brother grimm

drive-by readings

Fantastic Four #584 (Marvel) "Three Part Two: Congratulations, Mr. Grimm. You're Handsome Again!" Jonathan Hickman Steve Epting Paul Mounts Rus Wooton Alan Davis/Mark Farmer/Javier Rodriguez (cover)

what we learned: this title has been gathering steam and now its clicking on all cylinders, with Jonathan Hickman bringing all the previously-introduced elements slowly to bear. Sue takes charge to be an ambasadress for the Atlantean tribes (Angelina Jolie!), and Reed may be in trouble with the Surfer. for the best part, he also finds a way to revive the 'can we make Ben Grimm human again' record and get away with it, with him and Johnny painting the town red (hey, Stan!), tangling with a retooled Yancy Street Gang (that was a hoot), and having a tender moment with Alicia (aaaawwwww).
oh shit moment: uh ... Galactus?
what's next: always expect the Fantastic. Hickman brings the wow every month. someone also draw up divorce papers for the Richards couple.

hey, me too!

separate lives

drive-by readings

Avengers Prime #2 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Alan Davis Mark Farmer Javier Rodriguez Chris Eliopoulos

what we learned: the Avengers Big Three are separated - Thor encounters the Enchantress, who believes its his fault that the other realms are in disarray, Tony gets abducted by Fafnir's goons, and Steve, starving for love since being trapped in time, gets seduced by a sexy emphatic elf.
oh shit moment: that's me wondering how this thing fits into the current Thor story arcs where Loki (at the close of Siege) already made a deal with Hela to rent her a piece of Mephisto's land and rechristen it as Hel, which is now i suppose all of these is happening.
what's next: oh, you better run.


what, you forgot this already? Skrull!!!

prime cut

drive-by readings

Avengers Prime #1 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Alan Davis Mark Farmer Javier Rodriguez Chris Eliopoulos

they sure are wringing every dollar they can squeeze out of the Avengers relaunch, aren't they? and from a business point of view, Marvel can't avoid not to. and from the fans' perspective, big name creators + intriguing stories and angles = we will come.

set right in between Siege and the actual relaunch of Steve Rogers' private armies, Avengers Prime tackles the long-awaited question of how to repair the Avengers Big Three's fractured relationships, after multiple storylines since Ragnarok (not Clor) and Avengers Disassembled. though i don't think it can be done within one adventure, this is a good start. wait, i assume this happens even before Tony and Thor talk about bridging that country mile between them. in that sequence, they talk as if Avengers Prime hasn't happened yet (which gets confusing because of scheduling and deadlines). comments, fandom?

of course, thanks to Mark Millar, we will have this inevitable scene:


Tony and Steve's relationship (in the modern era, or the last 20 years) was anything except being buddy-buddy. although from my childhood, i do remember them being very best buds at least when they're having their Avengers adventures. we all grow up and their characterizations grew up as well, putting in conflict and disagreements and all those things that feed and make a friendship mature. now a sizable decade or so since Operation: Galactic Storm, Tony and Steve are once again at odds, considering things went into the toilet after Steve's death (in which Tony mourned him and said the whole thing wasn't worth it - but now, that memory's lost in history's dustbins, eh, Matt Fraction?). but then again, its always a rite of renewal - they're still going to work it out like true friends always do.

i don't know if anyone noticed but from the opening scene, Tony acts like a little boy (again) who wants to show off his toys and his smarts, trying to impress Thor that they can rebuild anything. sounds a little immature, don't you think, in the light of the destruction of Asgard around them? is this the same guy who rebooted himself at Extremis 1.0 then was shocked by his douchebaggery during the events that led to Civil War and later?

of course, the next cool scene - and this one is vintage Alan Davis - is Captain Rogers clearing out a roomful of elves.


not seeing one trademark splash page save the opener and closer, it was a pleasant visit nonetheless from old friends Davis and usual collaborator Farmer. although it seems weird that Cap takes a bunch of arrows from the scene, but not a bow? unless he turned into Bullseye all of a sudden?

with the reveal of a surprise villain in the end, keeping up with the theme in the recent Avengers-related titles, fans like me should be in for a treat.

prime cut

yes. YES! YESSSSS!!!! i want them to talk. i want them to hash out their differences. i want them to have a beer (hell, beers!) and discuss all what happened in the last 10 years. and also this.


Avengers Prime: Siege Aftermath #1

(marvel.com via @tombreevort)

snaps: Fantastic Four #575

... where the Mole Man enlists our fearless foursome to help him ... am not really sure what for. there's this underground city that used to be inhabited by the High Evolutionary, and now it's rising up, and whoever stays within its limits becomes super intelligent. so it rises up, the US is in an uproar, and Ben Grimm may just, just maybe, become at par with Reed Richards in the smarts department.

and the cover of course, has no connection whatsoever with the story inside.


oh my, Princess Leia ... you look different.


get out!! he's a geneticist?? i thought he built a chain of hotels!


umm ... weren't you in New York ... where there's no fault line? (apparently there is.)


the best way to beat Galactus as always, is to starve him.


what are the chances that devolved children living miles beneath the earth's surface, speak English?


shut up, Steve Jobs!! Reed Richards had the HomePad even before your iPad was launched!!

winged-footers ex-wives

drive-by readings

Dark Reign - The List: X-Men #1 (Marvel) Matt Fraction Alan Davis Mark Farmer Nathan Fairbairn Joe Caramagna

so is ol' cranky Subby an X-Man now? how the mighty have fallen. and to add insult to injury, ex-girlfriend Marrina (who's already an ugly fish-worm thing literally) is remodified and enhanced by no less than Norman Osborn himself to piss off his Royal Highness. and when i say enhanced, i don't mean no Nip/Tuck stuff here.

fans, remind me or educate me again:
- even with the influx of mutants or non-mutants to Utopia, how is it that they can have fresh veggies, fruits and farmers' markets?
- weren't Namor's people in Latveria? what did i miss?
- was Namor wearing that X-logo belt or did he slip it on while his back was turned to Emma?
- aren't you all happy there are no more dead X-Men? Magik is back, Psylocke is back, even Necrosha says all of Genosha will come back ... oh, wait, Jean Grey is still dead.
- isn't it a bit creepy to have Psylocke (possessing Bobby) to be saying (in tandem with him) "i can't hold it ... it's too big ..." (you sneaky Matt Fraction, you)
- do you like Osborn's long-haired fashion model personal assistant? of course, i am referring to Robert Reynolds, a.k.a. the Sentry.

so the score is, Osborn 2, people on The List, 1.

why Wolverine can't visit Obama

with the smoking ban still in place, despite the new President's tendency to sneak a cigarette, ol' Canucklehead and his sticks has been shut out of the White House.

losing my religion

"Standoff"
Thor vol.2 #58, Iron Man vol.3 #64, Avengers vol.3 #63
Dan Jurgens/Mike Grell/Alan Davis/Robin Riggs/Mark Farmer


this is how the Steve Rogers' death in Civil War could have been prevented, or how to stop World War Hulk. but that's not gonna happen, 'cause some people need to pay mortgages.

quick recap: this story arc revolves around a certain segment of a country's ("Slokovia") population worshipping Thor (who parked Asgard right above Manhattan - i must've missed the NBC special on that one). Slokovia's dictator doesn't condone religious tolerance and whacks the dissenters. Thor hears about it and righteously kicks the Slokovian military's ass. the US, not wanting to agitate Slokovia's bordering country, Latveria (Dr. Doom's little slice of heaven, for those not in the know), wants Iron Man to rein in his fellow Avenger, or else.

here's a foreshadowing how Tony Stark's futuristic mindset becomes a grating pain in the ass for his friends.

i mean, if Thor knew Tony was playing around with his DNA and would clone him one day and sic him against their friends, he'd take Tony's head off right there and then.

i swear, i think a 7-year old is a lot more mature than these superheroes, or even most of the world leaders today.

"that's my American Doll!" "no, it's mine!"

here's something you don't see everyday:

Cap: "this won't look good with the troops, i gotta say something heroic ..."

as Civil War showed, who needs bad guys if your heroes act like this and can beat the pulp out of each other easily?

one powerful scene written up by Mike Grell and beautifully rendered by Alan Davis shows the persuasive power of Steve Rogers.

Tony: "brain? what brain? it does not compute ..."

if Tony wasn't actually going up against Steve in Civil War, maybe Steve could have convinced him otherwise. or maybe not. Tony would have attempted to neutralize Cap as soon as.

even if you don't respect your commanding officer, you RESPECT the Flag Man.

commanding officer: "ahhh ... shit. hello, Gitmo latrine duty ..."

if Thor had been around during Civil War, who would he side with? you can't arrest a God, much less make him register. and with the Hulk trying to stomp everyone into mush, Thor's rumored return to the Marvel Universe is critical.

each issue treats us to at least one spectacular Alan Davis splash page ... this one here's my favorite:

and thou shall not have other Gods before me ... so forget democracy!

Cap's shield gets dented, but a few well-placed hammer blows and the thing's as good as new. eh? wasn't this shield supposed to be indestructible? not so. here's a record of the rare events when the supposedly impossible happened.

all in all, its nothing we've seen before (justice vs. status quo), but nicely woven into Marvel mythos, specifically the friendships between the Big Three. it took just a dented shield for uh, detente to happen, but this event already sowed discord within their ranks. Thor goes nuts and thinks himself as a Savior, reshapes the world in his image, feels guilty, resets the timeline, starts Ragnarok and plays the game until he goes comatose. no, i mean he disappears and until now, he's M.I.A.

so, hell, its about time, dammit!

one annoying thing i hate when artists draw Iron Man is they try to make the mouth of his facemask just like a ... cloth mask. People, that's metal!! as in armor made of metal! this isn't Robert Patrick/T1000. and what about those teeth?? aaargh.

gee, that rant made me almost lose my religion. or my lunch.