War Journal Entry number 659 - Weekly Haul 6/17/09
MARVEL
Cable #15 - Swierczynski + Olivetti. Messiah War continues to chug along as - duhn-duhn-DUHN - everybody fights everybody else.
Captain America #600 - This one's a biggie. It starts off with a reprint of Paul Dini + Alex Ross's retelling of Steve Rogers origin from Captain America: Red, White, and Blue. Then you have the main story which is written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Butch Guice with scenes by Howard Chaykin, Rafael Albuqueque, David Aja, and Mitch Breitweiser. It's a nice "one-year" anniversary of Steve's death that also follows up on various loose threads (the crazy 50s Cap that got loose, and the Bucky from the Heroes Reborn universe that was brought to the regular Marvel U in Onslaught Reborn), but I personally feel it is hurt by the shoehorning in of the return of Steve Rogers, continued in the Captain America: Reborn miniseries. One of the strengths of the death of Captain America was that the event itself and its effects on his closest friends was handled in the main series itself. To force a major event in the series into an "Event" miniseries with national attention just sticks in my craw. I still feel that miniseries and specials should complement the main series, not supplant it. But if you thought that was enough for one issue, you'd be wrong. Roger Stern and Kalman Andasofszky do a quiet character piece focusing on some supporting characters from Stern's run meeting up on the anniversary. Then Mark Waid and Dale Eaglesham have a slice of life story about Cap's biggest fan in the Marvel U. Then we're treated to text piece by Joe Simon about what it was like working on Cap in the early days. And finally there's a reprint from Captain America Comics #16 (July 1942) that features a classic Cap versus Red Skull battle.
Captain Britain and MI:13 #14 - Paul Cornell + Leonard Kirk. The war for Britain heats up as both sides make significant moves in a series that has remained strong from the get-go.
Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #4 of 5 - Jonathan Hickman + Sean Chen. Sue, Ben, and Johnny tumble through mixing realities while Reed continues scouring through variant timelines to figure out how to fix the things that have gone wrong here. Meanwhile, Franklin and Valeria have to deal with Norman Osborn at the front door.
Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2 of 5 - Paul Cornell + Mark Brooks. It's the new Young Avengers versus the original Young Avengers, and the origin of the new team begins to be revealed.
Marvel Pets Handbook - Files on various pets featured throughout Marvel's history. Although I really must take umbrage at Cosmo, from the new Guardians of the Galaxy, being listed as a pet. He's chief of security, for criminy's sake!
Marvel Zombies 4 #3 of 4 - Fred Van Lente + Kev Walker. The mission has gone pear-shaped toot-sweet as the pernicious zombie virus becomes airborne due to Morbius' attempt to create a cure for it. Oops.
Mighty Avengers #26 - Dan Slott + Stephen Segovia (with Paco Diaz + Harvey Tolibao). Hank Pym takes on Reed Richards, cranium to cranium. while their respective teams duke it out. I'm still waiting for this new post-Secret Invasion arc to really grab me.
Punisher #6 - Rick Remender + Tan Eng Haut. The Hood resurrects and supes up a bunch of dead B-listers to take down the Punisher. The writing continues to bounce back and forth between amusing and scary, which is just how I like it. And Haut's is equally adept at showing brutal violence as it is making a conversation between two people visually interesting.
Punisher: Year One trade paperback - Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning + Dale Eaglesham. This collection of the mid-nineties miniseries was worth buying for me despite that fact that I have the individual issues. It's a strong and realistic story that starts mere moments after Frank Castle's family is gunned down for stumbling upon a gangland execution. It treats the Punisher in a serious manner, as a study of grief and desperation instead of the rah-rah wish-fulfillment the character is most often saddled with. And Frank's reactions ring true all the way through the story. He first goes into shock, then moves into despair, and then finally goes numb. He gets led around by the cops and a Daily Bugle reporter as they try to do their jobs, and he lets them. He believes in the law and the judicial system, right up until he watches it fall apart under rampant corruption. He again goes through various emotional states and tries to employ various methods to get back at the mobsters; methods that start legally but ramp up as the mobsters push back. It's not until the mobsters kill the reporter that Frank was working with that his military training takes over. His preparations for war, and the explosive climax of the story, are both so masterfully handled that they were almost directly lifted into the finale of the Thomas Jane Punisher film, creating some of the best scenes of the movie. But here, along with the cathartically violent revenge that the Punisher enacts is the understanding that what was human in Frank Castle has finally died.
Savage She-Hulk #3 of 4 - Fred Van Lente + Peer Vale/Michael Ryan. It's Lyra versus Noh-Varr, and then some explanations for her mission. Still enjoying it.
Trial of Thor one-shot - Peter Milligan + Cary Nord. It's a Tale of Asgard police procedural with the always entertaining Warriors Three performing the detective duties. This issue totally had me drawing up parallels between the Warriors Three and the Lone Gunmen. But that's probably just cuz I'm crazy. Milligan shows that he has a fair handle on how to deal with the mythology, perhaps enough to put him in the running as a future Thor scribe, while Nord demonstrates the same masterful mix of delicacy and brutality that he showed on Conan.
War of Kings: Ascension #3 of 4 - Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning + Wellington Alves. Chris Powell has to find a way to get out of the other realm he's trapped in, but right now it's of secondary importance to surviving. Meanwhile, the two Raptors continue to manipulate events towards their unknown goal.
Wolverine: Origins #37 - Daniel Way + Scot Eaton. Wolverine intensifies his hunt for Romulus, the mysterious figure that has manipulated Logan from behind the scenes his entire life. But of course it's not that easy, so we have another of Wolvie's old sparring partners thrown at him.
X-Men: Legacy #225 - Mike Carey + Phil Briones. Xavier takes on the Acolytes all on his own. You're sure he hasn't gone crazy again?
X-Men Origins: Gambit - Mike Carey + David Yardin. Many parts of Gambit's past that have only be described or shown in single panel flashbacks are here shown in full. It's informative and accurate, but introduces nothing new and even leaves some things unexplained for newer readers. Still, if you like Gambit and you want to see what led up to his first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266, then check this out. (Your Moment of Nerd: Technically, Gambit first appeared in X-Men Annual #14, where he's with Storm as she returns to the X-Men. But UX #266 gets the credit because it shows how he met Storm, and features him as more than a guy with two lines that spends the rest of the time in the background.)
DC COMICS
Power Girl #2 - Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti + Amanda Connor. More over-the-top superhero action, and the origin of the Ultra-Humanite.
IDW PRESS
Transformers Spotlight: Cliffjumper - Shane McCarthy + Robby Musso. Cliffjumper is stuck on a remote planet and befriends a pair of the pacifistic, pre-industrial locals. Their acceptance and naivety highlight the divide in Cliffjumper's character between being a compassionate protector and a merciless warrior. It's another brilliant issue that shows how there is more to Transformers than changing shape and shooting stuff. Obviously above Michael Bay's reading level.
IMAGE COMICS
Bomb Queen presents: All Girl Comics one-shot - Kat Cahill/Kris Simon + Seth Damoose. A mostly amusing tale about a bunch of female heroes banding together to solve the mystery of worldwide male impotency. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't ended in the typical Bomb Queen fashion where cynicism and violence win the day.
back-issue buy
MARVEL
Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #2 - Now I've finally read an Anti-Venom story, courtesy of Dan Slott + Chris Bachalo, but I'm not nearly as enamored by it as I was with the original Venom stories. He's just too... whiney. But the reason my shop owner pointed the issue out to me was the Spider-Man and Wolverine story by Zeb Wells and Paolo Rivera (doing a good Paul Pope impersonation). It's a great example of the relationship that Marvel is trying to push onto the characters, but it works very well.
Cable #15 - Swierczynski + Olivetti. Messiah War continues to chug along as - duhn-duhn-DUHN - everybody fights everybody else.
Captain America #600 - This one's a biggie. It starts off with a reprint of Paul Dini + Alex Ross's retelling of Steve Rogers origin from Captain America: Red, White, and Blue. Then you have the main story which is written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Butch Guice with scenes by Howard Chaykin, Rafael Albuqueque, David Aja, and Mitch Breitweiser. It's a nice "one-year" anniversary of Steve's death that also follows up on various loose threads (the crazy 50s Cap that got loose, and the Bucky from the Heroes Reborn universe that was brought to the regular Marvel U in Onslaught Reborn), but I personally feel it is hurt by the shoehorning in of the return of Steve Rogers, continued in the Captain America: Reborn miniseries. One of the strengths of the death of Captain America was that the event itself and its effects on his closest friends was handled in the main series itself. To force a major event in the series into an "Event" miniseries with national attention just sticks in my craw. I still feel that miniseries and specials should complement the main series, not supplant it. But if you thought that was enough for one issue, you'd be wrong. Roger Stern and Kalman Andasofszky do a quiet character piece focusing on some supporting characters from Stern's run meeting up on the anniversary. Then Mark Waid and Dale Eaglesham have a slice of life story about Cap's biggest fan in the Marvel U. Then we're treated to text piece by Joe Simon about what it was like working on Cap in the early days. And finally there's a reprint from Captain America Comics #16 (July 1942) that features a classic Cap versus Red Skull battle.
Captain Britain and MI:13 #14 - Paul Cornell + Leonard Kirk. The war for Britain heats up as both sides make significant moves in a series that has remained strong from the get-go.
Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #4 of 5 - Jonathan Hickman + Sean Chen. Sue, Ben, and Johnny tumble through mixing realities while Reed continues scouring through variant timelines to figure out how to fix the things that have gone wrong here. Meanwhile, Franklin and Valeria have to deal with Norman Osborn at the front door.
Dark Reign: Young Avengers #2 of 5 - Paul Cornell + Mark Brooks. It's the new Young Avengers versus the original Young Avengers, and the origin of the new team begins to be revealed.
Marvel Pets Handbook - Files on various pets featured throughout Marvel's history. Although I really must take umbrage at Cosmo, from the new Guardians of the Galaxy, being listed as a pet. He's chief of security, for criminy's sake!
Marvel Zombies 4 #3 of 4 - Fred Van Lente + Kev Walker. The mission has gone pear-shaped toot-sweet as the pernicious zombie virus becomes airborne due to Morbius' attempt to create a cure for it. Oops.
Mighty Avengers #26 - Dan Slott + Stephen Segovia (with Paco Diaz + Harvey Tolibao). Hank Pym takes on Reed Richards, cranium to cranium. while their respective teams duke it out. I'm still waiting for this new post-Secret Invasion arc to really grab me.
Punisher #6 - Rick Remender + Tan Eng Haut. The Hood resurrects and supes up a bunch of dead B-listers to take down the Punisher. The writing continues to bounce back and forth between amusing and scary, which is just how I like it. And Haut's is equally adept at showing brutal violence as it is making a conversation between two people visually interesting.
Punisher: Year One trade paperback - Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning + Dale Eaglesham. This collection of the mid-nineties miniseries was worth buying for me despite that fact that I have the individual issues. It's a strong and realistic story that starts mere moments after Frank Castle's family is gunned down for stumbling upon a gangland execution. It treats the Punisher in a serious manner, as a study of grief and desperation instead of the rah-rah wish-fulfillment the character is most often saddled with. And Frank's reactions ring true all the way through the story. He first goes into shock, then moves into despair, and then finally goes numb. He gets led around by the cops and a Daily Bugle reporter as they try to do their jobs, and he lets them. He believes in the law and the judicial system, right up until he watches it fall apart under rampant corruption. He again goes through various emotional states and tries to employ various methods to get back at the mobsters; methods that start legally but ramp up as the mobsters push back. It's not until the mobsters kill the reporter that Frank was working with that his military training takes over. His preparations for war, and the explosive climax of the story, are both so masterfully handled that they were almost directly lifted into the finale of the Thomas Jane Punisher film, creating some of the best scenes of the movie. But here, along with the cathartically violent revenge that the Punisher enacts is the understanding that what was human in Frank Castle has finally died.
Savage She-Hulk #3 of 4 - Fred Van Lente + Peer Vale/Michael Ryan. It's Lyra versus Noh-Varr, and then some explanations for her mission. Still enjoying it.
Trial of Thor one-shot - Peter Milligan + Cary Nord. It's a Tale of Asgard police procedural with the always entertaining Warriors Three performing the detective duties. This issue totally had me drawing up parallels between the Warriors Three and the Lone Gunmen. But that's probably just cuz I'm crazy. Milligan shows that he has a fair handle on how to deal with the mythology, perhaps enough to put him in the running as a future Thor scribe, while Nord demonstrates the same masterful mix of delicacy and brutality that he showed on Conan.
War of Kings: Ascension #3 of 4 - Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning + Wellington Alves. Chris Powell has to find a way to get out of the other realm he's trapped in, but right now it's of secondary importance to surviving. Meanwhile, the two Raptors continue to manipulate events towards their unknown goal.
Wolverine: Origins #37 - Daniel Way + Scot Eaton. Wolverine intensifies his hunt for Romulus, the mysterious figure that has manipulated Logan from behind the scenes his entire life. But of course it's not that easy, so we have another of Wolvie's old sparring partners thrown at him.
X-Men: Legacy #225 - Mike Carey + Phil Briones. Xavier takes on the Acolytes all on his own. You're sure he hasn't gone crazy again?
X-Men Origins: Gambit - Mike Carey + David Yardin. Many parts of Gambit's past that have only be described or shown in single panel flashbacks are here shown in full. It's informative and accurate, but introduces nothing new and even leaves some things unexplained for newer readers. Still, if you like Gambit and you want to see what led up to his first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266, then check this out. (Your Moment of Nerd: Technically, Gambit first appeared in X-Men Annual #14, where he's with Storm as she returns to the X-Men. But UX #266 gets the credit because it shows how he met Storm, and features him as more than a guy with two lines that spends the rest of the time in the background.)
DC COMICS
Power Girl #2 - Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti + Amanda Connor. More over-the-top superhero action, and the origin of the Ultra-Humanite.
IDW PRESS
Transformers Spotlight: Cliffjumper - Shane McCarthy + Robby Musso. Cliffjumper is stuck on a remote planet and befriends a pair of the pacifistic, pre-industrial locals. Their acceptance and naivety highlight the divide in Cliffjumper's character between being a compassionate protector and a merciless warrior. It's another brilliant issue that shows how there is more to Transformers than changing shape and shooting stuff. Obviously above Michael Bay's reading level.
IMAGE COMICS
Bomb Queen presents: All Girl Comics one-shot - Kat Cahill/Kris Simon + Seth Damoose. A mostly amusing tale about a bunch of female heroes banding together to solve the mystery of worldwide male impotency. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't ended in the typical Bomb Queen fashion where cynicism and violence win the day.
back-issue buy
MARVEL
Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! #2 - Now I've finally read an Anti-Venom story, courtesy of Dan Slott + Chris Bachalo, but I'm not nearly as enamored by it as I was with the original Venom stories. He's just too... whiney. But the reason my shop owner pointed the issue out to me was the Spider-Man and Wolverine story by Zeb Wells and Paolo Rivera (doing a good Paul Pope impersonation). It's a great example of the relationship that Marvel is trying to push onto the characters, but it works very well.