DEFENDERS #8
"Day of the Great Ones"
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writers: Kurt Busiek & Erik Larsen
Pencils: Ron Frenz
Inks: Al Vey
Colors: Tom Smith & Color Art
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Though I take issue with the notion that it's the worst comic ever published, my disinterest in Defenders persists. Busiek and Larsen's collective mindset is entrenched firmly in the Silver Age, which can be okay at times. Busiek has proven there's plenty of potential in Silver Age concepts in Astro City, but he looks at those ideas with a more modern, mature eye in that book. That intelligence is lacking from Defenders, though this issue does provide some laughs in the form of the Hulk's dialogue.
Dr. Strange, Namor and the Hulk are in search of the Silver Surfer in deep space so they can break the curse that links them. Instead, they find themselves amid a conflict between the Toad-Men (old enemies of the Hulk) and the evolutionarily advanced Kree. The latter alien race has a new weapon that makes them unstoppable, a weapon that can even stop the most powerful members of the Defenders in their tracks.
For a retro comic like this, it's fitting that Ron Frenz has come on board as an artist. His style -- heavily influenced by the works of Jack Kirby and, to a lesser extent, Defenders v.1 artist Sal Buscema -- suits the tone of the book quite well. Mind you, that tone is rather... ordinary. There are no visuals here that really grab me.
When Larsen and Busiek selected only the dumb Hulk to hang out with the Defenders, I was disappointed. Now, I have to admit, it was a smart choice. He brings a great deal of comic relief to an otherwise stuffy book. Seeing Namor and Strange manipulate his one-track mind was a lot of fun, and his child-like, simple demeanor is much needed given the nature of his co-stars.
The Silver Age riffs and simple super-heroics aren't the only thing that puts me off in this book. Strange, Namor and the Surfer are all thoroughly inhuman characters. They speak in overly purple prose and fail to draw the reader into their lives.
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