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Snapshots for 1/12/05
There's no way that Don and I can cover all of the material we have for review in full reviews, so these capsule reviews will offer some brief comments on other recent releases.
AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES #5
by Joe Casey & Scott Kolins (Marvel Comics)
 I've been slowly warming up to Casey's take on the Avengers throughout this series, and this marks the strongest issue so far. It might just be my own personal leanings, since my favorite Avenger shows up for a fun action sequence and some good interaction with Jarvis, but I also think it's because I've finally twigged to what Casey is doing, moving the timeline forward in jumps while trying to maintain a bit of story continuity in the form of governmental troubles and Cap's adjustment worries. Neither of these story hooks are ones that I like much, and I continue to be annoyed at the Ultimates-like characterization of Thor and Iron Man, but there are so many good moments in this issue it's hard not to forgive the flaws. The sense of a more organic transition from the original team to "Cap's Kooky Quartet" that can be seen in this issue, the discussion of gods and science between Thor and Hank Pym, the brutal moment when the team faces a dire threat to one of their own and the insight into Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch's post-Magneto life are all interesting moments, and they move the story from "interesting, but not my cup of tea" to "more than likely to pick up a trade" for me. Of course, while Casey's writing is slowly earning my affection, Scott Kolins and his colorists (in this case Wil Quintana) have done it since issue one, and the super-detailed yet crystal clear style of the art is probably some of the best that we'll see on the stands in 2005. 8/10
THE DARKNESS/SUPERMAN #1
by Ron Marz, Tyler Kirkham & Matt Banning (DC Comics/Image Comics)
 I've got zero love for The Darkness, so the notion of teaming him up with Superman doesn't have any intrinsic interest to me, but I can't deny that Ron Marz introduces some neat moments into this mixing of DC's big hero and Top Cow's big anti-hero. Marz wisely pits the two against each other rather than teaming them up, and the closest the two come to a shared moment is when Estacado tries to make a slippery moral, typical mob guy argument to Superman along the lines of organized crime not targeting innocents being better than organized crime that does. Marz also introduces Metallo into the mix as an employee of the Metropolis crime boss threatened by Estacado's incursion on his turf, which is a neat idea. Unfortunately, though there are a couple of neat ideas, the overall writing character on the Metropolis contingent is pretty mediocre. Marz has Metallo calling out "Good lord!" right after he's established his unflappable cool, and plays Clark Kent as the '70s bumbling doofus rather than the more modern, intelligent incarnation, and in general the Superman half of the book comes off as pretty average. With Top Cow standard style artwork by Kirkman and Banning and the Darkness characters pretty much on target, this is probably a good read for Darkness fans, but very much not aimed at those like me with a casual antipathy toward the character at best. 4/10
JSA #69
by Geoff Johns, Don Kramer & Keith Champagne (DC Comics)
 The second issue of the "JSA/JSA" story introduces us to the post-dissolution stories of several JSA members, and they're all interesting enough that I'd like to know more. In fact, the glimpses of this 1951 JSA has me wishing for Johns to do some kind of miniseries or something set in the era, because clearly he knows how to write the characters in this element, and it's an interesting tweak of their World War II days to see what they got up to after the war. More interesting, however, is seeing these heroes interact directly with the heroes who inspired them. Courtney's run-in with Ted Knight is a terrific extrapolation of James Robinson's revelation about Knight's post-war days, the Atom's difficulty reconciling his talents with what he really wants out of life should provide an interesting catalyst for Atom-Smasher, while on the flipside, Sand's encounter with Sandman may provide help to his mentor. Don Kramer and Keith Champagne provide excellent artwork, and there are a lot of story threads introduced by Johns without the book ever feeling overburdened. I haven't been so onboard this book since the terrific "Black Reign" story. 9/10
MAJESTIC #1
by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Neil Googe & Trevor Scott (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
 My general thought is that Majestic, a Superman clone, is superfluous and doesn't need an ongoing series, but at least this returns him to the Wildstorm universe rather than the DC Universe where he is really superfluous. The previous Majestic series by Joe Casey, Brian Holguin and Ed McGuinness got it right, mixing the larger-than-life tones of Silver Age DC and post-Ellis Wildstorm for some wild and fun ideas, and Abnett and Lanning are striking off in that direction as well, as Majestic returns to find everyone (everyone!) kidnapped by aliens, and by plot contrivance, needs to rescue the world all by himself. It's a bit long in terms of setup, and I'd ratheer that Abnett and Lanning had disposed of the Superman universe within the first couple of pages, but the energy and the scale of the stories is about right. Perhaps more importantly, Neil Googe, Trevor Scott and colorist Carrie Strachan really impress, especially with the shots of Majestic's empty world. Super-detailed and reminiscent in all the right ways of the work of Scott Kolins in backgrounds, although the characters and the action are more hardline and defined, closer to a mix of styles between Majestic forebears McGuinness and Jim Lee. Great artwork and a promising plot means that I have more interest in Majestic than I previously would have thought, although I still remain unconvinced that we need a Superman knock-off ongoing, no matter where it's set. 7/10
MARVEL TEAM-UP #4
by Robert Kirkman & Scott Kolins (Marvel Comics)
 I was pretty disappointed in Marvel Team-Up #1, and while the later issues haven't entirely won me over, I am warming to Kirkman's multi-character, multi-plot style. I also have a soft spot for alternative dimensions, so I'm digging one of the main bad guys as well. The biggest problem with the book comes from the concept, as the characters sort of come and go in fairly contrived or overly coincidental fashion (the Hulk's appearance, in particular, is random and out of nowhere), but if you can get past that sort of contrivance, the storytelling itself is pure superhero fun. On top of that, the artwork is just gorgeous, as Kolins and Studio F give us cool versions of Dr. Strange, Dr. Doom (sort of, and a cool design tweak) and a pretty spectacular Hulk. The story kind of meanders a bit, not unlike the style that Kirkman has applied to Invincible, but there are so many neat superhero ideas with a touch of old school flavor it's hard not to have a little fun with the ride. I'd like to see more obscure characters in less cameo roles rather than having, say, Nova or Moon Knight as basically a background detail on one panel while the issue is given over to characters with two or more of their own books, but at least Kirkman is starting to give the idea that all the characters in the Marvel Universe co-exist once again, rather than being divided into editorial groups. 7/10
NEW THUNDERBOLTS #4
by Fabian Nicieza, Tom Grummett & Gary Erskine (Marvel Comics)
 There was a time when Wolverine or Ghost Rider guest-starred in a book and sales spiked and fans were happy. That time is not now, as yet another Wolverine appearance now makes a lot of us groan, and I'm definitely in that camp. Wolverine's role in this story feels very much like a sales stunt rather than an organic outgrowth of the story, and it's annoying. Not as annoying as Purple Man narrating the issue and making clear that he's aware that he's in a comic, a mildly OK idea for Alias but one that I really hate to see making a return appearance, but annoying nonetheless. However, Nicieza has a really interesting take on the Radioactive Man, and I also like that these new Thunderbolts aren't as interested in redemption just yet, but are still acting like supervillains when off the job. I am also legitimately curious about who this new Swordsman is (I'm guessing it is not in fact Hawkeye, but that is a red herring), but the whole thing does feel a little too similar to the Citizen V/Zemo showdown and resulting identity mystery Nicieza did back in the original Thunderbolts in some regard. Thus far, I'm finding New Thunderbolts very readable, but only compelling on an every-other-issue basis, and hopefully that batting average will go up as the series goes on. 6/10
THE PULSE #7
by Brian Michael Bendis & Brent Anderson (Marvel Comics)
 Early on in The Pulse, Jessica Jones had gotten over some of her self-esteem issues, started a serious relationship with Luke Cage and gotten a new job at The Daily Bugle. Then along comes this issue tying into MIA miniseries Secret War, and she has turned into something out of a bad Jerry Springer episode. "The guv'ment took mah baby's daddy! I'm losin' it!" Does she show any of the investigative ability that made her an interesting protagonist in Alias? Nope, that's left to Ben Urich. What's worse is that the plot is pretty flimsy, based entirely on the notion of looking at a crossover from the point-of-view of someone who's not in it, and with the readers as clueless about Secret War as Jessica is (thanks to the phenomenally late shipping of that series), the effect is that we're just as confused as she is about the whole thing. There are some cute moments, like the one where a nurse discovers her car in a tree after super-powered activity has struck and she lashes out at Jessica, but for the most part, this has the same sort of self-indulgent and slow-moving feel as so much of Bendis's work at Marvel of late. With the point-of-view and Brent Anderson on artwork, this looks in broad strokes like Astro City set in the Marvel Universe, but it's missing the sense of wonder, and that's key to making this kind of thing work. 4/10
STAR WARS: OBSESSION #2
by Haden Blackman & Brian Ching (Dark Horse Comics)
 The focus in Star Wars: Obsession is on action, rather than on the political maneuvering and Jedi ethical dilemmas of Republic, and both are perfectly valid takes on the Star Wars universe. Oddly, though Obsession focuses on characters I don't find all that interesting (Obi-Wan, Anakin and Boba Fett wannabe Durge), I'm finding it quite readable, probably due to some well-choreographed action from Blackman and Ching and a compelling enough mystery about whether or not Obi-Wan will find Asajj Ventress. It does read like something much more tied into the prequel films, what with featuring some of the main characters, which is a weakness if you hated the prequels (as I did) but which also has the effect of making it feel more "canonical" than Republic, and thus closer to being a Star Wars comic and less like a well-structured science-fiction story like Republic. Honestly, my interest still lies more with Republic, but Blackman and Ching have taken the uninspired creations of Lucas and company and delivered a pretty fast-paced action story that is well worth reading for any Star Wars fan. 7/10
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