Category Archives: Comics
Review: Punisher #6
A healthy dose of action and murdery excitement kicks the Punisher series up a notch. Writer Greg Rucka finally answered my call to do something with the book, but there are still a lot of holes and problems with the story. The same sorts of problems that have been ongoing, like a shocking reliance on the recap page to tell us important information, an almost characterless version of the Punisher and a story that jumps ahead rather than progress naturally.
Punisher #6
Still, the Punisher actually punishing people is a good read.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
The biggest development in this issue is that The Bride has finally gotten involved in the overall story. The problem with that is it’s an incredible leap from where she was last issue to this issue, and an even larger leap from where she was only two issues ago. It’s easy to understand her motivation, but I don’t think we have been properly shown her mental progression to reach this point. We also haven’t been shown nearly anything about the bad guys in this story, called The Exchange. And that is a very big problem when reading a Punisher story.
I think it’s crucial in a Punisher story that you really want to see the bad guys get punished. Whether it’s movies, comics, TV or any medium, having a fully-realized antagonist is key. Think of all the great villains you love to hate. Or the villains you can really identify with, who think they’re doing the right thing, like Magneto. These are villains you can get behind because they are well-fleshed out. It’s why the hero’s eventual victory over them has such an emotional impact. And it’s moreso with the Punisher, because hated or beloved, that villain is going to die by his hand.
But with the Exchange, I just don’t care about them. Nor do I care that they and their faceless henchmen will die. I stand by my rating that this issue was a good read, but I have a lot to nitpick after the jump.
The Adorableness of Batgirl and Supergirl
It is my sworn duty as a geeky, niche comic blogger to bring you, my faithful readers, the best comic book stuff from all corners of the Internet. The Information Superhighway is a big place, and there is all manner of delightful fun out there. Today is the adorable art of Mike Maihack. He seems to be a big fan of Batgirl, as you will soon see in this pair of strips starring Batgirl and Supergirl.
Click to enlarge
And the second, which was released just this week.
Click to enlarge
Here’s hoping he makes some more soon!
Review: X-Factor #228
The fallout from Multiple Man’s shocking murder hits the X-Factor family hard in this follow-up issue. Unfortunately, this is a shining example of how too many characters is hurting the book. What should be an emotional issue as X-Factor deals with both the death of their friend and the still-rampaging villain is instead a juggling of a dozen or so characters. Nobody gets more than a few panels to express themselves, and they have to choose between Madrox or Bloodbath, or sometimes squeezing feelings on both into one moment.
X-Factor #228
This robs Madrox’s death from any true emotional fallout. For a book based on character and team interaction, I was hoping for more of both.
Comic review: 3/5: Alright.
I suppose this could be considered a good issue. It’s solidly written and well-paced, providing a suitable climax for the Bloodbath arc. The new villain continues to be both fun and menacing, while the team has some good moments. But like I said earlier, it’s missing any true character-based reaction to Madrox’s death. X-Factor has always been more about its characters than overall stories. They’re something of a family, or at least a group of friends hanging out. And while the various members are clearly upset that Madrox is dead, none of it rings on any deeper emotional level.
The massive cast of characters leaves little room for any character depth. And that’s a damn shame. At least the cover kicks all kind of ass.
I Want to be Brian Michael Bendis
Bendis, for those who don’t know, is one of the most popular comic book writers working today. Not only is he the long-time mastermind behind the fantastic Ultimate Spider-Man series, but he has spear-headed the entire Avengers franchise since 2004. Next year’s The Avengers movie owes part of its existence to Bendis’ pen, as he almost single-handedly catapulted the Avengers to their current heights of popularity. Which is why it was pretty big news yesterday that Bendis is going to step down from the Avengers franchise in 2012. The man is walking away at the height of his power. He has the entire world of comics to choose from as to what he wants to write next.
I wish I was Brian Michael Bendis.
Though I draw the line at having his bald babies
Being a comic book writer is my dream job. So Bendis is pretty much the role model in the world of comics. His writing is fantastic, I’m a huge fan of a lot of his stories and he gets to work with the best in the industry. Bendis and artist Mark Bagley hold the record for one creative team working on one single comic the longest, when together they wrote and drew 110 consecutive issues of Ultimate Spider-Man. Bendis has also written over 200 issues of the Avengers and their various spin-off titles, making him the creator who has spent the most time with the team. Bendis is a comic book god!
Bendis got his start writing some independent titles of his own creation. That’s how I plan to break into the industry. His work got him noticed, and he got more and more job offerings from professional companies. Eventually Marvel Comics found him and put him to work on Ultimate Spider-Man. The rest is awesome history. He’s exclusive to Marvel Comics, so he won’t be writing Batman anytime soon, but Marvel has a pretty big toy box to play with. Bendis didn’t announce what he’s going to write next in an interview with ComicBookResources.com, only that he’s got huge plans for ending his run on the Avengers.
“I’m going to wrap up ‘Avengers’ and ‘New Avengers.’ At the same time the first storyline of ‘Avengers Assemble’ will be done,” Bendis told CBR. “It’s a good time to move on to other things. Before I go, though, I’m ending things big. I’m in countdown mode…I’m very, very proud of that, and what we have coming up this summer gives me the opportunity to go out on a high note. I know enough about showbiz to know that’s a great time to go.”
Though frankly, I’ve never been a big fan of Bendis’ work on the Avengers. I’ve bought a few issues here and there, and followed side titles like Mighty Avengers and especially Dark Avengers, but I’ve just never much cared for his work on the main series. Bendis started writing the Avengers by breaking the team apart in 2004, in a story called ‘Avengers Disassembled’. For years, the Avengers had mostly been their own little corner of the Marvel Universe, with traditional characters like Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the usual rabble. The Avengers kept to themselves in terms of heroes on the team. And for whatever reason, I was never big into the Avengers. I was more of a Spider-Man or X-Men guy.
Compare this to DC comics and their main superhero team: the Justice League. That team is composed of all of DC’s biggest heroes, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, etc.
Well under Bendis’ pen, he changed the Avengers to be more like the Justice League. After he broke up the team, he started a new series called New Avengers, in which he added Spider-Man and Wolverine, Marvel’s most popular characters, to the team.
Wolverine and Spider-Man solve everything
I’ve never been comfortable with that, and I’m still not. I read comics for the characters, and it just never fit, in my mind, to have Spider-Man and Wolverine as Avengers. Let alone having them on multiple Avengers squads, all in the name of getting the popular characters to sell as many books as possible. But hey, everybody else loved it and the Avengers quickly rose in popularity. No longer hiding in their own little corner, the Avengers were soon the franchise in comic books. All because Bendis is a great writer and really got to spread his wings in terms of writing.
Bendis also got to add his fan-favorite character, Luke Cage, to the Avengers, so that was pretty cool. Cage was always an incredibly minor character, but Bendis was a big fan and so he brought Cage with him when it came to writing New Avengers. Now Cage is one of the main players in the Marvel Universe.
Anyway, so since 2004, Bendis has been the main architect of the Avengers franchise. He’s played with hundreds of characters, written dozen of Earth-shaking stories and has led the entire Marvel Universe through some of its biggest, wildest adventures. So it’s going to be a shame to see him leave the title in 2012…but at the same time, it’s going to be awesome! Not only will we get to see someone new writing the Avengers, but Bendis will now get to write somebody else.
I can’t wait to see what he’ll do next. I just wish that was my job.
Avengers vs. X-Men in 2012!
It’s gonna be the brawl to end it all as Marvel Comics’ biggest heavyweights take to the squared circle in the next big Event Comic. The Avengers’ title belt is on the line as X-Men, far removed from their days of glory, steps up in a big way to reclaim the title of most popular franchise in comics! Children will be crying in the aisles and panties will be tossed into the ring as these two titans of tectonic terror prove once and for all who is the fans love most. Will the dynamic, eye-blasting Cyclops be able to lead his team to victory against the patriotic, shield-swinging Captain America? Or will the enigmatic Iron Man take it hardcore to the likes of Storm? And what about wildcard Wolverine, a member of both teams, will he be able to choose a side? It’s going to be the most hair-raising, spine-bursting, lip-quivering comic EVER!
Or at least that’s how I figure Marvel wants most people to react.
Me…I’m a little underwhelmed at the announcement. And I don’t know why.
My money is on Cyclops!
More after the jump.
Henchman-4-Hire