Hey @$$holes, Village Idiot here.
Sorry folks, we're late this week. Miscommunication, computer glitches, compelling television watching, but most of all, I blame...My Parents!
To make matters worse, it looks like week of June 3, the batch for this column, was such an amazingly fantastic week for comics, none of us reviewed any comics from it. That's right, as it turns out, all of our reviews this time out are from comics that came out before that week.
But what we lack in timeliness, we more than make up for with our punchy prose style (i.e, short paragraphs), and keen analysis (i.e., longer paragraphs). And the books we're looking at are pretty good too:
- Corm sings the praises of AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS in the key of this comic kicks @$$! (Okay, he doesn't actually say that, but I think the spirit is there.)
- Pull out your brandy snifter and put on your velvet smoking jacket, it's time for another edition of Buzz Maverik's Book Club! This week, Buzz traces Superman back to his roots with a look at the cult pulp favorite, GLADIATOR!
- Sleazy G let's us know whether ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR is ultimately fantastic!
- Didn't get enough X-MEN in our last few columns? You did? Well screw it, here's more, with my take on ASTONISHING X-MEN!
- Yeah, okay, fine, we do take a look at some of last week's notables with some CHEAP SHOTS!
- And more!
So there you have it! Enough talk! Time to read reviews!
(Click title to go directly to the review)
AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS #1-4
Buzz Maverik's Book Club: GLADIATOR
HUMAN TARGET #10
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #1-6
ASTONISHING X-MEN #1
Cheap Shots!
AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS #1-4 (of 6)
Writers: Kurt Busiek & Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Barry Kitson & Tom Grummett
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Cormorant
Ever hit one of those comics that, okay, yeah, it's no work of art, but it perfectly captures what hooked you on comics when you were a doofy little kid? That's AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS for me, and I think it might have the same affect on a good number of you other mooks raised on a diet of superheroes.
Now I've never read an issue of THUNDERBOLTS in my life, so this miniseries wasn't even a blip on my radar until I got to talking about classic AVENGERS stories with a friend (ah, the mansion siege!) and was moved to give it a flip-through. It was on doing this that I realized that even though I read a fair number of superhero books, just about none of them "look" like superhero books the way this mini does. Prevailing realism in other books sees Captain America's scale mail shirt being rendered to absurd lengths, sees the return of belt pouches to the ensemble of every superhero (even though they never seem to use the damn things), and sees a host of decidedly unheroic seams and wrinkles when knees and elbows bend.
Well the heroes of AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS wear them some goddamn costumes! These heroes look like a million bucks, not like refugees from a Hollywood costuming department. The artist is Barry Kitson (with Tom Grummett pinch-hitting in one issue), he of EMPIRE and JLA: YEAR ONE fame. And while Kitson does bring just a touch of Bryan Hitch realism, he clearly embraces the classic superhero aesthetic. Manly men, beautiful women, wild costumes designs that look cool rather than ridiculous...ah, I didn't realize how much I missed these things until I saw someone do 'em right!
And if the art is classicist, so is the story, which has the bad-guys-turned-good Thunderbolts team winning over public support with some morally nebulous (but bloodless) international strike missions. The Avengers are wary – hell, the Thunderbolts used to be the Masters of Evil! – but the ever-loyal Hawkeye ran the T-Bolts in their previous incarnation and he's ready to go to bat defending them. Those expecting deep characterization may be disappointed here. This is a vintage plot-driven story which instead gives us the action serial equivalent of depth: personality clashes (Captain America versus Hawkeye!), ulterior motives (half the members of the Thunderbolts have remained with the team just to keep an eye on their scheming leader, Baron Zemo!), and subterfuge (there's actually a pretty neat twist involving the Avengers infiltrating the Thunderbolts).
That's not to say there aren't some nice, character beats. At one point, Hawkeye asks Avengers' butler Jarvis for a no-bullshit take on whether he's right to give the Thunderbolts the benefit of the doubt. Jarvis begs off from answering, but when pressed, reminds the ever-forgetful Hawkeye that members of the Masters of Evil once injured him so badly he nearly lost an eye. Of course Hawkeye feels like an ass for tactless question, and the scene also reminds us of the rich, sometimes tragic history of these adventurers.
The Thunderbolts themselves get as much screen-time as the Avengers, and their internal conflicts turn out to be just as interesting. It's a testament to Kurt Busiek and Fabian Nicieza that I went into the series knowing nothing of the team but was liking them by the end of the first issue. Baron Zemo in particular is fascinating to watch, inscrutable in motivation, but definitely possessed of a sort of charming smarm that just reeks of the kind of villain you love to hate. There's a fun, very "superhero" exchange between some of the Thunderbolts as they begin to bristle under Zemo's leadership:
Vantage: If it weren't for us, Zemo would be in jail right now.
Atlas: Or stuck on Counter-Earth.
Vantage: Or dead.
Both: Again...
I'll admit I've been under the impression that unknown quantity Fabian Nicieza was a bit of a hack, and I know Busiek can turn me off sometimes when he's doing straight superheroes, but these guys are delivering a story that takes me back to the superhero comics of the '80s - a real peak for the genre; an era of smart superheroics. There's a strong framework to the series, with a different hero from the Avengers or the Thunderbolts narrating each issue with insightful perspectives. There are some Morrison-esque high concepts, as when plant-based Thunderbolt member, Blackheath, processes fertilizer into pure ammonium nitrate using only his own bio-systems. There are simple but pleasant nods to continuity, including a guest-shot by FF tech villain, The Wizard, and a clever use of dormant satellites once intended to combat Magneto. And, of course, there are superpowers a'plenty. When I read Busiek's JLA/AVENGERS, I remember feeling overwhelmed with all the continuity nods and "clever touches," but here the balance seems just right. Here I'm taken back to being a kid who boggled at how cool a playground the Marvel Universe setting was.
Somewhere around here is the part of the review where I usually pick a few bones with the title in question, but I've got nothing to criticize here. I can see that for some, the plot-driven conflict between the two teams would come across as too old-school – even I might levy that charge when I'm feeling all progressive and hep – but today? Today I'm in the mood for superheroes that take me back to Stan Lee's tradition of flawed but genuinely heroic characters. I'm in the mood for costumes and plot twists and Iron Man as a badass, not a politician. Smart superheroics.
AVENGERS/THUNDERBOLTS is delivering, and for that, a warm thanks to Kurt, Fabian, Barry, and Tom.
GLADIATOR
by Philip Wylie
Published by Bison Books
Reviewed by Buzz Maverik
A little respect, please. Without Philip Wylie's 1930 novel GLADIATOR, this column that would not exist. You probably would be doing something else, obsessing over other forms of entertainment. Comic books would certainly be a lot different, if they existed at all. TV , movies, video games would be a whole other world. Hell, it is likely that this site, AICN, would be unrecognizable without GLADIATOR.
Note to the idiots among us: this isn't a review of the novelization to the Russell Crowe movie. That's what the guy who sold me my copy for two bucks thought, back when GLADIATOR was out of print.
GLADIATOR is the acknowledged inspiration for Superman. Its' hero, Hugo Danner, though slightly smaller, is described as a dead ringer for Clark Kent. The hero with near-unlimited super-powers did not exist in modern times before Wylie's book. Sure, there were mystery men, he-men, larger than life fictional heroes, the characters Alan Moore (riffing on Philip Jose Farmer, no doubt) dubbed "Extraordinary Gentlemen." But Hugo Danner was the first non-mythological character with unmeasurable strength and the Tick's "nigh-invulnerablity -- vulnerable and invulnerable as it suits the plot!" Although he can be poisoned or electrocuted, anything less than a mortar shell cannot harm Hugo. Drowning is almost impossible for him because he can hold his breath so long. And his standing high jump carries him so far up that he disappears from sight. All this, and he scores with the lay-dees too!
In reading GLADIATOR, you will see the book's influence on far more than just SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS. Characters such as Captain America, Spider-man, Wolverine and Concrete are all Wylie's children for one reason or another. Series such as THE WATCHMEN, KINGDOM COME and THE ULTIMATES all contain themes that originated in GLADIATOR.
Wylie not only created the superhero, he deconstructed it as well. Hugo has trouble controlling himself, he uses his powers for personal advancement, and when he tries to do good and serve the world, he screws up. For years, Superman was stuck as a childish power fantasy. Wylie avoided that by realizing that those kind of super-powers are pretty much useless in the real world. Hugo spends much of his life on the bum, as an outcast, because even a man of his power can accomplish nothing alone.
In a wonderfully twisted scene, scientist Abednego Danner slips a weird serum to his bitchy, pregnant wife. The baby must be kept in a steel playpen. Young Hugo is considered a freak as a child, but has gained some degree of acceptance as an adolescent. He fails to imprenate his girlfriend, a hint that, like most real mutations, Hugo is sterile. He's sterile in more ways than one, we will find.
Off to college in the first decade of the 20th century. Frat boys spot Hugo's strength on the first day and soon he's the star of the football team. He spends his summer doing a strong man act at Coney Island to support his former-prostitute girlfriend, but he dumps her at back -to- school time. Goaded by jealous team members, he kills an opponent on the gridiron. After travelling around the world trying to redeem himself for the next couple of years, he lands in the middle of World War I. Although he becomes legendary on the battlefield, his own feelings of inadequency and lack of imagination keep him from realizing until it is too late that he could have ended the war overnight and saved millions of lives.
Back home, Hugo finds himself a fugitive after her tears open a bank vault to save a man trapped inside. Even a well meaning attempt at conquest of the United States blows up in Hugo's face.
We can talk about realistic superheros in comic books all we want. There simply aren't any. The characters are fantastic and so are the worlds they inhabit. GLADIATOR is the story of a superhuman in the real world. It is the sad story of a lonely hero, which is what makes it so great.
HUMAN TARGET #10
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Cliff Chang
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
Reviewed by Cormorant
The issue of HUMAN TARGET I'm looking at today actually came out a few weeks ago, but I'm reviewing it anyway. We @$$holes occasionally take heat for reviewing books close to a week after their release date, but y'know what? These things don't frickin' have an expiration date just because they slide off the new comics wall at your local comic shop. A good issue is a good issue is a good issue, and a late review of HUMAN TARGET is actually fitting because I'm discovering the book late in the series. Hey, it happens! So even as I rustle up the funds to backtrack to the series' beginnings via trades, I give you a look at a one-shot story that serves as an ideal introduction...
Christopher Chance is the Human Target, a troubleshooter type who impersonates folks who've been targeted for death so he can root out their assailants. If it sounds a little like a corny '70s/'80s TV show concept...well...it kind of is, but it's gone through the Vertigo blender so don't expect it to be squeaky-clean. The Vertigo incarnation I know a touch about because I did read (and enjoy) Peter Milligan's first miniseries with the character, but for some reason it didn't quite inspire me to seek out follow-ups. I don't know, maybe I'm a little touched in the head. In any case, the Vertigo Christopher Chance is a little seedier than his old DC counterpart, as this story clearly demonstrates.
See, the guy Chance is out to protect is a crook. Said crook is Jim Grace, serving 27 years for manslaughter and robbery – no angel, this guy. And yet for reasons unknown and perhaps wisely left unspoken in this fast-paced yarn, Chance was once friends with him. Grace's problem, aside from being locked up for the next 27 years, is that he was busted only two days after marrying a gorgeous dame (I say dame because the wives and girlfriends of gangsters are always dames!). In the opening sequence we see Grace recovering in a prison hospital from getting shanked by another inmate. He's got too many enemies in the joint. He knows he won't last long, so he pulls an escape from prison hoping to spend some final, "quality time" with her. When you see how beautifully artist Cliff Chang draws her you'll understand why.
The catch is that even on the outside he's got enemies – both mobsters and a legion of cops – and to ensure they're all distracted while he gets in some lovin', he hits up Chance to impersonate him for seven days of high-profile hell-raising. High-profile meaning robberies, cop shoot-outs, and dust-ups with Grace's mobster enemies. Why on earth would Chance agree to this aside from whatever loyalty he has to this man? In the words of Grace to his soon-to-be-undressed wife as they watch Chance impersonate him on a breaking news story, "He's a freaky motherfucker but basically okay."
It's a simple premise, but some interesting twists and turns begin to pop up as we cut between Chance's hell-raising and Grace's womanizing (turns out he intended to visit more dames than just his wife). Milligan's writing is terse, amoral, and lusty – perfectly suited to the story – and in the end he's still got a revelation that cemented my desire to look further into this series. The amorality was a little unsettling at first, but fans of writers like Elmore Leonard will doubtless have little trouble with enjoying this gleeful walk on the opposite side of the law. Part of the hook for the series is that Chance immerses himself in his roles to dangerous degrees, and I think Milligan's onto something in forcing him into the role of some less-than-pure targets.
I'm recommending this story in part because it's just a damn fun standalone and in part because the art is so gorgeous. There are some talented-as-hell artists working the minimalist style in comics right now – Darwyn Cooke, Cameron Stewart, and Warren Pleece, to name a few – and Chang can surely go toe-to-toe with the best of 'em. I'd describe his work as reminiscent of Mike Allred's stuff, but with noir elements replacing the kitschy stuff. Like the best of the minimalist-drawn comics, it's got a certain energy realist artists just can't achieve when they delicately model their characters with a zillion cross-hatched lines. Anyone who enjoyed David Mazzuchelli's work on BATMAN: YEAR ONE or the pre-Gulacy CATWOMAN art will definitely dig on this stuff.
So I'm off to track down the trade of the first few issues, which a quick perusal of Amazon.com tells me is one of DC's kickass incentive-priced trades at a mere $9.95. Good on ya, DC! That kind of trade pricing means I can recommend a single-issue sampler even more.
And so I do.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #1-6
Writers: Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar
Pencils: Adam Kubert
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Sleazy G.
I understood when the "Ultimate Universe" started that it was to be a place where we wouldn't just see the same old stuff. New characters, new ideas, and new directions would be introduced using familiar (but not identical) templates.
On one hand, I think this was a good idea in that it created a full-fledged "What If?" universe. On the other, some of the changes have upset fans, especially the handling of the iconic Captain America in THE ULTIMATES. I readily admit that I'm one of those fans who's been less than thrilled to see the Ultimate U. version of Cap. I also readily admit, however, that if the Ultimate Universe is to be successful, there's only one way to do it, and that's to make changes knowing full well how the fans feel about what came before. It's a tough line to walk, and it takes some stones. I thought it over and decided to pick up UFF knowing it would be different from the original series and choosing to let myself be excited about the possibilities.
So far, it's worked out pretty well. Writers Brian Bendis and Mark Millar have taken one issue from the original FF run - their origin and their encounter with the Molemen - and stretched it out into a six-issue arc. And it's actually worked far better than expected. One of the biggest complaints some people have had with this kind of "decompression" is that it's too slow, it drags things out too much, and nothing really happens. At first blush it may seem like it's all talk. There's been a fair amount of action all along, though, and the book seems to be moving at a decent clip even though it's expanded the story quite a bit.
The biggest thing that stretching the origin arc did was allow us all to get to know the major players a little better. At best, the Marvel U. Fantastic Four were originally just thumbnail sketches of characters. They were fleshed out later, sure, but initially we had only the slightest background on who the Four really were. By taking a slower approach, Bendis and Millar have allowed us to get to know the main players a bit better. They've also done a great job of introducing some new concepts into the FF's background. Reed is a brilliant child inventor who is asked to join a major scientific research project-that just happens to be run by the government. Realistic? Not in our world, but in the Ultimate universe that's been mapped out by Bendis and Millar, it fits.
Instead of sneaking onto a rocket ship and getting bombarded by gamma rays in space, the Four are altered as a result of one of Reed's earthbound experiments into the N-Zone going awry. By doing this, Bendis and Millar make it just a little more believable. (A couple of friends sneaking onto a test site? Maybe. Onto a rocket ship? Not so much.) This makes Reed's continued research more urgent. Add in the mystery of whether one of their former teachers, Mr. Molekevic, was responsible for the experiment failing - or if it was perhaps their now-missing classmate Victor Van Damme - and you've got some interesting ideas cooking.
Weak spots in the title? Sure, there have been a few. For one, when the Mole Man was redesigned, well…I think a couple of missteps were made. He looks more like The Clown from SPAWN than the creepy little weasel we all remember, and I'm not convinced the change was for the better. Also, remember that classic cover of FF #1? One of the most copied covers of all time, with a giant green thing crawling out of the ground? The one that can be found right here? Well, the new version was more of a giant snake-lizard thing. And while in concept it might have been more terrifying, I think some purists are gonna prefer the original. That's just splitting hairs, though. I know Kubert has his detractors, but I've always liked his penciling. My affection for Kubert leads me to believe that the reason I don't care for the look of the book right now is Danny Miki's inking (again adding to the unfavorable SPAWN comparison). Still, this is a minor quibble, and no reason to stay away from the book since a new creative team comes on board in two weeks and Stuart Immonen will be drawing the book.
My biggest concern with the title has to do with the way Sue Storm has been handled. In the six issues that have come and gone so far, Sue's characterization really been given short shrift. At this point I feel like I know her father better than I know her, and that's a bit of a problem. Reed has been the focus, with Ben and Johnny getting a fair amount of attention as well. Meanwhile Sue was pushed off-camera for the better part of three issues, with us checking in periodically but no real advancement. Ben, Reed and Johnny are all using their powers regularly by now. Sue has only just started, and it feels more like an oversight than a plot point or an intentional direction for the character. My one big reservation about this title is that with so much going on, one of the characters may end up underdeveloped. Sue has the potential to be a strong, interesting character in her own right, and it would be a shame to overlook that. Hopefully, though, Sue will be given the attention she deserves in the next two arcs.
Speaking of which, as most of you probably know, Bendis and Millar are officially done with this title. They hand-picked their successor, though, and Warren Ellis' first issue is hitting the stands this month. Those of you familiar with Ellis know that he lives for (or on, like it's fuel) big, crazy ideas that are perfect for UFF. Will some of them be a little over the top? Maybe. Like I said at the beginning, though, that's why the Ultimate Universe exists: to attack big, crazy new ideas with familiar but different characters. I've been fairly happy with UFF up until now. Knowing that Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen are on board, though, with the first Ultimate U. appearances of Dr. Doom and the Negative Zone on the way, tells me this is a book worth sticking with.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #1
Written by Joss Whedon
Art by John Cassady
Published by Marvel Comics
Reviewed by Village Idiot
I'm not an X-MEN fan. Sacrilege, I know.
Not that I haven't had my X-Men moments. Last year, I picked up a couple of issues of X-TREME X-MEN on and whim, and absolutely fell in love with Salvador LaRocca's art and Liquid!'s coloring. (Sadly, it was only a brief affair: a comic can't live by art alone.) I also recently re-watched the movie X-2, and was reminded by how much I really enjoyed it.
But all in all, I've always been a more Spidey, Captain America, and even Fantastic Four kinda guy. Nothing has ever really hooked me into the world of the X-Men beyond peripheral interest, even though I've always been open-minded to the idea of getting more into it.
So now Joss Whedon gets his shot with ASTONISHING X-MEN.
I know, I know, ASTONISHING X-MEN came out a couple of weeks ago, and my colleague Ambush Bug already reviewed it in the last column. But whereas Bug is an X-MEN fan and not a Whedon fan, I'm the opposite: I am a longtime BUFFY/ANGEL watcher, and like I've said, I'm not a particularly devoted X-MEN reader. So what is my Buffy-friendly view of ASTONISHING X-MEN?
I liked it. A lot.
The plot is simple: Former X-Member Kitty Pryde has returned to the Xavier mansion at the behest of Cyclops, who's looking to reform the X-Men team with a new sense of focus: superheroism. Meanwhile, a scientist makes surprising announcement about the nature of mutation that could change the mutant community, or perhaps even eliminate it, forever.
Looking back over the past 6 years of BUFFY, ANGEL, and even FIREFLY, if I had to distill what it is that works for me when it comes to Joss Whedon's writing, it would be that Whedon's writing is smart. The characters are smart, the situations are clever, the whole operation is as sharp as you'd ever want it to be. This smartness often finds _expression through humor; humor that is both self-aware and snarky (in the best sense of the terms), but never at the expense of character or the reality of the situation.
ASTONISHING X-MEN is pretty smart. Not as smart as Whedon's television shows, at least not yet, but smart enough for me to glean a bit of Whedon's touch. Some of the banter is pretty snappy, with most of the best lines going to the White Queen. (Although Kitty Pryde does get a classically Whedonesque line. When Emma Frost dresses Kitty down for being late, Kitty tells the scantily clad White Queen "I'm sorry, I was busy remembering to put on all my clothes.") Moreover, Whedon likes to write women, so it's no surprise that most of the focus is on Kitty and her mixed emotions upon returning to the mansion. Meanwhile, the development with the scientist seems like a novel wrinkle. Although the ultimate direction this particular plot thread is heading couldn't be more telegraphed, I think it's a pretty smart idea.
But my favorite moment in ASTONISHING X-MEN comic-specific enough to where it stands outside any comparisons I can make with Whedon's other work. It's the pitch that Cyclops makes to the rest of the X-Men for the new direction.
Cyclops: We're a team. We're a superhero team. And I think it's time we started acting like one. [...] We've been taking it on the chin so long, just trying to keep from being wiped out, I think we've forgotten we have a purpose. I know the rest of the world has forgotten. [...] The point is simply this -- we need to get into the world. Saving lives, helping people with disaster relief...We need to present ourselves as a team like any other. Avengers, Fantastic Four -- they don't get chased through the streets with torches.
Wolverine: Here come the tights...
Cyclops: Sorry Logan, super heroes wear costumes.
I thought that was a nice affirmation not only of nobility of superheroics, but of the genre. Nice work, and it has me rooting for them to pull it off.
John Cassaday's work was pretty nice too. Sharp, clean, very pretty and very realistic; in fact some of the panels this time out made me think of Alex Ross, but a bit less rendered. There's a scene where Emma Frost is addressing the school where she looks almost alive. My only nitpick about the art was the fact that I thought Cyclop's white t-shirt, receeding hairline, and facial stubble made him look kind of schleppy. I guess he may be in the process of getting over the latest demise of Jean Grey, but seriously, he's starting to look like Harvey Pekar circa 1977.
Other trouble spots include a fight between Cyclops and Wolverine that was so facile, I had trouble believing it, and the fact that after Cyclops gives that great speech, they wind up in costumes that are arguably as intimidating looking as the older leather ones. Ah well, maybe it was the lighting.
In any case, I'm definitely coming back for the next issue. As a X-Men dabbler, I was intrigued. And as a Joss Whedon fan, I was pleased. As a comic fan, I had a really good time. Since you're a comic fan, I think you probably will too. If you happen to be one of the .0001% of comic fandom who hasn't checked this issue out, I recommend you do so. And if you already have, read it again. It's pretty good stuff.
Cheap Shots!
RUULE Vol. 2: KISS AND TELL #1 - Maybe it's because I haven't yet read the
first volume, but this issue seemed a little light. Still, Jeff Amano and
Craig Rousseau successfully grabbed my interest with page one, and I was
still interested at the end. I'd hate to describe this book via comparison,
because the only way to do that would be to call it SIN CITY by way of Mike
Oeming, and that does a disservice to all parties mentioned. Besides, this
first issue is only 99 cents, so it's not going to cost you all that much to
see it for yourself. And you really should see this one for yourself. -
Vroom Socko
B.P.R.D. #4 (of 5) - Holy crap! Scary stuff happening! All of it beautifully drawn by the inimitable Guy Davis! And hey, did they just...? Surely they didn't! Did they? – Cormorant
Y: THE LAST MAN #23 - I've heard ancedotal murmurs of dissent over the pacing in this book from a few folks, but I think they're broke in the head. I love the "road trip" pacing - not truly seen since PREACHER I'd say - and I'm in no hurry for Yorick to "hurry up and find his girlfriend" or "hurry up and bring all the menfolk back" when I'm getting such compelling serial adventures. This latest issue sees lotsa gunplay from our man Yorick and others, but it's Agent 355 and Dr. Mann who actually steal the show with some big revelations at the militia encampment where they're held captive. Their scenes put the lie to the criticism that the book is limited to gender relations exclusively as seen through a man's eyes. – Cormorant
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #60 - Technically this is the first chapter of the storyline set to intro Ultimate Carnage, and it does set it up, but it also works as a strong standalone story. Spidey goes up against Ultimate Gladiator (who actually goes unnamed, but that's gotta be who it is), and save for a hokey Indiana Jones reference, it's a jumpin' action sequence. Great banter throughout, of course, and better still, the fight segues into a meeting with Dr. Curt "He's Also The Lizard" Conners. I've always liked Conners as a rare confidante for Spider-Man and Bendis does the tradition proud. Will I still be smiling when this segues into the creation of Carnage in pending issues? Probably not, but credit where it's due: this is a good issue. – Cormorant
THOR #80 - Rockin' POWERS artist Mike Avon Oeming slips on his writer's hat for this issue, the first of his run on THOR and a prelude to Bendis's upcoming "Avengers Disassembled" event. He's joined by some guy I've never heard of as co-writer (a Daniel Berman for you trivia fans). The outcome, alas, is not so pretty. There's a ponderously serious opening narrative that made me pine for the touches of humor Simonson brought to the series. There's the none-too-cool addition to the Thor myth that the forging of his hammer is what killed the dinosaurs (way to go quasi-benevolent Norse gods!). And then Oeming offs pretty much all the major Asgardian supporting characters in a confusing attack by a horde of Asgardian monsters. Uh...what the fuh?! If Oeming's gonna hit the re-set button then its a hokey plot contrivance, and if he's not, then he's got the biggest ego since Kevin Smith decided to off Karen Page for his comic book debut. Nice, detailed art from Andrea DeVito, but a little too "pretty" for a would-be Ragnarok story. – Cormorant
