It was a small week, only 8 titles (5 Marvel, 1 DC and 2 Indies) made it home. In a sparse week, there were a couple disappointments and some super stars and one title (Daredevil) that was surprisingly better than expected.
The Pull List (in Reading Order)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #29 ★★★★☆
RAWHIDE KID #3 ★★★★☆
ULTIMATE COMICS: AVENGERS 3 #1 ★★☆☆☆
X-MEN #2 ★★☆☆☆
DAREDEVIL #509 ★★★☆☆
SUPERMAN #702 ★★★☆☆
Unread
MARVELMAN FAMILY’S FINEST #2
DUST WARS #3
ROUTE DES MAISONS ROUGES #1
★★★★★ = Really, really good.
★★★★☆ = Better than average.
★★★☆☆ = Average.
★★☆☆☆ = Below average.
★☆☆☆☆ = Not good.
☢ = Unreadable.
Pick of the Week
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #29
w: Matt Fraction
a: Salvador Larocca
Story: ★★★★☆
Art: ★★★★☆
Cover: ★★★☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
The train is back on the track as Stark, Pepper Rhodey and company are making headway towards getting Stark Resilient up on its proverbial feet. Of course, not everything is running on schedule. The team finds itself between the Hammer Girls, the U.S. Government and what’s this? There’s something wrong with the boss.
Fraction & Larroca deliver a character-driven story that has all (most) cylinders firing. There is enough story to go around to give Pepper (Rescue’s back, c’mon, it can’t be that big of surprise, she’s on the cover!), Rhodey, Tony and the bad guys plenty of panel time. There are no less than five interlocking plotlines running through this story-arc. Invincible Iron Man #29 is perhaps a little light on action, but there’s more than enough to keep the reader busy.
And no review of this issue would be complete without mentioning Tony’s tux. Robert Downey Jr. should be very grateful that he has enough star-power to keep this suit off the silver screen! Though, the tux makes perfect sense, in a Tony Stark sort of way!
The Rest
DAREDEVIL #509
w: Andy Diggle & Anthony Johnston
a: Roberto De La Torre
Story: ★★☆☆☆
Art: ★★★★☆
Cover: ★★☆☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆
It’s time to check in with Shadowland. Daredevil, the leader of the Hand is still hard to type and take seriously. In DD #509, much of the “epic” that is supposed the shake the status quo of New York, takes place… in Japan. Go figure.
Overall the story isn’t as bad as you might think. Mind you, it hasn’t really gotten a lot better. Although, the secret behind-the-scenes chicanery of the puppet-master ninja masters orchestrating this whole catastrophe is a little intriguing (not enough to make me want to out and buy many more issues, but intriguing).
The Luke Cage & Iron Fist (the actual New York part) was okay, though whoever dressed Danny when he “rolled out of his crib” needs a good talking to. Someone needs to remind them that it’s one thing to dress in a leotard and run around with the Avengers, but the Eddie Bauer, “urban ghetto” wear is embarrassing billionaire superheroes everywhere. Even Matches Malone can’t bear to look.
De La Torre’s art is a real win and works for the desired theme of Shadowlands.
DD #509 has some redeeming value (it is better than Shadowland #1), but there are some really knuckle-head moments. For example, the super-ninjas having a conversation while sneaking into the ninja-castle just seems ridiculous. Overall, it’s a good enough book to make you not (entirely) regret the $2.99 price tag, but not quite good enough to make the remaining 24 chapters of Shadowland look appealing.
RAWHIDE KID #3
w: Ron Zimmerman
a: Howard Chaykin
Story: ★★★★☆
Art: ★★★★☆
Cover: ★★★★☆
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
The Kid rounds up the last member of his Sensational Seven and the whole story takes some big step forward. All around the story gets a little bit more serious, we get a betrayal (really?), a back-story and a talking wolf.
Zimmerman and Chaykin continue to put together a classic western laced with (more present-day inspired) tongue-in-cheek innuendo. There are less laughs, but more big grins in the third issue, as moving the plot along takes center stage. While each of the three Rawhide Kid issues that have come out have been good and fun to read, the plot, which meandered through the first two issues, seems to sprint through the third. Overall, you get the feeling that when all is said and done the complete mini-series is going to better than the sum of its parts. And the parts have been fun reads.
ULTIMATE COMICS: AVENGERS 3 #1
w: Mark Millar
a: Steve Dilon
Story: ★★★☆☆
Art: ★★★☆☆
Cover: ★★★☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Ultimate Avengers 3 #1 is disappointing. A little bit of the problem is that the actual Avengers only barely appear in the issue. All but the entire issue is consumed introducing Blade, the new Daredevil and setting the stage for the story-arc. The new Daredevil story is okay and reads better than it probably should, but the Blade intro and the whole vampire arc is anemic. Vampires have always been popular, but now-a-days you can’t swing a stick without staking one of these undead bloodsuckers. That being said, a vampire story really needs to bring something to the table to be taken seriously.
Alright there is one big (green) hitch that is kind of interesting, but it doesn’t evolve well in the issue. In fact it is kind of thrown in at the last minute. No doubt this “little hitch” changes the tone of the vampire story enough involve the Ultimate Avengers and it will be interesting to see which “heroes” are assembled for this new team, but all in all as first issues goes this one doesn’t flow well, and underwhelms.
Dillon’s art, while perfect for the Punisher seems out of place in UA3 #1. While there is no question Dillon handles the over-the-top violence well, the characters seem to be more like DC Direct action figures (not vary articulated, in other words not-very-bendy) than superheroes (or vampires) that should be jumping off the page. Now, if you’ve read Dillon before, you know this and it isn’t a problem (say, in the Punisher, Dredd or Preacher), but doesn’t translate as well here.
X-MEN #2
w: Victor Gischler
a: Paco Medina
Story: ★★☆☆☆
Art: ★★☆☆☆
Cover: ★★★☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Another day, another vampire story, and look it must be a Marvel comic, because there’s Blade. The second issue of the “Curse of the Mutants” doesn’t have the wow-impact that the first issue did. The story moves along okay, if not a bit predictably. The whole vampire menace seems to be perplexing. On one hand the X-men are taking this whole infestation kind of casually (I know when you save the world every four issues, you can only get so excited about vampires), even when they realize they are apparently surrounded. Me, I think I’d call the Avengers at that point.
Overall, X-men #2 is a below average set-up story, nothing nearly as interesting as the cool suicide vampire in the first issue. Medina’s artwork starts off well enough, but about (almost exactly) half-way through the issue it begins to look like he has to rush to finish the issue.
SUPERMAN #702
w: J. Michael Straczynski
a: Eddy Barrows
Story: ★★★☆☆
Art: ★★★☆☆
Cover: ★★★☆☆
Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆
Superman continues his Forrest Gump-like walk across America, with pretty lackluster results. Supes participates in a pick-up game of ball (really, this is why you’re walking across the country?!?) and comes across some (headline timely) illegal aliens hiding in plain sight. Both points in the story come off as over-contrived and you are kind of left wondering if there’s going to be more to this long hike.
Mind you, Superman #702 isn’t bad, it just isn’t great. Perhaps the best part is JMS taking a shot at his former employer (and one of the more publicized break-ups in his career), with the “It’s a new day, a BRAND NEW DAY…” line near the end of the issue. Barrows artwork is also okay, but it is interesting how he draw Superman and people of a younger age like… hmmm… Dan Jurgens or Eduardo Barreto, but anyone say older than 40 has an almost Neal Adams-ish look to them.
JMS is a master of developing a story over time, drawing the reader into the longer arc by telling strong episodic stories. Spider-man, Thor and especially Babylon 5 come to mind. His ability to tell a superior single-issue story can be seen in his recent DC work, over in Brave and the Bold. So far, his run on Superman (the two whole issues of it) has demonstrated neither of those qualities. It may be hard to temper expectation with delivery, but when you have a proven talent (JMS) and the biggest franchise in comic history, it’s hard not to have big expectations, and apparently harder to live up to them.
Regardless, this is one of those series you stick out because you still expect it to get better, and it really hasn’t been bad so far.
