Whilst it’s true that books like this and Spidey #1 are geared towards a younger readership, who are less cynical about comics these days compared to older readers, whether Totally Awesome Hulk has staying power beyond Cho and Pak only time will tell.
2015 saw a lot of comic book variant covers. While variants are nothing new to the world of comic books, the amount of variants seems to be skyrocketing. DC Comics could crash the market with Dark Knight III, releasing over 50 versions of the first issue alone. If the demand for variant covers continues to …
Daredevil #1 Written by Charles Soule Art by Ron Garney Colors by Matt Milla Letters by Clayton Cowles Published by Marvel Comics When opening a copy of Daredevil #1, it looks like the newsprint of a 1970s comic (Maybe, a Frank Miller written and drawn issue of Daredevil.). New series artist Ron Garney (Captain America) …
The second chapter of the “Vader Down” crossover between Marvel’s Darth Vader and Star Wars books, this issue makes it clear that this is going to be a narrowly-focused story – that is, chiefly concerned with one specific narrative rather than a story spanning multiple threads across multiple books. That said, regular series creators Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca turn in an exciting second chapter of the story, one which moves the overall narrative forward (however incrementally) but also puts the spotlight on the book’s regular supporting cast.
Yes, it’s unfortunate that the filming schedules and timelines didn’t match up, and Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (or even Daredevil) couldn’t be in Captain America: Civil War and give audiences flawed people like them, who care more about making ends meet and protecting their families and neighborhoods than some overblown ideological struggle. Hopefully, Spider-Man and Scott Lang will fill their regular person shoes in the film, but they are huge ones to fill, especially after Krysten Ritter and Mike Colter’s captivating performances in the Jessica Jones TV show.
Even if Mike Deodato’s art doesn’t fit the space battle portion of the comic, Vader Down #1 is an explosive start to Marvel’s first Star Wars crossover and will give Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen the once in a lifetime opportunity to show what Darth Vader would do once the chips are down. It’s best read while playing “Imperial March” on an endless loop.
Star Wars #12 brings “Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon”, the second multi-part story of Marvel’s new Star Wars series to a rousing, triumphant conclusion, as all the various elements of the story come crashing together in Grakkus the Hutt’s arena, in the process reuniting the previously-scattered cast and putting to rest the mystery of Sana and Han’s marriage.
In the more “out-there” issue of the Sam Wilson run, the entire team both on writing and art supply us with a horror-comedy issue that boosts the plot forward, gives us a modern take on an old-school Captain America tale, and a double dose of Nick Spencer’s brand of kooky comedy.
Ms. Marvel #1 is a delightful smorgasbord of superhero action, sweet romance, bright art, and has a strong, yet fantastical connection to real world issues. G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazwa, and Adrian Alphona craft a first issue that is both exciting and heart wrenching as Kamala Khan starts to take steps into being a more responsible and mature superhero and human being in both her actions and interpersonal relationships.
Overall, the Uncanny Inhumans (featuring Johnny Storm and Beast) are doing big things in their corner of the All-New, All-Different Marvel Universe. Soule puts forth the effort to include Beast, who is relatively new to the new cast, and have the cast interact with him to varying degrees in some fantastic scenes. The interactions between all of the players make the comic worthwhile given their history with one another. Johnny Storm being called out on his relationship with previously dating Medusa’s sister Crystal is complicated, yet funny to think about in the light of the events of the story. Uncanny Inhumans #2 is another big step in Kang’s plan of dominance, and another step for Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, and the rest of the art team to prove why the Inhumans are larger than life and can give the X-Family a run for their money.
Not only is Secret Wars #7 an enjoyable issue, it gets the train back on the tracks at such a crucial point in the miniseries. Questions raised in previous installments are answered, even if readers will feel at times as if they missed something between issues #6 and #7. It is safe to say however, with the cliffhangers of this and the previous issues, and with only two more issues to go before the miniseries concludes, Secret Wars is rounding out into form and promises to end with a boisterous bang.
Extraordinary X-Men #1 will probably be seen as energetically drawn and colored sacrilege by both long time X-Men fans and ones, who jumped on with Bendis’ work. And for new fans, it’s darkness for darkness’ sake as the X-Men’s outsider metaphor is drowned out by the Inhumans and turned into yet another post-apocalyptic story. Lemire also makes a few stumbles in his plotting, like having characters tell about an upcoming mystery involving Cyclops and a cure for mutant disease instead of seeding compelling visual clues or starting to build arcs for characters. And his final page cliffhanger, which was probably meant to be the triumphant return of a “dead” X-Men, falls flat because it already happened in a Secret Wars tie-in. This is one is probably on editorial though. Even though Humberto Ramos’ manga influenced, yet wide-screen art adds some pep to the X-Men’s powers and fight scenes to go along with Edgar Delgado’s bold color palette, Extraordinary X-Men #1 is a misstep for the franchise in plotting, themes, and characterization.
The penultimate chapter in the “Showdown on the Smuggler’s Moon” story, this issue finds Jason Aaron and Stuart Immonen suitably ratcheting up the excitement and action, bringing the three separate groups of characters (Luke, Chewie & Threepio, Han, Leia & Sana) closer than ever to converging on Nar Shadda as the story heads into its finale.
The issue ends with another night time stealth ops where ninja shadow warriors meet Tony in a Madame Masque related trap ,and issue four promises major changes to the usual Tony Stark formula in the form of the arrival of Mary Jane Watson. If the ride we’ve witnessed thus far in these four issues are any indicator for Tony’s future, readers will be enjoying the new Invincible Iron Man for months to come.
Not only does Steve Orlando’s Midnighter comic star a gay man, it tells blunt, sex-positive stories about that character. The main cast of characters in the upcoming main Avengers comic All-New, All-Different Avengers has a small minority of white dudes.
While there is still a lot of work on the road to a utopia of complete social justice, there is a trend of progressivism in some of today’s superhero comics that is impossible to ignore.
As a African-American hero, Sam deals with the history of protests and hardships everyday people of color are subjugated to but, given his newly filled role he sees things the same just at a elevated peak. While Steve can more or less sit back with his “blind faith” and put his all in how he thinks the nation will handle things, Sam has a more nuanced view of American politics. It’s a great ending with a more cheerful and hopeful final page from Acuña. Sam Wilson is quickly expanding his own corner of the Marvel universe that Spencer and Acuña are carving out. Sam Wilson: Captain America is the Marvel title that deserves to be read, it’s telling the story that people need right now. It’s political driven, modern, and has art that will make you want to hang each page as a series of paintings.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 is shining example of visual comedy through facial reactions and beat panels from Erica Henderson, and she continues to draw the cast of the book with real human proportions even if they live in essentially a cartoon physics world where Dorreen tucking her tail in her pants to give herself a “rad badonk” is enough to conceal her secret identity. She and Ryan North continues to make jokes at the expense of the Marvel Universe while developing and expanding Squirrel Girl’s supporting cast while continuing to make Unbeatable Squirrel Girl the bright center of fun in the Marvel Universe.
The second issue in the rip-roaring new start to Iron Man ramps up the action and lets us inside the new Marvel Universe ever so slightly to great results. Bendis understands Tony to the point it feels right at home alongside Matt Fraction’s extensive run on the character already. Only time will tell where Invincible Iron Man will go and so far Tony will only soar higher.
If Uncanny Inhumans is the flagship title to lead the charge of the wave of books concerning our Inhuman friends, then with the help of Charles Soule, Steve McNiven, and the rest of the art team, it’ll be a welcome change of pace for the Marvel Universe.
Alias #1 is a real gamechanger when it comes to Marvel and superhero comics in general as it depicts the life of a superpowered character, who acts, feels, and talks like an actual human being while still dipping into some superhero and detective story tropes along the edges to keep the plot moving.
Guardians of the Galaxy #1 has a pretty fantastic opening. Artist Valerio Schiti and colorist Richard Isanove treat readers to a double page of the monstrous Annihilus and Brood Queen (who were relegated to talking heads in the Galactic Council in the previous volume of Guardians) planning domination of the universe. But then they are never heard from again, and this issue is filled with quipping (and repetition of the same jokes sadly), a little action, some arguing, and a third act that is over too early. Also, all the characters seem distilled to one character trait, except for the Thing, who gets a few solo pages to spread his wings and enjoy his freedom in space away from the Fantastic Four. For example, Rocket Raccoon is angry, Drax uses big words, Flash Thompson is awkward in space, and Kitty Pryde has a tense relationship with the absent Peter Quill. In fact, this whole issue is overshadowed by Peter Quill instead of letting him be king of Spartax while the Guardians go on cool adventures.
At New York Comic Con, I had the opportunity to chat with prolific colorist Matthew Wilson about his colors and process on The Wicked + the Divine and Phonogram, his relationships with various artists as well as get a sneak peek of the upcoming Black Widow series he is working on with writer Mark Waid (Archie) and artist Chris Samnee (Daredevil). Wilson first came to prominence with his colors on Phonogram: Singles Club with frequent collaborators Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie and has colored a variety of Marvel books, like Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Wolverine, and Secret Avengers. He recently finished a run on Daredevil with Waid and Samnee and is currently taking a break from the Eisner nominated WicDiv as guest artists draw and color this arc. Matthew Wilson is also the colorist on Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl and Paper Girls from Image Comics and Deadpool vs. Thanos from Marvel as well as the upcoming Mighty Thor and Black Widow from Marvel.
The Star-Spangled Avengers is back. Sam Wilson is flying higher (in coach seats!) and making bold statements about who exactly is defending the USA and the World at large in the process. Nick Spencer of Morning Glories, and more recently, Ant-Man, fame does wonders for Sam Wilson and company in the re-debut issue for the “all-new” Captain America.