#IReadsYou Review: THE ETERNALS #1

THE ETERNALS #1 (2021)
MARVEL COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Kieron Gillen
ART: Esad Ribić
COLORS: Matthew Wilson
LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Darren Shan
COVER ARTIST: Esad Ribic
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jen Bartel; Russell Dauterman with Matthew Wilson; Arthur Adams with Jason Keith; Alan Davis with Nolan Woodard; Mike Del Mundo; Inhyuk Lee; Peach Momoko; Jenny Frison; Rian Gonzales; Greg Land with Frank D'armata; Leinil Franics Yu with Sunny Gho; Otto Schmidt; Takeshi Okazaki with Edgar Delgado; Khary Randolph with Emilio Lopez
[The following artists are not credited as variant cover artists in the comic book, but Diamond Comics Distributors is offering issues with their cover art for sale: Alex Ross; Mahmud Asrar; Dave Johnson; Frank Cho; Jeff Johnson; J. Scott Campbell; Todd Nauck; Dan Panosian; Joe Quesada; Ron Lim; Walter Simonson; Superlog; Skottie Young]
32pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (Jan. 6, 2021)

The Eternals created by Jack Kirby

“Only Death is Eternal,” Part 1

The Eternals are a race of humanoids in the Marvel Comics universe.  They were created by legendary writer-artist and comics creator, Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The Eternals #1 (cover dated: July 1976).  The Eternals are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth.  They were created by the immensely powerful alien race, the Celestials, along with the Eternals' destructive counterparts, the Deviants.

The Eternals first comic book series ran for 19 issues from 1976 to 1977, with issue #19 having a January 1978 cover date.  In addition to Jack Kirby's original series, there have been miniseries starring The Eternals in 1985-86, 2006-07, and 2008-09.  In the 2018-launched Avengers comic book series (written by Jason Aaron), the Eternals discovered that their creators, the Celestials, preferred humans over them, which lead to the mass suicide and death of the Eternals (as seen in the Avengers story arc, “The Final Host”).

Now, the Eternals return in a new comic book series.  The Eternals (2021) is written by Kieron Gillen; drawn by Esad Ribić; colored by Matthew Wilson; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.  In the new series, the Eternals face something new to them – change.

The Eternals #1 opens in “the Exclusion,” one of a system of sub-dimensional threads in “The Machine” (apparently the Earth-side system by which the Eternals teleport).  The Machine also narrates the story, which opens with the resurrection of Ikaris, the last Eternal to die.  However, the “Eternal Prime,” Zuras, has a surprise for the ever-direct Ikaris.  Ikaris must awaken and take charge of Sprite, the murderous prankster Eternal.

Arriving in New York, Ikaris and Sprite meet Iron Man.  Then, it is time to do their job, protect humans from “the Deviants,” especially those that become monsters.  While the mismatched duo is away, however, new death in a familiar guise comes for the Eternals.

THE LOWDOWN:  I recently read the original The Eternals #1, from 1976, which was written and drawn by series creator Jack Kirby.  I did this in preparation for the new series and for the (eventually) upcoming film, The Eternals, from Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios.

First, let me speak to the beauty of The Eternals 2021.  I first discovered artist Esad Ribic when he drew the final two issues of the X-Men miniseries, X-Men: Children of the Atom (1999-2000), that was begun by writer Joe Casey and artist Steve Rude.  I was not crazy about Ribic's art in that series, but it was clear to me that this artist had huge potential as a comic book illustrator.

I must say that he has developed way beyond what I expected.  Here, Ribic's beautiful illustrations and Matthew Wilson's supernatural coloring combine to create gorgeous art that recalls the work of the late master, Moebius.  The graphical storytelling reads and feels like superhero comics as real science fiction comics.

Kieron Gillen's story is intriguing and the script is straightforward and clean.  His dialogue and The Machine's exposition made it easy for me to follow the story, setting, and plot/concept.  Gillen is going to make me spend some money on this comic book series.  So, if you don't want to spend more money on comics, dear readers, avoid The Eternals #1 2021.  If you are just looking for a really good first issue, spend it on this one … which has a killer last story page.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the Eternals and of good Marvel comic books will want The Eternals 2021.

9 out of 10

[This comic book includes a one-page tribute to former Marvel Comics publisher, Mike Hobson, who died in November 2020.]

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: FALLEN ANGELS #1

FALLEN ANGELS #1 (2020)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Bryan Hill
ART: Szymon Kudranski
COLORS: Frank D'Armata
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
EDITOR: Jordan D. White
EiC: Akria Yoshida a.k.a. “C.B. Cebulski”
COVER: Ashley Witter
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Mark Bagley and John Dell with Israel Silva; Gabriele Dell'Otto; Greg Land with Frank D'Armata; Pepe Larraz with David Curiel; Rob Liefeld with Romul Fajardo, Jr.; and Tom Muller
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (January 2020)

Rated T+

The X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; Fallen Angels created by Jo Duffy and Kerry Gammill

“Bushido”

The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team and franchise created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Jack Kirby.  The X-Men #1 (cover dated: September 1963) introduced readers to a professor and his students who had unique powers and abilities because they were “mutants.”

One of the X-Men spin-off titles was Fallen Angels.  Created by writer Jo Duffy and artist Kerry Gammill, Fallen Angels was more accurately a spin-off of the X-Men spin-off, The New Mutants.  The Fallen Angels was a team that featured two New Mutants, Sunspot and Warlock, and Boom-Boom of X-Factor.  The team's only appearance was in the eight-issue miniseries, Fallen Angels (cover dated:  April to November 1987).

This past summer (2019), writer Jonathan Hickman revamped, rebooted, and re-imagined the X-Men comic book franchise via a pair of six-issue comic book miniseries, House of X and Powers of X (pronounced “Powers of Ten”).  October 2019 welcomed “Dawn of X,” the launch of six new X-Men titles.  The new series are Excalibur, Marauders, New Mutants, X-Force, X-Men, and the subject of this review, Fallen Angels.

Fallen Angels 2020 is written by Bryan Hill; drawn by Szymon Kudranski; colored by Frank D'Armata, and lettered by Joe Sabino.  Fallen Angels focuses on the outsiders of Krakoa, mutants who don't belong in paradise because of their anti-heroic pasts.

Fallen Angels #1 (“Bushido”) opens as Kwannon does something bad.  Meanwhile, on Krakoa, the living island and mutant nation-state, Psylocke is in a state of meditation, in this new world of “Mutantkind,” unsure of her place in it.  But she gets a warning, a demand that she face a new threat, a god named “Apoth,” and it seems as if Psylocke's past is starting to come back to her.  Seeking the aid of Mr. Sinister and gathering the mutant warriors, Cable and X-23, to her side, Psylocke begins her personal mission of revenge.

I have come across commentary on the inter-webs that Fallen Angels is the best of the first wave of “Dawn of X” titles.  I am sorely disappointed to say that I have practically nothing to say about it.  The first issue barely registers with me, which is surprising.  I am a fan of Bryan Hill's writing, and his potent, forceful storytelling always moves something in me.  I'll check in on Fallen Angels later, but I still think that fans of this new X-Men direction should check out at least the first issue of all six titles.  In the meantime, I don't have a grade for Fallen Angels #1.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN No. 1 / #802 (2018)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Nick Spencer
PENCILS: Ryan Ottley; Humberto Ramos
INKS: Cliff Rathburn; Victor Olazaba
COLORS: Marte Gracia; Edgar Delgado
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
EDITOR: Nick Lowe
COVER: Ryan Ottley with Laura Martin
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Shane Davis and Michelle Delecki with Morry Hollowell; John Romita, Sr. and Terry Austin with Jason Keith; Erik Larsen with Dean White (Remastered); Jim Cheung with Justin Ponser; Greg Land with Jason Keith
56pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (September 2018)

Rated  “T”

Spider-Man created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee

“Back to Basics” Part One

Here we go.  Back in the summer, Marvel Comics published yet another The Amazing Spider-Man #1, but the publisher did not jettison its “Legacy” numbering.  So this new #1 comic book is also The Amazing Spider-Man #802.

It is a fresh start, of sorts, with a new creative team.  Nick Spencer is the new series writer.  The new art team is Ryan Ottley (pencils) and Cliff Rathburn (inks).  Laura Martin is on colors, and Joe Caramagna is on letters.

The Amazing Spider-Man #1 finds Peter Parker still trying to get his life back together in the wake of the crash and burn of his company, Parker Industries.  He shares an apartment with roommates, and he has reconnected with M.J. - Mary Jane Watson.  But something is wrong.  People are giving him the side eye, when they aren't being outright hostile and dismissive.  And he and the Avengers are in the middle of a massive alien invasion.  Is there a conspiracy against Peter Parker and Spider-Man?

I enjoyed Dan Slott's run on The Amazing Spider-Man.  Of course, I only experienced the second half of Slott's long tenure on the title, and I understand that some readers and fans were ready for Marvel to move on from him.

I don't know if readers are satisfied now, but I like this almost tripled-sized issue.  Without reverting Peter Parker to childhood, Spencer takes Peter Parker back to the days when he suffered the bane of a hero's existence – no good deed goes unpunished.  Indirectly and directly and by action and inaction, Parker and Spider-Man are causing trouble for the people for whom they care.  Obviously, there is a lot of dramatic tension and conflict.  Still, Spencer writes a light-hearted comic book with both wry humor and dark undertones.

Ryan Ottley, known for his long run on Robert Kirkman's Invincible (Image Comics), is the perfect Spider-Man comic book artist, for now.  He reminds me of Mark Bagley on Ultimate Spider-Man, and, at the time (late 2000), both that comic book and Bagley were much needed breaths of fresh air for the Spider-Man franchise.  Ottley recalls the past while being something different, essentially an indie superhero comic book artist taking on a venerable mainstream superhero franchise.  Ottley is back to basics without being retro.

Cliff Rathburn on inks accentuates the newness of Ottley's clean pencil art.  Laura Martin's colors seems out of place, too heavy for Ottley and Rathburn's illustrations.  There is nothing distinctive about Joe Caramagna's lettering.  At least, it seems that way to me.

Former Amazing Spider-Man series artist, Humberto Ramos, delivers a killer back-up story.  With his striking illustrative style, Ramos usually presents potent storytelling, and his tale enforces my belief that this Amazing relaunch could be something special... at least for awhile.

8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.



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Review: SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN #1

SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN No. 1 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Peter David
PENCILS: Greg Land
INKS: Jay Leisten
COLORS: Frank D'Armata
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
MISC. ART. Iban Coella with Frank D'Armata (flashback sequence)
EDITOR: Devin Lewis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski
COVER: Greg Land with Frank D'Armata
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Artgerm; Ron Lim with Israel Silva; Nick Bradshaw with John Rauch; Skottie Young; Todd McFarlane with Jesus Aburtov; Alex Saviuk with Chris Sotomayor
36pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (May 2019)

Rated  “T”

Spider-Man created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee

Spider-Man is the classic Marvel Comics superhero that readers first met in Amazing Fantasy #15 (cover dated: August 1962).  High school student Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, which gave him the proportional speed and strength of a spider and other strangers powers, including a spider-sense that acted as a kind of internal warning beacon.  Parker donned what would become his trademark red and blue costume that he made himself, so he became the crime-fighting superhero, The Amazing Spider-Man.

In The Amazing Spider-Man #252 (cover dated: May 1984), Peter donned a new costume.  A sleek, all-black suit, except for the white spider design, the costume seemed to have a life of its own.  With a thought, the costume would slide onto Peter's body and it could also transform (or morph) into other clothing, including shoes.

In The Amazing Spider-Man #258 (November 1984), readers learned that Spider-Man's black costume was actually an “alien symbiote.”  It had an amorphous, liquid-like form, and it had also bonded with Spider-Man's body.  It turns out that Spider-Man had received the costume on an alien world, as seen in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #8 (cover dated: December 1984).

The five-issue miniseries Symbiote Spider-Man is set during the time period before Spider-Man discovered that his black costume was an alien entity.  The series is written by Peter David; drawn by Greg Land (pencils) and Jay Leisten (inks); colored by Frank D'Armata; and lettered by Joe Sabino.  The story pits Spider-Man against a classic villain, Mysterio.  [Mysterio actually did not meet Spider-Man in any of the comic books published during the 1984 to1988 original period of the black costume.]

Symbiote Spider-Man #1 opens at the end of an intense battle between Spider-Man and Mysterio.  Via flashback, we learn that Quentin Beck a.k.a. Mysterio has been looking to commit one big criminal score before retiring.  However, while robbing a bank, Mysterio witness a tragic outcome he did not expect.  Returning to the battle, Mysterio is seemingly defeated, but he has witnessed something that may finally give him an edge over Spider-Man.

I decided to try Symbiote Spider-Man #1 because I generally like the art of Greg Land.  In fact, as inked by Jay Leisten, Land's art in this first issue looks like the work of Terry Dodson.  Frank D'Armata heavily lays on his colors; it all looks a little too thick, except for the flashback drawn by Iban Coello where the colors look sharp.  Joe Sabino's lettering is nicely professional, so, in general this first issue is a good-looking comic book.

I have also enjoyed the work of writer Peter David, mostly because he is good at character drama.  Symbiote Spider-Man #1 strikes an odd note.  It is surprisingly melancholy, and a sense of grief hangs over the story.  The themes of loss – loss of life, losses in one's professional life, loss of respect, etc. – do not dominate this first issue, but they do seem as if they will be the dominate themes of this series.

I think Marvel Comics decided to release Symbiote Spider-Man because it was looking for a way to capitalize on Mysterio being the villain in Sony Pictures/Marvel Studios' summer film, Spider-Man: Far From Home.  Although this first issue is a nice read, I don't feel compelled to read the rest of the series, but the last page of this first issue does pique my interest.  I can say that Spider-Man comic book fans may want to try at least the first issue.

6 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: DOMINO #1

DOMINO No. 1 (2018)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Gail Simone
ART: David Baldéon
COLORS: Jesus Aburtov
LETTERS: Clayton Cowles
EDITOR: Chris Robinson
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Akira Yoshida
COVER: Greg Land with Frank D'Armata
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Elsa Charretier with Matthew Wilson; David Baldéon with Jesus Aburtov; Pretend comic book artist-J. Scott Campbell with Sabine Rich; Rob Liefeld
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2018)

“Killer Instinct” Part One

Neena Thurman a.k.a. Domino is a Marvel Comics character.  The character was created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza.  A version of Domino first appeared in New Mutants #98 (cover dated: February 1991); then, the “real” version of the character first appeared in X-Force #8 (cover dated: March 1992).  Domino is a mutant best known for her association with the team, X-Force.

Although Domino has been the title character in two miniseries, the character is finally the star of her own ongoing comic book series.  Entitled Domino, it is written by Gail Simone; drawn by David Baldéon; colored by Jesus Aburtov; and lettered by Clayton Cowles.

Domino #1 finds Domino and “Crazy” Inez Temple a.k.a. “Outlaw” in the Pacific Northwest.  They are supposedly here because they have been hired to take care of some mobsters, but this is really a setup for an attack on them.  And it's Neena Thurman's birthday...

I am a fan of Gail Simone, and I am currently enjoying her Image Comics series, Crosswind, and her current miniseries for Dynamite Entertainment, Red Sonja / Tarzan, both of which had excellent first issues.  Domino #1 is a mediocre first issue.

Simone has publicly stated that many comic books suffer from poor character development.  The problem with Domino #1 is that its title character is not much of a character.  Domino is at best a supporting character, but Marvel Comics has spent much of the last four decades publishing miniseries and regular series starring just about any character that shows any measurable popularity with fans.  So Domino #1 stars a character who, after more than a quarter century, is not much more than the sketch that first appeared in Rob Liefeld's sketchbook.  And Gail Simone, who is excellent at giving comic book characters character, may not be able to change that.

As for the graphics team, David Baldéon has been a rising star; Domino #1 is air turbulence for him, a step back from his excellent, hot wire art on the recent Spirits of Vengeance miniseries.  For colorist Jesus Aburtov and letterer Clayton Cowles, Domino #1 is an average output.  “Serviceable” is the word to describe Domino #1.  I do not hold out hope that the series will get better.

5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.

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Review: AVENGERS #1 (2018)

AVENGERS No. 1 (2018)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jason Aaron
PENCILS: Ed McGuinness
INKS: Mark Morales
COLORS: David Curiel
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
EDITOR: Tom Brevoort
COVER: Ed McGuinness and Mark Morales with Justin Ponsor
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Aaron Kuder with Jason Keith; Greg Land and Jay Leisten with Frank D'Armata; Esad Ribic
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (July 2018)

Rated “T+”

Avengers created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“The Final Host”

In the 1970s and 1980s, Marvel Comics published comic book adaptations of popular and cult science fiction and fantasy films, from the Stars Wars films to movies like Dune (1984) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984).  Some of them had beautiful art (Al Williamson's killer work on Marvel's The Empire Strikes Back adaptation), but the script adaptations were often weak.  Reading these film to comic book adaptations was like reading storyboards for a film with some of the boards were missing.  That is when you realize the “motion” in motion pictures makes the medium of film not all that related to the medium of comic books with its static or still graphics.

The Avengers #1 that arrived on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 got me to thinking about comic books that try to capture the sound and vision of films.  We see comic book writers trying to write for comic books the kind of big, loud, special-effects driven stories that only films can tell.  Once upon a time, people said that comic book stories that were written like other comic books were bad things.  Now, we have comic books trying too hard to be like films and television.  That is the real problem, and brother, Avengers #1 2018 has many problems.

Marvel Comics is just beginning another relaunch of its comic book line, something called “Fresh Start.”  The venerable publisher is returning to its “Legacy” characters after publishing new versions of those classic characters – new versions that some retards described as “black, homo, and freaking female.”  So enter Avengers #1 2018 (Legacy #691).  It is written by Jason Aaron; drawn by Ed McGuinness (pencils) and Mark Morales (inks); colored by David Curiel; and lettered by Cory Petit.  At the core of this old-is-new Avengers are classic (white male) Tony Stark/Iron Man, classic (white male) Thor, and classic (white male) Steve Rogers/Captain America.

Avengers #1 (Legacy #691) opens on Earth, one million years ago and depicts the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC.  Then it moves to present day Earth, where Thor and Steve Rogers are trying to convince a reluctant Tony Stark that the world needs the Avengers to return, and the Avengers can only return the right way with them – the original Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man.  It may no longer be a matter of choice when cosmic beings start falling to Earth.

It is clear to me that Marvel is trying to make the Avengers 2018 comic book series be as close to Marvel Studios' Avengers movies as possible.  Writer Jason Aaron tries to make it seem like there is a story here and not just action scenes, but there is not much of a story here.  This is the Avengers comic book as a Michael Bay movie – if Bay did a mash-up of his Transformers films and the Avengers films.  Avengers #1 is big, loud silent scream, and Aaron squeezes in a few quiet, faux-character scenes, mostly featuring the She-Hulk and the Ghost Rider, in a failed bid at adding substance.

Marvel Comics' problems are not “diversity characters.”  The main problem is the embrace of event comic books and other publishing stunts that are flash instead of story.  DC Comics got the message, and its 2016 “Rebirth” initiative was a return to an emphasis on story, even when those stories may be average at best.  At least, DC and its creative teams are working at giving readers substance in story, plot, and character.

Maybe another problem is that many of Marvel's best writers have moved on from Marvel.  Most of the really good comic book writers that wrote for Marvel over the last two decades (Mark Millar and Ed Brubaker, for example) are now in Hollywood, at Amazon or Netflix, or are producing comic books for Image Comics.  Marvel is left with writers like Jason Aaron and Cullen Bunn who are inconsistent, writing comic books that are surprisingly good or woefully average.  And in his bid to make an Avengers comic book act like an Avengers movie, Aaron delivers woeful with Avengers #1 2018.

Marvel is also constantly recycling pencil artist Ed McGuinness, but as usual, his drawing style is pleasing to the eye, although McGuinness' art looks like a chibi slash lolicon version of the art of flaky comic book creator, Arthur Adams.  David Curiel's colors over McGuinness and Mark Morales' (inker) illustrations are gorgeous, though.  Of Avengers #1 2018's creative team, Curiel delivers the best work.

In about a year or so, the sales of Avengers 2018 will be less than half of what Avengers #1 2018 is now.  Who will get the blame, then?  Marvel Comics' editorial policy?  Marvel's recycled creative teams?  Scapegoat “diversity characters?”

This is an Avengers comic book trying to be event entertainment, when being a good comic book is all that is necessary to please most comic book readers.  And no, Avengers #1 is not worth its $4.99 cover price.

4 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 18, 2018

MARVEL COMICS

JAN189025    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #795 ALEX ROSS B & W 3RD PTG VAR    $3.99
JAN189026    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #796 ALEX ROSS B & W 3RD PTG VAR    $3.99
FEB180834    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #799 LEG    $3.99
FEB180835    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #799 RAMOS CONNECTING VAR LEG    $3.99
FEB180838    AMAZING SPIDER-MAN RENEW YOUR VOWS #18 LEG    $3.99
FEB180951    AVENGERS #1 BY MCGUINNESS POSTER    $8.99
JAN189035    AVENGERS #683 MEDINA 2ND PTG VAR LEG    $3.99
FEB180790    AVENGERS #689 LEG    $4.99
FEB180791    AVENGERS #689 SPROUSE END OF AN ERA VAR LEG    $4.99
FEB180952    BLACK PANTHER #1 BY ACUNA POSTER    $8.99
FEB180854    BLACK PANTHER #172 LEG    $3.99
FEB180893    CABLE #156 LEG    $3.99
FEB180849    DAREDEVIL #601 LEG    $3.99
FEB180949    DEADPOOL #300 BY KOBLISH POSTER    $8.99
FEB180954    DOMINO BY LAND POSTER    $8.99
FEB180950    HUNT FOR WOLVERINE BY MCNIVEN POSTER    $8.99
FEB180818    INCREDIBLE HULK #715 LEG    $3.99
FEB180743    INFINITY COUNTDOWN #2 (OF 5) KUDER CONNECTING VAR LEG    $4.99
FEB180740    INFINITY COUNTDOWN #2 (OF 5) LEG    $4.99
FEB180741    INFINITY COUNTDOWN #2 (OF 5) LIM VAR LEG    $4.99
FEB180744    INFINITY COUNTDOWN #2 (OF 5) SUPER SKRULL HOLDS INFINITY VAR    $4.99
FEB180783    IRON FIST #80 LEG    $3.99
JAN181058    LUKE CAGE TP VOL 02 CAGED    $15.99
JUN178935    MARVEL UNIVERSE MAGAZINE #1 (BUNDLE OF 25) (Net)    $PI
FEB180868    MS MARVEL #29 LEG    $3.99
FEB180899    MSH ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VIBRANIUM #1    $3.99
FEB180900    MSH ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VIBRANIUM #1 RANDOLPH VAR    $3.99
JAN181041    PHOENIX RESURRECTION RETURN JEAN GREY TP    $17.99
JAN181042    PHOENIX RESURRECTION RETURN JEAN GREY TP ARTGERM DM VAR    $17.99
JAN181059    PUNISHER PLATOON TP (MR)    $17.99
JAN181044    RUNAWAYS BY RAINBOW ROWELL TP VOL 01 FIND YOUR WAY HOME    $17.99
JAN181066    RUNAWAYS TP VOL 10 ROCK ZOMBIES NEW PTG    $14.99
JAN181055    SPIDER-GWEN TP VOL 05 GWENOM    $17.99
FEB180911    STAR WARS POE DAMERON #26    $3.99
FEB180859    TALES OF SUSPENSE #104 (OF 5) LEG    $3.99
JAN181065    THOR BY WALTER SIMONSON TP VOL 03 NEW PTG    $29.99
FEB180826    TRUE BELIEVERS INFINITY INCOMING #1    $1.00
FEB180827    TRUE BELIEVERS REBIRTH OF THANOS #1    $1.00
JAN188968    TRUE BELIEVERS VENOM VS SPIDER-MAN #1 2ND PTG VAR    $1.00
FEB180953    VENOM #1 BY STEGMAN POSTER    $8.99
FEB180806    VENOMIZED #3 (OF 5)    $3.99
FEB180808    VENOMIZED #3 (OF 5) BAGLEY CONNECTING VAR    $3.99
FEB180871    WEAPON H #2 LEG    $3.99
FEB180879    WEAPON X #16 LEG    $3.99
FEB180878    X-MEN GOLD #26 LEG    $3.99

Review: NICK FURY #1

NICK FURY No. 1 (2017)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: James Robinson
PENCILS: ACO
INKS: Hugh Petrus
COLORS: Rachelle Rosenberg
LETTERS: Travis Lanham
COVER: ACO
VARIANT COVERS: John Tyler Christopher; Greg Land with Frank D'Armata; Mark Morales with Jason Keith; Bill Sienkiewicz
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (June 2017)

Rated “T+”

“The Sky High Caper”

Nick Fury (Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury) is a Marvel Comics character.  Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, Fury first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1 (cover dated:  May 1963), a World War II combat comic book series, in which Fury was depicted as a cigar-chomping, leader of an elite United States Army unit.

Marvel Comics introduced the modern Nick Fury in Fantastic Four #21 (cover dated:  December 1963), making him a CIA agent.  In Strange Tales #135 (cover dated:  August 1965), the character again transformed, this time from a spy into the leading agent of the fictional espionage agency, S.H.I.E.L.D.  In 2002, Nick Fury became a Black man that resembled actor Samuel L. Jackson in The Ultimates #1.  Jackson would portray Fury in the Marvel Studios movies based on Marvel Comics, and the Jackson-lookalike Fury would replace the original white Fury in the main Marvel Universe.

That Sam Jackson Fury is the star of the new comic book series, Nick Fury.  It is written by James Robinson; drawn by ACO (pencils) and Hugh Petrus (inks); colored by Rachelle Rosenberg; and lettered by Travis Lanham.

Nick Fury #1 (“The Sky High Caper”) opens with Nick Fury arriving in the French Riviera, where he must infiltrate the most secure parts of a imposing casino.  Fury's target is a hidden data-stash belonging to Auric Goodfellow, a Hydra moneyman.  Fury will likely be successful in getting what he wants, but Frankie Noble, Agent of Hydra plans on standing in his way.

I love the art in Nick Fury #1.  Drawn by the artist known as ACO, the art recalls the Pop-Art infused comic book art that legendary comic book artist Jim Steranko produced during his run of Nick Fury comics in the late 1960.  ACO's layout and design also recall Steve Rude's layout and design on his long-running comic book series, Nexus.  ACO's art for Nick Fury combined with Rachelle Rosenberg's pastel-lite coloring sure is pretty.

However, the storytelling is shallow when it isn't confusing and confusing when it isn't shallow.  As graphical storytelling, ACO's art is just too busy.  Yeah, it is eye-candy to look at, but is a busy mess as storytelling.  Honestly, if writer James Robinson had even attempted to tell a more complex story, there is no telling how crowded ACO would have made his art.

I think James Robinson offers in Nick Fury what Chris Samnee did in the first issue of his recent Black Widow comic book – an introductory issue that reads like a two-minute-egg version of an action sequence from a James Bond or Jason Bourne movie.

Honestly, I'll try the second issue of Nick Fury, although I never tried the second issue of Samnee's Black Widow.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: MARVEL LEGACY #1

MARVEL LEGACY No. 1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jason Aaron
ART: Esad Ribic with Steve McNiven
COLORS: Matthew Wilson
LETTERS: VC's Cory Petit
ADDITIONAL ARTISTS: Chris Samnee; Russell Dauterman; Alex Maleev; Ed McGuinness; Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger; Pepe Larraz; Jim Cheung; Daniel Acuña; Greg Land and Jay Leisten; Mike Deodato, Jr.; David Marquez
COVER: Joe Quesada and Kevin Nowlan with Richard Isanove
VARIANT COVERS: Alex Ross; Mark Brooks; John Tyler Christopher; Mike Deodato, Jr.; Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson; Greg Land with Frank D'Armata; Amy Reeder; Skottie Young
64pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (November 2017)

Rated T+

Marvel Legacy #1 is a new one-shot comic book from Marvel Comics.  I don't really know its purpose, other than what I read on the Internet.  After a year of reportedly falling sales of its comic books, Marvel does what it and DC Comics normally do:  initiate a reboot or a re-launch or hit-the-refresh/restart button, etc.  Such a rehash... I mean such a refresh is usually preceded by some kind of large scale publishing event, as it was here.  I guess that was the Secret Empire miniseries and the corresponding tie-ins and spin-offs.

SO I'LL SAVE YOU SOME TIME:  Marvel Legacy #1 has a few entertaining moments, with the best being the Wolverine reveal.  Some of it piqued my interest, but most it fell flat for me.  If you are looking for something exceptional, great, memorable, etc., Marvel Legacy #1 is not it, and it certainly is not worth the $5.99 cover price.  That said, you only need to keep reading this review if you usually enjoy my ramblings...

So here we go again; Marvel Legacy #1 launches the next big start-over.  I have read a lot of web commentary in which people compare this comic book to DC Comics' DC Universe Rebirth from last year.  I don't see the resemblance, and Rebirth has purpose and direction (at least to me), whereas Marvel Legacy #1 reads like a bunch of teasing and anticipation balled up together.

Marvel Legacy #1 has an omniscient narrator, Valeria Richards, the second child of Reed Richards and Sue Storm of the Fantastic Four.  She talks about legacies and begins her narration “One Million Years Ago.”  Something happened back then; that something plus some more bad stuff is coming back today.  Get ready.

Yep, that's it – something wicked this way comes, eventually.  The main story is written by Jason Aaron and drawn mainly by Esad Ribic, with some of it drawn by Steve McNiven.  Interspersed between segments of the main story are some one and two-page excerpts from upcoming Legacy launches – like Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's upcoming run on Captain America (Steve Rogers).

That's what this is all about, right?  A return to original i.e. traditional i.e. “white” characters.  Some believe that Marvel angered its aging white male fan base by recasting too many of its characters as black, Latino, Asian, female or some combination thereof.  Here's an anecdote for you.  For years, white male comic book readers told me that they did not want white comic books or black comic books, but they wanted good comic books.  Okay... Black male Spider-Man, Black female Iron Man, White female Hawkeye, Pan-Asian Muslim Ms. Marvel, White lady Thor are the leads of some very well written comic book series.  I know that because I read them.  But whiny White comic book retailers, clueless comic book corporate middle management, and fans who don't read books they complain about are driving this need for Marvel Comics to reset.

But the real villains here are Marvel Comics' shitty editorial decisions, arrogant management, piss-poor publishing plans, and virtually non-existent marketing.  Marvel Legacy #1 exists for the same reasons Marvel NOW, All-New Marvel NOW, and Marvel Now & Laters existed – all of the above and Marvel's addiction to the sales bump it gets from #1 issues.

Marvel Comics publishes too many comic books and has been doing so for 30 years.  Many of those comic books exist because Marvel will throw a lot of money at “star creators” to produce comics; or because someone will come up with some cute gimmick; or simply to grab more market share; or because a hit Marvel Studios movie will mean launching 10 new comic books directly, indirectly, vaguely, and/or even tangentially related to the movie.  Baby Groot the comic book series, y'all.

Too many titles frustrate readers for various readers, but especially because they cannot keep up with all those new comic books.  Marvel Legacy #1 is another pretend fix for symptoms that arise from Marvel's poor decision making.  That decision making needs a cure; the symptoms will go away after the cure.  For all Marvel's talk of a return to classic Marvel storytelling, next year it will do something like recast all its characters as Buddhists golden retrievers.

Marvel Comics' real legacy is that, no matter who owned Marvel, they never appreciated the artists and writers who really created the characters and stories that made Marvel a business and cultural force.  They held on tightly to Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and more while being dismissive of the talent, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, that drew those characters into existence.  Did it ever occur to those bosses how many more great characters and stories creators like Kirby and Ditko would have created for Marvel had the bosses acknowledged them financially and personally in a manner befitting people who multi-million dollar franchises?

So Marvel Legacy #1 epitomizes Marvel's real legacy – the short-sighted, self-serving choices instead of the long term choices that come with more risk and less immediate gratification.  Plus, Marvel Legacy #1 is just another comic book, fast food hamburger off the corporate conveyor belt – granted that there is some rather nice art inside.

C
4 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: DARTH VADER #25

DARTH VADER No. 25
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. Visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

STORY: Keiron Gillen
ART: Salvador Larroca
COLORS: Edgar Delgado
LETTERS: VC's Joe Caramagna
COVER: Juan Gimenez
VARIANT COVERS: Cliff Chiang; John Tyler Christopher; Michael Cho; Adi Granov; Greg Land; Salvador Larocca; Jamie McKelvie; Sara Pichelli; Joe Quesada; Chris Samnee; Kamome Shirahama
52pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (December 2016)

Rated T

Book IV, Part VI: “End of Games”

Of course you know that The Walt Disney Company owns Marvel Comics, dear readers.  Shortly after acquiring Marvel Entertainment, Disney bought Lucasfilm, Ltd., the owner of all thing Star Wars.  Just a (relatively) short time later, Dark Horse Comics lost the license to produce Star Wars comic books, which it had held for two decades.  It was obvious that Marvel would be the new home of Star Wars comics, and around the beginning of 2015, Marvel released the flagship title, Star Wars.

Shortly afterwards, Marvel began its second Star Wars series, Darth Vader.  Written by Keiron Gillen, drawn by Salvador Larroca, colored by Edgar Delgado, and lettered by Joe Caramagna, this series chronicled the quest of Star Wars' most (in)famous and beloved villain, Darth Vader, has he delved into his past and fought for his present in order to prepare for his future.

Basically, this is how Darth Vader the comic book worked.  Emperor Palpatine held Vader responsible for the destruction of his ultimate weapon, the Death Star, by the Rebel Alliance – as seen the original Star Wars from 1977 (also known as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope).  Suddenly, the Emperor had appointed others in position of power that basically rivaled Vader's position of power and authority under the Emperor, and some of those rivals wanted to see Vader dead.

To defend himself, Vader essentially created his own secret Empire within the Emperor's Empire, from which he could defeat his adversaries and secure his position in the Empire.  Vader even learned that the young pilot who launched the torpedoes/missiles that destroyed the Death Star is Luke Skywalker, his son by his late wife from another life.  As the series progressed, Vader had much success, but some of his rivals prove to be formidable adversaries who could destroy him.

Now, the series comes to an end and wraps up its remaining story lines/threads in Darth Vader #25.  As the story begins, Darth Vader prepares for his final showdown with the one who has proven to be his most wily rival, Cylo, but the traitorous scientist has a fail safe that may give him victory over Vader.  Meanwhile, Vader's secret ally, Dr. Aphra, moves to protect herself from Vader – by seeking counsel with the Emperor!

After the first story arc of this series, entitled “Vader,” it was clear that Marvel's best Star Wars comic book was Darth Vader, which was saying a lot because the flagship Star Wars was also quite good.  I think series writer Kieron Gillen did a good job of connecting the past, which contained the wreckage resulting from the transformation of Annakin Skywalker into Darth Vader to the present, filled with Vader's problems and dilemmas.  Gillen gave his readers the chance to watch Vader discover some of the secrets of his past, which were not secret to readers, while also offering readers the opportunity to see how Vader “discovered” Luke Skywalker.

I can say that Gillen was good enough at what he did with Darth Vader that this series is worth preserving in trade paperback for future readers.  For the time being or until Star Wars is inevitably rebooted (probably sooner than we think), Gillen's Darth Vader is Star Wars storytelling for posterity.

And before we go, I must praise the stellar work of series artist, Salvador Larroca.  It is a shame that it seems easy to take Larroca for granted, but his work defined this series' sense of cloak and dagger and the title character's relentless aggression.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 24, 2014

MARVEL COMICS

OCT148170     ALL NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA #1 2ND PTG IMMONEN VAR     $3.99
OCT140866     ALL NEW INVADERS #13     $3.99
OCT140799     ALL NEW X-FACTOR #18     $3.99
OCT140893     ALL NEW X-MEN ANNUAL #1     $4.99
OCT140934     AMAZING X-MEN TP VOL 02 WORLD WAR WENDIGO     $17.99
OCT140787     AVENGERS AND X-MEN AXIS #9     $4.99
OCT140805     CAPTAIN AMERICA AND MIGHTY AVENGERS #3 AXIS     $3.99
SEP140919     CAPTAIN AMERICA PREM HC VOL 05 TOMORROW SOLDIER     $24.99
OCT140901     CYCLOPS #8     $3.99
OCT140873     DAREDEVIL #11     $3.99
OCT140879     DARK TOWER DRAWING OF THREE PRISONER #5     $3.99
OCT140801     DEADPOOL #39 AXIS     $3.99
OCT140842     DEATH OF WOLVERINE LOGAN LEGACY #7     $3.99
OCT140861     HAWKEYE VS DEADPOOL #3     $3.99
OCT140792     LOKI AGENT OF ASGARD #9 AXIS     $3.99
OCT140898     MAGNETO #13     $3.99
OCT140883     MARVEL UNIVERSE ULT SPIDER-MAN WEB WARRIORS #2     $2.99
OCT140846     MARVELS AVENGERS #1     $2.99
OCT140922     MMW WARLOCK TP VOL 01     $24.99
OCT140848     NEW AVENGERS #28 TRO     $3.99
OCT140795     NOVA #25 AXIS     $4.99
OCT140935     NOVA TP VOL 04 ORIGINAL SIN     $16.99
OCT140886     SECRET AVENGERS #11     $3.99
OCT140877     SHE-HULK #11     $2.99
OCT148226     SPIDER-WOMAN #1 2ND PTG LAND VAR SV     $3.99
OCT148171     SUPERIOR IRON MAN #1 2ND PTG CHOI VAR AXIS     $3.99
OCT140807     SUPERIOR IRON MAN #3 AXIS     $3.99
OCT148227     THOR #1 3RD PTG DAUTERMAN VAR     $3.99
OCT148172     THOR #2 2ND PTG DAUTERMAN VAR     $3.99
OCT140888     UNCANNY X-MEN #29     $3.99
OCT140926     X-MEN EPIC COLLECTION TP CHILDREN OF ATOM     $34.99
OCT140941     X-MEN TP VOL 03 ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT     $39.99

I Reads You Review: CYCLOPS #1

CYCLOPS (2014) #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Greg Rucka
ARTIST: Russell Dauterman
COLORS: Chris Sotomayor
LETTERS: VC’s Joe Caramagna
COVER: Alexander Lozano
VARIANT COVERS: Greg Land; Skottie Young
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (July 2014)

Rated T+

Marvel Comics’ “All-New Marvel Now!” initiative is offering a seemingly endless onslaught on new series.  This includes the launch of some X-Men solo comic book series featuring some of the most popular and iconic X-Men.  One of the X-Men getting his own comic book series is Cyclops, one of the original X-Men.  In fact, the star of the new comic book is a 16-year-old Cyclops… Let me explain.

All-New X-Men, written by Brian Michael Bendis, was one of the titles that came out of the original Marvel NOW publishing initiative back in autumn of 2012.  In this new X-Men comic book series, the modern, blue, furry Beast went back in time and met the original teen X-Men:  Cyclops (Scott Summers), Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), the Beast (Hank McCoy), Angel (Warren Worthington III), and Iceman (Bobby Drake), at a time when they’d only been the X-Men for a short time.  Grown-up Beast convinced teen Beast and his teammates to return with him to the present to see what had become of their dreams in a world that is our present and their future.  It wasn’t pretty.

Springing out of “The Trial of Jean Grey” event, Cyclops #1 finds 16-year old Scott Summers/Cyclops in outer space.  He is with the band of space pirates known as the “Starjammers.”  They are led by Scott’s once thought-to-be-dead father, Christopher Summers, now known as Corsair.  And the reunited father and son are about to embark on an epic father-son journey across the space ways.

The Starjammers were created by Dave Cockrum and first appeared in X-Men #107 (cover dated: October 1977).  The Starjammers were straight out of that venerable science fiction subgenre, space opera.  Comic books are no stranger to space opera, as many comic book companies in the 1940s and 50s used space flight to take human characters to strange worlds where they met even stranger beings.  Two of the best examples of space opera in comics may be Planet Comics, a science fiction comic book series published by Fiction House from 1940 to 1953, and also Weird Fantasy, which was published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1953.

This new Cyclops comic book is not hokey like some old science fiction comic books, but it might owe something to Star Wars, a film that has space opera elements and is considered by some to be space opera.  With that in mind, I think Cyclops could be a good thing.

What I am loving about Cyclops #1 right now is the art by Russell Dauterman (pencils and inks) and Chris Sotomayor (colors).  It is perfect for this juvenile space opera, and it looks so unique and different, as if Cyclops #1 was a slice of a European comics graphic album.  I want to see where writer Greg Rucka takes this, so I hope Cyclops runs for at least 12 issues.

A-

Reviwed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: MIGHTY AVENGERS #1

MIGHTY AVENGERS (2013) #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Al Ewing
PENCILS: Greg Land
INKS: Jay Leisten
COLORS: Frank D’Armata
LETTERS: Cory Petit
COVER: Greg Land with Lee Duhig
VARIANT COVERS:  Bryan Hitch with Laura Martin; Carlo Barberi with Edgar Delgado; Leonel Castellani; Skottie Young
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (November 2013)

Rated T+

In comic books, how does one master the art of creating the first issue?  I say “art” because I think that producing a great first issue and continuing that into an exceptional comic book series, is an art.  The number of creators who can (1) produce a great first issue, (2) continue that into a distinguished comic book series, and (3) accomplish that feat more than once is relatively small.  I say Alan Moore, Peter Bagge, Kyle Baker, Brian Michael Bendis, Howard Chaykin, Daniel Clowes, Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, and Frank Miller, among others.

[Of course, there are creators who produce great first issues which only result in uneven series.  Can you say Grant Morrison?]

And then, there are the creators you wonder about.  They deliver an unspectacular first issue, and that makes me suspicious about the rest of the series.  In a market crowded with superhero comic books, the creative team has to open with a bang.  The new reader/customer needs something that seems like more than just the first chapter of an upcoming trade paperback collection.

Out of Marvel Comics’ “Infinity” event comes a relaunch of Mighty Avengers.  British comic book writer Al Ewing and reliable artist Greg Land deliver the ultimate cookie cutter Avengers comic book in Mighty Avengers #1.  This comic book is not a bad cookie, but it is not a $3.99 cookie.

It is more like a cookie you can get in a $1 bag of cookies at a dollar store (Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, etc.).  So Mighty Avengers is not even the equivalent of a “quality” mass-produced cookie brand (Nabisco?).  It is certainly not a boutique shop cookie baked by two broke girls who just opened their own cookie shop with daddy’s money.

So what happens in this new comic book called Mighty Avengers?  The Avengers are off-world, handling someone else’s business, so who is handling their business back home?  Thanos sends a badass bitch named Proxima Midnight to take advantage of an Avenger-less Earth.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Luke Cage, Spectrum (formerly known as Negress Captain Marvel), Superior Spider-Man (more like Snobby Spider-Man), Power Man and a few others have conversations about themselves.  Then, they fight.

I think Mighty Avengers is supposed to be clever or at least funny in the vein of the old Keith Giffen-J.M. DeMatteis-Kevin Maguire Justice League.  It is neither.  So much for that wry British humor.  The computer program that Judith Krantz, Danielle Steel, and other bestselling authors supposedly use to write their novels must be similar to the tech Greg Land uses to draw his clone superhero comic book art.  The result of Ewing and Land’s efforts is a comic book that is neither mighty nor spectacular, but it isn’t completely bad.  It is Avengers and if you like Avengers, well...

I have heard people describe Mighty Avengers as the “ethnic Avengers” or even the “black Avengers.”  I guess those could be somewhat accurate descriptions, but not when it comes to the creative team.  Marvel Comics editors act like they’re scared of n*gg*s... or at least can’t find Black comic book writers amongst their friends and colleagues.

Anyway, fans that just gots to have an Avengers fix will want Mighty Avengers, although (if you ask me) they need to diversify their reading list – if just a little.

C

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS: BLADE VS. THE AVENGERS

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS: BLADE VS. THE AVENGERS
MARVEL COMICS

WRITER: Mark Millar
PENCILS: Steve Dillon
INKS: Andy Lanning and Scott Hanna
COLORS: Matt Hollingsworth with Matthew Wilson and John Rauch
LETTERS: VC’s Cory Petit
COVER: Leinil Francis Yu and Marte Gracia
EXTRA ART: Olivier Coipel and Laura Martin; Greg Land and Frank D’Armata
ISBN: 978-0-7851-4009-2; hardcover
152pp, Color, $24.99 U.S., $27.99 CAN

Several years ago, there were rumors or perhaps a semi-official announcement that Mark Millar was going to be the writer of a new comic book series featuring, Blade, Marvel’s resident vampire hunter. It never came to pass.

Now, Mark Millar writes Blade. Nuff said…

Well, not quite, but Blade gets his name in the title in the new hardcover collection, Ultimate Comics Avengers: Blade vs. The Avengers. Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Steve Dillon, this book reprints Ultimate Avengers 3 #1-6. This story arc sees the Avengers battle a highly-organized attempt at a vampire takeover of the world.

The story begins when Blade gets an offer of a truce from Anthony, a new vampire leader. Mysterious and charismatic, Anthony has encased himself in an old Iron Man suit of armor, making him hard to kill. Anthony’s plot to rule the world involves building an army of superheroes converted into vampires.

After one of their own is bitten and recruited into the vampire army, Nick Fury and his black-ops task force, the Avengers, find themselves on the frontlines fighting to save humankind. The new vampire king rallies all the various vampire clans to his ever-growing number of super-powered Nosferatu. Meanwhile, Fury is wary of half-vampire Blade, who offers his help. Is the Daywalker friend or foe?

This Ultimate Avengers story arc is not so much “Blade vs. The Avengers” as it is The Avengers vs. the vampire apocalypse – with Blade as a character on the periphery. It’s as if Millar didn’t realize that the Blade he was writing is supposed to be a major player and not just a player in a few interludes. Still, what we get of Blade is quite good. Millar’s knack for dialogue makes this a sparkling read. Millar doesn’t just write snark and satire. His dialogue defines the characters mood as well as it colors the scene in which a character speaks. Millar’s Blade is the most attractive since the 1970s Blade of Marv Wolfman and Chris Claremont.

Equally evocative is the art of Steve Dillon. With his clean style, Dillon conveys character, setting, and plot and executes a narrative that is as complex as it is streamlined. For all their photo-realism, cross-hatching, and computer coloring, most artists can’t touch Dillon’s depth of storytelling. For all this story’s craziness, Dillon even manages to wring out a few poignant and dramatic moments.

Yeah, I wanted more Blade, much more Blade, but I like Ultimate Comics Avengers: Blade vs. The Avengers.

B+

Ultimate Comics Avengers: Blade Vs. the Avengers (See all Superheroes Graphic Novels)