Avengers vs X-Men #0
The most hyped Marvel event in sometime begins here. The House of Ideas has been pushing the marketing on this thing for what seems like forever. Last month all the titles that are X-Men or Avengers related had a banner ad countdown to A vs X. Is it possible to have event fatigue before one even starts?
I am honestly not really sure what purpose this book serves. I assumed this was to showcase what the central cause to the upcoming conflict would be. Instead we get two completely unrelated stories, one about how Hope Summers sneaks out at night and fights crime and the other is about how Vision is a dick towards The Scarlet Witch. Rightfully so, she did kill a bunch of Avengers and wished 98% of the mutant population away. These two stories have nothing to do with why these superhero teams come to blows next month.
Brian Michael Bendis and Jason Aaron share writing duties which might be why the book feels so disjointed. I love both of these dudes normally but this wasn't the most well thought out book. Equally disappointing was Frank Cho's art. It was far from bad, just inconsistent. Some pages looked as if the characters were pasted awkwardly into the foreground or background. It was like Colorforms on some pages.
The biggest flaw is that I still have no idea as to why this cross-over is taking place. Everyone was cool last month but when Avengers vs X-Men #1 hits the stands in a few days it will be all out war....but why? Poor pacing Marvel. This could be a repeat of last year poop sandwich, Fear Itself all over again.
Justice League Dark #7
I was disappointed to see that regular artist Mikel Janin wasn't featured on this first installment on the crossover with I, Vampire. It would have been an effective way to pull in new readers. That said the replacement team of Admira Wijaya and Daniel Sampere did a fantastic job. Not only did their art work in the context of this single issue but it looks very similar to the art in the six issues that came before it.
I wasn't thrilled with the story but maybe it's my unfamiliarity with the vampires of I, Vampire. JLD just spent the last few issues dealing with an foe on a much higher level then a few bloodsuckers. I don't really understand why this requires the JLD's attention.
Since Gint likes I, Vampire so much I plan on picking up the back issues. Perhaps that will enlighten me as to how dangerous these guys are.
The penultimate issue of Marvel's most consistent book doesn't disappoint. Moon Knight reaches out to S.H.I.E.L.D. in an effort to regain possession of the highly dangerous Ultron head that was stolen by Madame Masque. Mr. Spector pulls out all the stops in his confrontation to get his hands back on the deadly piece of tech. Echo makes a return if only as another voice in Moon Knight's dome.
I don't understand why this book is getting the axe. I guess money is a factor, the sales chart hasn't been getting set on fire by Khonshu's chosen warrior. I would put this book up against any title that I regularly get and there are only a handful that can match up.
One big positive that can happen when a character has five or six books a month is the opportunity for writers to tell unique stories. Stories that aren't sacrificed at the hands of crossovers and slugfests. This is what makes Avenging so great.
This month the relationship between Captain America and Spidey is front and center. An antique dealer uncovers a comic strip Steve Rogers produced as a kid. It's a pretty cheesy little tale featuring a Captain America-esque hero and a phony liberty bonds dealer. When the Avengers get their hands on it they cut up on Cap pretty bad. It's an awesome two pages of superhero ball busting. Unlike his teammates/art critics Spider-Man thinks it's sad that Cap abandoned his love of drawing strips.
There is a little bit of action in the middle of the book but the soul of the story is Peter trying to help Cap connect with his past. A heartwarming read and a fine tribute to Joe Simon, the recently deceased creator of Captain America. This is a prime example of the kind of personal stories Gint and myself praise on this site. Comic writing at it's best.-$
Panel of the Week- Cap flashing back to his past. Excellent work by the great Leinil Francis Yu.
No comments:
Post a Comment