews and feel free to leave comments.
New Warriors #4 by Grevioux & Medina - Another good issue for this book. Lots of hints towards Night Thrashers identity and another New Warrior identity revealed combined with some excellent action makes for a great read.
The issue begins with the cops that met with Night Thrasher last issue. They have both been shrunk down and, with the help of Hank Pym, returned to normal size. Pym reveals it was not done using Pym particles, but a derivative, similar to what Bill Foster used. I love how Pym reacts to this revelation and it is a real nice touch showing that he was actually upset with Bill's death in Civil War. There are clues to Thrasher's identity and implications it is tied to Wakanda and possibly Black Panther. After this brief scene, Tony Stark is shown dealing with political issues pertaining to the New Warriors and trying to convince Secretary Kooning not to overreact and use the Thunderbolts to take down these teenagers.
This leads into a training session at the New Warrior base where Night Thrasher single handedly defeats the entire team. While many are experienced combatants, they are all new to the powers they are using on this team. During this segment, we learn that Tempest is Angel, from Grant Morrison's New X-Men fame and Beak's girlfriend. She looks drastically different on this team and appears to have seen the same plastic surgeon as Jubilee, who is the big breasted Wondra on this team. After assigning double training sessions for the team, Night Thrasher has a meeting with Wondra. More clues to his identity, as he has intimate knowledge of the X-Men and Fantastic Four. He wants Wondra to be a better and stricter leader. Jubilee complains about his putting the team together and never being there to help before questioning his identity. Just as she realizes she might know who he is, they are interrupted by a newscast of a team of villains called The Zodiac, who I am unfamiliar with, attacking downtown. They have already defeated the Initiative Avengers and the New Warriors decide to put a stop to them.
The fight takes place near Sophie's, who has declined the New Warriors' invitation to join them, work place and the battle ends up destroying the coffee shop. The New Warriors arrive and appear to be doing quite well against The Zodiac until the very end of the issue, when it appears Longstrike is killed by Cancer of The Zodiac.
It was an incredibly unexpected ending to this issue, and if publicized, would be a real killer to any credibility the untrained teen heroes had been trying to build and quite possibly serve to prove Tony Stark right with the SHRA. I was unsure of whether I was going to be sticking with this book, as while it was a good book, it was not impressing me enough to stay on long term. This issue changed all that. Lots of mystery as to who Night Thrasher is, an excellent ending that left me wanting more and chomping at the bit to see the next issue and this issue really hit one out of the park. Highly recommended issue.
Uncanny X-Men #490 by Brubaker & Larroca - How can Brubaker write things that are so good, like Iron Fist, Criminal and Daredevil, and then write something so average at best like his current Uncanny run?
This issue continues The Extremists arc and it is another lackluster issue in what is turning into a very sub par run on this book by Brubaker. This is the fourth part of the five part storyline and, so far, nothing has happened that could be classified as any kind of major plot thread. Supposedly, this storyline would see the return of Magneto, but as of this issue, he may or may not have made an appearance, as there is only a cameo of an older man in a purple trench coat and hat in this issue. I gather we are supposed to believe he is Magnus, but that is yet to be seen. The rest of the issue deals with Masque and his crew being pursued by Warpath and Hepzibah through the sewers. The duo are easily subdued by Masque's group and there is talk of prophecies predicting the outcome of the fight before it took place.
Meanwhile, Storm and company learn of the Morlock Qwerty and her ability to see the consequences of every action ever taken. Before M-Day, she dedicated herself to writing down all possible outcomes to prepare mutants for the future. Masque is using this knowledge in his quest for...well, we do not really know what he wants to be honest. He said he wanted to find Magneto in the opening issue of this arc, but nothing has been said of it since then and he has not really done anything that would really lead to his finding Magneto in my eyes. The issue ends with Masque's group destroying the Morlock sanctuary that Storm is currently located at. The Morlocks keep saying it is her destiny to witness their destruction and the last page has Storm trapped under the collapsed tunnel as the panels fade to black.
The art for this story arc has been very inconsistent as well. Many pages this issue have people, especially facially, looking quite odd. Theres a splash page with Storm featured that looks especially bad. I do not know if it is the colourists fault or if it is the art, but a lot of the images come off flat and, while not bad art, there is nothing to it either, as if there is no emotion or feeling to each image.
The Endangered Species back up is very similar to previous chapters. Beast searches Mutant Town with Bishop for someone that might have Mutant Growth Hormone, the designer drug that gives non-mutants the powers of whoever's tissue sample was used in the drug's creation. After finding out that the drugs from pre-M-Day are all inert, Beast lashes out at the drug dealer when he offers to buy some blood samples from him to create more MGH. Nothing new happens and, aside from the forced outburst by Beast, Endangered Species has yet to impress. Do not feel compelled to buy any X-titles for these backups.
Annihilation: Conquest Wraith #3 (of 4) by Grillo - Marxuach & Hotz - Another weak offering from easily the weakest Conquest mini-series. After his less than thrilling origin reveal last month, this issue builds a little upon that with a dream sequence with Wraith's father urging him to avenge his death. This seems to give Wraith the ability to break out of the Phalanx restraints and he quickly tears through all the Phalanx that have been holding him captive. After freeing Super Skrull and his female companion, Wraith teams up with them to escape the Phalanx base. The ease with which Wraith deals with any and all Phalanx makes his capture last issue a bit out of place. If he can do this much damage, even without his weapons, how in the heck could they have captured him in the first place? The whole deus ex machina aspect of his powers makes this character two dimensional and there is little to no drama or interest in this overpowered character. The only other major development this issue is the revelation that the Supreme Intelligence is still alive and being prepared as a psychic weapon to bring all the Kree under the Phalanx control. I dislike how they brought him back after Ronan killed him at the end up Annihilation when he took control of the Kree Empire. Hopefully this does not turn into a shock value "back from the dead" reversal. There is only one issue left, so I will be sticking around for the final part, but, unlike other Conquest books, do not feel compelled to pick up this book.
The Amazing Spider-Man #544 by Straczynski & Quesada - If I had a Worst Book of the Month heading, this one would beat out Countdown, as this is worse than any issue of Countdown.
The first, and most immediate, concern is the atrocious art. Just look at the cover, especially his Peter at the bottom who looks like he is half way between a seizure and laughing, for some verification of this claim and realize that the cover is probably the "best" art featured in this issue. I usually like Joe Q's art, all the way back from his Ash and Azrael days at DC and even his more recent Daredevil work. But this ASM work is brutal. I do believe that his work as EiC at Marvel has made for too many rushed and sloppily penciled pages in this issue. Facial features and expressions, which usually require the most work, seem to be the biggest causes for concern, and an issue that features one splash page of Spider-man and short fight with Iron Man, this makes for a lot of "emotional" and talking head scenes that Quesada just did not do anywhere near a decent job at. For the amount of hype and prep time One More Day has had and the quality of Quesada's previous work, this issue appears rushed and sloppy and almost like it was phoned in. If he was going to do work like this, he should have assigned this job to a more suitable artist. Also, while not Quesada's fault, the narrative text boxes used for Peter in this issue were terrible. Maybe it is just my copy, but the text was practically illegible near the Spider-man eye piece in the corner of each box. The way it blended into the dark black outline of each white eye piece from the mask was distracting and hard to read for me and that just should not be the case with such a high profile book.
The actual story has been discussed to death and spoiled from preview issues last week, but for the uninformed, a quick summary is in order. The issue is basically about Peter being informed, yet again, that he does not have enough money for proper treatment of May. Peter seeks out Iron Man, blaming him for asking him to unmask to the world. Peter thinks it is Stark's fault and blames him. He basically breaks into Stark Tower and after a brief fight, whines to Tony, trying to convince him to pay for May's treatments. Tony understands where he is coming from, but refuses him, as it would be aiding and abetting a criminal and a direct contradiction of everything he has done for the Super Hero Registration Act. Later, Jarvis arrives at the hospital with a cheque for two million dollars and, posing as May's cousin, pays for May's treatments in Tony's stead. The issue ends with Peter leaving in search of someone from his group of friends that could help May, which based on previews will be Dr Strange, and the issue ends.
I really dislike JMS's attempts to show Peter's state of mind in this and his previous Back in Black issues. It really comes off as forced. It is natural to be angry or grief stricken when someone you love gets hurt or is dying. The way Peter is acting is way over the top and borderline psychotic. It was his decision to take off his mask. He only did it because May and Mary Jane literally convinced him to do it. Tony did not put a gun to his head. He did not out him to the press or coerce him into revealing his identity. Peter outright blames him for everything that has happened though when he has no one to blame for it but himself. Factor in that so many worse things have happened in Peter's life and that he has already "lost" May once before in ASM #400 and Peter should be prepared for her eventual death, as much as one can be, as she has lived a long and fulfilling life as it is. The fact he implies he will rob a bank or kidnap anyone he needs to get her treatment and his insistence that she is not dying when the doctor spells it out to him just seems like JMS is trying too hard to force this change in state of mind of Peter.
For the start of the so-called greatest Spider-man story ever, this issue failed to deliver anything that has not been seen in the last half a dozen issues of Amazing already. It really left me wondering what purpose this issue serves and what the goal of this storyline will eventually be. Finally, the extra price tag for such lackluster extras was the final nail in the coffin for this issue. Did we really need a dumbed down Wikipedia entry with some rehashed artwork at the end of this issue? Was anyone interested in Joe Q's pencils and inked versions of the phoned in artwork that accompanied this issue? Save me the extra money and use the time wasted on these "extras" and work on the actual stories for the next couple parts of this event.
The Incredible Hulk #110 by Pak & Pagulayan - World War Hulk keeps chugging along with this tie-in. We pick up where last issue left us with Cho confronted by an angry Hulk. Throughout this encounter, we see various attempts by Hulk to "kill" Cho that just barely miss their mark. Cho reveals to Hulk that he knows Hulk has never been responsible for any deaths and that Hulk can see the equations for everything much like Cho. Hulk uses this ability to prevent anyone from dying in his rampages and that is the reason he has never been responsible for killing anyone in all these years. In the end, Cho pushes Hulk to the limits of his anger, throwing out the insult that Hulk is responsible for all the deaths of his loved ones, including Caira, and Hulk apparently kills Cho before leaving. Upon digging through the rubble, Cho is found alive and confirms that Hulk could never kill anyone before the issue ends.
I really want to like this issue but I cannot, and depending on your stance on the Hulk does or does not kill debate, your opinion will vary. I personally cannot believe in a Hulk that does not kill or has not been responsible in any deaths in all the destruction he has caused. It makes absolutely no sense in my eyes. I see the character as tragic and the events of his life out of his control. He does not want to hurt anyone and will help people at times, like with his cousin, She-Hulk, who he subconsciously recognized and saved by bringing to the hospital all those years, but he is also a monster that is provoked by the military. The destruction caused has to lead to some kind of death. If there were no confirmed deaths by the Hulk in all these years, there is absolutely no way the US Army would still be chasing him. They never would have in the beginning. I do not want to see Hulk tearing people in half or eating civilians, but if a building is destroyed or an entire town wiped out, someone died. No way every single military personnel escaped from a tank or plane destroyed by Hulk. I can suspend my disbelief only so far and this is pushing it beyond my limits. Hell, evacuating all of New York, like in WWH, would lead to countless deaths. There are simply some people you cannot move from a hospital without killing, especially not in the limited time frame presented by the Hulk. Finding nearby and feasible hospitals to take all these critical patients would be a nightmare and literally impossible to do. These people had to have died due to the Hulk's actions. They are not talked about and never will be addressed, but to have Cho, the seventh smartest person on Earth ignoring these obvious issues comes off as laughable to me and completely contradicts his whole claim.
While this issue is good, I, personally, cannot accept the main crux of the story presented and it makes the issue ring hollow to me. If you can take this non-killing Hulk at face value, I am sure you will love this issue. I, however, cannot and we have to agree to disagree on the quality of this issue. The art was excellent and the story well done, but whether you like this issue or not will come down on whether you believe the Hulk does or does not kill.
Ms. Marvel #19 by Reed & Lopresti - Much like last issue, I enjoy most of the dialogue and character interactions, especially from Aaron Stack, of Nextwave fame, but Reed simply has been producing some lackluster storylines. The concepts are great, but the executions are not. I love the elite task squad she has put together. I really enjoy the proactive nature and Marvel's attempt to be the best super hero she can be, much like she was the 'Superman' archtype in the House of M universe. I feel many of these concepts are quite sound and well conceived, but Reed needs someone to plot these for him as they are all falling flat in my eyes.
This issue continues the Puppet Master storyline and has Stack, Sleepwalker and one of Ms Marvel's SHIELD personnel searching for clues in a Chile town while Ms Marvel is flying over the mountains looking for clues. While searching, Carol finds a large group of men sifting through dirt in the mountains with no tools. Upon inspection, they are collecting clay as if under hypnosis or mental control, and Ms Marvel beings to piece together the identity of our villain. At this time, Carol is attacked by Tigra, who appears to be under mind control, similar to the workers. After dealing with her, Marvel is attacked again by Silverclaw. Just as she is about to defeat her, she realizes Tigra had clawed her with a poisoned claw before she passes out.
Meanwhile, Machine Man and company are attacked by Anya, who was kidnapped last issue and is under Puppet Master's control, in town. Aaron is wearing the best disguise ever and has to be seen to appreciate it. It is basically just a big handle bar mustache and when questioned about his costume, he ridicules the others attempting to hide a white and Asian man with a robot in a town in Chile that typically has none of those. After subduing Anya, they realize she is under mystic control and prepare to go after her. The issue ends with Ms Marvel awakening to the Puppet Master. Before she can do anything, it is revealed he has made a new puppet of her and her eyes go blank like all the other puppets.
The real star of the issue was, again, Aaron Stack. I love his Nextwave persona, and while not as good as last issues interpretation, he is still quite hilarious here and definitely makes the issue worth while. Another good effort by Ms Marvel team. I recommend it simply for the Nextwave connection, but it is by no means a terrible book without it.
Comic Book of the Week
New Warriors #4 by Grevioux & Medina - Another good issue for this book. Lots of hints towards Night Thrashers identity and another New Warrior identity revealed combined with some excellent action makes for a great read.The issue begins with the cops that met with Night Thrasher last issue. They have both been shrunk down and, with the help of Hank Pym, returned to normal size. Pym reveals it was not done using Pym particles, but a derivative, similar to what Bill Foster used. I love how Pym reacts to this revelation and it is a real nice touch showing that he was actually upset with Bill's death in Civil War. There are clues to Thrasher's identity and implications it is tied to Wakanda and possibly Black Panther. After this brief scene, Tony Stark is shown dealing with political issues pertaining to the New Warriors and trying to convince Secretary Kooning not to overreact and use the Thunderbolts to take down these teenagers.
This leads into a training session at the New Warrior base where Night Thrasher single handedly defeats the entire team. While many are experienced combatants, they are all new to the powers they are using on this team. During this segment, we learn that Tempest is Angel, from Grant Morrison's New X-Men fame and Beak's girlfriend. She looks drastically different on this team and appears to have seen the same plastic surgeon as Jubilee, who is the big breasted Wondra on this team. After assigning double training sessions for the team, Night Thrasher has a meeting with Wondra. More clues to his identity, as he has intimate knowledge of the X-Men and Fantastic Four. He wants Wondra to be a better and stricter leader. Jubilee complains about his putting the team together and never being there to help before questioning his identity. Just as she realizes she might know who he is, they are interrupted by a newscast of a team of villains called The Zodiac, who I am unfamiliar with, attacking downtown. They have already defeated the Initiative Avengers and the New Warriors decide to put a stop to them.
The fight takes place near Sophie's, who has declined the New Warriors' invitation to join them, work place and the battle ends up destroying the coffee shop. The New Warriors arrive and appear to be doing quite well against The Zodiac until the very end of the issue, when it appears Longstrike is killed by Cancer of The Zodiac.
It was an incredibly unexpected ending to this issue, and if publicized, would be a real killer to any credibility the untrained teen heroes had been trying to build and quite possibly serve to prove Tony Stark right with the SHRA. I was unsure of whether I was going to be sticking with this book, as while it was a good book, it was not impressing me enough to stay on long term. This issue changed all that. Lots of mystery as to who Night Thrasher is, an excellent ending that left me wanting more and chomping at the bit to see the next issue and this issue really hit one out of the park. Highly recommended issue.
Uncanny X-Men #490 by Brubaker & Larroca - How can Brubaker write things that are so good, like Iron Fist, Criminal and Daredevil, and then write something so average at best like his current Uncanny run?This issue continues The Extremists arc and it is another lackluster issue in what is turning into a very sub par run on this book by Brubaker. This is the fourth part of the five part storyline and, so far, nothing has happened that could be classified as any kind of major plot thread. Supposedly, this storyline would see the return of Magneto, but as of this issue, he may or may not have made an appearance, as there is only a cameo of an older man in a purple trench coat and hat in this issue. I gather we are supposed to believe he is Magnus, but that is yet to be seen. The rest of the issue deals with Masque and his crew being pursued by Warpath and Hepzibah through the sewers. The duo are easily subdued by Masque's group and there is talk of prophecies predicting the outcome of the fight before it took place.
Meanwhile, Storm and company learn of the Morlock Qwerty and her ability to see the consequences of every action ever taken. Before M-Day, she dedicated herself to writing down all possible outcomes to prepare mutants for the future. Masque is using this knowledge in his quest for...well, we do not really know what he wants to be honest. He said he wanted to find Magneto in the opening issue of this arc, but nothing has been said of it since then and he has not really done anything that would really lead to his finding Magneto in my eyes. The issue ends with Masque's group destroying the Morlock sanctuary that Storm is currently located at. The Morlocks keep saying it is her destiny to witness their destruction and the last page has Storm trapped under the collapsed tunnel as the panels fade to black.
The art for this story arc has been very inconsistent as well. Many pages this issue have people, especially facially, looking quite odd. Theres a splash page with Storm featured that looks especially bad. I do not know if it is the colourists fault or if it is the art, but a lot of the images come off flat and, while not bad art, there is nothing to it either, as if there is no emotion or feeling to each image.
The Endangered Species back up is very similar to previous chapters. Beast searches Mutant Town with Bishop for someone that might have Mutant Growth Hormone, the designer drug that gives non-mutants the powers of whoever's tissue sample was used in the drug's creation. After finding out that the drugs from pre-M-Day are all inert, Beast lashes out at the drug dealer when he offers to buy some blood samples from him to create more MGH. Nothing new happens and, aside from the forced outburst by Beast, Endangered Species has yet to impress. Do not feel compelled to buy any X-titles for these backups.
Annihilation: Conquest Wraith #3 (of 4) by Grillo - Marxuach & Hotz - Another weak offering from easily the weakest Conquest mini-series. After his less than thrilling origin reveal last month, this issue builds a little upon that with a dream sequence with Wraith's father urging him to avenge his death. This seems to give Wraith the ability to break out of the Phalanx restraints and he quickly tears through all the Phalanx that have been holding him captive. After freeing Super Skrull and his female companion, Wraith teams up with them to escape the Phalanx base. The ease with which Wraith deals with any and all Phalanx makes his capture last issue a bit out of place. If he can do this much damage, even without his weapons, how in the heck could they have captured him in the first place? The whole deus ex machina aspect of his powers makes this character two dimensional and there is little to no drama or interest in this overpowered character. The only other major development this issue is the revelation that the Supreme Intelligence is still alive and being prepared as a psychic weapon to bring all the Kree under the Phalanx control. I dislike how they brought him back after Ronan killed him at the end up Annihilation when he took control of the Kree Empire. Hopefully this does not turn into a shock value "back from the dead" reversal. There is only one issue left, so I will be sticking around for the final part, but, unlike other Conquest books, do not feel compelled to pick up this book.
The Amazing Spider-Man #544 by Straczynski & Quesada - If I had a Worst Book of the Month heading, this one would beat out Countdown, as this is worse than any issue of Countdown.The first, and most immediate, concern is the atrocious art. Just look at the cover, especially his Peter at the bottom who looks like he is half way between a seizure and laughing, for some verification of this claim and realize that the cover is probably the "best" art featured in this issue. I usually like Joe Q's art, all the way back from his Ash and Azrael days at DC and even his more recent Daredevil work. But this ASM work is brutal. I do believe that his work as EiC at Marvel has made for too many rushed and sloppily penciled pages in this issue. Facial features and expressions, which usually require the most work, seem to be the biggest causes for concern, and an issue that features one splash page of Spider-man and short fight with Iron Man, this makes for a lot of "emotional" and talking head scenes that Quesada just did not do anywhere near a decent job at. For the amount of hype and prep time One More Day has had and the quality of Quesada's previous work, this issue appears rushed and sloppy and almost like it was phoned in. If he was going to do work like this, he should have assigned this job to a more suitable artist. Also, while not Quesada's fault, the narrative text boxes used for Peter in this issue were terrible. Maybe it is just my copy, but the text was practically illegible near the Spider-man eye piece in the corner of each box. The way it blended into the dark black outline of each white eye piece from the mask was distracting and hard to read for me and that just should not be the case with such a high profile book.
The actual story has been discussed to death and spoiled from preview issues last week, but for the uninformed, a quick summary is in order. The issue is basically about Peter being informed, yet again, that he does not have enough money for proper treatment of May. Peter seeks out Iron Man, blaming him for asking him to unmask to the world. Peter thinks it is Stark's fault and blames him. He basically breaks into Stark Tower and after a brief fight, whines to Tony, trying to convince him to pay for May's treatments. Tony understands where he is coming from, but refuses him, as it would be aiding and abetting a criminal and a direct contradiction of everything he has done for the Super Hero Registration Act. Later, Jarvis arrives at the hospital with a cheque for two million dollars and, posing as May's cousin, pays for May's treatments in Tony's stead. The issue ends with Peter leaving in search of someone from his group of friends that could help May, which based on previews will be Dr Strange, and the issue ends.
I really dislike JMS's attempts to show Peter's state of mind in this and his previous Back in Black issues. It really comes off as forced. It is natural to be angry or grief stricken when someone you love gets hurt or is dying. The way Peter is acting is way over the top and borderline psychotic. It was his decision to take off his mask. He only did it because May and Mary Jane literally convinced him to do it. Tony did not put a gun to his head. He did not out him to the press or coerce him into revealing his identity. Peter outright blames him for everything that has happened though when he has no one to blame for it but himself. Factor in that so many worse things have happened in Peter's life and that he has already "lost" May once before in ASM #400 and Peter should be prepared for her eventual death, as much as one can be, as she has lived a long and fulfilling life as it is. The fact he implies he will rob a bank or kidnap anyone he needs to get her treatment and his insistence that she is not dying when the doctor spells it out to him just seems like JMS is trying too hard to force this change in state of mind of Peter.
For the start of the so-called greatest Spider-man story ever, this issue failed to deliver anything that has not been seen in the last half a dozen issues of Amazing already. It really left me wondering what purpose this issue serves and what the goal of this storyline will eventually be. Finally, the extra price tag for such lackluster extras was the final nail in the coffin for this issue. Did we really need a dumbed down Wikipedia entry with some rehashed artwork at the end of this issue? Was anyone interested in Joe Q's pencils and inked versions of the phoned in artwork that accompanied this issue? Save me the extra money and use the time wasted on these "extras" and work on the actual stories for the next couple parts of this event.
The Incredible Hulk #110 by Pak & Pagulayan - World War Hulk keeps chugging along with this tie-in. We pick up where last issue left us with Cho confronted by an angry Hulk. Throughout this encounter, we see various attempts by Hulk to "kill" Cho that just barely miss their mark. Cho reveals to Hulk that he knows Hulk has never been responsible for any deaths and that Hulk can see the equations for everything much like Cho. Hulk uses this ability to prevent anyone from dying in his rampages and that is the reason he has never been responsible for killing anyone in all these years. In the end, Cho pushes Hulk to the limits of his anger, throwing out the insult that Hulk is responsible for all the deaths of his loved ones, including Caira, and Hulk apparently kills Cho before leaving. Upon digging through the rubble, Cho is found alive and confirms that Hulk could never kill anyone before the issue ends.I really want to like this issue but I cannot, and depending on your stance on the Hulk does or does not kill debate, your opinion will vary. I personally cannot believe in a Hulk that does not kill or has not been responsible in any deaths in all the destruction he has caused. It makes absolutely no sense in my eyes. I see the character as tragic and the events of his life out of his control. He does not want to hurt anyone and will help people at times, like with his cousin, She-Hulk, who he subconsciously recognized and saved by bringing to the hospital all those years, but he is also a monster that is provoked by the military. The destruction caused has to lead to some kind of death. If there were no confirmed deaths by the Hulk in all these years, there is absolutely no way the US Army would still be chasing him. They never would have in the beginning. I do not want to see Hulk tearing people in half or eating civilians, but if a building is destroyed or an entire town wiped out, someone died. No way every single military personnel escaped from a tank or plane destroyed by Hulk. I can suspend my disbelief only so far and this is pushing it beyond my limits. Hell, evacuating all of New York, like in WWH, would lead to countless deaths. There are simply some people you cannot move from a hospital without killing, especially not in the limited time frame presented by the Hulk. Finding nearby and feasible hospitals to take all these critical patients would be a nightmare and literally impossible to do. These people had to have died due to the Hulk's actions. They are not talked about and never will be addressed, but to have Cho, the seventh smartest person on Earth ignoring these obvious issues comes off as laughable to me and completely contradicts his whole claim.
While this issue is good, I, personally, cannot accept the main crux of the story presented and it makes the issue ring hollow to me. If you can take this non-killing Hulk at face value, I am sure you will love this issue. I, however, cannot and we have to agree to disagree on the quality of this issue. The art was excellent and the story well done, but whether you like this issue or not will come down on whether you believe the Hulk does or does not kill.
Ms. Marvel #19 by Reed & Lopresti - Much like last issue, I enjoy most of the dialogue and character interactions, especially from Aaron Stack, of Nextwave fame, but Reed simply has been producing some lackluster storylines. The concepts are great, but the executions are not. I love the elite task squad she has put together. I really enjoy the proactive nature and Marvel's attempt to be the best super hero she can be, much like she was the 'Superman' archtype in the House of M universe. I feel many of these concepts are quite sound and well conceived, but Reed needs someone to plot these for him as they are all falling flat in my eyes.This issue continues the Puppet Master storyline and has Stack, Sleepwalker and one of Ms Marvel's SHIELD personnel searching for clues in a Chile town while Ms Marvel is flying over the mountains looking for clues. While searching, Carol finds a large group of men sifting through dirt in the mountains with no tools. Upon inspection, they are collecting clay as if under hypnosis or mental control, and Ms Marvel beings to piece together the identity of our villain. At this time, Carol is attacked by Tigra, who appears to be under mind control, similar to the workers. After dealing with her, Marvel is attacked again by Silverclaw. Just as she is about to defeat her, she realizes Tigra had clawed her with a poisoned claw before she passes out.
Meanwhile, Machine Man and company are attacked by Anya, who was kidnapped last issue and is under Puppet Master's control, in town. Aaron is wearing the best disguise ever and has to be seen to appreciate it. It is basically just a big handle bar mustache and when questioned about his costume, he ridicules the others attempting to hide a white and Asian man with a robot in a town in Chile that typically has none of those. After subduing Anya, they realize she is under mystic control and prepare to go after her. The issue ends with Ms Marvel awakening to the Puppet Master. Before she can do anything, it is revealed he has made a new puppet of her and her eyes go blank like all the other puppets.
The real star of the issue was, again, Aaron Stack. I love his Nextwave persona, and while not as good as last issues interpretation, he is still quite hilarious here and definitely makes the issue worth while. Another good effort by Ms Marvel team. I recommend it simply for the Nextwave connection, but it is by no means a terrible book without it.
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3 comments:
Oh man, this blog is the hotness. High fives all around.
One More Day really was awful. If they're going to run what is barely an interesting story to begin with into the ground, they might as well do it with some finesse, but it's pretty clear that Marvel's just pumping this shit out to pull down cash. It's really, really too bad, since I was beginning to think that ASM was getting better.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the kind words. Always appreciated.
As for One More Day, I think I might have enjoyed it more if it had not been hyped to the high heavens and they had not told the exact same story for the past six months in Back in Black. It feels like they have been beating a dead horse for the last few months and this supposedly huge, life changing event that is OMD fell completely flat.
That said, I am actually more pumped for Brand New Day and Spider-Man than I have been in years. I literally cannot wait for Slott and McNiven's run. Slott is one of my favourite writers and I think he has the style and ability to be a perfect fit on Spider-Man. Check out his Free Comic Book Day Swingshift one-shot if you or anyone is interested in seeing what could be a preview of what BND has to offer the Spider-verse.
I feel like it'll take a lot to pull Spidey out of the abyss that Civil War thrust him into. We'll see, though.
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