CJLO Comic Review Roundup: Vol. 1

Every Wednesday, CJLO's resident comic dorks bring you the best in whats new and good in the world of comic books. However, since this is our first feature, we figured we'd throw you a bone with a ten point breakdown of the Marvel Comics Universe circa 2009 that may be necessary to understand some of the finer points of our rants...so, without further ado..

1. There was a Civil War amongst the Heroes that divided them into two factions.

      a. Registered Heroes recognized by the US government  - Mighty Avengers

      b. Non-Registered Heroes, considered outlaws – New Avengers

2. Captain America was the head of the Non-registration movement. He decided to turn himself in. On the day of his court appearance he was assassinated.

3. Tony Stark aka Iron Man felt responsible for the death of Captain America, since he was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and pushed for the registration act.

4. In a moment of insanity the Scarlett Witch caused the near extinction of the mutant population. She has since gone into hiding. At this time there are less than 200 mutants left on earth. 

5. As head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Tony Stark and others organized the Avengers Initiative. An initiative to place a super hero team in every State in America.

6.Bucky (Captain America’s Sidekick) took the mantle of Captain America in the absence of Steve Rogers.

7. The Skrulls (an alien race with the ability to shape shift and imitate superpowers) infiltrated every major team in the Marvel universe. They also used the Avengers Initiative to make sure they had an agent on every team.

8. Norman Osborn (A.K.A. The Green Goblin) was made head of the Thunderbolts. Under his command, the team became a group of ruthless monsters.

9. When the Skrulls made their move, everyone in the Marvel Universe joined together to fight them off. The new Captain America, Thor and Iron Man all came together and gave everyone hope.

10. Norman Osborn made the kill shot that took the life of the Skrull Queen. He has since been named the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. replacing Iron Man. As the new head, he renamed the operation to H.A.M.M.E.R.

Got it? Good. Lets go...

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Dark Avengers #1

Written by Brian Michael Bendis / Art by Mike Deodato Jr, Rain Beredo and Cory Petit

The Skrull invasion has been stopped and when the smoke cleared Norman Osborn, better known as the villainous Green Goblin, stood as a hero. Taking into consideration what he’s done with the Thunderbolts, he has been named the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Hazard Intervention, Espionage Logistics Directorate.) His first course of action is to name his right hand woman, Ms. Victoria Hand. His next move, to create his new Avengers team, is met with resistance from longtime hero Ms. Marvel. Sadly, not all the Mighty Avengers have an issue with Norman as the new head of the U.S. recognized team. Both Sentry and Ares join Norman and are even willing to go after Ms. Marvel when she storms out of the Avengers Tower. As the issue goes on we see Bullseye (long time Daredevil villain) take the name Hawkeye, Venom (long time Spider-man villain) take the name Spider-Man and some somewhat unknown Marvel characters take on the mantles of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Wolverine. With a little help, Norman discovers numerous Iron Man armors and paints one with a Red, White and Blue colour scheme to become the Iron Patriot.

Brian Michael Bendis did a decent job with all the titles he wrote in 2008. The Skrull Invasion being such a big part of the Marvel Universe, a lot of the weight for its success was on his shoulders and he carried it well. I admit I was never the strongest supporter of another major Marvel crossover so soon after Civil War and World War Hulk, nor did I like the use of the Mighty Avengers and New Avengers titles being used as footnotes to the Secret Invasion mini-series. However, Brian taking charge with this title is looking to be pretty positive. So far the characters he’s going to be working with are very good. Having villains and heroes working together to represent the a government sanctioned team is going to be a tricky one to write but I think if he could handle pretty much running the entire Marvel Universe for a few months he can write the Dark Avengers title without breaking a sweat. I worry about the use of relative unknowns in the story, with the likes of Noh-Varr, Moonstone and Daken. I can see how using these characters could work with new readers; the characters can be developed and built upon. For someone like me who has been reading the Avengers titles for the past two years, yes I like seeing new blood but I don’t want characters that will need time to give their back story. For example I don’t know anything about Moonstone; I’m not interested in getting to know the character. To me she’s just a place holder until Ms. Marvel comes back to reclaim her name. However in the grand scheme of things she has a story that will probably need telling. What it all comes down to is; I’m a pessimist when it comes to new characters in good comics, but technically this is a whole new title altogether and like I said before with Brian Michael Bendis writing, it’s going to be a good run.

Mighty Avengers #21

Written by Dan Slott / Art by Khoi Pham, Allen Martinez, Danny Miki and Jason Keith

Coming fresh off the death of Jan Van Dyne aka The Wasp, the Mighty Avengers have been in limbo. Norman Osborn has been off creating his own U.S. sanctioned Mighty Avengers and the New Avengers have pretty much the same roster they had pre-Secret Invasion. This leaves a lot of heroes who survived the Secret Invasion with nowhere to go. This story is centered on the regrouping of a classic Avengers team as Scarlet Witch returns from her self- imposed exile. As she goes around the world looking for figures that represent the spirit of the original Avengers, we find ourselves with a team made up of Hulk, Vision, Hercules, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, US Agent (in place of Captain America), Stature (in place of Giant-Man), Jocasta (an android with the memories of the late Jan Van Dyne) and their leader Wasp (Hank Pym’s new alter ego in honour of his late wife). This is all set to the back drop of a worldwide outbreak of magical madness. The last page introduces us to a villain that should make this arc in the Mighty Avengers very interesting.

What can I say about Dan Slott? I’ve met him in person and he’s really amazing guy. He’s really funny and a very good writer. Unfortunately I haven’t read many Dan Slott titles but the few things that I’ve had the chance to read were great. His run on She-Hulk helped establish the character as she is today. Unfortunately She-Hulk was cancelled but that had nothing to do with his ability to tell a great tale, it had more to do with general acceptance of She-Hulk as a standalone character (and he wasn’t writing the book at the time either.) It’s not easy taking over up the reins of the Mighty Avengers title after all the work Brian Michael Bendis did on the book. However the main thing here is; these aren’t the same characters, the only person returning to the team is Iron Man. When I say returning I mean, returning after the alien invasion of course. I’m looking forward to how everyone will interact, Scarlet Witch is one of the most hated people in the Marvel Universe right now, US Agent is arrogant and the last time I saw Hank Pym and Tony Stark together, Hank was telling Tony off. I think the best thing about this new lineup will be the excessive tension between some of the major characters. Any team with Hulk in the mix is bound to have some problems and I think Dan Slott is ready to tell those stories.

-Doc Holidae

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Ghost Rider #31

Written by Jason Aaron/Art by Tan Eng Huat and Roland Boschi

I've never been a Ghost Rider fan; I always liked the idea of this badass on a bike with a flaming skull using chains and shotguns as weapons.  Cool right?  Well, no.  Every time I took a swig of the flaming Ghost Rider water I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.  Recently a new name came on to write the Spirit of Vengeance, one Jason Aaron.  This guy is one of, if not the best "new" writer to come on the scene in years. His (independently written series) Scalped is regularly considered one of the best books on the market right now and every arc or mini-series he's done with super heroes has been spectacular.  So I decided to jump on a few issues ago and I haven't been disappointed. Ghost Rider apparently is actually a weapon from heaven instead of hell and it looks like he's not the only one anymore.  There are Ghost Rider's from around the world that have been getting murdered and now Johnny Blaze, and the remaining few Ghost Riders have to standoff against Danny Ketch (the former American Ghost Rider for those not in the know) who has been killing GRs and absorbing their powers Highlander style.  I don't want to give away too much since this is the penultimate issue in the arc, and really I'm just trying to sell you on the series as a whole.  The art and writing have both been consistently amazing (and with Tony Moore coming on for an arc, only going to get better.)  Jason Aaron has turned GR from some goofy flaming skull to someone with depth and history, he's single-handedly made Johnny Blaze into a compelling character and made the Ghost Rider universe one that I want to stick around in.  If you like over-the-top grindhouse style movies, check this out.  If you want some supernatural stuff with ghosts, angels and devils?  Check this out.  Ghost Rider isn't goofy and silly anymore. It's one of the best books Marvel is putting out right now that's not set in space.  I can't really recommend you jumping on with this issue but if you wait until issue 33 we'll be finished with this arc and ready to go on some awesome new ride with one of my personal favourite artists Tony Moore handling the art.

-Ryan Closs

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X-Factor #39

Written by Peter David/Art by Valentine DeLandro

I’ve never been one to hide my feelings about things I like, and for the past two years Peter David’s X-Factor has consistently been one of the best comic series I’ve read and have looked forward to it month in and month out. I’ve been a fan of the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe for as long as I can remember and my logic has always been “the more obscure the better.” David is a writer who has long since proven he can take Y and Z List characters and turn them into literary gold; so while you may not be familiar with characters like Multiple Man, Siryn, Darwin, Longshot, Rictor, M and Strong Guy, they’ve sure as hell been written better than Wolverine or Cyclops over the past few years (and given the writers who have worked on the more mainstream mutant titles, that says a lot.) Now the important question you must be asking is why the hell am I padding this review with so much filler? The answer is simple: because Peter David asked me to.

While I (and most regular readers) usually skip over the story recap page at the beginning of Marvel’s books, I always make an effort to check out ones written by Peter David since he is wont to slip in a few nuggets of wisdom and hilarity into even those preliminary pages. However, this issue’s recap page featured a message directly from David urging readers to not, under any means, reveal what occurs in the issue to those who have not read it. While this may seem like a reasonable request, it’s rare that writers actually make it, especially given the tendency of issues to be spoiled before (and after) release these days. However, I choose to honor Mr. David’s wishes, so I won’t be telling you how this issue left me in a state of literary induced shock after I put it down. I also won’t be telling you that David has taken these characters to places no real human should ever have to go. I won’t tell you about how Valentine DeLandro’s art has progressed in leaps and bounds over the last few issues. I won’t reveal just why I kept having to remind myself that this wasn’t the last issue of the series and that somehow the characters will move forward from the events of this issue…but I certainly have no goddamn way how they'll do so. However, what I will tell you is that this issue is an example of serialized drama at its absolute best that leaves you not only with an unshakable case of the chills but an unquenchable desire to find out what happens next.

And THAT is good storytelling.

Thunderbolts #128

Written by Andy Diggle/Art by Roberto De La Torre & Frank Martin

I’m gonna be honest…I’ve been following this series since it’s relaunch in late 2004, including both team changes and new directions that have occurred since then. I’ve always enjoyed the concept of villains attempting to redeem themselves through heroic actions, except somewhere along the way Marvel seemed to forget that that was the POINT of The Thunderbolts as a team and the main draw of the series on the whole. This issue began yet another new direction for the book and for the team that saw an entirely new group of villains assembled into a paramilitary, black ops super human assassination squad without even a hint of heroic intentions put together by the “all-of-a-sudden-a-lot-more-important-than-he-was-three-months-ago” Norman Osborn. You would think that someone who was as much of a fan of the original concept as I was would be pretty appalled by this sudden change in direction…except there’s just one thing standing in the way of that, namely being the fact that the issue is SO FUCKING GOOD (and I REALLY didn’t want to think so too!)

The issue starts off with a bang and a very important celebrity appearance in the form of the newly inaugurated President Barack Obama. You see, as Marvel is currently attempting to line its continuity up to modern pop culture, Obama was ALSO just inaugurated in the Marvel Universe. Yet evidently this occurred AFTER Osborn was given so much power and, to be frank, the new President is unsure whether one man should HAVE as much power and thus orders Osborn to take a little ride in Air Force One with him to plead his case. However, on board the plan we learn that Obama has been consulting with the Marvel Universe’s resident super-hero shrink, Dr. Leonard Samson, who believes that not only should Osborn not be in the position he is in, but he should not even be walking the streets. More importantly, Samson also possessed video surveillance footage of Osborn having a mental breakdown, reclaiming his Green Goblin persona and killing multiple U.S. security officers (an event seen by the readers just a few issues prior.) However, before Samson has an opportunity to play this footage, Osborn makes his move and engages the Thunderbolts who had stowed away on the plane. What followed is probably one of the most well orchestrated, fictional snatch and grabs seen since Oceans 11 (the original Rat Pack version…not that George Clooney garbage.) While I’ll save the gritty details for you to discover, I will say that Diggle seems to have a great handle on the characters he chose for this team (the ones I was familiar with anyway…though the ones I was reading for the first time are pretty compelling already) and the art, while muddy in some places, was consistently good throughout. As for the cliffhanger ending that will certainly have ME reading the next issue (and is already kinda spoiled by the advance solicitations)? All I can say is “wait…you aren’t supposed to be there, you!”

-Josh Mocle

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For more comic-y goodness, tune into Comic Book Talk on The Phantastic Cypha, every Friday at 11:45PM and The Onomatopoeia Show every Sunday from 3PM – 4PM. As always, a big thank you to Arune Singh and everyone over at Marvel Comics for showing us love and giving us the good stuff to read every Wednesday.