Thunderbolts #155
Thunderbolts is a monthly series that has seen its share of changes in direction. A series with a devoted following, it gained increased notoriety when Warren Ellis came on board to transform the titler into something new. Headed by Norman Osborn, the 'new' Thunderbolts was a team of supervillains that rounded up super-powered fugitives who refused to sign up with the Super Hero Registration Act. When Osborn fell from favor, the decision was made to radically revamp this approach but retain what Osborn had started in some fashion.
Moved to the maximum security prison known as 'The Raft,' the new Thunderbolts are directed by Luke Cage (presumably when he's not leading the New Avengers) and consists of Juggernaut, Ghost, Moonstone, Songbird, Mach V and Fixer. Former Captain America stand-in and USAgent John Walker is the warden, a move that fans have heralded as the most interesting thing ever done with the character. They are sent on missions via the Man-Thing's unusual ability to chart a course through dimensional portals. In the previous issue, Man-Thing was 'freed' from the Raft and brought to his former home in the Florida Everglades where an invasion of hunters from another dimension was causing trouble with the locals. It became clear that the Raft was far too susceptible to magical intrusion and steps were made to recruit a new team member who could fill the role supernatural magician.
Writer Jeff Parker is fast becoming a hot name in the industry and while I love his work on Hulk, it is his writing on Thunderbolts is just superb. It's a great superhero book with strong characters, smooth plotting, a sense of humor and enough drama to keep things interesting without being too demanding for a monthly book.
The latest issue showcases not only Parker's grasp of the Marvel U's characters but also the artwork of Kev Walker. Cage gets in touch with fellow Avenger Dr. Strange and along with Man-Thing, they give Satana a visit. Beset by obstacles, they have to fight their way through fireballs, demonic creatures, a stone giant and sexually carnivorous succubi. Meanwhile, back on the Raft, moves are made to assemble a 'back-up' team of TBolts in case the main team is taken out of action. Grimly, Songbird and Fixer make their selections and prepare to test the new recruits.
I often hear from comic readers that there are far too many books that are tied into other books or hampered with continuity, making a casual buy at the comic shop unlikely. For those people, Thunderbolts is the perfect remedy.
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Incredible Hulk #624
Since his return to the Incredible Hulk, Greg Pak has been struggling to define his new direction on the comic. After a big event story utilizing the Hulk's other son from Sakaar, Pak has continued his mission to assemble a 'Hulk Family' dynamic by throwing all of the gamma-irradiated heroes together. Unfortunately, this has had mixed results. Banner/Hulk is all too aware that he is not much of a leader, father or husband and the life that he leads is a violent one.
In the previous story line that tied into 'Chaos War,' the Hulk went to bat for his 'family' against Zeus and was thoroughly beaten to a pulp for his troubles. It seems that Hulk can't do right for doing wrong. A call from Ka-Zar, ruler of the Savage Land, regarding some refugees from Sakaar is more bad news. Paring down his 'family unit' to just the war-bound, he intends to take care of some unfinished business. Instead, he finds that he is far from being in fighting condition and is nearly overpowered by the bizarre beasts of the wild. Betrayed by the small tribe of Sakaarians, he is taken to Miek, the vengeful bug creature who tricked Hulk into waging war on his former Earth friends in World War Hulk.
Like the previous issues, the Planet Savage storyline is greatly dependent on the reader being familiar with other story lines. That makes it difficult to get into as almost every character is motivated by actions that took place years ago and off-panel. Added to this the bulked-up cast of characters and you have a Hulk comic that is nearly impenetrable to the casual reader. Nevertheless, it is a decent action book and features some outstanding artwork by Dale Eaglesham. Planet Savage is a doubly challenged story line as it relies on longterm readers to be invested and there have been so many reasons thrown their way to drop the book in the past two years that I'm not sure if the regular reader of Incredible Hulk has all of the knowledge that they need.
Like Thor, Captain America, Spider-Man and Iron Man, Hulk is a high profile character instantly recognized by anyone who happens upon an issue. I don't want to give the impression that I dislike the monthly book as I think that it is well written and has fantastic art, but it is frustrating that the series is so steeped in continuity. It's a tough call as I am sure Greg Pak wishes to continue to develop ideas that he has started and to reward his devoted readers for sticking by him on this journey by furthering those stories, but it's a bit of a strain at the same time.
I understand that Pak will be leaving soon after his next major storyline. He has made such a strong contribution to the Incredible Hulk comic, so I cannot help but wonder what kind of direction the next creative team will take with this series and if it will be welcoming to new readers and those few who have stuck by the monthly book for so long.
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Amazing Spider-Man #655
I had somewhat randomly selected all three of these comics for this blog post, but am now finding that all three have the same challenge, attracting new readers or insulting the current fanbase by negating what has come before. If there is one comic that has been plagued with this challenge more than any other, it has to be Spider-Man. I still bump into people in restaurants and stores who see my Spider-Man T-shirt and use it as an opportunity to rant against what has 'been done to' their favorite character, often cursing the name of Joe Quesada in the process.
For the record, I dislike One More Day, but the end result has been an outrageously enjoyable Spider-Man book. On the whole, Spider-Man has been an extremely friendly book for new readers.
The arrival of Dan Slott (another one of my favorite writers) as the regular webhead supremo is a dream come true, but his opening story Big-Time was a mixed affair. The follow-up story involving the Spider-Slayers was less impressive, leaving me to wonder if my comic book dream was being unraveled before my very eyes. The death of J Johah Jameson's wife in the previous issue didn't really impact me as I had no connection to the character and when it became clear that the next issue would be devoted to her funeral... I was less than enthused.
Well, color me surprised.
Allow me to make a bold statement when I say that this issue is a testament to the art of creating a comic book. In the hands of a less talented writer/artist team, this issue would have been a sappy and over-indulgent display of maudlin tear-jerking. Instead, the very real depiction of loss and guilt is excellently portrayed in wordless panels drawn by the dean of delineation, Marcos Martin.
However, the comic book really takes off when a weary Peter Parker finally attempts to sleep and is assaulted by nightmarish visions from his past. This issue is a high water mark of a career-defining degree. It shows that not only does Dan Slott have an encyclopedic knowledge of Spider-Man, but he can see how each piece of that history relates to a whole. The entire sequence is beautifully drawn in a stylish breaking of the standard storytelling panel layout. Slott's writing is similarly disjointed yet driven with emotional impact, leaving the reader exhausted and affected by the issue.
I have read that the new Amazing Spider-Man is gaining support from reviewers and hope that it continues to do so as it is an intelligently crafted book that is delivering the goods for one of the best modern superheroes around. As it should be.
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