Picks & Pans for June 25, 2008

PICK! Avengers: The Initiative #14
Writer: Dan Slott & Christos Gage
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Colorist: Daniele Rudoni
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Albo: This has been a “pick up and scan in the store” book for me for months now, along with Amazing Spider-Man and anything that looks a little sexy. But I swear, once I started seeing what was going on within these pages I had no choice but to buy it. Dan Slott takes what could have been a pretty ordinary *COUGH*mightyavengers15*COUGH* Hank Pym-is-a-Skrull story and turns it into a hilarious situation comedy. The issue starts with some flashbacks that show Pym Skrull having to using his hidden extra powers to escape particularly tough scrapes, and then attributing his miraculous survival to “shrinking a lot.” Needless to say, Pym Skrull thinks the gullibility of Earthlings is hilarious. There are many more standout moments, such as an Initiative cadet’s “discovery” of Pym as a Skrull based on his choice of lunchables and a very Twilight Zoney ending that will make your heart sink. Highly recommended read!

PICK! Captain America #39
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Penciller: Rob de la Torre
Inker: Rob de la Torre
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Ernie: I think the current theme in Cap is duplicity. Double agents, politicians and elections, two men posing as Captain America, Aleksander Lukin sharing his mind with the Red Skull and on and on. As a result whenever someone new pops up we have to wonder where he/she will fit into the grand scheme Brubaker is laying out. The second guessing and suspicion is making this real dense blueprint worth deciphering. I like the scenes with Bucky and Falcon who appear more as equals than when Steve Rogers was around to look up to. I like that Cap is still independent of what is going on in Secret Invasion and I can’t help but enjoy the Skull’s daughter everytime she’s on page because there’s always mayhem that ensues. There are good pieces here each month and Cap’s supporting cast is settling in, but its unclear if there will be a clear lead anytime soon so it still feels like it’s running off the strong vapors of the first three years. Keep hanging in there.

DOUBLE PICK! Final Crisis #3
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciller: JG Jones
Inker: JG Jones
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Publisher: DC Comics

Ernie: Upon closing this book I’m beginning to feel like Grant Morrison is actually writing this book. That means high concept ideas conjured in some unexplainable brainstorming process, expert understanding of the vast library of DC characters at his hand, and unexpected, major happenings. If we got anything from the rather pedestrian first issue, it was the death of Martian Manhunter who went away much too easy, and more fan-favorites are threatened. I’ve never seen the JLA so easily infiltrated and compromised like they have in these first two issues. There’s definitely plenty going in present time DCU. Rather than dwelling on the past, the introduction of new faces or re-thinking of old ones still makes Final Crisis some twisted Who’s Who book. But by halfway major players get into the mix and at issues end, prime timers REALLY get involved. Final Crisis doesn’t have the same luster that Identity Crisis had but I’d say it’s on par with I’m not going apeshit for this, nor am I willing to throw shit at it, but I don’t think you can walk away from this book thoroughly satisfied just yet.

David U.: Throw away any expectations you had coming into this comic, throw away the past year of disappointing DC continuity, don’t make the mistake of deciding it’s a zero-sum game with Secret Invasion, prepare to have to reread multiple times and concentrate, and you’re in for one of the best superhero book experiences in recent years. It’s a lot to ask, but the rewards are there, and unlike what Internet pundits claim, this book isn’t confusing because it relies on continuity - it’s confusing because it’s complex and layered and consists of multiple different crisscrossing timelines, sometimes moving in different directions. I’m struck by the thematic similarity with Secret Invasion, even if the narrative is completely different - it’s about that growing, unknown terror lurking beneath the facade of everyday life that you don’t recognize, or don’t want to, until it explodes. Recommended less to DC fans than to fans of Grant Morrison and his signature time-vaulting style - this is The Filth with superheroes.

PICK! Immortal Iron Fist #16
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artists: David Aja
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Publisher: Marvel Comics

David U.: Matt Fraction caps off his seminal run on this book with what is, unquestionably, his best issue so far, possibly of his career. It’s a treat to finally get an issue that’s all David Aja, and Fraction’s script is funny, thoughtful, intriguing, mysterious and capped off with a cliffhanger that’s practically a giftwrapped present to upcoming writer Duane Swierczynski. I’m sure you’ve heard about how excellent this book is over the past few months, and this issue cements that this run on Iron Fist will be a much-requested huge hardcover for years to come.

PICK! Jack of Fables #23
Writer: Bill Willingham & Matt Sturges
Artists: Tony Akins, Andrew Pepoy & Jose Marzan
Colorist: Daniel Vozzo
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo

Ernie: Since war broke out in flagship Fables, Jack of Fables has dialed it up as well. Part 2 of a Wild Western throwback pits Jack against Bigby. It’s Jack being elusive as always but seeing Bigby in action never gets old. He goes against the grain of what a “hero” is supposed to look like, and for me, that’s his biggest appeal. Willingham and crew prove once again that even though these characters are familiar in our minds in their legendary fable tales, they are versatile in any type of story. Western, capers, war tales, or romance, the clever situational comedy and drama that unfolds never finds a drought of entertainment.

SPLIT DECISION! New Avengers #42
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Jim Cheung
Inker: John Dell
Colorist: Justin Ponsor
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Ernie: And… THIS is what we’ve been waiting for for nearly 4-5 years. The issue that ties everything together, shows where all the chaos began and although we’ve still gone nowhere with Secret Invasion, this was a good read. Cheung and Bendis flexed their muscles by revealing how far the Skrulls have been plotting their takeover on Earth and just who is working Spider-Woman’s puppet strings once and for all. House of M, Civil War, Avengers Disassembled–this is the crossroads and exposes how easy it was for the Skrulls to get in and how fortunate they were that Scarlet Witch went cuckoo a few years back. Reading this will make the fanboys feel good for sticking it out on New Avengers and Mighty Avengers, both of which are as uneven Bendis ever gets with his otherwise taut superhero writing. With the variety of artists paired with Bendis on the Avengers titles, Cheung tells these story best. Big moments appear bigger than life and details are not lost on over penciled pages. Anyone catch those implants set to be shoved into Jessica’s bare body? A strong single issue with meaningful information that doesn’t take place in an event comic. Rare indeed.

Albo: As mentioned above, I am so sick of reading these scenes of standing around in a warehouse talking about their strategy to destroy the humans. There are invariably a few Skrullettes who look exactly the same and I’m not sure who’s who and I’m so bored I can’t even muster the energy to figure it out. Yes, we know Jessica Drew is a Skrull. Yes, we know she’s working for Hydra and Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. Why don’t you tell me something new, BMB?

PICK?! Ultimates 3 #4
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artists: Joe Madureira
Colorist: Christian Lichtner
Publisher: Marvel Comics

David U.: I have a lot of problems with this comic, but I’m not sure if they’re necessarily the comic’s problems. I try, with every review I write, to grade a book based on how well it does what to look to set out to do. Ultimates 3 is out to be a slam-bang brainless Bruckheimer movie, and it’s not especially bad in that department. If your idea of a great superhero comic is a nonstop run-on sentence of fighting and one-liners, with no letup or characterization, then this comic will gladly fulfill your needs. Ultimates, like Loeb’s recent work, isn’t about plot or consistency or character development or theme or mood, it’s about giving Joe Madureira some cool splash pages to draw. And, you know, at that, it pretty much succeeds. It is what it is. This book is difficult to review in that it doesn’t conform to the narrative structures or logical constraints of modern superhero comics; however, despite the possible ignobility of its aspirations, Ultimates 3 #4 reaches a solid B on its own goals.