[19] [JULY 20 2010]
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Hey, everyone! For those reading In Case You Missed It for the first time, I cover the best and worst of what's on my personal pull list from last Wednesday’s new releases. Some of them get the full treatment and the rest get shorter, quicker coverage. In addition to the latest comics, I discuss the buzz-worthy comic related news, pick my favorite cover for that week, and even provide the occasional movie/DVD review. This week I have two one-shots, a new mini-series, and an outstanding Heroic Age Avenger book.
Let’s get started!… [WHAT I'M DIGGING THIS WEEK]:-- Highlights of this week’s books on my pull list -- [Avengers Academy #2] –
Christos Gage and
Mike McKone continue their story of the six superpowered individuals that have gone under the care of Hank Pym, Tigra, Justice, and Quicksilver. Last issue, these teenagers found out that their mentors think they are a strong risk to become supervillains, but keep this information to themselves. This particular issue focuses on furthering the story from Finesse’s point of view, as the opener did with Veil. It is a tried and true way to open an arc with a new team and new members, and
Gage has had a lot of success with it. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he plans to use the staff just as much as the students, effectively doubling the bang for the reader buck as they all have played prominent roles through the first two issues and will probably continue for the forseeable future. They are damaged goods themselves, and it is just as much about their redemption as anything.
The story was even more enjoyable than the debut, and a big part of that is because Finesse is a much more morally ambiguous character, and the fact that she has trouble with “normal” despite her smarts and skills was a nice route to take the character. She’s a manipulator and it was fun to see her playing a bit of an innocent cat and mouse game with the staff, before being front and center for fairly stunning last page revelation. I also liked that the writer didn’t shy away from her similar powerset to the Taskmaster, and instead confronted that head-on.
Mike McKone’s art always worked best for younger people, and I think he’s finally found a book that has the same kind of magic he shared with
Geoff Johns on their early
Teen Titans work. He crams a lot of story into his panels with a bloated cast, and it maintains a clean, consistent, and action packed look throughout the issue. I wasn’t expect this to be bad when it was solicited, but this has ended up being my favorite Avenger title at the moment. If you’ve let this one slip through your fingers….I strongly recommend catching up on some of the better work
Christo Gage has written in a while.
...
[GRADE= A]----------------------------
[WHAT I'M NOT DIGGING THIS WEEK]:-- The biggest disappointment from my pull list this week -- [X-Men Origins: Deadpool One-Shot] – I was definitely curious about this title going in, because as most Deadpool fans know, Wade’s origins are more than a little screwy.
Duane Swierczynski, besides having the longest last name in comics, instead gives us bits and pieces of things we seen before, and a couple things we didn’t know….but ultimately pussyfoots around putting any definitive stamp of authenticity of this recollection of events. In the story, Wade decides to holds directors at gun point, looking to make a major motion picture, explaining his life to the masses. It starts off pretty funny, but the writer loses sight of the comedy as soon some drama starts to come into the picture, a travesty considering who’s he’s dealing with here. There’s a lot more panel time that either isn’t funny or is decent rather than a laugh out loud reading experience that should accompany a book with Deadpool on the cover. Also, despite a VERY good conclusion, the parts that lead up to him meeting that person were just plain odd and out of character, and made me wonder why
Swierczynski used the movie angle to begin with…
The art was pretty sound, though. The pencils were provided by
Leandro Fernandez and he showcased the right skills for a story like this, using comedy, gore, action, and a strong sense of storytelling emotion. He mixed his panel layouts well, and has a consistent look for Deadpool all issues…something harder than it sounds. Overall though….its a less than decent waste of time. I suppose it does work as a rough edges version of Deadpool’s life, but it failed to capitalize on a chance to both expand on Wade’s past, and make it the official origin of the clusterfuck that is Wade Wilson, Deadpool......
[GRADE= C-]----------------------------
[DEBUT OF THE WEEK]— The last week’s best new #1-- [X-Force: Sex and Violence #1] – With the announcement that
X-Force is being reworked by a new creative team in the coming months, this mini-series gives writers
Craig Kyle and
Christopher Yost a chance to explore these characters for maybe the last time, and were joined by painter/artist
Gabriele Dell’Otto. It appears Domino is a world of trouble after a previous run-in with the Assassin’s Guild, and when a warning alerts Logan and Elixir of her problems, they decide to get involved on her behalf.
Kyle and Yost do a great job starting this entertaining romp off by briskly setting up the story, and then getting aside as the action takes over. The character interaction was strong, and the dialogue is consistent with the team’s portrayals in the past. Domino’s gets a chance to breath more than in the team title, and benefits from the added focus, and her moral lines make for a lot of intrigue at the issue’s end. The tone is a bit less serious than the team title, and the absence of an sort of event look was definitely refreshing.
For a book that has “Sex” in the title, there’s absolutely none inside the cover, but violence is definitely represented.
Dell’Otto has been away from interior work way too long, something this issue made apparent. His painted, metallic looking work is a stylish match for a team like
X-Force, and the ease and beauty with which he portrays visceral, unforgivable action is the highlight of the book. The way he shows Domino handling herself in a gunfight was spectacular and you can tell he has been improving his craft, as I had a much easier time understanding the busier panels than I did with
Secret War, his last significant interior work. As a whole, this was a surprising highlight this week, and a book I’m looking forward to now in August......
[GRADE= B]----------------------------
[SHORT AND SWEET]-- Brief looks at more of the week‘s titles -- [Invincible Iron Man #28] – Iron Man and War Machine head off to Tokyo, the site of a recent bombing, only to find the Justine Hammer and Detriot Steel already on the scene.
Matt Fraction continues to plot this story as a slower pace, but has three or four different sub-plots going, something he’s done often with this series. I found just about every aspect of the story enjoyable and rewarding in its own way, whether it be the mystery that surrounds the Hammer granddaughter, or the meeting of the minds at Stark Resilient, and everything in between. The dialogue and characterization are as sharp as ever, and the air of fresh thinking that surrounds Tony Stark has complemented
The Heroic Age quite well.
Salvador Larocca plugs away for another issue, as I continue to be impressed that this creative team hasn’t changed once over the course of the title’s 28 issues. His work has a cinematic appeal to it, both with the way he portrays the characters and with the widescreen panel layouts he uses so much. It’s a formula that’s worked for well over two years, and the book still feels as vibrant and fun as it was when it first debuted. Another impressive outing here…..
[GRADE= B+][Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age #1] –The other title in this week’s Short and Sweet is another title written by
Matt Fraction, this time accompanied by artists
Whice Portacio,
Steve Sanders, and
Jamie McKelvie.
Portacio handles the Cyclops-centered part of the story, as he is met by Steve Rogers in the Savage Land where they discuss the future of the X-Men in this “new world” they inhabit. It seems to set up a lot of things to come in
Uncanny X-Men and it was a nice moment of reverence on Cyclops’ end, who is a leader himself but clearly idolizes Captain America as much as everyone else.
Steve Sanders worked with
Fraction on the Beast story, and the lighter, brighter artwork matched the script well. The slightly more comedic look was a vehicle into Hank McCoy’s feelings, and a meeting with Molly Sanders of the Runaways was a smart way to explain things to the reader. Finally, the Hope story was handled by
McKelvie with
Fraction, and the expressive nature of his work was also a great match for that part of the book, considering that most of it was talking heads. There’s a nice moment between Franklin and Hope, and most of it worked as a look-in to the way Hope feels coming out of
Second Coming. Overall, despite slight differences in style, all of the art flowed well together, and this made for solid one-shot. .
[GRADE= B]----------------------------
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That’s it for me! Come back next week for more In Case You Missed It. As usual, you can post your thoughts below and you can also reach me at my email at ben.lehnsherr@the-ush.com. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/UndeadAvenger.. Thanks for reading!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
