Comics of the Week - For Better or Worse

Sometimes, I can't be so positive about what I read. Two books this week were not to my liking and I think one is getting cut off my list. But I guess that's balanced out by the fact that most of the other books I read were outstanding.

I'll get the bad out of the way, first. I loved the first couple of issues of Action Comics after the reboot. It really felt to me like Morrison was making Superman relevant by going back to the Golden Age version of the character. It was a down to earth Superman who wasn't the big hero and still learning the ropes. However, the series slowly started getting into areas that were losing me. So the last few issues, I've just been giving them a chance because, well, it's Morrison, and I know you usually have to give him time to cook. But I think I've completely lost interest in the meal at this point. I don't know whether or not I can say this was a bad issue. I'm sure for fans of the Legion this wasn't as convoluted as it seemed to me. It's not even that I had a hard time following what was happening, as much as that I just wasn't engaged enough to care. Although, the concept of having Superman's enemies create a tesseract inside Superman's brain so they can hide where he'd never find them is not only pure Morrison, it's just awesome. But crazy concepts aren't enough to keep me reading, so I think I'm out.

I've sung many praises about Rick Remender on Uncanny X-Force. And I will likely sing many more. But the current arc will likely not be included in those ballads. Interestingly, this arc is also focused on some crazy concepts, this time involving Otherworld, which I guess is an in between dimension in which the Captain Britain Corps police reality? That's the thing. I think the success of the previous issues is that Remender was able to use existing history and ideas without alienating readers who may not be familiar with them. But this time, it's distancing. I know there's a lot of fighting going on, but I'm not entirely sure who's who. Not helping in this case, is the art by Greg Tocchini. I can get behind non-traditional comic art, but maybe because it's combined with a story that isn't working for me, in this case, the art made the story that much harder to follow. It's interesting to read comments on the Internets on this issue because Tocchini's art is clearly a love it or hate it deal. As usual, I can't land on either side of an extreme like or dislike of it, but I do know it's not working for me on this book. What kept me reading, though, was the characterizations by Remender. He knows how to write these characters and that is why I will stick around. They can't all be winners.

A few months ago, I was considering dropping Invincible. Not because it was bad. I just thought maybe I had read all I needed to read about Mark and company. I could always come back to it and catch up in a few years, instead of reading month to month. But then, last month, Kirkman pulled me back in. This issue went further and now I'm hooked all over again. One thing about Kirkman's books is that nothing is ever to be taken for granted. Not in Walking Dead and not in Invincible. The stakes are always high because anything can happen. Hell, he disintegrated Las Vegas a few issues back, with no fanfare. It was just something that happened in an issue. Something like that happens over at DC or Marvel and it's a two year event with 600 issues of everyone's point of view. But anyway, here we have Allen the Alien coming to wipe out the Viltrumites in hiding on Earth with a virus that may or may not kill all the humans as well. The stand off leads to unexpected alliances and a confrontation that leads to a possible deadly fate for Mark. I could've been more vague, I guess. As usual, Ryan Ottley makes all of this seem like it's being born on the page, all by itself, in beautifully intricate lines. I'm not going anywhere, Invincible. How could I?

Some quick hits:

Animal Man brought us an issue that took a break from the main story without coming off like fill in. We get to watch Tights, the independent movie Buddy Baker stared in a few years ago. Well, we get to see most of it before the batteries on Cliff's phone run out. I was sucked into the movie and hope Lemire comes back to it at some point.

The last issue of Corrina Bechko and Gabriel Harman's Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes was right on. It really served to set up and expand on the world and characters of the original movies, right before Taylor crashes back to Earth. I am more than a little excited for their next Apes mini-series and wonder if it will pick up from here or if it will be a new story. In either case, more, please.

I've been enjoying Swamp Thing, but this is by far, the best issue yet. The action was ramped up here and it really feels like we are now in the middle of some high stakes stuff. Snyder does his usual great work with Marco Rudy on art for this issue. As in past issues, I love that the layouts are part of the tone of the story, working like vines and sort of winding into each other.

Comic of the Week - Shhhhh Don't Tell Anyone

About a year ago, I started reading Uncanny X-Force because I'd read good reviews about it. Those reviews quickly turned into my reviews as I was totally sucked in by what Rick Remender was doing. The series managed to bring me back into the world of the X-Men. Now, Remender is going to be on Secret Avengers, and this week brought us #21.1, as a sort of set up/jumping on point for the series. I had to see if this would do for Avengers what X-Force did for X-Men, so I picked it up. The similarities in concept between X-Force and Secret Avengers are a good sign that this will work for me. Like Wolverine's hit squad, the Secret Avengers (as the name bluntly states) are a covert team. Their mission is simply stated on the first page: "Run the mission. Don't get seen. Save the world." Unlike X-Force, though, this team does not kill targets. Instead, it's heavy on the covert spy action.

For all intents and purposes, I am a new reader when it comes to the Avengers side of Marvel. I've read some issues and minis here and there, back during Civil War, Secret Invasion and Dark Reign, but after a while it just seemed like there were too many Avengers teams and everyone was an Avenger. It just never clicked with me. So, coming in to this issue, the question is whether or not the .1 did what it was supposed to do and make it new reader friendly. My answer is yes and no. I never felt lost as to what was going on. Then again, I'm not coming in completely fresh. I know who Hawkeye and Captain America are and have a basic grasp of their relationships, so when Cap pushes Hawkeye by challenging his motivations, I understood where it was coming from. But, as someone who hasn't necessarily been invested in these characters, I'm not sure the surrogate father and son dynamic between them had as much impact on me. And maybe that's OK, since this is just an introduction to the series, but I wonder if someone coming in with no knowledge of the characters at all, would find anything to grab onto.

Where I think the series grabs me, for at least the next issue, is in the promise of more covert action. It's a little ridiculous to watch Captain America and Hawkeye swinging over (incredibly high) rooftops of a country run by criminals, in costume, then dive onto a balcony, unseen, while activating holographic tuxedos, and just get handed drinks as if they had been there all along, but that's also pretty awesome. A huge part of what made that work is Patrick Zircher's art. I am not familiar with his work, but I like what I saw in this issue. Every sequence made sense, no matter how insane. His use of perspective really gave me a sense of altitude in the opening scenes, leaving me with a real feeling of these character's skill and lack of fear as they deftly jump around on skyscrapers. There was a small moment, when they change into the tuxes that I wasn't sure who was who, but I quickly realized it was my own lack of familiarity with the characters and was able to figure it out right away.

All in all, I want to see what Remender does with the next issue. In X-Force, he has so far given us one epic story that built from the very first issue. Will he go for a long form arc here as well? Or will it be more episodic? With the Avengers v. X-Men event coming, I wonder if the two teams will face off. And who would win that face off? My money's on X-Force, but at this point, I don't even who else is on the Secret Avengers, so I'll just have to wait and see.

Comics of the Week - Tension is Good

Storytelling, specifically horror and suspense stories, are about building and releasing tension. Even the most basic story sets up something to keep the reader turning pages in hopes of a resolution. Sometimes, the tension is subtle. Other times it's almost unbearable. Severed has pushed the tension about as far as I have ever seen without a big release. And it's great. If this book were a rubber band, Scott Snyder, Scott Tuft and Attila Futaki would be pulling at three ends, with the reader stuck in the middle hoping they don't let go, but knowing they will. . . eventually, so just do it, please, I can't take it!!! We know the main character is going to lose an arm at some point, because we saw him as an old man in the first issue. We've had several moments along the way where this could have happened. Could have, but didn't. Each issue has been another example of how it actually is possible to be invested in how things play out, even when you have a pretty good idea of what it is that will happen. Yes, this is a horror story and yes it's a period piece, taking place during the depression. But at the end of the day, it's just a well crafted story that is playing with the readers ability to bear the tension. It's like funk. James Brown's theory of funk was about holding on the first beat before going to two. So it's ONE. . . . two, three, four, ONE . . . two,three, four. I guess what I'm saying is that as far as horror comics go, this is one baaad motha. . .

On the flip side, we have a book that has built tension as well, but with this issue, released it in a beautiful climax filled with excitement, surprises and emotion. Way back, in the first arc of Uncanny X-Force, things were set up that paid off in this issue, and I, for one, didn't see it coming. If I've grown to love Fantomex through this series, this issue elevated him to another level. And then there's the whole Six Feet Under moment with Warren and Betsy that was extremely moving. My only complaint may be that the power of this scene may have been undercut a couple of pages later. Either way, this is one of the best resolutions to an arc in an ongoing series I've ever read. Remender was able to wrap it up in a true ending, even while setting up pieces for the future. That's no small accomplishment. Opena and Ribic on art blend perfectly with each other and the story. This is easily one of the best books being published right now, by anybody. I can't wait to see what Remender has planned next for this team.

Comics of the Week

One thing ends, a new one begins and yet another just stays consistently great. Hard to argue with any of it, really.

Flashpoint #5 may not have had the most mind blowing revelations, but it did deliver what I had hoped would happen. Flashpoint directly sets up the DC reboot. It would have been a waste had this not been the case. Now, I am looking forward to seeing how much of what we saw in the Flashpoint tie ins will pop up in the new DC books. Overall, the wrap up of the Flashpoint universe did seem a little rushed. Suddenly all these characters, who had last been seen making their way to this final battle in their tie-in books, just start appearing but not really doing anything. At point, Grodd's army shows up and Barry Allen says "Grodd too?" and that's about all we see or hear of it. The real payoff is in the end when Barry shows up in the regular/new DCU and delivers a letter to Bruce from Thomas Wayne. We've already seen a kinder, gentler Bruce since his return from the dead, and this moment reinforces this idea for the new universe. It will be interesting to see how much Barry remembers about Flashpoint and the old DCU as time goes on. Clearly, they've left the door open to go back if needed. I don't fault them for that, and really, it makes sense creatively.

Sometimes what makes a comic book great is the promise it sets up for upcoming issues. I would say this is what takes Justice League #1 to the next level. Basically, it's a great first issue, even if you know nothing about DC. For months, we've all been waiting for the reboot with anticipation, dread, disdain, excitement, fear, etc. Now that it's here, this first book really feels exactly like what they promised. It's a whole new world. Yes, the characters' essences are still there, but you really aren't sure what's coming next. I like that. For all the talk from fans about how DC and Marvel always do the same thing, it's been interesting to see them rage against this change. And from past experiences with "change" I understand that. This is not the same as before. It really feels different. It's not a Heroes Reborn take on the characters. It's not a Crisis in which characters are de-aged and histories compressed. This really feels like a fresh take on characters, rather than just a new version of the same events we've seen over the years. Granted, it's one issue in, so who knows where it's going, but like I said, it's the promise of the next issue(s) that makes this great. And that promise has me excited.

Then there's Uncanny X-Force #14. This has been one of my favorite books being published since I read the first arc. What Remender has going here is what makes X-Men books so great, but there's something else here that is just special. This team is on there own, with little to no interference from the rest of the Marvel U. It almost plays out as if this were the only book to ever feature these characters, even though they have these elaborate histories that influence them and the story in every way. I know a little about these histories, but even if I knew nothing, I'd still love this book. To top it off, this issue features the return of Jerome Opeña on art. If I need to say more about why that is something to drool over, then you haven't read the first arc of this series and you need to do so. Interestingly, Wolverine is out of commission for the majority of this issue, and even though he's the character I'm most interested in, the others are so compelling, even Deadpool, that I didn't notice how little of Logan there was until the end. If you love X-Men, pick this series up. If you don't love X-Men, pick it up anyway, and it may change your mind.

Uncanny X-Force: Gateway to Marvel

I'm not generally a big Marvel guy. Once in a while I'll read some Marvel, though. World War Hulk was awesome and I was reading the Red Hulk stuff for a while. X-Men, however, I always find hard to get into because the continuity is almost prohibitive. Back in the day, I was all into it, though. Mutant Massacre, Days of Future Past, Dark Phoenix Saga, Age of Apocalypse, all that stuff. But at a certain point, having to read 15 different X-books to be able to understand what was happening was not something I wanted to do. The solution to this is Uncanny X-Force, written by Rick Remender. It's about as close to a stand alone X-book as Marvel can offer. After recent events, Wolverine and Archangel form a team in secret to do what the X-Men won't do. Rounding out the team are  Psyloche, Fantomex and Deadpool. Normally, I'm not a fan of Deadpool (understatement alert), but here, he really works well.

Uncanny X-Force #4

This month, Marvel put out Uncanny X-Force 5.1. The .1 books are supposed to be jumping on points for people who haven't read the books. While this works well in this case, I still HIGHLY recommend reading from issue 1. For starters, it's extremely well written. I hadn't read these books in years and I never felt lost. Also, the characters are spot on and you feel like you know them from the start. I've heard a lot of buzz on Remender in the past few years, particularly about his book Fear Agent, although his credits are pretty extensive. Been meaning to check out Fear Agent for some time and I definitely will now.

Another reason to start from the beginning is the art by Jermoe Opeña in the first 4 issues. His style is a perfect balance between realistic and darkly surreal. This is an all around great book and one I look forward to reading. Who knows, it may lead to me into more Marvel books. In any case, jump into it now. It's the perfect time.