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Quick reviews for the week of 06/25

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Secret Invasion: Runaways and Young Avengers #1: Looks to be so much better than the first team-up miniseries during Civil War. Chris Yost does a fine job writing the kids and Takeshi Miyazawa’s art is a nice blast from the past. I especially love the focus on Xavin during this issue as she may be my favorite character but he’s usually regulated to the team grouch. This series will definetly keep me happy until the next Runaways series is released.

Runaways #30: Forgetting the insane delays on this book, this issues (and the story arc in general) is pretty good. But that’s all I want to say about it. Read my feelings on Joss Weadon and this issue here.

New Avengers #42 and Mighty Avengers #15: The real story of Secret Invasion is all in the tie-ins, especially these two series. I especially like these flashback issues that give us the backstory of the invasion, show us how the Skrulls have influenced the Marvel Universe recently andjust how long each imposter has been in place. If only the main miniseries were like this.

Final Crisis #2: I’m now warming up to this series. I think Grant Morrison may be loosing his touch as a storyteller as some panel-to-panel transitions are pretty rough, I still think the ideas of this series are what places it above all else. Lots of thrills and surprises. I don’t care too much about the reveal at the end so much as the results of the explosion just before it.

No Hero #0: I’ve been a big fan of Warren Ellis’ work for the Big Two but I’ve never dipped into his independent work. With the realease of this $1.00 preview, I thought it was time to remedy that. No Hero looks like it will be good. Maybe the idea isn’t totally original (I mean, how many gitty “real-world” superhero comics have there been since 1986?) but Warren’s delivery is worth giving the series a look. And Jaun Jose Ryp’s artwork is astounding, even if the final splash page looks like the house was blown up with a Tang bomb.

1985 #2: This book really isn’t doing it for me. It seems to not know what it wants to be: touching real-life drama or superhero fantasy by way of the Monster Squad. Really, the only thing that keeps me reading this is geeking out over the 80’s continuity references. Remember: Juggernaut’s got nards.

Hulk #4: This comic opens with the Watcher getting punched out and ends with the Hulk bitting a gun barrel to disarm his attacker. What more needs to be said?

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Ayre Force Review

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Ayre Force follows the adventures of super spy/billionaire playboy Calvin Ayre and his team of likewise super spies. Co-written by adventure journalist Adam Slutsky and Joseph Phillip Illidge, best known for his work on the Batman books, Ayre Force has a perfect balance of drool-worthy scifi weaponry and real-world manliness to keep the reader very happy. Yes, this a good comic.

The team of Illidge and Slutsky build an incredibly engaging story, which is quite the challenge when most comics come prepackaged with decade old characters that everyone loves. Sure, it can sometimes feel like a Nick Fury comic at times, but Arye Force is a surprisingly original read. And yes, the dialogue is a bit cheesy at times, but the well-paced plot more than makes up for that.

But I have to say that the best part about this book is the artwork by Shawn Martinbrough. I tend to steer clear of action-oriented title from small publishers because, frankly, the art tends to be terrible. But that’s not the case here. Take, for instance, when Calvin Ayre blows the fuck out of the owners of a bear bile farming factory for being evil dickheads.

Very pretty.

Okay, now what I’ve established that this is a good comic, I must tell you that something bugged me the whole time while reading this. Here is the panel at which my unease firmly set in and sadly it was only on the second page:

Yes, you read that correctly. Bif Naked. This Bif Naked:

Here’s the deal, Bodog, the publishers of this comic, is not a small, up-and-coming comic company like I had thought. Turns out it is a multi-billion dollar corporation specializing in music, gambling and fighting entertainment. And all the members of Calvin Ayre’s crack spy team are real-life employees of the real-life company. And Calvin Ayre happens to be the actual founder of Bodog.

So, having found that out about a quarter of the way through, my reading experience of the book was severely soured by the idea that I was spending my time reading what seems to be little more than an elaborate branding experiment. An advertisement. No matter how much I enjoyed the story and artwork and general craftsmanship of the book, I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being sold something the whole time. (But the same can be said for any DC comic in the past year.) A billionaire envisioning himself as a badass spy, getting top talent to produce it, having several corporate money-makers written into the story and then selling it as a $20 hardcover has to be the biggest case of corporate wankery I have ever seen in my life. But, truth be told, if I were filthy rich I’d do the exact same thing.

And then I read the page in the backmatter on how all the proceeds of this graphic novel are going to the Calvin Ayre Foundation to fight the inhuman trade of bear bile farming and promptly felt like an ass. So instead of this being one company’s celebration of itself, it is an incredibly awesome means of raising funds, complete with celebrity cameos, kick-ass fight scenes and card game-related puns.

I’m afraid that most comic fanboys will ignore this book for not being a “serious” comic and that’s a real shame. Yes, the heavy corporate branding is awkward at times, but once you take it for what it is, a balls-to-the-walls spy spectacular for a good cause, it hard not to love it. With solid art, great plotting and fun concepts, this graphic novel should not be discarded for more of the same old crap from the same old publishers

So, if you’re looking for a good read and you’ve Googled bear bile farming by now and know how much it sucks, you can order a copy of Ayre Force from the Bodog website.

And with that, I leave you with perhaps the greatest panel I’ve read this week.

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Invincible Iron Man #1, aka Pepper’s Panties

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Is it just me or are there an awful lot of Iron Man comics being published now a days? What’s that all about?

Out of them all, the most heavily hyped has been the second ongoing Iron Man series, the Invincible Iron Man, written by comics superstar Matt Fraction. Any you know, overall it’s a really good read. The premise (which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the silly “open source vs proprietary software” pitch we had been teased with) is interesting, the villain seems to be a good match against such a powerful protagonist, Tony’s voice is smart and engaging. Plus, the art is pretty good.

Now, I haven’t been reading Iron Man comics very closely since, well, ever but I’ve gotten to know the shellhead pretty during Civil War, World War Hulk, Secret Invasion and everything in between. But has Tony really been this oversexed lately? I thought he was too busy running the Marvel Universe for gratuitous sex scenes (in a rated A book).

You know, it’s almost like the writer was told to portray Tony a certain way to appeal to a new audience who’s only familiar with the character from something like a big budget movie about Iron Man’s origins in which he is portrayed by a bad boy Hollywood actor. I dunno. And another thing I thought was a little strange was the tension between Tony and Pepper, particularly concerning wardrobe choices.

Wait, what?

Is Tony able to hear this, because I’m pretty sure he’s able to hear anything said on a SHIELD carrier or anything next to a computer for that matter. And if that’s the case, Pepper is looking at some serious sexual harassment charges. And if Tony can’t hear it, that means Pepper is kinda creepy. Or Tony is so damn hot he makes professional women with years of experience act like girls stripping for a trucker hat.

In closing, Matt Fraction is at the helm of a great, engaging and fun Iron Man comic. New readers, old fans, and panty fetishists will love it.