ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT AVENGERS #1: The Avengers are a different team than they once were. Sam Wilson is Captain America and he’s broke, having to rely on Tony Stark’s charity to get along. Avenger’s Tower has been sold and the buyer has manager to bring the alien Warbringer to Earth. Spider Man Miles Morales spies the evil goings on and gets tossed out of the building, onlyh to be saved by Tony Stark. Warbringer unleashes his fury and levels Cap, Iron Man and Spider Man. Oh yeah-Ms. Marvel calls Nova a jerk. In the back-up, Nova and Ms. Marvel fight an alien and he unmasks in front of her. She doesn’t and that causes a rift.
Wow! I never thought I could see myself NOT READING an AVENGERS title. But I already was disappointed with UNCANNY AVENGERS and this is not better. Adam Kubert’s art is not up to his usual high standard as he tries to completely emulate his father’s style with limited success. And Mark Waid, one of my all time favorite writers, delivers a story that just doesn’t do much for me. Most of all, I think it has to do with the team. I don’t LIKE Sam Wilson as Captain America. I don’t LIKE Sam Humphries as Nova. I don’t LIKE this Ms. Marvel. Miles Morales is NOT my Spider Man. So, when you put all these characters together, you end up with a team that leaves me rooting for the bad guys. And the back-up by Waid and Mahmud Asrar, outside of looking real nice, also did nothing for me.This could be the first time in my life that I DON’T collect an AVENGERS title. Nice going, Marvel!
ALL NEW HAWKEYE #1: There are two Hawkeyes on the case, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop, even though they have been falling apart as of late. Twnety years from now, the team comes back together only to have Kate be taken out by the Mandarin.
Truth: I am a HUGE FAN of Jeff Lemire’s work. To that end, I had to read this book. Unfortunately, I found it a bit confusing and felt like I was reading rehashed GREEN ARROW story ideas. Sure, Lemire wrote some killer stuff for that title, but this just feels weak..like his heart isn’t in it. The time jump also didn’t help make this readable. Ramon Perez’ artwork is following the industry idea of the Batgirling of titles and looks like that was the inspiration. I may read issue #2, but right now, I’m not a fan of this.
ALL NEW WOLVERINE #1: Laura Kinney is also known as X-23. With Logan dead and gone, she has taken over for him as the All New Wolverine. In Paris, she stops an assassination attempt and gets shot in the process. While out, she has a visitation with her mentor, who encourages her to keep fighting. She awakens and goes after the shooter, with them tumbling off the Eiffel Tower. Angel saves her mid fall and when they again land, it’s revealed that the shooter is Laura Kinney.
Tom Taylor gives us a really wild, action filled story that is so much better than just about anything he has been writing for DC lately. With David Lopes and David Navarrot handling the art, this book just zips along beautifully. My problem is that I don’t like the character. When X-23 was first introduced, I thought she was a cook character and I liked her origin and where she was going. But now, it just feels like we needed to put someone in the suit. Now I understand that she is the logical successor and the whole idea of there being TWO Laura Kinney’s is intriguing, I just can’t get into the character. By the way: were Laura and Warren an item at some point?
BLACK KNIGHT #1: Dane Whitman is the Black Knight and is the ruler of Weirdworld. Weird things are apparent here in Weirdworld as we see later on when a World War 2 submarine is discovered, complete with mementos still on board. It seems Dane has collected lots of mementos, including a Two Gun Kid Wanted poster and Herbie the Robot. Later, Dane is told that they have visitors: the Uncanny Avengers.
Confused? I am too! See, it’s hard to judge a title when we don’t know how Weirdworld still exists after the end of SECRET WARS. I understand how these mementos are here, coming from the merging of worlds in SECRET WARS. But how does this place still exist and how does the Uncanny Avengers manage to travel here? Frank Tieri’s story feels like a rehash, complete with a Hamlet type conversation midway through the book that attempts to explain it, but falls flat. Luca Pizzari’s art is quirky and unsatisfying here. This won’t be a title I’ll be following, just because it takes a classic character and reduces him to a depressed king.
CARNAGE#1: Cletus Kasady is the crazy, murderous psychotic known as Carnage. He finds out that Manuela Calderon, the sole survivor of Kasady’s first murderous spree, is still alive and it sets him off, killing everyone in the diner he was eating at. At a mine in West Virginia, Colonel John Jameson and former Venom Eddie Brock look to set a trap to capture Carnage in a mine. Unfortunately things go from bad to worse as Kasady gets captured, but the ground below him gives way and he is now loose in an abandoned mine.
Welcome to the world of horror fiction, Marvel! And it’s a killer! No really: this is awesome! Let’s start with Mike Perkins art which is superbly creepy, especially Carnage’ murderous spree in the diner. Did I mention that the series is being written by Marvel legend Gerry Conway? While his recent work on the SPIDER MAN POINT ONE books was very disappointing, this one nails it! By bringing in Calderon, Brock, who ends up screwing things up(what a surprise!) and Jameson, some memorable SPIDER MAN characters come back to life and look poised to be in starring roles as opposed to being also-rans. I really look forward to the next issue!
DEADPOOL #1: Deadpool is in Korea and he ends up in a battle The White Fox. But THIS Deadpool is actually James Bourne, also known as Solo. It seems Deadpool is everywhere and being portrayed by a whole host of characters including Terror, Foolkiller, Madcap, Stingray and more. It seems that Deadpool has started Deadpool’s Heroes For Hire, which really upsets Luke Cage who wants to sue over the name theft. In the end, Wade just wants to know who was responsible for making him kill his parents.
I look at Deadpool like I look at Harley Quinn-they have both jumped the shark. I expected this to be a complete one and done book, but I find that I’m intrigued by it all. Gerry Duggan’s story is just plain fun! Yeah-I LOVE IT! By introducing all these Deadpools, it just becomes a cool ride that I didn’t expect! And Mike Hawthorne’s art fits it beautifully. This isn’t Rob Liefeld and that’s okay! By the way, track down the #SecretComic Variant Cover Edition that will present one page of comic story month in and month out. Sorry…this is just too much fun and cool!
DRAX #1: Drax the Destroyer is still hunting Thanos, so he borrows Rocket Raccoon’s Space Sucker spaceship, crash lands on a planet and runs into Terrax.
Shortest . Review. Ever. C. M. Punk and Cullen Bunn write this tale, and I use the term loosely. Drax is now Deadpool in that he gets credit for being the character I want to read THE LEAST! Scott Hepburn provides the art and it’s fine. There won’t be a second issue for me
EXTRAORDINARY X-MEN #1: Storm has a conversation with the ghost of Charles Xavier when she is told that Magick is in New Delhi where she is trying to rescue a new mutant and her family from a mob. She does so, bringing her to X-Haven. Magick then goes to Russia, where she meets with her brother who has given up the superhero life in favor of being a farmer. Nightcrawler is underneath the city, battling bad guys and spouting out Bible verses. Later, Storm goes to Empire State University and tries to convince Jan Grey into coming back with her to X-haven, which Jean turns down. She does say that, despite the fact that there will never be any more new mutants, someone who is not supposed to be here is. Storm and Iceman go to find this person and are surprised to find out it’s a much older Logan.
This is supposed to be the flagship X-Men title in the new Marvel Universe. My first take is that it bounces all over the place, which is what the old UNCANNY title used to do. Yeah, I’m a huge Jeff Lemire fan and this is more of his good work. It’s not GREEN ARROW or SWEET TOOTH, but it is a good superhero story. And Humberto Ramos is turning out some really nice artwork here too. So, if you liked where the old X series took you, you’ll like this. If you feel that too many X books are just too many, then stay clear.
HERCULES #1: Hercules is living in Astoria, New York and has decided to start his own business where he will perform labors. Two boys come to him, looking for help and find that he has Gilgamesh living with him. One of the boys needs Hercules to get rid of the monster that is datig his sister. No really…it’s a monster! Using his strength and wits and a taser, he defeats the creature and then goes off to battle a sea monster. In the end, he goes home and, after putting a collectible card into his collection of artifacts, he and Gil discuss what to do for dinner.
Well, this is certainly a strange take on the legendary god. So, he finds himself on Earth, rooming with the equally legendary Gilgamesh and runs a business where he undertakes labors. Strange, very strange. I love Dan Abnett’s writing, but this just feels forced to me. It’s a wild concept and all, but once the monster came into the picture, the point where it should have gotten really good, it fell really flat. Luke Ross’ art is cool and he does a nice job of making the god look good. Unfortunately, their combined work didn’t leave me wanting more.
HOWARD THE DUCK #1:Three months ago, bad things were happening at the mansion. One month ago, Howard left his office, where may Parker is running things, to meet with Doctor Strange about finding a way to get home. Doc mentions that the Abundant glove may be a way for our fowl feathered friend to get home, In the here and now, Howard and the shape shifting Tara end up at the nexus of All Realities and battle it out with the Wizard and Titania. Just when all sems bad, two creatures, one of which is a duck, come through the portal. In the back-up, we meet GwenPool…really!
Okay…so here’s my advice to Chip Zdarsky: stick to writing JUGHEAD. Aunt May is a secretary for the talking duck? Oh how our hero has fallen! I didn’t read the last series, having read the first issue and cringing! Joe Quinones handles the art and that’s fine. Chris Hastings and Danilo Beyruth are responsible for the back up and I see no reason for it except to introduce the character of GwenPool. This book will be joining the LAST version of this character on my reserve list. All I know is this makes me yearn for the days of Steve Gerber, Frank Brunner and even the HOWARD THE DUCK movie. Yeah-I WENT THERE!
ILLUMINATI #1: Titania visits with her husband, the Absorbing Man, in prison. Later, She Hulk visits with her and arranges to get her a job at a Pawn Shop. She helps break up a robbery, but Luke Cage and Iron Fist show up and blame her for the incident. The Hood arrives and takes her out of the battle and takes her to his house, where he tells her of his plan to break into Asgard and steal the weapons of the gods. He introduces her to the rest of his Illuminati: Thunderball, Mad Thinker, Enchantress and Black Ant. In the end, Hood breaks into the Manhattan Detention Center and kills the crooks her had sent to rob the Pawn Shop. He had set Titania up and this was all part of his plan to bring her into the Illuminati.
This was a title I looked forward to reading and it was a cool story. I liked the fact that we have taken some of the former top tier villains and brought them together as a super team. Joshua Williamson’s story is great, especially with the added twist at the end. What I didn’t like was Shawn Crystal’s artwork. I know adult coloring books are all the rage, big enough that DC is doing a bunch of adult coloring book variant covers. But this book looks like it was colored with colored pencils. Because of that, I couldn’t enjoy the book as much as I would have liked and probably won’t buy a second issue.
THE MIGHTY THOR #1: Jane Foster is Thor and Jane Foster is battling cancer. Although she is going through treatment, every time she changes into Thor, it negates the treatment and her cancer continues to grow. While undergoing treatment and watching the news, she sees Roxx News Space Station fall under siege from the dead bodies of white elves. She transforms again and saves them, turning over the injured to the Avengers. Back in Asgardia, she deals with the hate and prejudice of the citizens and also visits the All-Mother, who has been jailed by Odin. As she prepares to leave Asgardia, the Thunder Guard arrives to arrest her. In the end, it seems the death of the white elves may have something to do with the God of Mischief being bad once again. It seems Loki has turned heel yet again.
I hadn’t planned on liking this book, especially because it’s NOT the classic Don Blake Thor. It’s Jane Foster and she’s dying. So, I went into the read expecting to hate it and came out loving it! Jason Aaron’s story is compelling and a fun read while Russell Dauterman’s art is great! What I liked the least about this was the five dollar cover price, although we did get extra pages and a monstrous fold-out cover, even if it was printed in color and black and white. This is a notable start to a character with a ton of history. You either nail it or you don’t. This one nails it!
MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #1: Lunella LaFayette is a brilliant young girl who is too smart for her school, leading to her being teased by classmates who call her ‘Moon Girl’. Later, she finds the Nightstone, which has made its’ way to our time from The Valley of Flame, many years ago. Moon Boy is fatally wounded and sends Devil Dinosaur through the portal with the Nightstone. In the middle of gym class in the present day, her gym teacher starts to play with the Nightstone and suddenly Devil Dinosaur and a bunch of monkey tribesmen show up. The monkeys take the orb and run off, leading Devil Dinosaur to pick up Ludella in his teeth and give chase.
Who at Marvel thought this would be a good idea for a series? Now, I have to give credit where credit is due. Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare write a fun little tale of a girl who probably should have ended up in the Future Foundation, if that even exists any more. And Natacha Bustos art is nice…if you like the current Batgirling trend. Personally, I would like to have seen Reeder do the art, as her cover is killer! Now, back to the idea of who thought this would be a successful book. Are we still trying to shoot books at a specific demographic and if so, is this meant for a true female minority reader? While only lasting nine issues, I was a fan of Jack Kirby’s DEVIL DINOSAUR. But that was in the Seventies and his various appearances in books like FALLEN ANGELS didn’t live up. I just don’t see this being a success, despite the love the creators have seemingly put into it.
MS. MARVEL #1: Kamala Khan is Ms. Marvel and she is trying to adjust to life after the world almost ended. She also finds out that the guy who has been her best friend and crush since they were young has managed to move on to another girl. Why should this be a surprise to her as it’s been eight months. The she finds out someone has put her face on billboards and it seems like she is being associated with the town’s redevelopment movement. In the end, she gets to ride a giant amphibian and her ex-boyfriend gets to enjoy peace and quiet with his new girlfriend.
Well, I didn’t like the previous version of this title and this one leaves me the same. Actually, that’s not totally true, as I actually like this better than the previous series. Why? Because we’re not being slammed over the head with Kamala’s ethnicity. G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa and Adrian Alphona give us a fun tale about a teen girl trying to adjust. Of course, not knowing WHAT happened for the last eight months doesn’t make telling this tale any easier. I am not a fan of the character but, for those who like her, you’ll like this. Me: my favorite teen heroes are still the classic ones.
NOVA #1: Sam Humphries is a teenager who is also Nova and fights injustice with his dad, who is also a Nova. Dad’s Nova helmet has been giving him problems, but they still manage to save a cat during a house fire. Later, Sam’s dad is at work and discovers a huge underground tunnel. Also, it seems his dad is not the person we all thought he was.
Yeah…no. Sorry, my Nova isn’t Sam Humphries or his father. While it looks like the Mole man may be showing up, based on this huge tunnel, Sean Ryan and Cory Smith did nothing that made me sit up and want to read more. Here’s a clue, Marvel: STOP trying to make EVERY teen character into a Peter Parker clone.
SILK #1: Silk’s story continues from her last series, where she rescued her brother Albert from the Goblin Army gang. So she wants to beat up as many Goblin Army members as possible to find out the location of the Goblin King. She also has a go-round with Mockingbird, showing that she is truly a villain now as she works as a thief for the Black Cat. In actuality, she’s undercover with the Black Cat and is working for S.H.I.E.L.D. In her day job, Cindy Moon works for J. Jonah Jameson at the Fact Channel: Marvel’s version of TMZ.
I didn’t read the last incarnation of SILK as I had no interest. But…when did JJJ end up being Harvey Levin? Robbie Thompson and Stacey Lee are responsible for this and I won’t say the book is a mess, because it actually reads really well and looks okay. I just don’t have an interest in the character and didn’t like her when she made her appearance in AMAZING SPIDER MAN. I especially didn’t like the whole thought that they felt the need to mate when they got close to each other. That was just wrong and creepy! So, I guess if you LIKED SILK before, you’ll like her again.
SPIDER-WOMAN #1: Jessica Drew, a very pregnant Jessica Drew, is about to go off on maternity leave. This will mean her friends Ben Urich and Porcupine will be taking over in her place. Following a party featuring many of the Marvel universe’ finest, Jessica goes off to visit an intergalactic maternity doctor. Unfortunately, the Skrulls are here too!
So someone knocked up Spider Woman and that’s part of the mystery and attraction to this series. I wasn’t a follower of her prior to this relaunch and I don’t find this a title I like. While Dennis Hopeless’ story was a fun one, complete with Tony Stark making the mistake of asking who the father is, and Javier Rodriguez art is quirky but very reminiscent of Jaime Hernandez art, the whole thing just doesn’t appeal to me. My Spider Woman fights bad guys not deals with cravings and cramps.
STAR LORD #1: Peter Quill is a space ship mechanic who desperately wants to be a pilot. His attitude, and the fact that he isn’t respected by the pilots whose ships he works on, leads to a fight between him and one of the pilots, which leads to him being fired. Determined to find the ship that killed his mother 8 years ago, Quill steals a Kree Warbird. His fellow pilots quickly follow him, but he manages to get the ship’s warp drive online and gets away. Unfortunately, the ship shuts down and he finds himself alone and lost in space.
I never bought into the whole GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY hype and have openly stated that this band of heroes is NOT my Guardians. Sam Humphries and Javier Garron give us a story that leaves me scratching my head. So we’re to believe that Quill, the FORMER STAR LORD, is only 18 years old now. What the heck happened during SECRET WARS? Wasn’t he dating Kitty Pryde or someone connected to the X-Men? This is not a title I will continue to pick up just because I don’t care about the character. Nothing personal, Marvel.
THE ULTIMATES #1:A new super team is in town, headquartered in a building known as the Triskelion. Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Blue Marvel are preparing to take on the Devourer while Ms. America and Spectrum find themselves on the planet Moroder-9, facing a giant flying creature that unleashes move flying creatures. The Marvels take on a team on robots called The Punishers before they end up encountering Galactus. He challenges them to try and end his life. They explain they are here not to kill him, but to help him.
If you didn’t know that the Triskelion was the primary headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D., then you haven’t seen most Marvel movies or certainly, the AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. television show. But here, it has become the base for the new Ultimates, which were the superhero team in the Ultimate Universe. But we all know that the Ultimate Universe went the way of the original Marvel Universe during SECRET WARS. So, we have a team of Marvel Universe heroes that have stolen the name from their other world counterparts. How they end up here is anyone’s guess, as we still haven’t seen the end of the SECRET WARS saga. That having been said, Al Ewing gives us an intrigung story that I expect will become clearer as we go. Kenneth Rocafort is handling the art and he is an acquired taste. Having seen his work on SUPERMAN, RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS, SUPERGIRL, and TEEN TITANS, I KNOW WHEN HE’S ON AND WHEN HE’S OFF. On this book, he’s spot on.
THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1: Squirrel Girl, Tippy Toe, Nancy Whitehead, Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi do stuff.
I apologize for this lackluster review. I made a promise that I would buy all the new #1’s and read them all. And I will keep to that. But I CANNOT STAND THIS BOOK. First off: I really don’t like the characters and had a hard time figuring out who was who. It has a complete cartoonish look courtesy of Erica Henderson. I’m okay with cartoonish, but not when proportions go out the window. That only works with Warner Brothers and Tex Avery. Ryan North writes it and I just find the whole affair childish. The coolest part of the book is the continuing running commentary at the bottom of every page. There is some funny stuff there…probably the best stuff in the book. But it’s not enough to save this title for me!
VENOM SPACE KNIGHT #1: Flash Thompson is bonded to the former Venom, which is no longer evil as it was purified on the planet Klyntar. And now Flash has been made an Agent of the Cosmos. Above a distant planet, he finds a robot known as 803 who begs to be put out of his misery in exchange for showing him where the YT-19 is being held. It turns out thew YT-19 is an alien family and that sends Venom off the deep end, attacking the space pirates. The pirates are destroyed, the YT-19 is delivered back safely to their family, and Flash and 803 head off to future adventures.
Well, this was kind of fun. Robbie Thompson, no relation to Flash, writes a action filled issue with some nice bits of humor, best of which is that Flash consistently wants to know what an Agent of the Cosmos is. The real highlight of this book is the beautifully painted art of Ariel Olivetti. From the cover to the last page, it looks amazing. It’s nice to see Flash getting used in a new way and it’s nice to see him not as the huge butthead he always was in the past. Nicely done .
THE VISION #1: Vision has purged the emotions associated with his memories, created a family and moved to the suburbs in Arlington, Virginia. He has a wife named Virginia, and twin children: a son named Vin and a daughter Viv. The neighbors come to visit bearing cookies, which Virginia throws out after they leave because they don’t need to eat food. Over time, they learn the neighborhood and make friends. The kids go off to school and try their best to fit in. Vision gets called away to a mission and Virginia is working with the kids on their homework when a blade comes through Viv’s chest. The Grim Reaper has arrived, causing Virginia to flip out and seemingly kill him. Virginia turns to Vin and asks him not to tell his father.
If you’re reading GRAYSON, and if you’re not WHY NOT, then you already know what kind of writer Tom King is. His work on that DC title makes it consistently one of my favorites. His work on this book is equally as good…and maybe even better! He has crafted a creepy book here, complete with the revelation that one of the members of the family will set the neighbor’s house on fire, killing them. The entire concept here is that they are strangers in a strange land. Where STARFIRE presents the alien as a ditz, this book presents them almost as if they were refugees in a new country. And Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s art is perfect for this book which has this wonderful paranoid feel. This is a wonderful surprise and I highly recommend it.
WEB WARRIORS #1: On Earth-3015, a cartoon universe, the Web Warriors fight a bunch of familiar Spider villains and an equally familiar version of Spider-Man. Back on Earth-001, the team gathers and then heads in different directions. Gwen and may head to Earth-9105 where their lunch is interrupted by a group of villains including a version of Electro. In the battle, Gwen is knocked out and captured by the villains. She wakes up on Earth-1082, where she discovers that spiders aren’t the only things inhabiting the web. In the back-up, we get a tale of the lady spider of Earth-803, who meets with that version of the Black Cat.
I totally cannot get use to the whole idea of multiple Earths with a bunch of versions of Spider Man going about and righting wrongs. I didn’t like the Edge of Spiderverse saga, don’t watch the television show and, with the exception of the first issues, don’t read any of the titles that DON’T feature Peter Parker. This is one of those books. I’m still getting over the fact that our old Marvel Universe is gone and now you want me to deal with multiple Earths in that universe. I would probably have enjoyed Mike Costa’s story and David Baldeon’s art if I actually cared about these characters, although I do like the spot on version of the 1967 Spider Man and his villains in the opening part of the book. At the same time, I really liked Denis Medri’s art on the back up, but didn’t care for the story. And, if you came in late to these characters, don’t worry: there is a two page piece giving you the brief origins and back stories on the seven members of this team. Me…I won’t be reading another issue. It’s not because it is bad: I just don’t care for the characters.
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