tying the loose ends

drive-by readings

The New Avengers: Finale (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Bryan Hitch/Stuart Immonen Butch Guice/Andrew Currie/Karl Story Paul Mounts/Justin Ponsor/Rain Beredo Chris Eliopoulos

first up, let's see what Avengers maestro Brian Michael Bendis let us know about New Avengers: Finale:


i've been increasingly critical about Bryan Hitch's artwork, which was becoming 'dirtier' (maybe its the bunch of inkers he has to work with?) and due to either deadline concerns (sometimes i don't mind lateness if the artwork is blow-my-mind stellar) or the bulk of work to be drawn, he ends up drawing with painful postures and sometimes disproportionate limbs. i mean, study this scene below, and draw your own conclusions.


i love Hitch circa The Authority and The Ultimates. i believe he does his best work with Paul Neary or Andrew Currie, and will be best served with limited series work that has some leeway on its shipping schedule.

so what about the rest of the story? this is intended to tie the loose ends of Siege, because they decided that it was going to be a 4-issue series, and obviously that won't be enough to tell the whole kaboodle. last time we saw Madame Masque, she was hightailing it with her balls-less boyfriend, Parker the Robbin' Hood out of Oklahoma. turns out she went to run to her dad, Ra's Al Ghul. oh wait - that's Count Nefaria.


really, its hilarious that supervillains are named literally, to ensure that you know they're BAD: Erik Killmonger, Doctor Faustus, Eric The Red, Spymaster, Doctor Doom, Mister Fear. although Mister Fear and Dr. Doom sound really cool.

the guys need to capture them unless they want to hand the bad guys another opportunity to put them through this kind of wringer again. also, its way past time this Brian K. Vaughan creation be put to pasture, as we can agree with Count Nefaria, his 15 minutes are up. luckily, every other bad guy is more than happy to give him up. its refreshing to find the Avengers, and this time not just the regular Avengers we used to know, but every major and promoted-to-major character that Bendis incorporated into the fold during this decade, to be actually working together. Spider-Man shouldn't have to endure any JJJ tirades any longer from hereon - one word from Cap and Jameson should shut up. but then again, would that be consistent with the Spidey creative team's direction to keep him a lovable loser?


hey, hey, hey, don't call Nicky Boy a terrorist!

speaking of Spidey, i want him to be contributing some more brains to the operation. i know he's the joker of the group ("booties!"), and they need comic relief in the heat of battle, but he's smart and it was past time he got Stark sponsorship (don't mention that Spider Armor - or was that all forgotten after Brand New Day?).

Disney execs are ROTFL

the Avengers acquit themselves further by bagging the Hood, Masque, Hood's pal John King, and Nefaria, with the help of Wolverine ("anything to get away from Cyclops - guy was driving me nuts." - what, because he's under pressure to keep the mutant race alive, fend off Bastion with his leadership skills and tactics while keeping the body count to a minimum, keep his faith in Hope with Kurt in mind, AND keep his sanity knowing he's sleeping with Emma Frost every damn night? you don't say.), and the forgotten fact that Ms. Marvel can absorb energy and redirect it at you. hear that, Marvel supervillains? keep that in mind next time you meet Ms. Marvel!

its fun to see Maria Hill leading the cheers for the good guys to take over again. wasn't it so long ago she was staring down Captain America, and sought to take him down? i guess working with Tony Stark, and working Tony Stark, if you know what i mean, works wonders. holy crap - too bad Tony doesn't remember any of that! would she file a paternity suit against him if she got preggers and he denies it, because that's the truth - he really doesn't remember?

and what of Steve Rogers? 2007 was so long ago. to tell the truth, i'm not bitter that he was brought back, y'know? sure, his death, with all the hype and related comic work that earned Marvel a gazillion more dollars (catching the eye of Disney), has been taken down notches, but didn't we expect this (coming back) to happen? this was part of Marvel's plan all along - not like the death of Jean Grey on the moon, and the haphazard resurrection just to launch X-Factor. at least he's not coming back to reclaim the mantle, and they just issued a one-shot (hint: its not Who Won't Wield the Shield!) to sort that out (i'm kinda looking at you, Battle for the Cowl)

really? don't you remember you used a joy buzzer on Tony when he shook your hand in Civil War?

final scene: what, no Steve Rogers, Sharon Carter, Logan, or Natasha?

well, all's well that ends well, i guess. though i have a couple of questions: i wonder how Jessica Jones got herself an AT&T contract without being traced by Osborn/H.A.M.M.E.R.?

oh well, maybe Pete jailbroke it and added a variable cellsite piggybacker (really talking out of my ass now)

what i really wanna know is, Bryan Hitch, what's up with Luke's now-you-see-it-now-you-don't earring?



oh hey, anybody know where Daken is?

/the quick answer is: he's going to replace Wolverine, so he gets a free not-going-to-jail card.

things i liked this week

Siege #4 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Olivier Coipel/Mark Morales/Laura Martin/Chris Eliopoulos (variant covers: Gabrielle Dell'Otto/Joe Quesada/Danny Miki/Richard Isanove)

and that's the fall of Norman Osborn in four tidy chapters. the world is right again, and don't you give too much credence to those who complain. i for one am glad the Blackest Night Dark Reign is over, and let's get back to our shiny happy heroes doing the one good thing for the first time in a long time: playing together again.

Dark Avengers #16 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Mike Deodato/Rain Beredo/Cory Petit
a thrill-an-issue ride comes to a fitting end. in Hollywood, they might treat this as a franchise and churn out unworthy sequels. in Marvel, they ... whooops, don't give them any ideas! (wait, it is the House of Ideas after all ...)

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 (DC)
Grant Morrison/Chris Sprouse/Karl Story/Guy Major/Jared Fletcher
who doesn't want to see prehistoric Batman? crusader Batman? pirate Batman? revolutionary soldier Batman? Zulu Batman? WW2 infantryman Batman? disco roller Batman? wait, are they all available in action figures? count me in!!!

Birds of Prey #1 (DC)
Gail Simone/Ed Benes/Nei Ruffino/Steve Wands
aaaand they're back as well. this should be a consistent highly-touted title, and maybe Gail Simone can make this work again. not sure about Ed Benes who didn't exactly totally wow us in the Justice League reboot, but is actually returning to a book he did before. i want to enjoy this ride, and its with the usual suspects (Oracle, Huntress, Zinda and Black Canary) with a few new ones (Hawk & Dove). Hawkgirl should also be here from time to time. let's go, Birds! woooo-wooooo!


Black Widow #2 (Marvel)
Marjorie Liu/Daniel Acuña/Nate Piekos (variant cover: Stephanie Hans)
whu-? how the hell did i miss the first issue? after looking up images of Ms. Liu on the 'Net, man, am sold! i mean she's the reason why Daken's in touch with his feminine side. seriously, here's the premise: someone's gunning for 'Tasha, and she's suddenly like public enemy number one. we see Clint rocking the Hawkeye duds again, so its already the Heroic Age. hello, can't someone vouch for her? and will see that fake ass bitch Widow Yelena again? probably.


War of the Supermen #2 (DC)
Sterling Gates/James Robinson/Eduardo Pansica/Wayne Faucher/Blond/John J. Hill (cover: Eddy Barrows/J.P. Mayer/Rod Reis, variant cover: Aaron Lopresti/Matt Ryan/Brad Anderson)
hmmm. maybe it is fun to see arrogant Kryptonians and equally-douchebaggy Earthmen duke it out. i dont know, though, who's the most loathsome: Lex Luthor, General Lane or General Zod. whatever, i hope they all get sent to the Phantom Zone then play tag with Prometheus' ghost or something.


Justice League: Generation Lost #1 (DC)
Judd Winick/Keith Giffen/Aaron Lopresti/Matt Ryan/Hi-Fi/Sal Cipriano

right, your best friend-turned-evil Max Lord is back in town and he just gave everyone the shivers. even worse, he just made you forget he ever existed. JLI and FKATJL fans, don't expect the ha-ha-ha this time around, if only because Kevin Maguire isn't involved in the interiors.

Daytripper #6 (DC/Vertigo)
Fabio Moon/Gabriel Ba/Dave Stewart/Sean Konot
the melancholy daytripping continues. Moon and Ba find these stories that are tailor-made to pinch your heart. some people might say, if God existed, He works in mysterious ways, and we have no control over our destiny, because its been already set. so why bother living? should we not fear the unknown, but be always ready for the ride to come to a grinding halt?

Amazing Spider-Man #631 (Marvel)
Zeb Wells/Emma Rios/Chris Bachalo/Tim Townsend/Jaime Mendoza/Antonio Fabela/Joe Caramagna (variant cover: Doug Braithwaite)
let me just ask one question: how is it that Peter has not yet been driven insane with all the crap he has to deal with since Brand New Day? well, the answer might be it gets balanced because he gets to be in a happy place when he's with the Avengers ... (Chris Bachalo, your scaly lizards rock!!)


Avengers: The Initiative #35 (Marvel)
Christos Gage/Jorge Molina/Andrew Hennessy/Edgar Delgado/Joe Caramagna (cover: David Yardin)
and this is the end of the Initiative. though you're somewhat required to check out the other books for certain events in here, it doesn't detract much as a bookend to almost three years worth of stories of Avengers-in-training. some loose ends will still be loose ends (the Baron, the robbin' Hood) and some issues are open-ended (Diamondback and Constrictor). bonus: gratuitous T&A shots of suddenly-a-MILF Tigra. oh yeah.

doesn't he have the Skrull Hank's eyes?

Flash #2 (DC)
Geoff Johns/Francis Manapul/Brian Buccellato/Sal Cipriano (variant: Ryan Sook)
this merits a "like" because am a bit intrigued where Johns is going with this (with that, should i also say, "Wally West, we hardly knew ye"?). on the flipside, its just the second issue and Manapul's backgrounds have been barely there or completely disappeared. is it because 'everything's a blur' with this title?

denouement

drive-by readings

Dark Avengers #16 (Marvel) Brian Michael Bendis Mike Deodato Rain Beredo Cory Petit

with this, the long-awaited conclusion of the most well-received villain-as-heroes piece since the original Thunderbolts debuted in 1997, i am a little sad to say goodbye to these jerks and not have the monthly dose of their deliciously sleazy and nasty skulduggery. it does make sense with the end of Siege, there's no need for this dirty Avengers team anymore. Bendis and Deodato have created a masterpiece of their time, a reflection of the world in general and America in particular, set in superhero mythos. similar to Busiek and Bagley's Thunderbolts who stepped in with the disappearance of the major heroes, Dark Avengers came in with the ascension of Norman Osborn, the discrediting of the same beloved heroes, filling a void and had terrifying real-life prospects if it were, well ... real life. imagine if the US government was completely taken over by a bunch of ruthless trigger-happy conservatives, hawking their brand of patriotism and bent on remaking the world in their image. oh wait ...

and yet somehow, the end of the Dark Avengers doesn't seem to satisfy the bloodlust that built during their reign. by bloodlust, i mean the rage at these guys to bring them to justice. Frank Castle missed his chance to assassinate Osborn, and eventually got dismembered by Daken. the X-Men battled them to a standstill, but for pragmatic reasons, retreated to their own island. Clint Barton was just useless. i wanted blood.

apart from the one-two punch dealt by Tony and Luke to an escaping Moonstone and Bullseye, i guess we can expect nothing else but jail for these felons. we all know prisons never hold them (what else brought together the New Avengers?), so i'm almost expecting nobody will really get punished, despite Nick Fury's promise to Phobos, despite seeing Norman Osborn trapped in prison in his cell with his mocking Goblin persona.

nitpicking a bit, it would have been great to have consistent panels with all the related titles (see bad guy positions below). overall, the coordination of the sequences were good.


also, we saw the introduction of an increasingly-intriguing and possibly another long-term character in the Marvel Universe. somehow they managed to shove Val Cooper aside and position first Maria Hill, and now Victoria Hand, to be (action-oriented) liaisons to the superhuman community. and they're obviously much more than cookie-cutter characters. take Victoria for instance. most of the time she's hot, especially with her backstory in #11. although, well, look at Victoria here, she looks a little weird and a little bit exaggerated on the chesty side.



my hats off to Brian Bendis and Mike Deodato for a sterling run. see you in Secret Avengers.

illuminated

drive-by readings

Siege #4 (Marvel) "The Siege of Asgard - The Fallen" Brian Michael Bendis Olivier Coipel Mark Morales Laura Martin Chris Eliopoulos Gabrielle Dell'Otto/Joe Quesada/Danny Miki/Richard Isanove (variant covers)

as the Staples ad goes ... well, that was easy. three birds, one event. take out Norman Osborn? check. resolve Bob/Sentry/Void thing? check. take out Loki? check.


Bendis brings the payoff in 4 issues, though there may be yet unwritten stories or edited parts that ended up on the cutting room floor. nevertheless, i'm good with the ending, though other fanboys may not be, and will wail and gnash their teeth but grudgingly jostle for the front seat for the Heroic Age. that's what the Interwebz are for.

ah, Norman, Norman. ah, Dark Avengers #1 wasn't so long ago, was it, Iron Patriot? (ugh) how the mighty have fallen. and without your H.A.M.M.E.R. and your fancy armor, you're just another insane loony tune who needs to be locked up.


what's next for Osborn? some or all of this would happen: the public would forget about all of these in two years, he'll escape and make trouble and/or clear his name, and he'll be somewhat powerful again pretty soon. so Marvel writers, if you're serious about "making him pay for his crimes" .... well, you better make sure. its a tired cliche to have them bad guys returning and returning for no good reason (and that goes for the heroes as well). and with the 'Heroic' theme that's coming, it looks like it may go easy on the villains as well (i doubt somebody wants to organize a firing squad, given that these a lot of these bad guys are pretty resilient). Stark already did the Guantanamo thing. do you build a prison to hold these guys (the Raft? puh-leaze.) or do you have a permanent solution? more likely, they'll all still be running around like the rats they are.

now for Bob Reynolds ... ah, the hero who started out as a marketing gimmick, then became the figure we all know who had the power of a thousand or a million (i can never remember which) exploding suns, and who basically was the most powerful superbeing in all creation. and we can't have that, can we? look how they used him to get rid of the Molecule Man (previously, the most powerful being around these parts, except that he didn't want the attention and nobody really cared about a nerd). am not sure if the Sentry went head to head with the Beyonder, but of course, we just exist as a twinkle in the Beyonder's eye. ah well. that was a good ten years, wasn't it?


and we can't talk about the Sentry now without mentioning Ares now, can we? i found him a much more interesting character than Hercules, and he provided a lot of value for the Avengers, be it regular or dark edition. i'm waiting for the salute to him. i wonder what Phobos is thinking right now. there will always be a God of War, right? for these guys, they died here and now. let's not bring them back, ok? it just renders poignant events like these senseless (hello, Steve Rogers).

so, about Loki ...

i'm a little puzzled by his Asgardian loyalties and his sudden desire to help out the heroes, and eventually take one for the team. really? didn't he just sell out the Asgardians to Dr. Doom to cut up? and now he's regretting the whole set up? boo hoo.



oh hey, remember this?


yes, that's Loki's Get Out of Being Dead free card, so you better expect him to show up somewhere down the road, expectedly to Thor's surprise (y'know, you've been with Loki with centuries and y'all still get punk'd by him all the goddamn time its already tiresome. yeah, you too now you can't kill him anymore. geez.).

a few more notes:

- when Iron Man exhorts everyone to hit The Void with everything they got, does Spider-Man shoot webs at it? how about Luke? Cassie?
- even with that restored backup in his head, most of the guys think Tony's still a douchebag, right? basically, that's the only lingering memento of Civil War - the resentment.
- hey, look, Maria Hill's still wearing her S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform! she probably sleeps in that too (except when Tony has to get in her pants - ohhhh! did i type that??)


- like i said ... the Victoria Hand limited series coming soon!


- Nick Fury has like 1,024 secret bases all over the world, and some of them are probably off limits to S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel but built with S.H.I.E.L.D. money and resources. is he going to pass these things on to Steve Rogers? will they be sharing them? ("what are you doing here? it was my turn to use this as a secret hideout! yes, we did agree on it!")

- what did teh Asgardians put on top of Stark Tower? a piece of Asgard like an Alamo sign?
- who made a new cape for Thor after he wrapped Bob in it and sent him to the sun?
- yes, Siege was an Avengers-centric event, but something of this magnitude shouldn't entail the presence of Reed or some X-Men? apparently, Rogue had a thing with Bob (!) (check out The Sentry: Fallen Sun on sale now! - Steve Wacker), and there are saucy details to be dished.
- hey, come to think of it, i never saw Earth's Scientist Supreme in the thick of things in this issue. neither was he in the big shindig at Stark Tower (Iron Fist was there. DD was there too, wouldn't his Hand colleagues frown on that?). is that a dis against Hank Pym? is he going to be the villain in some big event soon?


and so Siege comes to a close. goodbye, Norman, its been fun. hey, wait, didn't you have a baby with Menace?

snaps: Thunderbolts #143

... where we find the current iteration of T-Bolts make their final choices based on their convictions, and two of them (three, if you count the conflicted Ghost) actually help out the good guys, in a way. for one brief moment, you believe rehab will work. next up: Luke Cage.

i'm surprised Frank Simpson's not the Teabag Party mascot. yet.


Paladin's first heroic act since Avengers #271. wait - he was trying to score with Jan. dammit.


and now you're good for something, you jerk.


Pietro pwning Mr. X, while Wolverine couldn't? get out!!!


cue in the lonely Hulk music when Bill Bixby does the hitchhiking thing.

things i liked this week

time is not my friend. so, in brief, here's the books that distracted me from Just Cause 2 and Borderlands.

Doc Savage #1 (DC)
Paul Malmont/Howard Porter/Art Thibert/Rob Leigh/Hi-Fi (covers: JG Jones, John Cassaday/Alex Sinclair)
so DC's big play is to harken back to its pulp fiction properties with crossovers with versions of its established characters. First Wave goes back to the childhood heroes of your dad, and updates it for your kids. Howard Porter's art gives me some JLA flashbacks, but i think he's past his shelf life (sorry). i am interested to see Warren Ellis do his take on the good doctor though, spoiled as i am with Planetary.


Justice Inc. (DC)
Jason Starr/Scott Hampton/Daniel Vozzo/Sal Cipriano
i remember reading the Richard Benson's origin story as a kid. again, with the 21st century update, its as fresh as could be. i actually like this better than the main feature. gimme a Mike and an Ike!


Iron Man: Legacy #1 (Marvel)
Fred Van Lente/Steve Kurth/Allen Martinez/Victor Olazaba/John Rauch/Dave Lanphear

somehow i like the way Marvel mines their characters' history, and am not even worried about the continuity cops. i know this is about creating more movie-related products, and i don't mind. Tony Stark, ex-weaponeer, worries day and night about living up to what his father was, belatedly realizing he can craft his own. this is another version of Armor Wars, but with Dr. Doom.

Green Arrow #32 (DC)
J.T. Krul/Federico Dallocchio/Michael Atiyeh/Sal Cipriano (cover: Mauro Cascioli)

wasn't it just long ago that Dinah and Ollie got hitched? the Amazons even messed up their honeymoon night. and now, we're witnesses to a painful breakup to one of DC's most enduring couples. Ollie goes on a short trial for his actions, and the jury finds him not guilty, but he's banished from Star City forever. i like the part where he whispers "now you show up" to Clark. its a surprisingly beautiful ending to something that started so messily.

New Mutants #12 (Marvel)
Zeb Wells/Ibraim Roberson/Brian Reber/Joe Caramagna (cover: Adi Granov)
this is the most entertaining action-packed book of the week for me (and that's with Punisher Max #6). somehow, the X-Men rescue team manages to get slowed down by a bunch of humans (hah!), and they need to resort more to their X-Force tactics to get the upper hand. of course, unless they shut down the spy (more like transmitter) in their ranks, it wouldn't matter. it's also great to use Karma in action, and move away from that useless moping character we've been subjected to for the last decade or so. (was that Claremont's fault?) Ibraim Roberson's art is spectacular. hey, any chance we'd see another round of Archangel decapitating Hodge? please please please!



Siege: Loki #1 (Marvel)
Kieron Gillen/Jamie McKelvie/Nathan Fairbairn/Joe Caramagna (cover: Marko Djurdjevic)

it seems everyone has underestimated Loki. he's no longer just concerned with mischief and punking the Avengers; he wants the full freedom to do what he wants, when he wants, without the consequences. kinda like what we wanted when we were young.

Punisher Max #6 (Marvel)
Jason Aaron/Steve Dillon/Matt Hollingsworth/Cory Petit (cover: Dave Johnson)

this is the most disgusting thing that Bullseye's ever done. well, as far as we know. Jason Aaron has grabbed this title from Garth Ennis and ran away with it. Bullseye is one of the best characters to write from a villain's point of view. and that's with the Kingpin in the picture.

Secret Six #20 (DC)
Gail Simone/Jim Calafiore/Jason Wright/Travis Lanham (cover: Daniel Luvisi)

with all due respect to Calafiore, i wish the interiors were being done by Luvisi. but regardless, the story keeps getting better and better. Catman was always the one sort-of honorable member of this team, and that may be coming to an end when he gets his hands bloody.

Daytripper #5 (DC/Vertigo)
Fábio Moon/Gabriel Bá/Dave Stewart/Sean Konot
another beautiful bittersweet tale from the acclaimed duo. sometimes i regret reading their stuff because there's a chance it may end sadly. i never learn.



The Flash #1 (DC)
Geoff Johns/Francis Manapul/Brian Buccellato/Nick Napolitano (variant cover: Tony Harris)

i like Manapul's art better with Iron and the Maiden. his newer sparse work in Adventure Comics and now the rebooted Flash kinda leaves me a little disappointed. anyway, Barry Allen is truly back, so let go of your Crisis on Infinite Earths slipcase edition. we know Johns' history with the character, and its likely he'll create some magic again. i want to be impressed, so let's go for a run.

c'mon, how can you not be proud?

i mean, the heroic Big Three from our childhood leading the charge in taking their world back? that counts for a lot.


via @brianmbendis

snaps: Avengers - The Initiative #34

... where eyes are finally opened, friendships are renewed and broken, and the New Warriors reunite! no, really. and pompous Taskmaster is taken to ...task (hey, wasn't he hired by the good guys once?). the issue focuses mostly on the Initiative guys until the latter part where they switch to Asgard only because we need to see Taskmaster get taken down (or not). and lest we forget that ex-Cap gal pal Diamondback is indeed an Initiative member (but as a spy, natch!), this is the part where she loses it when she sees her blond stud ex alive and well. well, poor Constrictor.

hey, here's a thought: what IF Dwayne wasn't in heaven??


look who's calling the kettle black, Mister Former-D-Lister. (you're still a D-Lister to me, brah)


Cap giving it to the castle grey skull.


Frank can forget about tapping that ass. and Rachel apparently forgot about Agent 13.


so is he gonna go back to being Speedball now? is he? is he? considering he's sort of directly responsible for all of these 7 years ago?