You Are At The Archives for March 2013

Sunday 31 March 2013 in , ,

Wednesday's Comics: 27th March 2013





East of West 1 = ★★★★✩

Not a fan of alternate future post-apocalyptic stories, this was hard work for me - but it turned out to be a pretty interesting start. Cowboys, science fiction tech, the four horseman of the apocalypse - it's a crash of ideas which, I'm sure, will be woven together into a pretty engaging longer-term narrative. I like the character designs of the two (presumably) demi-gods who accompany Abaddon (Death). There's a great bar fight sequence which is comically shown from the horrified face of the bartender. It's not as enthralling as Saga but I'll stay with this for a few issues to see how it goes.

Aquaman 18 = ★★★★✩

Arthur is hunting down Atlantean technology used by surface dwellers. Meanwhile a crazy-looking old guy, who refers to himself as the King of the Sea, does some ice damage and encounters Mera. Better than the recent JL crossover.

Batman Inc 9 = ★★★★✩

The fall-out from Damian's death is better handled here than the other bat books. We get to see what happened directly after the killing and how the family respond. I liked this issue a lot - much more, in fact, than I have at any point in the run. That Batman and his Inc are now illegal and have to go underground is a much-needed move. The pacing of this issue was perfect and I had more of a sense of Bruce's agony here than in the regular Batman title.


FF 5 = ★★★★✩

This is so odd that I love it. The minute the Allreds are off - it'll lose its charm. Essentially, this is a weird soap opera. There's some continuity stuff going on from the Hickman run on FF - but it really doesn't matter.

Guardians of the Galaxy 1 = ★★★★✩

It does the job of a first issue pretty well. The problem is set up (Earth's made a target), the characters are identified ("it's the most dangerous tree in the universe") and there's a lot of action. Undoubtedly this is pitched at the audience for the GotG movie next year when this'll be in trade. Incorporating Iron Man in the team is a clever move: it grounds the team with a known superhero (and I wonder if Robert Downey Jr will be in the film, too). McNiven does fine work as artist - even though I think the costumes stink.


The Superior Spider-man 6AU = ★★★✩✩

At first I disliked this tie-in with Age of Ultron. Not written by Dan Slott, the voice of "Superior" Peter Parker was off - it wasn't the Ock that is Spider-man in the regular title. By the end, once I'd ignored the voice, I did warm to the story. Spidey, Tony Stark and Quicksilver plan to use Negative Zone tech to defeat Ultron. Instead, Ock-Peter decides to try controlling Ultron with his own technology and fails. The one opportunity they had is lost and Ock-Peter realises the value of the Avengers as a team. It's not a necessary read for AU and is really more-of-the-same in terms of Ock-Peter developing insight and respect about Peter Parker.

Young Avengers 3 = ★★★★✩


I didn't read issue 2 so I'm a little lost precisely about what's going on. McKelvie  and Norton are the attractions here. Like FF, it's a teen soap with superheroes that ends in a nightclub.



Age of Ultron 3 = ★★★✩✩

This is already dragging. We're already a third of the way through and nothing much has really happened. I'm becoming aware of panel after panel of characters just standing around talking to each other - a criticism that's often leveled at Bendis. The reveal at the end is decent enough and Bryan Hitch's art is great. It does seem like a "What If?"-type comic: the characters look very different than they do in other titles and the plot appears completely out of sync with the rest of the Marvel Universe. It has to pick up the pace or I'll be dropping after the next issue. I actually wonder if this is written for a popcorn-chomping mass (movie-) Avengers audience who will look as the great visuals, see versions of the movie characters and not be fussed about things like a decent narrative.

Flash 18 = ★★★✩✩

The Manapaul-esque artwork and storyline continues (the artist is Marcio Takara who does a fine job). Flash attempts to help out the Trickster, who he thinks is being framed. A couple of characters who were sucked into the speed force now have powers similar to Barry Allen's. I'm not sure what the purpose of giving Trickster a mechanical arm. Dislike having to pick up Dial H for Hero to read the next part of the story.


Justice League Dark 18 = ★★✩✩✩

Thank goodness that this arc is over. JLD isn't dark at all. It did start out with a lot of promise - but my good will for this title has almost run out. It reminds me of Demon Knights: both are potentially great off-beat team books but seem bland in comparison with books like Uncanny Avengers from Marvel. Swamp Thing in next issue. If it's no better then I'm going to drop it.

Uncanny Avengers 5 = ★★★★★


Thought this was great. It reminded me of a 80s Avengers issue: mysterious opening, classic villains, team meeting, public showoff of new members, battle. Plus it has that quirky Remender oddness that worked so well in the X-Force run. Coipel on art is a perfect stand-in for Cassaday. Remender seems to be able to present character moments within a pretty dramatic narrative. Unlike AU, there's  a brisk pace - almost too brisk.


SCORING 
✩✩✩✩✩ = Awful.
★✩✩✩✩ = Poor.
★★✩✩✩ = Average.
★★★✩✩ = Good.
★★★★✩ = Very good.
★★★★★ = Excellent.

Wednesday 27 March 2013 in

On the Web: Longbox Graveyard


One of the best old comic fan sites on the web has to be Longbox Graveyard, maintained by Paul O'Connor. It's a celebration of Bronze Age (particularly Marvel) comics. O'Connor posts a major commentary once a week and hosts a regular podcast. What's apparent is his utter love of 70s comics. He explores issues in real detail and has some quite perceptive insights into what he reads.

Particularly recommended is episode 10 of the Longbox Graveyard podcast. It explores 70s Marvel science fiction titles (including Warlock and Guardians of the Galaxy) in a really engaging way. O'Connor persuasively argues that the success (or, rather, the lack of success) of science fiction titles is in the realisation of their background worlds. O'Connor explains his idea thoroughly - and I have to say I'm convinced by his argument.

Longbox Graveyard has a wealth of material that's well worth spending an hour or two checking out.

Sunday 24 March 2013 in , ,

Wednesday's Comics: 20th March 2013





Action Comics 18 = ★★★★✩

Extra-sized issue. The 5th-dimensional attack from beyond space and time on Superman is over. Well, if it's possible to actually ever end. To be honest, I think I need to read all 18 issue of this run together to get the plot straight in my head. It's been a cut-up narrative with events out of sequence that appear to tie together in this final issue of Morrison's run (just take a look at the cover to get an idea of how jumbled the narrative is). It does score lots of praise for the amount of Superman lore it manages to cram in. It's probably a run that will read much better as a trade.

Legion of Super-heroes 18 = ★★★✩✩

LoSH has improved. Really. There's a sense of something decisive actually happening now. In this issue we're told this when Cosmic Boy makes the point that they've not faced anything so catastrophic since The Great Darkness Saga. While the plot is pretty engaging - this issue is essentially different teams of legionnaires dealing with the technological breakdown caused by the failure of the quark relays (yes, some technobabble) - the art is uneven and distracting.

Batwoman 18 = ★★★★✩

Batwoman goes up against Mr Freeze and manages to step on Batman's toes in the process. Trevor McCarthy does a pretty good job as artist on this issue. It did have an low-key, abrupt ending as if the last couple of pages had been cut off to make room for the publicity for Action Comics. It's a filler between the Medusa arc and whatever's happening next (presumably the return of Kate Kane's insane sister, Alice).

 Constantine 1 = ★★★★✩

I'm skeptical about this comic. Constantine fans have long since given up on the New 52 version incarnation depicted in Justice League Dark and, once Vertigo's Hellblazer was concluded, it's been argued that DC had sanitised the character. Have to say that I was surprised how much of a bastard Constantine comes across as being in this issue. It's also the first of DC's "Dark" titles that actually seems to have a genuine sense of dark, threatening magic - so far, the other titles seem to be "Dark-lite". There's also enough menace and mystery left at the end of this issue to keep me on for the first run. I certainly didn't think I'd be doing that.

New Avengers 4 = ★★★★★

What a nasty fix the Marvel Illuminati are in. Sit back and think about what these "heroes" are up to and you could quite easily see characters like Doctor Doom among their ranks. Hickman poses some awful questions of morality. They mind-wiped Captain America in the last issue!  I'm enjoying the cosmic scale of this title plus the appearance of Galactus is presented with the sense of scale and awe that recaptures his first appearance in the 60s.

Avengers 8 = ★★★✩✩

In the long run this story will undoubtedly have pay-off. The mixing of the New Universe - particularly Starbrand - and the Avengers works pretty well. Hickman seems to have very similar cosmic-apocalypic stories going on in both New Avengers and Avengers and it'll be interesting to see if there's any crossover between the two titles. Dustin Weaver's artwork is lithe.

Daredevil 24 = ★★★★★

Such a brilliant run. All I can do is keep repeating that Waid and Sammee are a perfect creative combination (as seen in their recent Rocketeer collaboration). This issue of DD begins to show the mysterious figure behind everything that's happened to Matt Murdoch over this run. My money's on it being Bullseye being in the iron lung-like sarcophagus.

Wonder Woman 18 = ★★★★✩

Despite the number of different artists who worked on this issue it maintained a similar artistic "look" throughout. Finally, Diana and the gods she's teamed with find Zola's baby. I'm still no wiser who the baby actually is - or who the crazy god is who attacks Poseidon (or even the person floating in the water who looked like s/he was going to be rescued by helicopter).

Superior Spider-man 6 = ★★★★★

When I saw the cover I thought it was going to be all comedy and little "superior" (Doc Ock) Spider-man. It was - as always with Slott's plots - really well executed. Spidey goes up against two tricksters called Screwball and Jester. Doc Ock has a number of issues from his childhood involving being bullied that find their expression through some spidey-violence that encourages the Avengers to get pretty worried. The initial comedy causes the ending to be much more severe than it would have been. It ends in a very dark place. Ramos draws Spider-man perfectly.

All-new X-men 9 = ★★★★★

So. Very. Good. Stuart Immonen's art is outrageously decent. The whole issue centres on the 60s X-men attempting to deal with their present-day situation. The ending - which ties in with Bendis' current Uncanny X-men issue - works really effectively. Immonen actually draws the new costumes so they look ultra modern and menacing - and a constrast with the simple, niaive  60s-inspired outfits of the younger team.

Nova 2 = ★★★✩✩

Formulaic. Boy discovers the powers of the Nova costume. What's apparent is that Marvel take about 5 issues today to tell an origin story that 30 years ago would have been done in one.

Captain America 5 = ★★★★✩

Steve Rogers has now been in Dimension Z for 12 years! He's also almost transformed into a version of Arnim Zola (he has a massive digital head growing in his chest that talks to him). Rogers has an adopted son, Ian, who he has trained to survive. This issue has Cap beaten up repeatedly. As crazy as this comic is, it's a great read. As always with Cap, he's at his greatest when at the point of losing.

Justice League = ★★★✩✩

Dull. It's a team tryout issue. The reveal of a female Atom and the start of the New 52 incarnation of the Metal Men improves this issue slightly. I can't see the need to introduce more characters into the JL (though Martian Manhunter should be there). The Captain Marvel backup is much better - particularly because Gary Frank's art is so good. [★★ for Justice League; ★★★★ for Shazam]

Justice League of America 2 = ★★★★✩

This was surprisingly good - I don't know why I'm expecting JLA to nose-dive into cancellation. What we get here is the start of the team working together and it's mostly good.



Saga 11 = ★★★★★

Fiona Staples nails the art every issue. This is no exception: it's beautiful to look at. I think the colouring of the comic plays a major part of this. All I can say without spoiling anything is that the cliffhanger at the end of last issue is resolved but something awful  - and upsetting - takes place.





SCORING 
✩✩✩✩✩ = Awful.
★✩✩✩✩ = Poor.
★★✩✩✩ = Average.
★★★✩✩ = Good.
★★★★✩ = Very good.
★★★★★ = Excellent.

Saturday 23 March 2013 in , ,

Adam Warlock - Part 3: The Power of Warlock

In August 1972, Adam Warlock was given his own ongoing bi-monthly title, The Power of...Warlock. Thankfully, there's a slight improvement over the plots of the preceding issues - particularly from #5 onwards. It's still incredibly formulaic - though, at times, the narrative is a real mess - and often seems as if it's nothing more than Warlock fighting a different monster every other month. When Roy Thomas hands writing duties (after two issues) to Mike Friedrich the comic alters and, arguably, becomes a much darker narrative which includes the early death of a supporting character and the Watergate-like machinations of the American president. It's also appealing through presenting alternative versions of existing Marvel characters: a good Doctor Doom and Reed Richards assuming a Hulk-like identity called The Brute. It still reads as awkwardly clunky 40 years later - but, in an off-beat way, there's something increasingly attractive about the central character.

The Power of Warlock #1

"You'll never leave it -- alive!!": The Power of Warlock #1

The cover title, Night of the Man-Beast is actually entitled The Day of the Prophet on the inside (presumably a Man-Beast is more appealing to the kids than some comic about a prophet). Thomas and Kane return with the addition of Tom Sutton as inker. Sutton's addition has a considerable effect on the quality of the artwork which is consistently good throughout the issue. Opening with the High Evolutionary, the first few pages deal with the issue of culture shock on Counter-Earth: a rocket from real Earth will potentially discover its doppelgänger and, as the H.E. explains could potentially "drive mankind mad!" The solution is to place Counter-Earth into a different vibrational plane that is "a mere micro-second out of sync with the first". Again, for the benefit of new readers (plus anyone who'd forgotten the premise of the story) there's dialogue between that re-caps why Warlock is on Counter-Earth and, a little later, a decision by the teens to follow Warlock (an awfully-drawn panel shows them apparently doing the conga through a desert). The group journey to a nameless city where they encounter an prophet preaching apocalypse who appears to have an awareness of the Man-Beast. Again we have a beast monsters - this time called Haukk and Pih-Junn - who Warlock battles! Prophet leads Warlock through the sewers to the lair of the Man-Beast. The final couple of panels reveal that the prophet is actually Man-Beast.

The Power of Warlock #2

"A very real future!": The Power of Warlock #2

Issue 2 sees a creative change: while Roy Thomas provides the plot, it's now scripted by Mike Friedrich (and there's a qualitative improvement noticeable) and, most strikingly, John Buscema does layouts while Tom Sutton works as finisher (it's Sutton who I think brings the most improvement to the comic). Gil Kane is credited as “spiritual advisor”. The issue is a temptation of Warlock: the Man-Beast shows him a vision of Counter-Earth where his disciples deny him and the world is thrown into nuclear warfare. Warlock himself apparently commits murder. It turns out to be hypnotic trickery by the Man-Beast in order to convince Warlock to join with him. Needless to say Warlock resists and defeats Man-Beast. There's a great deal of action and the apocalyptic nature of the events indicate the larger-scale narrative that's to follow.



The Incredible Hulk #158

"Frenzy on a Far-away World": The Incedible Hulk #158

The first intrusion of the Marvel superheroes into Counter-Earth happens when Roy Thomas and Steve Gerber plot a story in which the Rhino and Hulk travel on spaceship to the far side of the sun. There's not a great deal to admire about this issue: the narrative is grossly contrived and it's, bluntly, pretty dull. Hulk - fortuitously lands exactly among a group of New-Men with names like Porcunius (no, not a pig - that's Trax - but a porcupine), Phrogg and - of course - Kohbra. Porcunius leads a group of New-Men who seek only acceptance. A counter-Bruce Banner exists who has a family with Betty. There's a whole lot of fighting: Hulk vs. Rhino, New-Men vs. New-Men, soldiers. Eventually, Hulk believes he has learned something ("what it means to come face-to-face with oneself") and leaves Counter-Earth with Rhino. Warlock himself only makes the briefest of appearances and it seems that the divisions among the New-Men aren't referred to again Warlock. It's difficult to understand why the Hulk was chosen to visit Counter-Earth like this. A much better plot would have pitted Hulk against The Brute, the monstrous character introduced in issue 6 (something I don't think has happened in comics at all).

Warlock appears for two panels in a "True-Earth" comic
The Power of Warlock #3

"You... a menace? When you saved all our lives!": The Power of Warlock #3

The third issue of The Power of... Warlock introduces an odd character, Apollo, the captain of a villainous submarine who is later revealed to be some form of pig-beast. For some reason the issue opens with Warlock and his disciples piloting a speedboat near Malibu on their way to an air force base. Coincidentally, Apollo's sub is also near Malibu and it's revealed that he has assumed Man-beast's leadership of The New-men but has decided to rule Counter-Earth rather than destroy it. After a skirmish, Warlock arrives at the air force base and meets a candidate in the presidential elections, Rex Carpenter - he'll play a more prominent role later in the run. There's another scrap between Apollo and Warlock which reveals Apollo to be a creature called Trax, evolved by the Man-beast. The issue ends with a dilemma for Warlock: either sacrifice himself or lose the lives of two of his disciples. Gil Kane is back on as penciller for this issue.

The Power of Warlock #4

"Adam -- Oh, Adam -- It was so terrible!": The Power of Warlock #4

Come Sing a Searing Song of Vengence concludes the Trax storyline. Frankly, it's all a bit of a mess. Astrella turns up once more to continue her betrayal of Warlock. She urges Rex Carpenter to get involved and he terrifies Trax (in later issues it'll make sense). There's rockets and fighter jets. Warlock and Trax fight. It all leads to one of Warlock's disciples, Eddie (son of Colonel Roberts), being killed by Trax. Unfortunately, the emotional impact of the issue is postponed for two months (and even then screwed up by being told in flash-back). The best part of the issue is the appearance of (Doctor) Professor Doom in the last couple of panels.


The Power of Warlock #5

"And the danger is a man... A man named Adam Warlock!": The Power of Warlock #5

April 1973’s issue, The Day of the Death-birds, is a daft tale of heat-seeking anti-personnel missiles that run amok. Warlock, wracked by guilt, has returned to his cocoon. Meanwhile Rex Carpenter wins the presidency and Warlock is woken to find the location of his cocoon is a bomb test site. Counter-Earth's Doom is a caring scientist who tries to convince President Carpenter to call of the bomb test in case it causes an earthquake and releases the death-birds. Warlock spends the issue fixing the crisis caused by the bomb test before teaming-up with Doom. Doom witnesses people's adulation of Warlock and suggests that he becomes a leader of men - to which Warlock replies (in typically hippie fashion): “A leader? Perhaps I should be. But a leader must know where he himself is going... And I am no longer certain.” This month's cliffhanger is that President Carpenter calls on America to rid itself of the danger... of Warlock.



The Power of Warlock #6

"W-we're in trouble, Adam! We g-gotta go...": The Power of Warlock #6

Six issues - a year of bi-monthly comics - and The Power of Warlock actually starts to get engaging. A new artist, Bob Brown - co-creator of 1950s comic hero Space Ranger - brings a little more dynamism to the penciling. Warlock looks far more heroic and the issue begins with him being hunted down by the American military. Warlock's golden skin is used abusively in the issue - to a point where Doom says to one of the soldiers: "A blatant racist, too, huh?"Doom is also the link to the introduction of what is a fascinating character: Counter-Earth's Reed Richards. Rather than being transformed into Mr Fantastic, Richards is afflicted by a Hulk-like transformation in which he becomes a creature called The Brute. (Man-Beast is credited with preventing the Fantastic Four acquiring their powers. Sue Storm is put into a coma.) Richards, we're told, is fascinated by the power and learns to trigger the transformation by force of will. Quite soon, a shadowy figure (revealed later) gains hypnotic control of The Brute. Duplicitous Astrella returns, once again to set Warlock up (though she tells herself "I feel like a heel!") so that he is attacked by The Brute on The Golden Gate Bridge. Another aspect of the soul gem is revealed when Warlock uses it to reform the molecules in the bridge to repair it and then to devolve The Brute back to Richards (there's an erroneous footnote that says he recognised Richards: "Warlock having battled the True-Earth Reed as "Him" in F.F. #66-67!"). Had The Power of Warlock continued to explore the "True-Earth" Marvel characters in their Counter-Earth incarnations, the series would have been provided with a much more engaging added dimension. Counter-Earth's Steve Rogers, Tony Stark or Peter Parker could have been woven into Warlock's adventures - each providing a "What If?"-style take on the characters. Alas, while The Brute returns, the comic returns to its rather silly regular animal-monster adversary format quite quickly... before being temporarily cancelled.

The Power of Warlock #7

"Would I could fashion the world as I do this molten rock--": The Power of Warlock #7

Issue 7, Doom: at the Earth's Core, is perhaps the best issue of the run so far. Certainly, there's something better about the artwork that preceding issues (whether this is down to Tom Sutton inking Bob Brown's pencils a little heavier or the bolder, sixties-looking colouring by Stan Golberg isn't clear) - it has the most Kirby-esque look since King Jack's FF issues introducing Him 5 years earlier. My feeling is that the Kirby-cosmic look suits Warlock particularly (well, until Starlin gets a grip). A mob - stirred up by President Carter - have attacked Warlock's supporters and some are arrested by the police. Warlock goes to sort things out as The Brute steals Doom's "Inner Space Exploration Vehicle" and travels deep into the earth to feed off geothermal energies. Doom sacrifices himself to defeat The Brute and Warlock uses his soul gem to erect a statue.


The Power of Warlock #1

"This particular clash will be concluded -- sometime, somewhere in the Marvel Universe!": The Power of Warlock #8

The title is suddenly cancelled with Confrontation, the eighth issue (see here for the notice). By now Warlock has generated a large following who demonstrate in Washington for him. This idea of a counter-cultural, messianic super-hero is something that - like the idea of alternative versions of "True Earth" Marvel characters - could have been further explored. Duplicitous Asterella reveals herself to be the sister of the President; her role as the Judas among Warlock's disciples isn't played out with any subtlety at all. The High Evolutionary has, meanwhile, recruited The robotic Recorder (or, rather, one of the recorders) a chronicler of Warlock's adventures - and is renamed Memorax. Memorax is the device through which Friedrich is able to explain more about the soul gem:
"It is a source of great power to him -- Giving him the ability to attune himself to matters molecular vibrations... and on that level affect it... such as by causing it to break down... or by preventing a change from occurring or continuing -- as when burning matter is extinguished by prevention of oxidation. The gem's greatest power is to affect living beings -- but only with great effort, can this be done... But the soul-jewel's power is a most fragile thing, resting as it does on the internal stamina of Warlock himself... The support of his followers recharges Warlock's powers -- but similarly doubt and betrayal can lay him lower than any opponent's blow."
The issue gets trippy when the demonstrators are attacked by a couple of demons: Aggression ("I who revel in my abusive power") and Deceit/Dishonesty ("snaking into the souls of all I possess") and Warlock is shown the writhing, stabbing uncaring cosmos - in vivid LSD-fueled imagery. He manages to survive only to end the issue confronting the President of America whose body has been inhabited by none other than the Man-Beast. You might be forgiven for thinking that Marvel would have finished the Warlock series - but, no, the title finishes with a cliff-hanger: Warlock and Man-Beast squaring up. The final caption:
"This particular clash will be concluded -- sometime, somewhere in the Marvel Universe, true believers -- but the struggle eternal goes on within all of us: for good battling evil... it is never... the end!"
The Avengers #118

One panel wonder: Avengers #118

Warlock gets a one-panel Cameo appearance in December 1973's issue of The Avengers. The Avengers, Defenders and other heroes take on Dormammu, Doctor Strange's foe from Hell. Presumably, the implication is that Warlock is involved in fighting some aspect of Dormammu on Counter Earth.

By this time, however, Warlock no longer had his own comic and it looked like his battle with the Man-Beast would never be resolved. However, Warlock's return happens pretty quickly...

Saturday 16 March 2013 in , ,

Wednesday's Comics: 13th March 2013


Before Watchmen: Ozymandias 6 = ★★★★★
Last issue of this mini-series. This has been - for me - the best of the Before Watchmen titles - though has largely been overshadowed by the Darywn Cooke titles. This issue gets to the point right before Watchmen when Ozymandias is preparing his plan to save the world and the Comedian stumbles across the secret island. The tone of this series has been absolutely spot-on: Len Wein captures the sense of ennui that imbues the character and this has been visualised by Jae Lee's stunning artwork (particularly the circular panelling that gives a gun-sight effect in this closing issue). It's tremendously good and well-worth picking up when released as a trade in the next couple of months.

Batgirl 18 = ★★★✩✩
The robin on the covers of the Bat-books this month is way too much. Too much sentimentality. Barbara fights Firebug while her insane brother is arranging to kill her. This is the first issue of the run not written by Gail Simone and I have to admit I don't notice any tonal difference. Batgirl's always a solid read.

Batman 18 = ★★★★★
Synder's character Harper is the focus of this issue (no... not the next Robin?) and it's a great way of viewing Batman's response to the death of Damian. Greg Cupullo doesn't draw this issue - instead, Andy Kubert does a terrific job and is supported by Alex Maleev (always a stunning artist). It's a great issue full of Batman is "All-star" mode and doing his nut on Gotham petty criminals. There's a great scene with genetically mutated dogs.

Saucer Country 13 = ★★★✩✩
I have to admit that I've really lost track of what's happening and who everyone is in this comic. It's probably the sort of thing that's best read in trade rather than ongoing monthly: the plot is far too twisty. The presidential elections are nearly over and it's starting to really look like the whole UFO/alien abductions are in fact a plot to prevent the election of the first hispanic president. I'm not sure. Probably a re-reading once the series is over in a month or so.

Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror 2 = ★★★★✩
I was a bit dismissive of the first issue of this Rocketeer mini-series: I'm not taken by J Bone's cartoony art and, consequently, I ended up skimming the issue. Paying more attention to Roger Langridge's plot in the second issue, I realised that it's actually a great pulp-y romp.What's more, I'd missed the so-obvious-it-punched-me-in-the-face appearances of (who I think are) Nick and Nora Charles, the detectives from The Thin Man and (who I know are meant to be) Ham and and Monk from Doc Savage.

Age of Ultron 2 = ★★★★✩
Not sure if this issue moved the narrative on much. Things are truly screwed for humanity under the reign of Ultron: the place is an utter mess and the superheroes are feeling sorry for themselves. Spider-man recounts what happened (before issue 1) but it doesn't add much and Cap comes up with a plan. Oh - and Moon Knight makes an appearance. Bryan Hitch's depictions of devastated New York are brilliantly apocalyptic. I'm enjoying this a great deal. (Where, though, is the foil cover? Or trading card?)

Thor: God of Thunder 6 = ★★★★✩
Time off for Thor and Esad Ribic as Butch Guice pencils this issue. This is an origin story for Gorr, the god-killer, from his desperate childhood on a desert planet to his commencement of a quest to destroy all the gods of the universe. It's well plotted and drawn. My only reservation is that I don't like this type of villain background reveals - it "humanises" a villain and, often, justifies their actions.

Uncanny X-men 3 = ★★★✩✩
Scott Summer's X-men face off The Avengers and he assumes the role of a modern day Professor X at the end. Bachalo continues to make it look dynamic (much in the Amazing/Superior Spider-man style) - though there's a few too many small panels with open-mouthed heads for my liking. I still don't like the new costumes (especially the one that makes Magneto look like a cylon) and the silly humour doesn't work for me. But, still, it still has potential as a title.

Wolverine 1 = ★★★★✩
I wouldn't ordinarily pick up a Wolverine comic, but with Cornell and Davis producing this, I thought I'd take a look and see what was happening. Both creators are - for me - slightly off-beat (I a great way): Cornell able to show a character like Logan from a slightly different perspective (here we get him in a variety of role: shopper, victim, Avenger) and Davis loves to use odd viewpoints in his panels. It felt like reading an old Claremont X-men issue from the 80s more than anything. Logan surely looked beefed up.

SCORING 
✩✩✩✩✩ = Awful.
★✩✩✩✩ = Poor.
★★✩✩✩ = Average.
★★★✩✩ = Good.
★★★★✩ = Very good.
★★★★★ = Excellent.

Tuesday 12 March 2013 in , ,

Comments from Counter-Earth


1970s Counter-Earth even had its own letters page in The Power of... Warlock.  It's a shame that the comic companies nowadays rarely reprint letters in trades and collections as the early Warlock letters are everything you'd expect from a 70s silver age comic: a mix of sycophantic adoration of the title, its creators and characters or weirdly serious theological complaints. It's an age when comics as spelled with an X. Knowing Marvel's predilection for writing letters in-house, I wouldn't be surprised if the earnest religious correspondence was created in an attempt to stir up a controversy to drive up sales.

Many letters from the first run (only 8 bi-monthly issues) of The Power of... Warlock gush strong praise for the title, such as Steven Oelrich's from Colorado Springs (and, as much as I'm enjoying Warlock, I wouldn't say that the first run was as momentous as he suggests):


A Cleveland correspondent, Walter Loepp, saw Warlock as entertaining - though not full of childish gimmicks and devices - plus satisfying intellectual cravings:


Many letters dealt with the religious aspects of the comic, feeling that Marvel had "gone too far" in presenting the High Evolutionary, the character who creates Counter-Earth in a matter of hours, as a quasi-deity and having Warlock cast into the Christ-like role of a saviour:


Some saw the setting of Counter-Earth as an obvious means of creating a second Marvel environment for what we'd call today Elseworld-type narratives: 


Keeping the "Warlock world" separate from the rest of the Marvel Universe may have been part of the ever-present debate at Marvel around this time about whether or not to re-boot the characters. Having a world without super-heroes would enable a who series of origin stories and re-tellings (much in the way the Ultimate series has done recently).

In issue 8, readers would have found this notice:


Without sales figures it's hard to say how popular or successful The Power of... Warlock actually was. From today's perspective it was clear "what went wrong": the initial issues had formulaic, dull stories involving silly animal men. Friedrich's plots made the comic more engaging (certainly when Dr Doom and The Brute were introduced) but I guess it was too late by then. Something did change, though....