With EJ never being around when Alex is, and vice versa, John is beginning to think the other two komikeros are actually (dramatic pause) THE SAME PERSON!  Keep listening to Tres Komikeros to get to the bottom of this chilling mystery.

Oh also we read some comics: Blackest Night #5, Image United #1, and New Avengers #59.  After an audience review and a round of quick shots, the boys played a healthy game of thumb warfare.

Lastly, a sensitive topic is tackled in this week’s panel discussion — Comic Book Elitism.  Yeah.

You know who you are.

Download knowledge here.

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Fire es la primera obra de Brian Michael Bendis dentro de lo que más adelante pasaríamos a llamar serie Jinx. Y claro, eso se nota, vaya si se nota.

En Fire podemos intuir muchas de las características que luego Bendis desarrollaría en Goldfish, para lo bueno y para lo malo.

Por un lado un grafismo poco claro en blanco y negro, menos definido todavía que en Goldfish, que dificulta la fluidez de la narración (porque se hace difícil distinguir a los personajes)  y unas viñetas con una disposición caótica que son el sello del autor. Eso sumado a una rotulación deficiente (a pesar de que yo he leído la versión corregida, esta sigue siendo pésima, así que no me quiero imaginar cómo debía ser la original) conforman una parte gráfica que en general no aporta nada nuevo y que bajo mi punto de vista, es el punto débil de Brian Bendis a lo largo de toda su carrera. De hecho, creo que si Bendis hubiera trabajado con alguien que se ocupase de la parte gráfica hubiera obtenido resultados mucho más interesantes.

Por otro lado tenemos unos diálogos potentes y un guión sencillo pero efectivo. Con una estructura muy original, Bendis se sirve de un flashback que abarca casi toda la historia después de empezar por la escena final y dejarla en su punto más álgido. Evidentemente ese es el punto fuerte de Bendis y en Fire ya se puede apreciar lo que luego dará de sí en Goldfish, Jinx o Torso. Fire es, por tanto, una buena manera de entrar en el mundo de Bendis, para luego ver cómo evolucionó (a mejor) en todas sus obras posteriores.

A nivel argumental, comentar que Fire es una historia de espías. Sui generis pero de espías al fin y al cabo.  Explica la historia de un universitario al que recluta la CIA para convertirse en espía y como se desarrollan sus primeros trabajos.

En definitiva, creo que, teniendo en cuenta que fue su primera novela gráfica, nos encontramos ante una obra notable pero completamente mejorada por su autor en todas sus publicaciones posteriores.

Fire: una historia de espías
Brian Michael Bendis
PLANETA DE AGOSTINI 2005
17.0×26.0 cm
112 pags
Lengua: CASTELLANO
Encuadernación: Tapa blanda
ISBN: 9788467414028
Nº Edición:1ª
Año de edición:2005
Plaza edición: BARCELONA

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Hey folks, Elliott here again with another poll inspired by a tweet from Brian Bendis:

“BRIANMBENDIS Btw saw iron man 2 last night. don’t ask me a god damn thing. I am sworn to secrecy! Just like to tell u I saw it. Enjoy 2012 “

What a wit. Really. And now the poll:

Is that Ms. Marvel under that sheet?

Hey, Elliott here. Had to LOL when I read this tweet from one Brian Michael Bendis on Twitter today:

“Guy on plane was reading my avengers script as I typed it. He pinched his nose at me took out his pocket bible and never looked my way again.”

See? CCW*TV Nation members aren’t the only ones who aren’t that crazy for Bendis’ Avengers scripts these days!

Which leads us to today’s CCW*TV poll:

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Lafuente (Pencils), Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

The Story: Following the drama of Johnny Storm moving in, and the shouting-contest with MJ, Spider-Man finally faces bigger challenges this month. The mysterious hooded vigilante (aka the Shroud) serves up his/ her brand of justice once again, while saving MJ. Meanwhile, Mysterio strikes, cementing his position as NY’s #1 bad guy.

What’s Good: Almost everything but the art. Bendis crafts a good Spider-Man story, weaving together entertaining and cinematic action with the signature focus on the “human aspects” for the teen hero. From MJ’s emotional breakdown to the chemistry developing within the Parker family, Bendis does an amazing job highlighting family and relationships– two crucial aspects to the Spider-Man mythos. In between all the explosions and chaos, it’s good to see that Bendis can still cleverly finds ways to fit in all the proper character drama that make up a good Spider-Man book. A perfect example of this is with the use of the character on the cover. He/she reluctantly shows up and makes for some good opening action, while his/ her effect on the characters not only moves this arc forward, but also brings about an interesting character change in MJ, while possibly introducing a new conflict for Peter. Issue #4 holds as Bendis delivers in character and relationship developments.

What’s Not So Good: Lafuente’s manga style continues to fail. Peter’s hair still sucks. Speed lines look last minute. And there’s way too much gratuitous anime-style eating and food debris flying. I understand how Lafuente’s style is supposed to fit with USM, especially with the series dedicated to all the high school drama… But do all these goofy, stocked anime scenes have to make the pages? I just wish the exaggerated reactions and the ridiculous looking characters weren’t such a distraction for a story that’s packed with this much drama.

Conclusion: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man scores pretty high this month, as Bendis gives us the familiar compelling Spider-Man storytelling. If Bendis can consistently deliver memorable villains and the exciting drama surrounding Parker’s relationship issues, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man might not just be a good reboot of the character and the series, but it might just be the Spider-Man book that everyone should be reading.

Grade: B-

-Raymond Hilario

Title: Dark Avengers #10
Writer: Brian Bendis
Art: Mike Deodato
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Pages: 32

I’m going to be completely honest with you. I have been sitting here staring at a blank screen on my laptop for the last twenty minutes trying to think of a way to tackle this review. Scratch that. I should say that I am trying to think of a somewhat CLEVER way to tackle this review but I can’t think of one. Though, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a book so god damn boring and uncreative could in any way inspire a creative review. It’s like this comic is just a black hole sucking out all of the creativity and imagination from my mind. And with no creativity or imagination around to write a clever review all I am left with is my fucking anger. My fucking anger for, yet again, having to read another pointless Bendis comic. My anger for, yet again, having to read his “cool and witty” dialogue. My anger for, yet again, him insulting women. I should point out in his defense that he didn’t have a character randomly call Ms. Marvel a whore in this issue but instead Bendis actually MADE Ms. Marvel a whore in this issue. He sure puts the ‘ass’ in ‘class’ doesn’t he? But we’ll get back to that point in a minute.

Issue #10 begins with very quick 5 page story of two college women driving through a town called Dinosaur located in the state of Colorado. One of the women, who is the daughter of the U.S. Secretary of State, is being taken on a road trip by her BFF to get away for a while from her cheating boyfriend. While stopping at a diner for a pee (women, huh? you can’t take them anywhere without them having them go to the bathroom every 5 minutes. Am I right guys?) something unspeakable happens to the two college students off panel and they go missing. Moral of the Bendis Story? Girls, stay in your abusive relationships with your cheating boyfriends and under no circumstances should you ever leave them or something quite terrible will happen to you. That’s what I took away from this cautionary tale anyway.

After that little prologue we are greeted by a splash page of Ares cutting the Man-Thing in two with his battle ax. Why? Because Man-Thing was apparently on Norman Osborn’s Shit List…or something like that. But as we all know Man-Thing can’t really totally be cut in half because he can regenerate and stuff so this little bit really makes no sense but that has never stopped Bendis before. After the bisection of Man-Thing, Bullsye and Ares have some cute little dialogue between themselves…but what’s this? One of the Dark Avengers feels kinda bad for the Man-Thing and that Dark Avenger in none other than Venom. It turns out that the medication dose that Victoria Hand has been giving Gargan is a little off which is now making Venom…a little off. And yes, this fucking “Venom acting like a pussy because of his meds” joke goes throughout the ENTIRE fucking issue. Bendis is all about subtlety don’t ya know. At least he didn’t have Venom eat someone, yet again, in this issue.

The next scene takes place in Avengers Tower during the following morning where we find the Dark Avengers…eating breakfast, YET AGAIN, and drinking coffee, YET AGAIN. What the fuck, man? I swear to fucking god that that is all the New Avengers and Dark Avengers do in their comics. They sit around their kitchen table eating breakfast/chinese food and drinking coffee. Drink coffee and eat and eat and drink coffee. That is some high concept superhero shit right there me friends. Jeeeeezus. Ok, back to the DA eating breakfast and some awesome Bendis dialogue:

Ms. Marvel (asking Victoria Hand): Where is Osborn?

Ms. Marvel: Try me.

Aaaand then the two make “fuck me” eyes at each other for another couple of panels. Here’s some more classic Bendis:

Bendis Baby Wolverine: Where is Osborn?

Bendis Baby Wolverine: No. I can smell a lie. Especially on A WOMAN. They reek when they lie. And she’s lying.

So, what, do guys small like fresh picked roses when they lie? Why in Fuck City am I reading this in an “Avengers” comic? And why do editor’s think that it’s ok to print this shit in a Marvel comic? I’m glad though to see Bendis had some more insults left in his Bag O’ Misogyny. I was kinda getting worried there for a while that he had finally come to his senses.

I had some other observations about this comic I was going to make but let’s just jump right to the biggest problem I had with it. A few pages after talking about banging each other we see Bullseye and Ms. Marvel having another conversation which leads to Ms. Marvel taking off her top and “seductively(?)” inviting Bullseye into her room. In the last panel of the page we see a huge shit eating grin on Bulleye’s face. I can not relay to you in words alone how completely classless this page is. And when I see Bullseye’s bald headed face all I can think of is Brian Bendis finding it awesome that he is finally getting to write Ms. Marvel as the whore that he thinks she is. Now, before you get all in my face about this bullshit, I am quite certain that she is playing Bullseye in some way that will benefit Marvel Boy…but still, a better writer would have thought of a more imaginative way about doing it without making a Marvel character into a whore. I guess that’s just Bendis writing what he knows, huh?

I think that’s where I am going to end this review. There is some other shit that happens with The Sentry and a cliff hanger ending that Bendis completely pulls out of his ass. And that’s about it. The cliffhanger, I think, is supposed to make the reader sympathize with Osborn and the Dark Avengers because of the situation they are put in but I could really care less about them so it doesn’t really work. Now, if they all die in the next issue I would definitely care about that because it will have meant that Marvel finally did something right.

J.

Hey folks, Elliott here…

According to BleedingCool.com Rich Johnston has started a mighty nasty rumor about the identity of Norman Osborne’s ’secret weapon’ from ‘Dark Reign: The Cabal.’ A rumor, that if it’s true, will not only create a great cry of anguish among fanboys, but will also create one of the greatest redundancies in the Marvel Universe. Who is it rumored to be? Well, this is how Rich put it:

“So who is the super secret weapon that Norman Osborn is using to ensure his Cabal keep together, during the Marvel Dark Reign crossover event? The shadowy figure that everyone from Doctor Doom to Loki is intimidated by?

This weekend at the Big Apple Comic Con I saw evidence that pointed in one very specific direction indeed.

Evidence that indicates it’s not Mephisto as much rumoured. But that’s the correct initial letter. Twice.

Could it be… could it really be… the big MM?”

Yesiree, folks…

And here’s the kicker…

All indications are the BRIAN BENDIS WOULD WRITE MARVELMAN’S ENTRY INTO THE MARVEL U!

Now, I really don’t get this move at all.  First, shoehorning Marvelman into the Marvel U, after the WONDROUS run that Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman have given us means you’re pretty much discarding everything they’ve done.  Second, why would the Cabal give two shits about Mickey Moran when they’ve been able to deal with The Sentry without batting so much as an eye?

Adding Marvelman to the mix is just plain redundant…and frankly…stupid.

What do YOU folks think?

Antes que nada, me gustaría comentar que Goldfish me ha gustado. Me ha gustado mucho. Digo esto porque puede parecer lo contrario si alguien lee esta entrada al completo.

Aclaraciones aparte, es una pena que a veces el dibujo de un cómic dificulte su lectura. Bajo mi punto de vista, si el dibujo no aporta algo especial a la narración (o es parte intrínseca de la misma como en Señal y Ruido o en Torso) lo mejor es que la deje fluir sin molestar. En el caso de Goldfish no es así: mucho blanco y negro mal aprovechado que hace difícil seguir la trama (los personajes se confunden) y viñetas que se superponen en un caos poco trabajado. Así, los lápices de Bendis ni aportan algo ni ayudan en nada.

Es una pena, decía, especialmente en obras donde el guión es bueno. Y en el caso que nos ocupa el guión es bueno, muy bueno.

Un guión no excesivamente complejo, centrado en el personaje de David Gold, alias Goldfish, que vuelve a Cleveland a cerrar un tema pendiente. Muy cinematográfico, con lo mejor del género negro (timadores, clubs, cantantes, polis, matones…) y unos secundarios convincentes. El guión enseña el músculo de Bendis con los diálogos y teje una historia con acción y suspense a partes iguales.

Tampoco faltan escenas con carácter propio como la partida de póquer que acaba con Goldfish citando el clásico “The Gambler”, de Kenny Rogers:

You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.

O la escena en el club con el clímax en forma de tiroteo la policía, el alcalde… un muy buen guión en definitiva, aún cuando la última vuelta de tuerca del mismo (véase, el último disparo) me parece excesiva, posiblemente diría que innecesaria.

En todo caso, como decía al principio, no quiero dejar una mala impresión de Goldfish. Puede que no esté a la altura de Torso o de otras de sus obras, pero el amigo Bendis es muy bueno, e incluso sus obras menos inspiradas están muy por encima de la media.

Recomendable para amantes del género negro o lectores de Torso con ganas de más Bendis.

Goldfish
Brian Michael Bendis
Planeta DeAgostini
256 páginas
Idioma: Español
ISBN: 8439579861
ISBN-13: 9788439579861
1ª ed. edición (05/2004)

Here’s the solicitation for New Avengers Annual #3:

WRITER: Brian Michael Bendis
ARTIST: Mike Mayhew
COVER: Mike Mayhew

PRICE: 4.99

Is there anyone more qualified to tell this story? I think not. Fanboys love, and I mean LOVE, the way Bendis portrays females in his comics. Nobody has proven time and time again how much respect they have for women characters in comics more than Brian Michael Bendis.

Oh wait…

Unfortunately, I’m pretty certain Bendis will continue showing us exactly what he thinks of the female characters of the Marvel Universe in the most unacceptable of ways. If he should somehow be able to keep his fanboy fantasies out of the script for this issue it will still not make up for all of his past transgressions. I’m sure that it will just mean that his editors are just growing tired of his misogyny. But who am I kidding. Marvel’s editors have never had the audacity to tell Bendis what is and is not acceptable and I really don’t think they will be starting now. It seems that the “boys club” mentality will always reign supreme at Marvel and the industry is worse because of it.

J.

EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW: “New Avengers Annual” #3/CBR

By Brian Bendis (writer), David Lafuente (art), and Justin Posner (colorist)

The Story: Mysterio makes his move against NYC while Peter and MJ air-out their anger against one another. Plus, Johnny Storm establishes his permanence in Peter’s daily life.

What’s Good: Those of you who like the “Bendis banter” will like the lengthy dialogue that Bendis dishes out in this issue, as everyone has yucks it with another member of the cast. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Bendis’ Spider-Man is supremely Seinfeldian. To this end, this issue continues this tone and thrust.

Meanwhile, Mysterio is an awesome character and his agenda is a great place to reboot this franchise. In this issue, we get more insight into him, though exactly what he is still remains a mystery-o (I know…).

Overall, this issue cements that Ultimate Comics Spider-Man will be as rich and layered as USM was, before Loeb, I mean Magneto,  killed it.

What’s Not So Good: For a slow read with a lot of dialogue (attributes I tend to look for in a comic), not a whole lot happens in this issue. There is basically zero suspense and if it wasn’t for the solicitation for next issue at the end of the comic, I would think that there was no momentum to this series, save the teenie-bop Peter/MJ/Gwen love triangle. Which brings me to my second point: I hate the Peter/MJ/Gwen love triangle. The heavy focus on this plot-line and the magna styled art, makes me think that this comic is geared for teenage girls. This is all well and good as I guess this demographics is underserved, but at the same time, I am really losing interest in this book. I’m used to seeing Peter suffering through dramatic events and devastating battles where he barely survives in the pages of USM. Now, the biggest things facing him are his after-school job and  his girl problems. I don’t know, something just doesn’t work unless Peter and everything he knows is under some type of mortal threat. Most worrisome is that Johnny Storm’s constant presence can only signal more teenage angst for the Webbed- One.

I really like the art when Peter is in costume and the visuals of the villains he faces off against, but the people in general and their faces specifically are really quite one dimensional. Everyone looks like they are closely related and Japanese-toon statues . As Ray said in his last review on this series, the art is really distracting to this series.

Conclusion: This usually fresh and upbeat fun series is starting to feel stagnant and predictable. Not only predictable in the macro sense (Johnny Storm meets Gwen Stacey), but also in the micro where every conversation and interaction is predictible and hovering on the cliche. Basically, I think it is time for USM to grow up. I know Bendis is just rebooting this series and the ball just got rolling, but I’m barely feeling this series. That being said, I am looking forward to the new focus on a new character next month.

Grade: C

-Rob G.

It’s only two weeks now until the British International Comic Show at Birmingham and Scott and Steve will both be attending the event. After discussing our plans, we get into some news, with another major change at one of the biggest comic companies in the business. We also get into a discussion about motion comics and the how power and wealth can change a silly idea into something dangerous!

As promised – a link to the Dr Horrible Emmy interruption from YouTube

In our next section we discuss the works of Clint Eastwood. Inspired by The Changeling, Scott and Steve pick out some of their favourites from his extremely long career and we discuss their influence on pop culture, cinema, and our own lives.

Don’t forget about the bookclub and in episode 60 we will have a discussion about Slaughterhouse 5 and announce our next selection.

We’ll be back next week and hopefully see some of you at the Birmingham show in two weeks.

Comic Book Outsiders Episode 58 – Direct Download

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), David Lafuente (Pencils), Justin Ponsor (Colorist)

The Story: Johnny Storm returns, while it’s another day for Spider-Man: school and battling NY’s criminals. Meanwhile, somewhere in his monitor-filled hideout, Mysterio reveals his plans.

What’s Good: Not a whole lot, considering that this was one giant “beat around the bush” issue filled with lots of vague and generic text.

What’s Not So Good: First and foremost, I @%&^#$ hate the art. From Peter’s outdated J-Pop hairdo, to the walking oval logo head of SPider-Mans’… The whole anime look just isn’t working. If anything, it amplifies a silly tone even throughout the action scenes and the “compelling” moments. The faces can’t be taken seriously, and the body movements and gestures are either way over the top or too exaggerated. The splash page where Spidey meets his foes for the issue capture all of this. Hence, I’m calling this the weakest splash I’ve seen in a long time.

As for Bendis’ writing, he showcases his trademark “teenagers don’t sound like that” dialogue and his vague, cliche, not-so-haunting monologues. WTF?! Peter’s too old to be saying $#^! like, “He was living in New York… when everything went jablewy.” As for Mysterio’s monologue, it lost all of its credibility when he barked out the whole “I don’t want a piece, I want the whole thing” line. Almost everything each character says in this book is either stupid or cliche (or both).

Another unfortunate thing about this book is that it beats around the bush (a cliche for the ones that believe that allow cliches to pass…). In the previous issue, you’re left with a pretty big cliff hanger with Johnny Storm returning. So in this issue, what do we get? Absolutely nothing. We don’t learn anything new about the Human Torch, nor do we see any stakes raised for Peter. Instead, readers are treated to a meaningless battle between Spider-Man and a mother and a daughter, as Aunt May waits and sees if Johnny Storm burns the couch in his slumber. It’s your signature Bendis TPB-filler issue.

Conclusion: Definitely not a good read, but I’ll still stick around to see if it gets better. Issue three will probably read more like the real “#2,” when we finally find out just what the hell happened to the Human Torch. But as of right now, the prolonged storytelling and the annoying anime look are not helping.

Grade: C-

-Raymond Hilario

I just finished watching the first 10 minute episode of the Spider-Woman Motion Comic by Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev and I have to say it is quite terrible. Having to read Bendis’ pretentious dialogue is bad enough but having to hear it spoken aloud by horrible voice actors is just unbearable. Half way through the scene where Abigail Brand is trying to get Jessica Drew to join S.W.O.R.D. I found myself hoping that either a two ton anvil or a grand piano would fall on me to put me out of my misery. Yes, it is that bad.

As for the “motion”? I remember there being more motion in a Clutch Cargo cartoon and that is to say there isn’t much of it. I can’t believe Marvel is actually expecting people to fork over money for each episode. Marvel has made the first episode free to watch for a limited time. If you want, go check it out for yourself.

The Alex Maleev art was kinda nice though.

J.

Spider-Woman Motion Comic

Well, after reading about it for over a year, Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev’s Spider-Woman motion comic came out via iTunes a few weeks ago. Costing 99cents (sadly we can’t get it over here yet) episode/issue one debuted at numero uno on their charts and the peeps at Marvel.com have kindly posted it up for a limited time for free to get the rest of us hooked (http://marvel.com/motion_comics).

I’m about to watch this now, so wish me luck. I don’t know what to expect. Gulp.

Title: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2
Writer. Brian Bendis
Art: David Lafuente

As many of you know by now I am not a fan of Bendis‘ current crap crop of comics. Like, at all. But I was a fan of the first issue of this series because it stayed clear of what I find irritating about most Bendis comics. I thought to myself “Wow, maybe I CAN enjoy a Bendis book again.” Well, that frame of mind didn’t last very long at all. Quite disappointing.

How can there be so much dialogue in a comic while at the same time nothing happens? Well this is how: Bendis, yet again, is relying on his ”witty” dialogue to do most of the heavy lifting in this issue and it completely kills it. Whether it’s Aunt May and Peter having a Tarantino-lite conversation about Johnny Storm crashing at their place, Mysterio giving a long winded “we get the point already” monologue (to who? the internet?) or Gwen Stacey and Peter yammering on during lunch. Here’s a part of Peter’s and Gwen’s conversation:

Pete: Well, there just too many kids in the school now.

Gwen: And I don’t like people.

Pete: Aunt May said they almost doubled the amount of kids going to our school since the attack.

Gwen: And I don’t like people.

Pete: Which means the grade curve is all out of whack. My GPA is –ugh!! I can’t even think about it.

Gwen: And I don’t like people.

Bendis must get paid by the fucking word. Do you see the problem I have with this? Bendis uses this little trick quite a lot. You know, the one where one person in the conversation just repeats the same line over and over. You know, the one where one person in the conversation just repeats the same line over and over. You know, the one where one person in the conversation just repeats the same line over and over. Kind of annoying right?

What else happens in this issue? Peter has a bad dream, Kitty Pryde gets detention, Kitty gets all up in Mary Jane’s face (oh, the drama), Peter and Gwen talk some more at lunch …..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz….oh, wtf? Sorry. I bored myself to sleep while writing about this boring fucking comic. But wait! Here’s some action! Cool, what villain is Spidey going to fight? Oh…it’s a…um…villainous mother and daughter team named The Bombshells…who are robbing a jewelry store…annnnnd the duo’s powers only work when they are in proximity to each other. Also, the daughter likes to fucking swear a lot. I mean, a fucking lot. Mark Millar must have gotten a boner reading this issue. Is your mind blown by all of that originality? I know mine is not.

The issue ends on a cliffhanger that needs to be seen to be believed. Let me try to explain it to you. Johnny Storm Is sleeping on a couch in Aunt May’s living room. Johnny Storm then wakes up and Aunt May asks him, “What happened to you?” And the last big panel on the page has Johnny Storm rubbing his temple (because I think he has a headache) and “To Be Continued…”

Are you fucking kidding me? What a fucking letdown this issue was. The Lafuente art didn’t seem nearly as awesome as the last issue either. I hope that this book rights itself with the next issue because if USM is to become yet another tired Bendis comic I won’t be reading it again. Ok, maybe I will just to make fun of it.

Title: Invincible Iron Man #17
Writer: Matt Fraction
Art: Salvador Larroca

Well folks it happened. I read an issue of Invincible Iron Man and upon it’s completion I did not squeal with enjoyment. It was inevitable that after 16 straight issues of awesomeness that I would feel disappointment at some point, right?

First off, I need to let you guys know that even though I feel this way this issue is still above and beyond anything Tweedledee and Tweedledum (aka Loeb and Bendis) are writing. My main problem comes in the form of it just being a set up issue. I mean, stuff happens but not really. We don’t get to see the promised clash between Madame Masque and Pepper Potts, though I think this may be because Fraction is setting up some sort of twist for the next issue. The fight between the two may be shown at some point as a flashback sequence. One other thing that kinda irked me about this issue was that Osborn gets his way yet again and shows up in Russia after being told off by Crimson Dynamo a few issues ago.

Tony Stark gets shot down in Afghanistan while Maria Hill and Black Widow are captured by HAMMER with Captain America watching from the shadows. The issue ends with Madame Masque explaining (not wholly) to Osborn that she killed Potts and as a result Tony Stark got away. We then see Pepper’s Rescue armor being stored in the place where Osborn keeps all of Iron Patriot suits.

This book did move the story a bit forward but just was not satisfying enough as the last 16 which preceded it. On the bright side, the next issue ships in two weeks so I won’t have long to wait to see if I am right about what’s coming next.

I am quite sure Elliott and I will go into more details on next week’s segments of CCW TV.

Title: Exiles #6
Writer: Jeff Parker
Art: Salva Espin

No, that isn’t the actual cover for this issue. It was the original cover that was solicited though.

The Good: A double sized issue of Jeff Parker and Salva Espin goodness without any damn filler material.

The Bad: It’s the last damn issue since this book got canceled on the account that fanboys are a bunch of dickholes who have no idea what a good thing looks like when they see it. So, ya, disappointing

J.

Los Illuminati, una sociedad secreta formada en el siglo XVIII que tenía el propósito de derrocar a los gobiernos y religiones del mundo para poder regirlos con un nuevo orden mundial. Esta y otras asociaciones ocultas han tomado protagonismo en los últimos años dentro de una subcorriente literaria que ha conseguido un enorme éxito de ventas. Algunos ejemplos son “El Código Da Vinci”, “La Hermandad de la Sábana Santa” o “El Último Catón”. Esta nueva moda ha salpicado a otros campos como el cine o la televisión, pero nada hacía presagiar que llegaría al mundo de los superhéroes. Bendis, autor de las últimas megasagas dentro del  Universo Marvel, crea un grupo de héroes que se ocultan en la sombra y que, según vamos descubriendo, ha estado detrás de todo hecho importante dentro del Universo Marvel desde la mítica saga Kree-Skrull.

Esta sociedad la forman los héoes más importantes de la editorial, pero no los más poderosos, sino a los que llamamos líderes. Son seis: Iron Man, fundador de los Vengadores; Rayo Negro, rey de los Inhumanos; Doctor Extraño, maestro de las Artes Místicas; Mister Fantástico, líder de los 4 Fantásticos; Namor, rey de Atlantis y el Profesor X, creador de la Patrulla-X y líder moral de los mutantes. Antes de esta miniserie los habíamos visto en tres ocasiones: su fundación, con la renuncia de Pantera Negra, rey de Wakanda; el anuncio del registro de superhumanos, preludio de Civil War y su separación tras los hechos de Planet Hulk.

En esta nueva serie limitada contemplaremos todas sus reuniones y cuales fueron sus actos en la historia del Universo Marvel, es decir, su viaje al imperio Skrull tras la guerra  con los Kree, el Guantelete del Infinito, el Todopoderoso de las Secret Wars, el guerrero kree Marvel Boy y, por último, el descubrimiento de la invasión Skrull. Todo dibujado espectacularmente por Cheung y narrado con maestría por parte del binomio Bendis/Reed, que consiguen rellenar los huecos de la continuidad marvelita de una manera sobresaliente, darle a los personajes una profundidad adulta sorprendente y poner la primera piedra de la saga definitiva que concluye y da sentido a todas las anteriores (Desunidos, Secret War, Dinastía de M y Civil War): Invasión Secreta.

Puntuación: 8′5 sobre 10.

Lo mejor: La progresiva madurez de Marvel.

Lo peor: El episodio de Marvel Boy, algo inferior al resto.

La escena: El final. (¡¡¡Ansiedad pura!!!)

]]> http://weeklycomicbookreview.com/2009/07/28/rob-gs-top-ten-number-1s/ Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:18:08 +0000 rsg8101 http://weeklycomicbookreview.com/2009/07/28/rob-gs-top-ten-number-1s/

The following list is my picks for the best first issues, based on comics that have been released during by tenure as a hobbyist, i.e the past twenty years. They are from series that were or are ongoing series, not minis. The only factor in choosing these books was simple: Greatness.

1. Y The Last Man

Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra

Unmatched storytelling and utterly masterful writing. So many plot threads perfectly bundled up in perhaps the best example of non-linear storytelling.

2. Four Eyes

Joe Kelly and Max Fiumara

An incredibly unique story, told perfectly with outstanding art. Whips you up and takes you to a place that is both familiar and fantastic.

3. Preacher

Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon

Like Y The Last Man, an expertly crafted story, with brilliant pacing and perfect dialogue. Plus, insanely novel concepts and characters.

4. The Walking Dead

Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore

A regular paged issue that seems like a novella. Haunting, engaging, fun and most importantly, Rick is a character you want to travel with.

5. Batman and Robin

Grant Morrison and Frank Quietley

Morrison and Quietly. Usually that says it all, but this was something unexpected with its new take on the dynamic duo, creating a new mythos rather than perfecting an old one– like they do in All Star Superman.

6. Planetary

Warren Ellis and John Cassady

Mind-bending and genre-jarring. Ellis scoops you up while Cassaday blows you away. For Sci-Fi, there is Firefly for TV and Planetary for Comics.

7. All Star Superman

Grant Morrison and Frank Quietley

8. The Ultimates

Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch

The Avengers you want and a team of characters that make sense. Story hits you as the art wows.

9. Ultimate Spider-Man

Brian Bendis and Mark Bagely

The best Spider-Man ever. Period. Perhaps the most endearing comic character ever created. Instant love.

10. The Unwritten/Invincible

Mike Carey and Peter Gross/Robert Kirkman and Corey Walker

Both these issues set up addicting stories and characters. Like the other comics in this list, greatness was evident from the get-go.

Be sure to weigh-in in the comment section!

week 6/24 of 2009

DC

Gotham City Sirens #1

Paul Dini returns to his favorite group of anti-heroines with a mediocre bang. It seems like Dini doesn’t really know what’s going to happen next in every panel but it all ends up pretty funny. So while it’s a good for a laugh, the story seems more Sex in the City banter than Gotham City battling.

Green Lantern #42

Whereas with this build up arc I’ve been a little underwhelmed this ish definitely brought me back up to being entirely excited about what’s to come. Hal and Larfleeze shine in this, with the blue ring finally revealing it’s power, and Johns is obviously working double time to get things ready for ‘Blackest Night.’

Justice League of America #34

Oh god this is saddening. Len Wein is a hero of mine…but he should really just make his Marvel. His work with DC and the Justice League has just been atrocious. I could barely sit through this comic. I can’t wait for this arc to END and for us to finally get a real team book back.

Justice Society of America #28

As previously mentioned, Jerry Ordway is an old school comic guy. And it shows. This story is cliche and boring and the characters aren’t interesting and the battle is predicatable. The most exciting part of the issue is the end when DC announces Bill Willingham coming on to it.

Superman #689

This comic was absolutely amazing. James Robinson has made Mon-El a real leading man, a passionate and intriguing character, full of curiosity and splendor. Robinson explored the world in the issue and it was just brilliant. It had an intertwined story that were complete contrasts and it worked, with splendid art from Renato Guedes and Jose Magalhaes, this book has shaped up into one of my most anticipated titles of the month.

Teen Titans #72

…and then there is this. What once used to be, quite possibly, my favorite DC book is now a continual let down. There is no focus in the stories, the characters are getting zero build, and the limelight is on Wonder Girl one issue after another. New writer please!

Wonder Woman #33

With this last issue of ‘The Rise of the Olympian’ arc, Simone finally showcases some talent and produces a fun story driven comic. Aaron Lopresti behind the art really brings it up a notch because ot was built for this title, displaying the Amazons as fierce yet sexy. It was the best issue in the story and unfortunately the last.

Marvel

week 6/24 of 2009

Astonishing X-Men #30

Ellis wraps things up in his “opening epic” with a bit of a confusing Stephen King ending. He got tired of the story and decided, "eh…this is how I’m gonna wrap it up." While some awesome stuff was shown off, including the death of long time X-Man Forge, the writing was a little hectic. Simone Bianchi  really kicks the art into high gear though and refines it a lot, stepping it up with power.

Avengers/Invaders #12

Thank god this is over.

Avengers: The Initiative #25

I really want to like this title. It has a lot of interesting amazing characters that so much could be done with but I still don’t even know where the hell, continuity wise, this comic is. It has an overload of characters and story lines and it could be simplified a bit and that would really help bring the story up to par. I love the art by Humberto Ramos though, I want to see him draw everyone.

Daredevil #119

I love this art. It’s so perfectly Daredevil. Major props to Lark and Gaudiano for creating a down-and-dirty noir style atmosphere. And Brubaker…the man is great. The story is full of backstabbing and mystery and even a crazy old sensei style character. I totally dig it.

Dark Reign: Elektra #3

Zeb Wells is a great writer and really has brought some talent to a book that I thought was going to be a throwaway. With just the right sized roster, action, and some beautiful silent panel shots, so far Elektra is in the lead for top Dark Reign spin off titles. Throwing in Wolverine is a little over the top but we’ll see what happens.

Dark Reign: Lethal Legion #1

This is a hard comic to judge because it’s a whole lot of exposition and that’s about it. We’re introduced to the characters, Tiger Shark has had a bizarre (and unapproved) makeover, and we finally figure out where Wonder Man has been. It definitely brings some interesting questions to the table but it’s a bit wannabe Arkham Asylum and the art is really hard to cope with.

Dark Reign: Zodiac #1

Joe Casey is one of my favorite writers right now. He’s quirky and modern and reminds me a lot of an upcoming Morrison but I can’t even focus on his writing with this fucking art. Nathan Fox has the most sporadic messy scribble art I’ve ever seen published. It hurt to look at. While Casey is a talented writer, this title seems like just another Dark Reign mini.

Dark Wolverine #75

Totally blindsided me. I thought I didn’t care about Daken at all but this has made him a totally cool character and really fun to read. He’s educated. He’s elaborate. He’s everything Wolverine isn’t. But at the same time he is so very much his father. Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu made a great story accompanied by neat and pretty art from Giuseppe Camuncoli.

Guardians of the Galaxy #15

Amazing. This comic is absolutely stellar. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are giving Geoff Johns a run for his money on space epics. This is the most fun, most exhilirating, best rostered comic in Marvel right now. It’s a blow out and one hell of a ride.

Immortal Iron Fist #27

In the last year their have been a number of characters who have got a well deserved revamp but nothing ended up as brilliant and beautiful as Iron Fist. With Duane Swierczynski behind the story this book can do no wrong. This issue has a real big revelation that I’m not going to ruin but you need to check it out. It also is graced with Travis Foreman doing the art and he handles martial arts like it’s nobodies business. His normal day-to-day stuff isn’t so great but his fight scenes are perfect.

Incredible Hercules #130

As soon as I saw Ben Parker in this issue I hated it. Even without him it wouldn’t have been a great issue. Whatever. I don’t know what Van Lente and Pak are doing but it’s not good right now.

Ms. Marvel #40

Brian Reed really takes things in a weird direction in this comic. It has a few good moments, including everything involving Deadpool, but the plot is just really bizarre. We’ll see what happens but it really leaves a lot to answer for.

New Avengers #54

In 54 issues of New Avengers, this is the first one that has failed to impress me. It felt short, had a really WTF ending, and didn’t really answer any questions at all. Bendis is the magic guy for Marvel so I hope we see more but I want to see where this is going.

Nova #26

Um…hello?! Abnett and Lanning on a space title. That marks this as a must read. The resemblance to Green Lantern Corps is noticeable but it’s still a wonderful book. Andrea Di Vito brings some remarkable art to the page and Bruno Hang is just killing it as the colorist for the title. An all around win.

Runaways #11

The art finally gets a grounding back on something a little less anime-style as Sara Pichelli hops on the book and it really helps it in my opinion. It has a cute back story, something that really relates the heroes to us, but it get’s a little twisted at the end. It’s definitely a cliffhanger so it’s obviously going to leave us confused but it does a good job at giving us some stability first.

Secret Warriors #5

Bendis and Hickman really know how to kick some ass. Stefano Caselli has great art to accompany the sweet writing and it’s balls-to-the-wall action in this fifth installment of the espionage high octane series that just continues to impress me.

Skaar: Son of Hulk #12

It actually had one interesting moment with the Hulk. And that’s it. The rest is dumb. Skaar and Red Hulk, two Hulk characters, are my least favorite in existence right now.

Terror Inc.-Apocalypse Soon #3

Dave Lapham started out with a great dark comedic comic and has turned it into some sort of over political boring mess. Also, dear god, the art is in shambles. This comic is in need of good STEADY art.

Thunderbolts #133

It was awesome to see Songbird come back and I really hope Andy Diggle does something good with her. She’s a great character and with all of the resentment we’re starting to see against Norman amongst the team she would be a welcome catalyst to many of their desires. Also, a welcome twist right at the end really seals the deal at the end of the book.

Uncanny X-Men #512

I really don’t think Fraction gets enough credit for his work on Uncanny. This issue focuses on Hanks science team and gives some background story of Nemesis. It is, in history, the first X-Men story I’ve ever read where I didn’t hate the time travel aspect. Fraction worked it exactly how it should be used. Great solid issue.

Wolverine Noir #3

I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Daredevil Noir is the only title that should be Noir at all. They really fuck around with Wolverine back story in this. It’s weird stuff.

Wolverine: Weapon X #3

If you’re looking for an amazing story here…you’re not going to get it. But a vivid and wildly brutal Wolverine rampage is something to expect. All of the political aspects of the comic are easy to pass over but the scenes in the jungle are all a good amount of fun.

X-Factor #45

I really hate Jamie being in the future but finally bringing Shatterstar back was great. The last page really catches…everyone off guard and Doom has a really strange guest appearance in the comic but the title is making it’s way back to being a solid monthly book.

X-Force #16

Well THAT was anti-climatic.

DA6

Writer-Brian M. Bendis

Artist-Mike Deodato

Dark Avengers has something I call “The Sonic Disease,” a reference to a different sub genre of geekdom, I am referring to Segas classic mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. When “Sonic” was released it was a blast, a great 2D side scrolling platformer that became an instant classic for an entire generation of gamers. And then “Sonic 2″ came out and it usurped the first. After this, however, things start getting a little sloppy.We now are well into double digit numbers for “Sonic” games and nothing is quite as good as those progenitor’s of the series. DA has caught this disease and it’s ravaging it’s way through it’s system like a cancer.

This issue ultimately ends up feeling incredibly shallow and too short, with almost no real movement, and a number of circumstances that are not only frustrating but questionable as well. It starts out with a meeting of the Cabal, involving the attack the rogue Atlanteans made, and Norman giving Namor a verbal lashing. And Namor takes it.

That’s the first big glaring mistake. In the close to 20 years I’ve been reading comics, not to mention the 60 years of comics I’ve covered in that time, I’ve never seen Namor take orders from anyone. Alas, he takes it. This leads to Osborn telling Sentry to attack the Atlanteans, which he does because Norman has a psychological hold on the demigod like man, which leads to the second annoying and awkward moment in the comics. I realize The Sentry is a very insecure person but he joined the team because he thought he was fighting for good but now Normie has some hold on him, despite the fact that Norman almost had him killed and also sent him to mindlessly murder a slew of Atlanteans.

While the issue maintains its humor quota, a quality of Bendis that never fails, the rest seems to falter. We finally start to see some resistance in the team and this leads to Norman losing his cool a bit but it really felt like nothing happened this issue. Pure filler almost. I want to see more of a team dynamic with the book because with the way it’s sitting right now it could basically be called Norman Osborn. Deodato doesn’t help with his sloppy art that is entirely unrefined and although it does have a grim quality that suits the title it still is just ugly. Sorry Mike. Not to mention that the cover is one of the most misleading covers I’ve ever seen.

Rating:

-Ryanscribbles

Last month, Marvel killed off Ultimate Peter Parker/ Spider-Man (There are multiple Peter Parkers/ Spider-Men in a number of different continuities. This is not the real Peter Parker/ Spider-Man, however it is the one I have found most interesting over the past decade).

I just got around to writing about it because I had been behind on my comics. School, the thesis, graduating, vacation, this blog and finding a job got in the way of reading my comics.

A few months ago I wrote about Marvel’s Ultimate Universe and it’s impending reboot -

http://geekwhisperin.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/%E2%80%9Cultimate%E2%80%9D-reboot/

The reboot is happening by way of an event story called Ultimatum. In no small terms, Ultimatum sucks. It has no redeeming qualities and I am only reading it because I have read every single Ultimate story that has come before it. I am disappointed in writer Jeph Loeb and Marvel for pushing this steaming pile of poo on the general public at $4.00 an issue.

But wait, there’s more!

Event stories are never self-contained. They spill-over into the regular monthly titles, and usually bring them down in the process.

As a result of Ultimatum, Brian Michael Bendis has killed off Ultimate Spider-Man. After nearly a decade of consistently good and interesting super hero stories (a feat in and of itself) Ultimate Spidey bit the big on in an issue devoid of dialog.

If you are unfamiliar with the title, it was famous for its dialog; it was the bet part.

To artist Stuart Immonen’s credit, the story is very easy to follow visually.

However, looking at the pages I am fairly certain that there is no dialog because putting words in the characters’ mouths would underscore how stupid this turn of events was. I can’t see how Bendis could have made the dialog anything but trite.

The Ultimate line was created so that Marvel could do things with the character that they couldn’t get away with using the “real”/ original versions. With that in mind, I will give them a little bit of wiggle room and hope that the reboot breathes new life into the Ultimate line.

That being said, the only Ultimate title that didn’t need improvement was Spider-Man.

I hope the folks at Marvel know what they are doing. If they screw this up, they will lose my readership on the entire line of comics… a reboot is a good place for new readers to jump on, but it is also a great spot for old ones to hop off.

“‘Nuff Said”