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Secret Invasion: Dark Reign #1 [Review]

Posted on December 21, 2008 by Walt

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist and Cover: Alex Maleev
Color Artist: Dean White
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Production: Joe Sabino
Assoc. Editor: Jeanine Schaefer
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

A week late and a dollar short…that about describes this.

Picking up where Secret Invasion #8 left off, this issue follows the “dark Illuminati”–a group of fairly villanous Marvel characters that serves here as a counterpart to the Illuminati group revealed in the “Road to Civil War” era. We see what Norman is willing to offer these individuals, and for what price, as well as some of their initial reactions to the offer and what they could do with it.

The story isn’t too bad–for what it is. What it is isn’t all that much–basicaly just a wordier description with pictures of the “premise” behind this whole “Dark Reign” thing kicking off (a sentence about what brings each character to the table would suffice).

The art is fairly stylistic–not something I’d consider terribly realistic, though it is by no means bad. It’s got a gritty feel to it that seems out of place for characters I’d consider to not be part of a “gritty” story. On the whole, though, you could get a lot worse. The main weakness is that Namor doesn’t look like Namor–he looks to me like some drunken, unshaven guy off the street put in Namor’s clothes.

As a whole, this issue is almost entirely uninteresting. I was only slightly curious as to what details might be provided heading into Marvel’s Dark Reign event, and enjoyed Bendis when I read Ultimate Spider-Man, so was thinking a “talking heads issue” given the context would actually hold me interest and feel like a good story. This felt quite short…only 26 pages of story, plus NINE pages of “previews” for three other titles.

This was NOT worth its cover price to me–better to have paid $2.99 for the main story and have NO previews. Hardcore Marvel fans and those actually enjoying the overall direction the Marvel Universe has been taking will probably enjoy this, especially if picking up a bunch of titles from across the Avengers/X-Men families of books. If you’re a casual fan or not chomping at the bit for stuff following that last page of Secret Invasion, don’t bother with this issue. The previews and price actually detract from the overall experience of the issue for me, hence the final rating falling below the story/art ratings.

Story: 6/10
Art: 6/10
Whole: 5.5/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2008, MARVEL, Marvel Universe, Secret Invasion, Secret Invasion (Event), Secret Invasion: Dark Reign | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

What If..? Fallen Son #1 [Review]

Posted on December 14, 2008 by Walt

What If? Fallen Son: What If… Iron Man Had Died?

Writers: Marc Sumerak
Artist: Trevor Goring
Colorist: Elizabeth Breitweiser
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Production: Joe Sabino
Assistant Editor: Jordan D. White
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Cover: Ed McGuinness
Publisher: Marvel Comics

This issue derives its story from the intent of answering the question “What if Iron Man had died [instead of Captain America]?” Opening with a recap of events we already know–the heroes’ Civil War, Captain America’s surrender, the bullets on the courthouse stairs–we see the outcome of the trial and where events could have gone had Cap not been assassinated. It is then that Tony Stark falls to events also tied back to the heroes’ war, and we see the world deal with Stark’s death, with snippets we get to check in on tied to the stages of grief. Without Stark to keep things moving as he’d tried, we see that certain more recent events are likely to have played out much differently.

While an interesting concept, I found this issue to be rather weak. I don’t know if that is the writing, or simply the amount of space to play with. We lose several pages to moving events forward without Cap’s death to get to Tony’s…and THEN cram in elements to tie to each of the grief stages, which makes things feel rather forced. Additionally, it seems that one ought to be up to date on subsequent Marvel events to fully appreciate certain moments here to fully appreciate the depth of this story’s events.

The art’s not bad, though not wonderful; it does the job and fits the story.

In addition to the main story, we’re treated to a brief story segment detailing the answer to the question “What if the Runaways became the Young Avengers?” (Written by C.B. Cebulski, Penciled by Patrick Spaziante, Inks by Victor Olazaba, Colors by John Rauch, Letters by Jeff Powell, Production by Joe Sabino, Assistant Editor Michael Horwitz, Associate Editor Chris Allo and Editor Justin Gabrie)

This is a four-page story segment; I don’t have the context nor the interest in it, and would have preferred the few extra pages to have been available to the main story. The art here is not bad, but the story seems a complete waste without having the earlier chapter and not having (nor intending to get) the later chapters. If this story is really worth telling, it should have gotten its own issue and not simply be broken across however many of the What If? issues we have this year.

For me, this issue was a real disappointment, only really redeemed by the fact that against general trend, it is a mere $2.99 cover price, so at least I didn’t waste my money on the new “in” price of $3.99.

Story: 5/10
Art: 6/10
Whole: 5.5/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2008, MARVEL, Marvel Universe, What If? | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Captain America #44 [Review]

Posted on November 28, 2008 by Walt

Time’s Arrow – Part 2 of 3

Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Luke Ross
Inkers: Fabio Laguna & Rick Kagyar
Colors: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Production Joe Sabino
Assoc. Editor: Jeanine Schaefer
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover: Steve Epting
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Bucky (Captain America, really) and Black Widow decide to split up to tackle their “problem” from two different angles–each taking the angle their strengths play to. While “Captain America” might get some results, Bucky is able to fall back on his reputation as the “Winter Soldier” to get answers, and eventually get his rematch with Batroc…and then face a figure from his past.

I’m not terribly familiar with Luke Ross–by name–in terms of prior work; but what we have in this issue, I really like. There’s a very realistic feel that lends something extra to the story. Though this plays in a world with super-spies and super-heroes, it feels like it takes place in a real world much moreso than a comic book world.

Brubaker continues to provide a strong story that goes beyond “simple” super-hero vs. bad guy, and exploring the world he’s crafted with Captain America now as a “legacy character.”

Despite this, I find myself checking out a bit. There was a certain excitement and interest locked up in the epic The Death of Captain America, and now that that story is behind and there’s no imminent sign of Steve Rogers returning, I feel like we have a new status quo that is interesting conceptually, but more well-suited for collected volumes. Barring learning something particularly engaging about the next story, I’ll likely finish out this arc, then let this title go for a bit, and possibly just wait for a collected volume of the next arc.

On the whole, definitely a solid issue of the title, and well worth getting if you’re interested in seeing the new Captain America in action, with the status quo left by the end of the aforementioned epic. This is, after all, the first “original” story OF the new Cap.

Especially if you can find the previous issue, this is well worth picking up–this is part 2 of just a 3-part story (a nice break from the 6-issue “acts” of an 18-issue epic).

Story: 8.5/10
Art: 9/10
Whole: 8.5/10

Filed under: Captain America, Comic Reviews 2008, MARVEL, Marvel Universe | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

X-Men: Legacy #218 [Review]

Posted on November 23, 2008 by Walt

Original Sin part four

Writer: Mike Carey
Penciller: Scott Eaton
Inker: Andrew Hennessy
Colorists: Jason Keith with Brian Reber
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Production: Joe Sabino
Assistant Editor: Daniel Ketchum
Editor: Nick Lowe
Cover: Mike Deodato
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Wolverine and Professor Xavier infiltrate the place Daken is being held, and a battle erupts between them and Sebastian Shaw with Miss Sinister…Daken caught in the middle.

The story is at once simple and somewhat boring. I don’t care about Daken, I knew nothing of the character prior to this Original Sin story. I do not like the way Marvel (in general) seems to be shoehorning so much crap into the past of their characters, casting a 180 on how they were viewed for the last three to four decades.

It’s fairly interesting seeing Wolverine and Xavier interact–I have long enjoyed their dynamic, as Wolverine struggles to be his own person, and almost grudgingly respects the professor–the man who helped him reclaim his humanity. This story suggests that a certain amount of Wolverine’s memory loss was actually caused by Xavier himself all those years ago–that Wolverine joined the X-Men intent upon killing Xavier, and I just don’t buy that. I have never found the Hellfire Club interesting, nor do I care one bit about their internal political maneuvering…I just don’t find it engaging at all.

The art of the issue is the best part–it’s pretty good, and I actually like the way Xavier and Wolverine are depicted. No real complaint visually…or at least, any visual complaint would have to do (Daken) with a story element I disagree with.

You could probably do much worse than this issue…but if you’re not interested in Daken-Son-of-Wolverine, and you’re not already following this Original Sin story, you’re just as well skipping this issue and coming back when X-Men Legacy is its own story again.

Story: 6/10
Art: 8/10
Whole: 7/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2008, MARVEL, X-Men: Legacy | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

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