let the light shine in

drive-by readings

New Avengers #4 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Stuart Immonen Wade Von Grawbadger Laura Martin Chris Eliopoulos

what we learned: the magic men can't hazard a guess as to who's been trying to stage another Inferno show in New York, where our other Avengers (oh, hi there, Jewel!) have their hands full swatting demons left and right. until the sky spits out Danny, and the first thing he does is ...
oh shit moment: ... give Dr. Strange an iron fist, minus the iron. hey, nice duds, Danny?
what's next: we've known of that thing for years, but who really owns the Eye of Agamotto? Agamotto, of course. duh.


i bet Strange never got sucker punched by Clea or the Night Nurse like that.

mystic pizzazz

drive-by readings

New Avengers #3 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Stuart Immonen Wade Von Grawbadger Laura Martin Chris Eliopoulos

what we learned: this is actually a fun book even if its just for Stuart Immonen's tight cartoony style. Iron Fist is transported by the possessing demon somewhere else, while his teammates deal with the sky breaking open with more demons pouring out. the magic boys retreat to figure who's big enough to take them all on. Victoria, meanwhile, decides to lend a Hand.
oh shit moment: eh? is that the Ancient One?
what's next: do we need to call in Zatanna or something?


ummm, not this one.

heroic snaps!

this week, we get sneak peeks on various books (characters) that would litter the Heroic Age, and we give them grades based on these shorts. all subjective, of course. that would be the indication of personal interest, of course.

"Admissions"
Christos N. Gage/Mike McKone/Jeromy Cox/Joe Caramagna

the first Avenger-in-training makes his appearance and he has the power of the Jurassic Park trilogy! Reptil, experimented on by H.A.M.M.E.R. (man, i hate paying taxes!!), is broken out by Avengers not asked to be on Avengers or Secret Avengers or New Avengers. hey, does this mean Hank and Tigra are gonna be an item? y'know, on account of Tigra having a baby Hank? what -? that was a Skrull?! when did that happen?? (B+)

25 mph? you're slower than molasses, kid.

"Heroes for the Ages"
Jeff Parker/Gabriel Hardman/Giancarlo Caracuzzo/Elizabeth Breitweiser/Ed Dukeshire

ok, i already said i just grabbed on the bumper of the bandwagon. geez. i just wonder what's wrong with this world that there's always something bad happening somewhere. even sunny Hawaii. (B)

i keep referring to him as Jimmy Choo.

"Coppélia"
Kelly Sue DeConnick/Jamie McKelvie/Matt Wilson/Nate Piekos

i don't think i need this to convince to follow the Black Widow's adventures, especially if drawn by Daniel Acuña. Natasha takes a break from Avenging (avenging who, really?) and goes back to the spy biz from time to time. and just in case nobody bothered to check Wikipedia, the title of the ballet directly correlates to the tiny dancer/weapon she breaks out here. (B-)

you hit like a girl! uh ... wait ...

"Big Trouble in Little Chinatown"
Jim McCann/David Lopez/Alvaro Lopez/Nathan Fairbairn/Cory Petit

my thanks to Jim McCann for opting for the freelance gig to at least continue scripting Hawkeye and Mockingbird. pretty much in Dark Reign, Clint Barton was all bluster and no muster. maybe this time he'll be doing something useful. and who is Bobbi talking to, you think? my bet is her old boss, Nick Fury. (A-)

how about porn? or two people, one cup?

"Top Dog"
Jeff Parker/Kevin Walker/Frank Martin/Albert Deschesne

now that's a sneak peek! Parker lays some more groundwork which makes sense (ex-T-Bolts Fixer and Mach 5 redoing security, Osborn being frog-marched among inmates) and positions Cage (albeit in a telegraphed move) to draw the line and yet make his pitch. for reform. there's a new sheriff in town. (A)

"Thumb On The Pulse"
Kurt Busiek/Marko Djurdjevic/Jelena Djurdjevic/Dave Lanphear

is this Busiek's first Marvel work in years? can't remember. but its a familiar refreshing method, this time a take on Hitler-moustache-rocking, all-around-blowhard JJJ who for some reason is still mayor of NYC (Mitchell Hundred and Bloomy would laugh), and how he reacts to the Heroic Age. though it ends differently than you expected, well no, not really. (A)

a message in three panels - a fine collaboration between Busiek and Marko the Awesomeness

"A Date with The Doctor"
Rick Remender/Chris Samnee/Matthew Wilson/Dave Lanphear

while we won't be seeing a regular Doctor Strange, er ... Sorcerer Supreme book anytime soon, and maybe its better that way. is there a market for magic books? sure there is. but in this economy, this should work like Hellboy - a series here and there, but still building continuity. Dr. Voodoo can also make regular appearances all over the place, especially if writers handle him well like Remender. by the way, what did Steve Rogers ask Stephen Strange? and how come he didn't ask Dr. Voodoo? (B+)

uh, what did i miss? where's Monica?

"Diplomatic Incident"
Paul Cornell/Leonard Kirk/Paul Mounts/Dave Lanphear

this just reminded me why i miss the Cornell/Kirk duo on a Captain Britain/MI:13 book. oh wait, there could still be one in the future, right? and on that note, who else hasn't been offered Avengers membership? me, apparently! (B+)

that means Brian's not gonna sleep because it'll be 9 GMT to 5 PST job!

"N.Y. State of Mind"
Dan Slott/Ty Templeton/Jorge Maese/Dave Lanphear

and of course, Spider-Man, despite being a member of the Avengers and practically just a goddamned real frikkin' hero many times over, still gets shit from New Yorkers. ease up once in a while, fellas!! (B-)

-----
Enter the Heroic Age, Age of Heroes #1

Remy? Remy, is dat you?

Gambit is now the new Sorcerer Supreme!



actually, no ... that's Brother Voodoo. who's actually Remy LeBeau in blackface.

-----
The New Avengers #53