A bunch of first issues from various places.
AVENGERS STANDOFF: WELCOME TO PLEASANT HILL #1: Have you ever seen THE PRISONER? How about STEPFORD WIVES? WESTWORLD? Then you don’t need to read this book. The bottom line is S.H.I.E.L.D. is playing games with a prison town that is equal parts BACK TO THE FUTURE 1950’s and any old TV sitcom. Seems Maria Hill is the Mayor and this is a prison for super villains-kind of a quite version of The Raft. Well, it turns out that the bad guys get mind wiped and have false memories implanted. But in the end, Fixer restores Baron Zemo’s memory. What this does is serve as a lead-in for the forthcoming THUNDERBOLTS reboot. Nick Spencer did a nice job with the writing but the star is Mark Bagley’s art.
BLACK WIDOW #1: Black Widow takes something from S.H.I.E.L.D. and spends the entire book running and fighting with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. It’s a Mark Waid, Chris Samnee joint and if you liked their run on DAREDEVIL, you will love this, although there are less than 150 words in the whole book…not including sound effects. It’s non-stop action and that’s what counts here!
DEADPOOL & THE MERCS FOR MONEY #1: In case you are not reading the regular adventures of Deadpool, here’s the scoop: Deadpool has a team of Deadpools now, made up of Stingray, Terror, Foolkiller, Slapstick, Solo and Massacre-the Mexican Deadpool. They are a team and they do the job for coin. That’s it! No fancy plot-just that. This is Marvel’s version of the Gang of Harleys. It’s Cullen Bunn and Salva Espin and that’s followed by a reprinting of SPIDEY #1 because…they could. Nothing here to make me want to come back for another run.
THE DISCIPLINE #1: If you like your book with alien creatures, kinky sex, bondage and a good share of bloodletting, then this could be your book. Peter Milligan, never one to shy away from controversial topics, writes this occult version of 50 SHADES OF GRAY while Leonardo Fernandez draws it. Do not expect this to be a superhero title, as it is far, FAR from it. It looks great and reads like a good old fashioned smutty underground comic.
HYPERION #1: I hate to disappoint fans of this Squadron Supreme member, but this book is plain awful. We have some girl named Doll who is being hunted by this bizarre freak show and she hitches a ride with a truck driving Hyperion, who doesn’t know he IS Hyperion until the last three pages. Chuck Wendig’s story is plodding and slow moving and Nik Virella’s art is too. There is nothing here to make me want to read more, not even the curiosity factor of who Doll really is.
INTERNATIONAL IRON MAN #1: because we need a SECOND IRON MAN title. Actually, I like this title. I mean, it’s Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev just tearing it up. The story is shrouded in mystery but will evolve into a tale of Tony Stark investigating his mysterious parental origins. We get some cool flashbacks of Tony, a LONGHAIRED TONY, in school and an early love interest that comes back into his life before the book’s end. The book looks great, as this is some of Maleev’s best work in some time. And Bendis: hey-the guy KNOWS how to write a killer story. This book is highly recommended!
LOST IN SPACE-THE LOST ADVENTURES #1: This is not the first time that the LIS franchise has had a comic book. But AGP, the comic imprint of Captain Company and the folks at FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, has brought to light the unproduced scripts of Carey Wilber from back in the day. Yes, these issues will represent what should have been episodes 84 and 85. Holly Interlandi has handled the script adaptation admirably while Kostas Pantoulas does a beautiful job on the art. It’s classic LIS. We all know how bad the third season of LIS was, but this reads so wonderfully that it feels more like it came from the first season. If you are a fan of the series, you need this book.
MOCKINGBIRD #1: Mockingbird has been dosed with the Super Soldier Serum AND the infinity Formula. That means you can live forever but there may be consequences. Like you may see dead people and develop telekinetic capabilities. Really? So…Nick Fury and captain America had these abilities? You may also bleed out of your ears. Anyway, Chelsea Cain and Kate Niemczyk deliver a book that I really could care less about. The art is cartoony in a BATGIRL style while the story remind me of the earlier run of CAPTAIN MARVEL. I’m all in favor of women in comics, but some of these female writers need to take a lesson from Gail Simone and Colleen Doran regarding creating great characters and compelling stories. This is neither.
POWER MAN AND IRON FIRST #1: Sweet Christmas-let’s all rejoice that the classic team is back. Well, not really! Iron Fist has gone from being a composed, David Carradine styled Kung Fu Master to being a mouthy sidekick in the Spider Man vein. And Luke Cage feels more like he stepped out of the bar on JESSICA JONES rather than the cool Blaxsploitation take he styled in the Seventies. While he may be dressed like a pimp, he acts more like a confused second banana, especially compared to legendary characters like Tombstone and Black Mariah. I like David Walker’s work, but this is not his best. And Sanford Greene has a style which is for discriminating tastes. I think I’ll go back to the original run of HERO FOR HIRE and wallow in the greatness of Archie Goodwin and George Tuska.
SPIDER-MAN #1: What we have here is Miles Morales, the former Ultimate Spider-man, now in OUR world. Somehow, since we still have no idea what happened during the infamous eight-month gap following the end of SECRET WARS, Miles and many of his cast mates are here and he is under the tutelage of Peter Parker. Mile has to deal with the trials of being a high school student and also a superhero while also having an almost book long battle with Blackheart. It’s pure Brain Michael Bendis coupled with the killer art of Sara Pichelli. If you were a fan of Miles in the Ultimate world, you’ll love this book.
VAMPIRELLA #1: You know: I am a LONG TIME fan of this classic character. Yeah, I was there when she went from being a horror-story hostess to a main eventer. I grew up with Jose Gonzalez art and the supporting cast of Conrad Van Helsing, his son Adam, Pendragon, the Blood Red Queen of Hearts, Pantha, Lilith and more. There have been great stories and downright silly ones. I even suffered through the direct to video movie with Roger Daltrey. But this…this takes the cake! Who in their right mind decided it was a good idea to move her to Hollwood and dress her up like something out of THE HUNGER GAMES, complete with mini-crossbow? I mean…really? This is called reimagining a character. Sorry-this is called screwing UP A CHARACTER. Kate Leth wrote it, Eman Casallos drew it and the only REAL reason, except for being a completist, to buy this is for the Jay Anacleto variant cover.
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