Fake Geek Boiz

I am proud to announce that my good friend, Ryan Fraer, and I now host a podcast, Fake Geek Boiz, on the Jetpack Joust network together. New episodes drop on iTunes every Tuesday/Wednesday.

Blog posts to return after school ends!

http://jetpackjoust.podbean.com/e/fake-geek-boiz-ep-4-comic-book-tv-report-card/

Deez Knights: The Epic Troll-Job of "Moon Knight #1" by Lemire, Smallwood, and Bellaire

I'd be angry too, Spector.

Decompression in comics storytelling is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but for the purposes of what I'm writing about today on JHI, let's say that "decompression" refers to the "purposeful elongation of a storyline that might, if judiciously edited, take place in one issue of a comic book series." I'm not against decompression in my comic book storytelling, if it's done very well.

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples, is currently dominating the Image lineup, partly by providing readers with a story that ages with them. Six trade paperbacks in, and baby Hazel is just starting to walk for the first time. She's taking her first steps along with readers into the strange world of robot Princes, Lying Cats, and bounty hunters like The Will. Those small storytelling steps, on a monthly basis, help the book to develop smaller character moments, like the deep and affecting story of marriage set against the stars with Marko and Alana.

It's easy to forget, too, that the comic book that got me into this expensive habit, Bendis & Bagley's Ultimate Spider-Man, was essentially the Patron Saint of Decompression. The Ultimate line of books began with the publisher deciding it should take 4 issues for Uncle Ben Parker to meet with his fate, and that a smaller-scale battle with a powered-up Norman Osborn should dominate the better part of 2 issues immediately after. Of course, the Bendis approach to storytelling in those books paid dividends as character interaction piled up; the rapport developed between the strong women in the book (like Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, and the best Aunt May ever published) and Peter's early-series superheroic confession to his girlfriend were only possible because of the time taken by a craftsman like Bendis. I tend to strongly object whenever someone reads a decompressed book and complains that "nothing happens."

Well, nothing fucking happens in Moon Knight #1. Written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Greg Smallwood and Jordie Bellaire, this $4.99 whopper is about as filling as a fast-food sandwich, and half as pleasurable to consume. Marc Spector, the Moon Knight, begins the issue and ends it in a mental hospital, being treated for psychosis and told that his beliefs about being Moon Knight are just that: beliefs. I'm no zealot about moving a story at a breakneck pace, but when your character starts a #1 issue not-quite-believing that he's the Moon Knight and that he might be under the spell of some Egyptian villain, and it ends the exact same way, I might feel like I'm getting trolled a little bit. I'd give Marvel all the credit in the world if they were willing to actually have Marc Spector not be Moon Knight at the end of the arc, but I doubt that's coming.

If that story sandwich were peppered with other interesting ingredients, it might work better than this post-Secret Wars debut for Khonshu & Co. Spector is surrounded, throughout the issue, by allusions to older Moon Knight stories, and a couple of guards in his Arkham-lite hospital that make the orderlies in Sucker Punch look subtle. Khonshu looks good when he's dressed in Moon Knight's traditional three-piece suit, but many of the other costumes, including the wildly unfortunate bedsheet headwrap worn by Spector during a botched escape, just don't work in the context of this relatively barebones book.

A book this thick shouldn't feel so barren, either. The art takes a respectably minimalist stance toward paneling and division of frames, allowing Smallwood's pencils to bleed from moment to moment. This is an especially nice technique for the longer scenes of dialogue, and again, Khonshu has never looked more menacing than when he towers over Spector. Smallwood can only do so much to carry the otherwise thin material, though, and you realize before long that you're being strong-armed into buying issue #2.

All of this is especially heartbreaking in the wake of the absolutely stunning, and dearly departed, Marvel NOW! run on Moon Knight that was spearheaded by Warren Ellis. Those books, anchored by one-off stories that explored what a New York City protected by the Knight would be like, found time to include a ridiculously propulsive take on The Raid and an amazing encounter with a scarred S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. These self-contained stories managed to explore more of Spector's 4 possible personas and approaches to crime-fighting with more nuance than any decompressed arc could possibly achieve: while Lemire's take focuses on asking IF Spector is even Moon Knight, the earlier issues wanted to show how awesome Moon Knight can be. A drastic difference in storytelling approaches, and a major step down for what could be an exciting series from Marvel.

BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, OR SKIP IT: SKIP IT

HEY BUDDY (Guest blogger Cory Stine): "Poe Dameron #1" by Soule & Noto

The King Oscar Isaac's likeness lighting up a Marvel cover.

Welcome back to JHI! I've not only got single issues of comics, but also serious issues with time management! You can expect a double-shot of comics greatness this week! I'll be back with hot takes on Lemire's new run on Moon Knight later!

For now, enjoy an unedited conversation with the God Cory Stine, leader of the Jetpack Joust media network! We mostly gush over Poe Dameron #1! I also make it clear that my opinions on the King Oscar Isaac are not at all professional. Enjoy, and read me soon!

JC: So, I really like Poe Dameron #1!

CS: Yeah dude! It's a nice compact little story. I'm very excited to see where it goes. Soule is such an underrated writer.

JC: Yeah and I was really stunned, from the getgo, by how accurately Soule captured Poe Dameron with dialogue. There's something so singularly pure about Poe's "gee whiz" heroism and it's all there. Even when he's miffed, he's still very nice.

CS: There's something very classic about Poe. He's the type of hero we don't see too often in modern fiction: someone who wants to do the right thing for seemingly no other reason than the fact that it's the right thing. Obviously, he could get more layered, as I imagine he'll play a larger role in the events of Episodes VIII and IX, but I think it's actually very refreshing that Poe is the opposite of all grimdark heroes that seem to be dominating our culture at the moment.

JC: I was literally just thinking about that. There's something very dorky about Poe and I mean that in a good way. It's like if a good-natured honor student was the protagonist of a comic book.

CS: Exactly! He's Captain America prior to the events of The Winter Soldier. Good-natured, smart, charismatic, and maybe even a bit too idealistic for his own good. And Soule does such a great job of capturing that, even if Poe only had fifteen minutes of screen time in The Force Awakens.

JC: The book, and Leia herself, mention that he's really our peek into life for a Republic member who never knew the Empire.

CS: Poe, as a character, helps to remind us that quite a bit of time has passed in the Star Wars galaxy. He never lived under the thumb of the Emperor and Vader, so he may not fully understand the complexities of that time period. Just like I highly doubt that anyone in our age group fully grasps the ins-and-outs of the end of the Cold War. Poe feels the impact of history, but only understands the present. But I just got very philosophical about a book that, more than anything, is just incredibly light and fun.

JC: Yeah the book really breezes along, even with the (predictably adorable) BB-8 story at the end. It whets the appetite for more info about his team.

CS: I really hope that we get to explore some of the supporting characters. Probably the best comics in the old EU were the X-Wing books and the reason they were so successful was the supporting cast and the team dynamics. I want this to be Poe's book, but I'd love for this series to have that same dimension. I'm already interested in L'ulo, who flew with Poe's mother in the Shattered Empire series. How did you feel about the artwork? I think Phil Noto is very talented, but I wasn't a huge fan of the Chewbacca mini-series, so I'm glad they brought him back for another chance at Star Wars.

JC: I thought the art was the strongest part of Chewbacca and this looked even better! There's, again, a stern and quiet decency to everything Poe does and instead of looking like a square, he just looks firm and Steve Rogers-esque.

CS: Definitely. There's a trend in these Star Wars comics where artists clearly trace moments from the films when drawing familiar characters. It can be a bit distracting. You can tell that Noto is reverent to the characters, but he also has his own style that very much fits the tone of the story being told. I love it.

Dameron, you wry bastard.

JC: So Poe is definitely on a mission to find the Max Von Sydow character, right?

CS: That's definitely the impression I got. Which is great, because that character came and went so fast in The Force Awakens and it feels like he had a lot of potential. He's important enough to be the only person in the galaxy with a map to Luke Skywalker, so he could potentially be some of the connective tissue between the original trilogy and the new films.

JC: Yeah I'm really hoping he pops up in Rogue One too. So, I know that on my end, I've read Chewbacca and Vader Down from the newer Star Wars comics. I got deeper into this than Chewbacca, but so far it lacks the real propulsion of Vader Down. Where does Poe Dameron sit for you?

CS: As a first issue, it's very strong and it definitely left me wanting more. I've read every Star Wars comic that Marvel has put out and I'd definitely say that this is in the top tier, at least at the jump, but it has to maintain the momentum to keep me interested in. I have faith in Charles Soule after his run on the Lando mini-series, so I'd definitely call this a buy.

JC: Agreed. I think it's a great add to a pull list for anyone who already reads Star Wars, and a strong entry point for the casual fan.

CS: Yeah, so many of the other Star Wars lines are intertwining narratively and are deep enough in that it could be difficult to find a good starting point. Because Poe takes place in this completely unexplored area of the timeline, it's perfect for casual fans of the franchise.

There you have it, Rebels! Don't wait to stream it on Unlimited, Poe Dameron is a buy!

Quake, Interrupted: "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #3" by Guggenheim, Peralta & Rosenberg

The Tarantino -shot cover lacks the very ugly Standoff logos.

When the Jeph Loeb-headed television branch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began back in 2013, it opened with a thud, inaudible even to Matt Murdock. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. featured an inexplicably resurrected Phil Coulson leading a team of lesser-ranking super-spies going against even lower-status agents of Centipede. The series centered around Skye, played by Chloe Bennet, a stressed-yet-gorgeous hacker who managed to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. using only her wits in the back of a van. The rest of the cast, filled out with Abercrombie models, "nerdy" characters by your usual "TV-ugly" brand of actors, and the legendary Ming-Na Wen, playing a character well below what she deserved. I expected it to die a quiet midseason death, after an episode meant to tie into Thor: The Dark World featured Peter MacNicol as a former Asgardian.

Something happened around The Winter Soldier in 2014, however: the show crystallized around a main MCU plot and began moving. Suddenly, Brett Dalton's performance as Agent Grant Ward became an intentional cypher of a "good guy," and the rest of the cast began to fill out like a regular Whedonesque ensemble, and not just the disconnected facsimile they were in the first 16 episodes. The show was also pursuing a LOST-style mystery around Coulson's resurrection (going so far as to link his rebirth to the Tahitian ISLAND) that it quickly dropped in favor of making threats to the world explicit in the rebirth of Hydra.

Season 2 added even more to the show, opening with actual Marvel villains like the Absorbing Man and TV-ready heroes like Mockingbird. Talented actors like Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood jumped on to the cast (and will sadly be missed moving forward) and mainstays of the MCU like Samuel L. Jackson and Hayley Atwell dropped in for world-building scenes. Most importantly, the show performed some breathtaking storytelling parkour in destroying the ground underneath Skye's feet by turning her into Daisy Johnson (not yet Quake) and establishing her as an Inhuman (as well as the daughter of Mr. Hyde, played gleefully by Kyle Maclachlan) having just experienced Terrigenesis. The show also found new depths to old characters like Deathlok (played by Whedon alum J. August Richards) and space for experimental episodes, like the Agent Simmons showstopper "4,722 Hours." Renewed already for a fourth season, Agents rests comfortably now as a Once Upon a Time-style fixture on ABC's schedule, while fans bite their nails in anticipation of a third season of Marvel's Agent Carter.

Great, expressive action shots help move the story along in issue #3.

It makes sense that Marvel wouldn't want to launch an Agents tie-in that takes 2 years to get good, and it's a good thing that they pulled in rival showrunner Marc Guggenheim from the CW's Arrow to make things sing on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and his storytelling expertise shows from issue #1. The book plays out like a "best of both worlds" compilation of characters from the show, as Quake leads Coulson's field team consisting of Agents Fitz, May, and Simmons. Mockingbird and Deathlok are also on hand for the spy capers of the show, and each character gets plenty of face time. Rick Jones even swings by for a bit to help Coulson with the mission at hand.

Peralta and Rosenberg do great work with pacing and color, as you can see in the explosive opening shot above, and there's plenty of space for Guggenheim's dialogue-heavy action to dominate the panels. Deathlok hasn't been so simultaneously fearsome and friendly in years, and to see him drawn this way is a joy for longtime fans.

Ironically, my only misgiving with an issue like this is that the Agents book, unlike the show, loses something when it has to tie into a bigger picture. The Standoff crossover is currently occupying a rather boring miniseries by itself, while also splintering into some dull stories in other books. Sam Wilson: Captain America is strong enough by itself to survive the crossover, but Agents lives and dies by the high-powered adventures that refresh themselves between issues. Standoff forces these characters to flip into the continuity of a bad lead-up to Civil War II, and it really shows. Guggenheim and Peralta got hired for their ability to tell a great story on their own; here's hoping that Marvel lets them out of Inhuman jail long enough to do it!

BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, OR SKIP IT: Wait for Unlimited

SHE SLAY: "The Mighty Thor #5" by Aaron, Dauterman, and Wilson

They gonna get it on, cuz they don't get along!

A good friend of mine, one particularly interested in conspiracy theories, had a very specific idea about the purpose of Battleworld and Secret Wars last Spring before it dropped and scattered the greater Marvel universe. In short, he thought that it was a thinly-veiled opportunity for Marvel to sneak the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity into the books. It's not an unreasonable thing to believe; for many, the Captain America and Iron Man films redefined the characters for a new century (and in the case of Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, have raised them from obscurity into mainstream consciousness). As anyone who's been keeping up with the All-New, All-Different landscape can tell you, that isn't exactly true, unless the Tom Holland Spider-Man films will feature him filing TPS reports in Pyongyang.

A few series have leaned hard into the benefits of mainstream exposure, though. Daredevil sees Charles Soule working on his best Steven S. DeKnight impression, featuring ol' Hornhead fighting off supernatural ninjas in a mostly black costume, featuring only the shades of red that you would normally expect from the (definitive) Samnee costume. There's a fitfully amusing Hellcat (it works well if you're expecting a slow-food version of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl) book on the shelves that barely capitalizes on Patsy popping up on Jessica Jones. And sadly, a young gentlesir could break his back carrying out all of the different comics featuring the word "Deadpool" on the cover. It's been a wise business move, considering that my LCS is literally across the street from the nicest movie theater in the state. Very few nerds could resist the temptation of seeing Deadpool on the big screen and then picking up a few books with his face on the cover. Unlike the House of M giving the X-Men universe at large the Legacy Virus treatment, they're capitalizing like Hell on the success of the Merc with a Mouth.

One can't help but fear, though, that the publishing side of things might be too influenced by the MCU. After all, the films need a certain amount of story fuel to keep being made, and (as teachers know), you can't pour from an empty container.

A great moment in an issue full of them.

Thank goodness that the barrels of mead in Asgard runneth over! The first arc of Jason Aaron's relaunched The Mighty Thor sees Jane Foster and company, for the most part, carrying on. Jane is still suffering from the cancer threatening to destroy her corporeal form, and she only deepens her problem by constantly transforming into the Goddess of Thunder. Jane Foster is, in the classic Peter Parker tradition, bound by her need to save the Nine Realms regardless of the threat to her body. It's every metaphor about superheroism made literal. Aaron's careful reintroduction of Jane Foster and, eventually the Odinson, shows the respect for pre-2015 Marvel that only the heaviest of heavyweight writers have gotten to exercise in the All-New, All-Different era.

The book around Foster, however, could easily be mistaken for the films. Heimdall, seen only through his helmet, bears a striking resemblance to Idris Elba, and the handsome, art-school dropout Loki practically wears a sign that says Hiddleston. The Rainbow Bridge, Frigga, and even the barren cliffs of Nifelheim look identical to their counterparts in the first two Thor films. It's striking (I personally love the visual language Kenneth Branagh and poor, poor Alan Taylor used in the Thunder God films) to see the comics match up so precisely to what has become common understanding of the setting and charactesr. It's to Russell Dauterman's credit that he's able to so closely replicate some of that visual language, while also striking out on his own. His action scenes, especially that depicting the titanic clash between Thor and Odin, are amazing in their use of minimalism in the face of realm-spanning fights.

Dauterman: Master of Scale.

The balance between the iconography of the films and the storytelling coming from Aaron's mind makes The Mighty Thor a delightfully exciting book to read month after month. Aaron has managed to take a joke of a character like Malekith and make him threatening again, while deeply humanizing the problems in Asgard. One can't help but read Odin's loss of self-control and his aggression against Thor as an allegory for dementia, and Thor's constant striving to save all of Asgard and Midgard, despite her failing body, remains one of the most compelling stories in Marvel lore. It truly feels, like the stories of fellow Avengers Sam Wilson and Miles Morales, like Jane Foster deserves to hold Mjolnir.

But I'm not sure for how long, exactly: my only misgiving about this fifth issue is the intimation at the end: the Odinson is closer than ever to picking up his hammer again. Of all the impending returns to the status quo, this one hurts the most: I'm still waiting at the phone for Bruce Banner to come back and Hulk it up, but I'm fine with Steve Rogers and the Odinson staying out of things for a while. I haven't been this fascinated by a Thor story in a long time, and I'm sure it wouldn't work without the power of Jane Foster's struggles underlying the story. Frost Giants, be on lookout for a hammer to the face.

BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, OR SKIP IT: Buy it!

Plot: What Is It Good For? "Rick & Morty #11" vs. "Black Widow #1"

Regardless of my hot take, this is a great cover.

It's my own fault for reading a Rick & Morty comic and expecting it to live up to what Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon created, really.

The ongoing Rick & Morty book, by Oni Press, has fitfully created engaging stories around the Sanchez-Smith clan and their interdimensional, psychosexual adventures. One issue, focusing on the in-universe show titled Ball Fondlers, was especially hilarious. Most, however, have read as an approximation of the voice of the original creators, but never coming as close as the best issues of Simpsons Comics.

Issue #11, by Pamela Ribon, Marc Ellerby and Ryan Hill, is so busy that I wonder if Rick Sanchez worked on it in a split-screen setting. Rick puts Morty through HSS, a simulator of high school experiences intended to wise up his grandson to common experiences, like sex or bullying. A blatant critique of online school systems, HSS fails to engage a student like Morty Smith...or a reader like Joshua Conner. This in itself is a simulacrum of when Rick mastered Roy: A Life Well Lived on the mothership show itself.

One great choice made by Ribon is the B-plot with Summer and Jerry, wherein they switch bodies and help each other through basic problems. Unlike the main story, this felt like something that would be in the show, not like something simulating it.

Two stories is a lot for a comic that doesn't necessarily slam-dunk either one, and nearly every panel of Rick & Morty is packed with dialogue (again, in an attempt to capture the firecracker rapport that Justin Roiland established with...himself) that tries to pass with jokes. They never quite land the way the book wants them to hit, and it drags toward the end. The book is absolutely brimming with what you could call plot but, for the life of me, I can't tell you what happened. Rick & Morty is existing in several dimensions, but not in my pull list any longer.

SAMNEE BACK

There might be fewer word bubbles in the entirety of Black Widow #1, by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, than one page of Rick & Morty. The issue, reuniting the former Daredevil team on Marvel's premier Avenger-Assassin, focuses on Natasha escaping from a S.H.I.E.L.D. establishment for...reasons. In a deft trick of art imitating the central character, little is revealed in the way of information, only what readers absolutely need to know. For instance, the beginning of the book shows Natasha escaping from a building...but it's really a Helicarrier, only revealed when it's absolutely necessary to the story.

Thanks to the MCU and Scarlett's character-defining performance, the sharper edges around Nathasha Romanoff have been sanded off...for the most part. The Widow spends the entirety of the issue inspiring a hot pursuit from other agents, and then she finds herself forced to break her own new code in order to survive. Waid and Samnee do a great job of putting readers in Natasha's stilettos, as we are only just learning the details of her mission as she works through it. This first issue is just a riveting piece of spy fiction, wrapped up in a propulsive action sequence.

I think a lot about the difference between Rick & Morty and Black Widow when I try to figure out the place of plot in a single issue of comics. The former definitely attempts to have it's storytelling not only match up with the self-contained nature of the mothership show, but also to hearken back to a past time of comics, when any issue was someone's first issue. To the book's credit, you could pick it up immediately and get the gist. The Nick Fury-types heading up Marvel Entertainment, however, know that the first issue of Black Widow is destined to be the first issue of a collected volume that'll fly off of shelves when people talk about how much people like me loved it. I highly recommend getting on it before then!

Rick & Morty #11 - BUY IT, SKIP IT, WAIT FOR A TRADE: SKIP IT

Black Widow #1 - BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, SKIP IT: BUY IT

#sameastheoldboss "DKIII: The Master Race #3" by Miller, Azzarello, Kubert, Janson, & Anderson

What an incredible cover! What a shame not to use that key, though...

Earlier this week, the internet exploded over a trailer for a remake of a loose, dialogue-based comedy about four schlubbish scientists in the Big Apple who end up shooting proton lasers at a Big Marshmallow. Regardless of the way people chose to unpack it (criticisms of Paul Feig's craft, morally-upright and uptight views of Leslie Jones as a municipal worker, nearly-parched thirst for Chris Hemsworth), everyone seemed to settle on the same theme: we don't need a new Ghostbusters...unless you count the beans at Sony, in which case, who ya gonna call? BRAND RECOGNITION!

On the other hand, comic books are almost built from the beginning on brand recognition. The Big 2 have clearly survived on the continuation of the stories of characters, even after death...but even labels like Vertigo and Image have leaned hard into sequelizing their most famous works in order to allow creators more time with characters, and readers an easier way in to a familiar story. Hell, we even now know what the world was like Before Watchmen (also worth noting: a DC book). After picking up a $1 printing of the debut of Image's Phonogram two weeks ago, I became confused with the reading order with the different stock of back issues at my local shop. To quote a character who recently surfed the prequel wave himself, "nothing ends. Nothing ever ends."

Poor, poor Hal.

I'm glad, then, that DC deigned to bring back the Dark Knight Returns continuity for a new mini-series, and even more grateful that they paired creator and master Frank Miller with collaborators who love and appreciate, but are able to focus, his...singular...vision. If you hate most of Frank Miller's work after he made the Boy Wonder eat rats, or after he subjected the Green Lantern to some Charlotte Perkins Gilman-justice, or after he waged a Holy War with the Fixer, this review may not be for you. I've always viewed Miller as a damaged auteur at worst, someone whose vision was adopted as the industry norm for so long that he had to continue coloring further and further outside the lines to remain relevant. You can track Miller's journey into mystery throughout his run on Sin City, where you begin with coherent noir fiction and end with, charitably put, messy work that is unintentionally challenging to decode.

I think the probability of you reading a comics blog and not having read The Dark Knight Returns is low, so I'll skip to the sequel: I love DK2. Just like Stay Positive is The Hold Steady's best record to me because it's the one that came out first when I knew about them, DK2 is enormously special to me because it was the first comic of that level of prestige to drop when I was woke. Nearly every page plays out as the work of an artist freed from commercial shackles, but still allowed to play with the most expensive toys imaginable.

Miller is absolutely fenced in on this one, though it's a good thing. Having publicly stated that he expects to produce a fourth series after this one, it's clear that the DKR continuity is now a universe that Miller loves to play in, and DC loves to let him (issue #3 was the top-selling comic for February 2016). Subtitled The Master Race, the mini-series picks up three years after the death of President Lex Luthor, and Bruce Wayne is once again in hiding, but so is Superman. Through the error of Ray Palmer and others, the micro-city of Kandor is released to the world, unleashing the titular "master race" of Kryptonians on Earth. By issue #3, Carrie Kelly has touched base with Commissioner Yindel (now as grizzled as her predecessor) and motivated Wayne to emerge from hiding to get his old friend and rival out of the Fortress of Solitude. All the while, characters from around the DCU have to deal with the righteous anger of Superman and Wonder Woman's daughter, Lara, who lives on her home planet, but is growing up even lonelier than her father did. Andy Kubert's pencils are absolutely gorgeous and they do a great job approximating Miller's early style, but they're clean enough for more sensitive modern audiences. Brian Azzarello deserves the most credit on the book, however, for grooming Miller's sensibilities from a story perspective while also including all the flourishes we expect from a DKR book; young hoods no longer talk about how the "leader don't shiv," but they do hashtag with #meetthenewboss.

GL doesn't need a hand with the ladies!

One of my favorite features of the book are the smaller insert issues, each focused on a different DCU character. #1 included a story about the folly of the aforementioned Atom, #2 focused on Wonder Woman losing her connection to her daughter. #3 has some of the darkest humor surrounding the Green Lantern character ever. They're incredible not just because of their insight to these Justice League members, but even more because they feel like just the right amount of pure, uncut Miller sensibility in the middle of a story where he's sharing the spotlight.

In a way, though, those smaller issues represent the direction of the series, and a smart way to make commerce with these books: DC is bankrolling higher-rated lower-sellers like Cyborg with the blockbuster DKIII. Every smaller inset issue is introduced with the "Dark Knight Universe Presents" tagline, ensuring us that what used to be a self-contained set of wonders is now, like the democracy Bruce Wayne is fighting for, open to all of life's possibilities. For the Dark Knight himself (or, as compellingly as the book makes a case for, herself), the fire is most definitely burning again.

BAD DUDES: Power Man, Shaft, and David Walker's Very Good Week

The cover of SHAFT #1. The variants are handsome, too.

I didn't plan to buy and compare two books with NYC-based black vigilantes this week, but oh, am I glad I did. If you aren't following David F. Walker yet, oh, you will be.

Both of the books I read this week feature characters that have captured the popular consciousness through television appearances, but beyond that, they couldn't be more different...even in terms of how they represent themselves when compared to their audiovisual counterparts.

Power Man & Iron Fist #1, featuring art from Sanford Greene, is a stylistic feat for the Marvel relaunch. Within its pages, Luke Cage and Danny Rand pal around New York City to help their old friend and recently-freed office manager, Jennie, retrieve an amulet with a great, though implied, power. The MacGuffin here is rather inconsequential, although it does lead to a fun encounter with a wonderfully drawn Tombstone.

Seriously, look how cool Tombstone looks. Sanford Greene pulled no stylistic punches with this debut.

Thankfully, the real highlight of the story here is the banter between Luke and Danny. Their conflict is clear and well-worn in a familiar, fun way. Luke Cage is now a total family man, with his wife Jessica and his baby girl waiting at home. He doesn't want to be called Power Man at any point, and Jessica even takes shots at his old tiara. Danny, however, can't wait to be Iron Fist, changing in the car and preferring to be called his superhero name by people who know his true identity. Danny's ready to jump back in and make Heroes for Hire work, while Luke insists that they are only friends now, and not business partners.

TANGENT ALERT: Of all the shifts Marvel has made after Secret Wars to make their print universe seem more like the MCU, it really stands out to me that they haven't shifted Jessica Jones back to a more independent, dark state. Daredevil couldn't look more like Charlie Cox, I'm pretty sure they've stenciled Iron Man panels over shots of RDJ, and Reed and Sue Richards may as well be on the thinly-veiled FOX planet. Seeing 13 episodes of Jessica Jones cussing, drinking, and giving Luke Cage the sweetest of Christmases makes it all the stranger to read her asking her husband to clean up his potty mouth around their daughter, for whom she stays home and does not work. TANGENT OVER.

Greene's amazing angles (check out his final page arrangements of Jennie and Black Mariah, and how they become equals after a boisterous intro for Mariah) and the confident, consistent color scheme for the book provide an interesting canvas for Walker's story, which plays with toys that he clearly loves (I could read the banter between the Heroes for Hire for hours) while warming up to something significant. It follows the current Marvel debut pattern of small-time villain (although, how the Hell did the Heroes for Hire end up fighting someone more exciting than the Avengers? #forgetWarbringer) attacking the heroes, leading to a bigger threat down the line.

Luke Cage & Iron Fist #1 is definitely a fun read, but I'm not yet sure if it's essential (it drops the same week as Silver Surfer, and Marvel isn't sending me free books...yet...) for the casual reader. The reintroduction of Black Mariah at the issue's end signals a clear direction for the book, and Greene's art paired with Walker's words is a combo not to be counted out for the next few months.

Another Walker book, however, is not to be missed, period. Shaft: Imitation of Life #1, with story and words by Walker and art by Dietrich Smith, is a nail-biting distillation of everything I enjoy about blaxploitation and comic books, played with absolutely zero irony. In the book, John Shaft is a straight-talking Vietnam veteran and current private detective. He's taken a few courses on literature, so he knows a thing or two about word choice. He frequently emphasizes that he wants to dehumanize his enemies, in order to make them easier to kill. However, it's John who seems to be losing his touch with the human race throughout the book.

"Easier" is the operative word for John Shaft, as he remains haunted by every life he takes in the book.

Like any great noir protagonist, Shaft never quite accepts the call to heroism, but rather stumbles in to the role through ambivalence and avoidance of his real problems. He takes cases to help block out the awful memories of Vietnam, and to help convince himself that he is a hero and not a monster. Walker's understanding of this character is so deep that even the smallest panels contain so much information, and every line either begins or furthers an internal conflict for John Shaft.

All of the fun of a Shaft story is here too. You can practically feel Walker joyfully off of his Marvel leash, as Shaft curses like a sailor and leaves his lover nearly comatose. Readers can understand why it might be tempting to live like John Shaft, even with the "monster" deep inside you, because it seems like so much damned fun. Dietrich Smith does a great job of turning Walker's words into a cinematic Hellscape of New York City, too. Splash pages tell the story of Shaft's morning commute, one action sequence unfolds like the side-scrolling fight in Oldboy, and Shaft's aforementioned lover seems to have all the toppings.

Shaft finds himself failing even as he succeeds, fighting to free trafficked humans and confused, lost souls in darker corners of the city throughout the story. Even at the darkest point in the story, I never lost faith, most importantly, that David F. Walker was fully in control of the yarn he's spinning. Walker's work with the big 2 publishers is more beneficial for them than it is for him (he single-handedly brought Cyborg back to relevance in time for his movie), and you can feel him truly flexing with a book like Imitation of Life. While Luke Cage can't figure out if he wants to go by Power Man or not, everyone in another fictional NYC already knows the greatest superhero is named John Shaft.

Power Man & Iron Fist #1
Buy It, Wait for Unlimited, or Skip It: Wait for Unlimited

Shaft:Imitation of Life #1
Buy It or Skip It: Buy It

OH WE TALKIN' TEAMS?: Ultimates #4 by Ewing, Rocafort & Brown

The incredible cross-pollination of Marvel's post-Battleworld team books shouldn't work as well as it does. Two different teams feature two different Star-Spangled Avengers (Sam Wilson is flying in All-New All-Different Avengers while Steve Rogers is slumming it with Uncanny Avengers). For a quick hit of relevance and sales, Marvel even had Hyperion snap Namor's neck over in the pages of Squadron Supreme. All of these teams are fighting violent threats. They are all built using major characters from hit movies (except for the Squadron). After the death of the Sub-mariner, they have all failed dramatically. There's a distinct feeling that these books are, for the most part, coloring inside the lines.

One reason for this is that many of these teams exist for the purpose of existing. Books with that arrow-shaped "A" on the cover, like some kind of super-powered scarlet letter, are bound to sell a bit more than the average issue of Ant-Man. Now that these teams are meeting up and fighting, it makes me all the more grateful that Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort were allowed to take the Ultimates to space.

In Marvel's newest comic titled The Ultimates, published now after the title has been stripped of all 1610-baggage, a team of Marvel's MENSA nominees have seemingly banded together to take on problems and threats too large for other forces...but truthfully, what Ewing and Rocafort have done with this book is annotate parts of the Marvel canon that, to this point, have gone mostly untouched. A great alternate name for this book would be Challengers of the Unquestioned.

The book collects genius-level characters like Adam Brashear, Black Panther, Miss America, Captain Marvel, and Spectrum to not only think outside the box, but to ignore that one even exists in the first place. The first 2 issues focused on the team "solving" the Galactus problem, not by banishing/fighting/killing/stunning him, but by altering his nature itself. Now, Galactus is the World-Seeder of the Marvel universe. In issue #3, the Ultimates agreed to leave the fabric of the universe entirely, in order to seek out whatever is powering the cosmos themselves.

With a scope that huge, it's a relief that issue #4 has been a bit of a breather, but even more dramatically tense than past installments. In it, Brashear goes up against the Anti-Man, a villain with a connection to Brashear so personal that this issue feels as big as the team appealing to the hanger within Galactus. It ends on a cliffhanger that refocuses Ewing's eyes on the universal prize, but it never betrays the intense focus on character introduced in this issue.

Ewing and Rocafort usually focus on small groups within the team, which is good because Rocafort's strong, clear pencil work gives you great facial detail while also illustrating the beauty of the universe at large. Miss America and Spectrum haven't quite gotten their time in the spotlight yet, but I trust Ewing to balance his stories throughout the run of this book. One of the more amazing things that Ultimates gives us is a quietly diverse and interesting team, without Marvel bending over backwards to celebrate its own diversity.
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If you can only read one team book right now, make sure you're picking up The Ultimates and savor every page. I know that my pull has been reduced to just this one, and not just because it's the best on the shelf, but because it's challenging what I thought Marvel team-up books could be about in the first place.

BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, OR SKIP IT: Buy it!

Meme with a Mouth: Spider-Man/Deadpool #1 by Kelly, McGuinness, Morales & Keith

Like many fans, I suspect, who have returned to reading monthly superhero comics later on in their life, I went through a phase where I was convinced that this stuff, essentially modern myth (and on the Marvel side, bold and confrontational allegories for modern issues), was for children. My prime years of devouring Marvel books, sixth through tenth grade, went behind me when I started noticing swaying hips and my friends wanted to spend more time on video games than discussing Animal Man. 

The cover to Spider-Man/Deadpool #1.

Deadpool, as a character, is essentially born out of that impulse. Deadpool's characteristics, on the surface, are "kewl" enough to stop the heart of the most dedicated MLGito consumer. He's a ninja clad in red and black, wielding twin pistols and dual katana blades. He's a trained, cold-blooded killer with both. He's got a tragic backstory involving the Weapon X program and cancer. If you thought most of that was over the top, wait until Wade Wilson opens his mouth.

Deadpool is more than your typical snark-machine in a comic, doling out far more zingers and bon mots than Peter Parker and Johnny Storm combined. He frequently mocks whoever he's working alongside and whoever he's fighting. He's made gay jokes to ghosts of dead Presidents, and he's proven his 2016 bonafides by professing to be an open pansexual. The "Merc with a Mouth" breaks the fourth wall so much in any given comic (or film, or video game) that there basically isn't one. Reading one of his stories is akin to having Damon Lindelof over your shoulders as you watch The Leftovers telling you, "yeah, this shit is dumb." I suspect he's connected with, and helped the House of Ideas retain, many teenage boys specifically because reading Deadpool so often feels like being a teen in practice: you're cursing, you're fighting, you're trying hard to convince everyone that the world around you is fake while clawing desperately for substance, and you're talking about sex a lot while not having much of it. To read the adventures of Wade Wilson is to be actively encouraged to not care, but also urged to continue reading.

A character that abrasive and off-putting really only works if the one-liners come both fast and furiously. In certain runs, such as Brian Posehn's Marvel Now! run on Deadpool, the character and his interactions with S.H.I.E.L.D. veer so far into absurdity that you can't help but be charmed. In the 2013 video game, Deadpool went all Devil May Cry on villains while the game around him featured plenty of mixed genres and asides to the player. 3 days before release, Tim Miller's Deadpool features an 82% Fresh rating. All signs point to it working well as a low-stakes superhero farce from a studio that can't seem to do anything else right with Marvel properties (WHERE U @, JOSH TRANK). In other books, such as the abysmal 2015 miniseries Mrs. Deadpool & the Howling Commandos, and the relaunch low-point Uncanny Avengers, the character stands out as a dramatic dead end. The latter book, the undeniable sixth finger on Marvel's handful of Avengers-themed books at the moment, featured a debut issue with Spider-Man leaving the new team because of a rift with Deadpool. I wish Wade had taken the hint.

In the first issue of Spider-Man/Deadpool #1, the character doesn't work at all. For those unfamiliar, the ongoing dynamic with Spider-Man and Deadpool is that Spidey hates Deadpool, while Deadpool loves Spidey. Subtextually, this should work. There is no character more representative of "old Marvel" and the values associated with traditional superheroics than Spider-Man. There should be interesting friction between Mr. Responsibility and Mr. Dank Memes. However, everything between the two characters is entirely surface-level, Odd Couple stuff that doesn't quite fit. At this point, Peter Parker has teamed up with Squirrel Girl and Silk. Would he really be that annoyed by Deadpool?

Local men ruin everything.

It doesn't help that, in recent months, Spidey has been drained of everything that made him the perfect foil for Deadpool. In reframing Peter Parker as the Elon Musk of the Marvel Universe, he's not exactly the common man we're used to anymore. Why is he fighting Hydro-Man at the outset of this issue anyway? Deadpool dragging Spider-Man to Hell to face off with Dormammu confuses the adventures of both of these characters while also cheapening a villain that Marvel should be ramping up for the release of a certain film about the Sorcerer Supreme later this year.

The plot is serviceable, but because Deadpool pulls an already-struggling character into his vacuum of LOLZ, it ultimately services a tone-deficient machine. The art by Ed McGuinness is clear and crisp, but Dormammu is a little too abstract to be feared.

WHY WOULDN'T DORMAMMU JUST LEVITATE THEM?

Like the titular character's approach to joke-telling, Marvel is quickly putting out as many Deadpool books as they can print at this point, to gear up for his big screen resurgence. Unlike Deadpool's sexuality, however, I suggest you be a bit selective when it comes to books like Spider-Man/Deadpool.

BUY IT, WAIT FOR UNLIMITED, OR SKIP IT:  Skip it!

MORALES BACK: Character Essences & Spider-Man #1 by Bendis, Pichelli & Ponsor

Cover by Sara Pichelli

I was 12 and all-in on the first X-Men movie and Ganke-level hyped for the upcoming Spider-Man movie when most of the internet was blowing up about a then-rising writer named Brian Michael Bendis and his major Marvel project, Ultimate Spider-Man. It didn't take long for my DragonBall-Z post-&-play RPG site to recommend the first 2 arcs, including then-modern and fresh takes on the Green Goblin, Electro, and Wilson Fisk. I saved up a couple weeks' allowance for both trades and fell in.

I came to Bendis and his writing in the same summer that Wizard instructed me to read some books titled Daredevil: Born Again, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight Returns. Say what you will about how the Ultimates leveled Manhattan or how Ultimate Jean Grey was a little too thirsty for Ultimate Logan, but I would place the totality of Bendis's run on Ultimate Spider-Man on the level of those works. For one, his Claremont-level commitment to seeing a vision for a book through is almost unheard of in our current climate, wherein a writer could be plucked from a book in a prime run for any number of extratextual reasons (film promotions, economics, politics). Bendis (and frequent collaborator Mark Bagley) took a character wildly popular but weighed down by continuity and freed him, once again, to swing the skyline of Manhattan.  11 years after they saved Peter Parker, they killed, buried, and replaced him with a newer, younger character named Miles Morales.

Through Miles, readers were able to rediscover the youthful hope and challenges of growing up through fresh, and wonderfully diverse eyes. One cannot help but look at Miles and see the missed potential in a comedic actor like Donald Glover never getting to play Spider-Man, but Miles acted in memory of Peter Parker's wonderful example, but he'd experienced no major loss himself; he was only doing the right thing because it had to be done. Bendis quickly had Miles butt heads with his uncle, who became the Prowler in an arc that inverted the classic Peter & Uncle Ben dynamic, and before they knew it, Marvel had a new, definitive Spider-Man on their hands...just over in the 1610 continuity, which they were planning to jettison anyway...

Pichelli is routinely unafraid to mix styles within pages on Spider-Man #1. Miles's teacher would be so screwed if this was an observation lesson. 

That idea of a definitive Spider-Man was on my mind a lot when I read issue #1 of the new run of Spider-Man, by Bendis (his 16th year on this book) and Sara Pichelli. While Marvel is seemingly busy having Peter Parker off attempting to be Iron Man with a heart of gold (which is confusing, because they also seem to be attempting to turn Stark himself into...Iron Man with a heart of gold), they've found themselves free to work Miles Morales, one of a very small, select group of 1610 characters, into the main world as the premier Spider-Man. I don't think Slott's Amazing Spider-Man run is a travesty for the character (the Uncle Ben Foundation idea is cute) but it has nothing on the essence-capturing work Bendis and Pichelli are doing with Miles and co.

I liken it to the revelation that is Sam Wilson: Captain America, a book so brazenly liberal and raw in its honesty that I'm shocked that Marvel allowed the current arc, which sees Captain America, now a black man (literally dehumanized when he is unwillingly transformed into Cap-Wolf) going up against the true evils of the modern Marvel Universe: corporations and banks that are "too big to fail." In a time when our own political sphere is threatened by the presence of a take-no-prisoners corporate mentality, I don't think the writers of Captain America are being indirect when they have a young, victimized Latino be the hero of the story. Contrast this with the lackluster action and snark over in Totally Awesome Hulk and it's clear that not all relaunches are created equally.

Miles Morales, as a hero in the new canon, leaves almost nothing to be desired. Like the web-slinger of old, he's able to get dates but he catches plenty of heat when he misses them. He stands up to his teachers and simply walks out of class (teacher's note: students do this, and I know many of them aren't Spider-Man) if he needs to go fight Shocker. He worries about his future, if he's doing the right thing moment to moment. Even after a couple of years, Miles feels out of place in his elite charter school. Miles feels like Spider-Man.

His supporting cast, always a major highlight of Spidey books in their prime, is also stellar. In the first issue, Ganke (absolutely the Landry Clarke of this book, which is part of why I love it so) takes up plenty of real estate, encouraging his friend to be Spider-Man while also holding down school and the occasional date. Bombshell is also mentioned in this issue, showing that there might be more Ultimate characters waiting in the wings to reveal themselves (more than Miles and The Maker, at the least). The dynamic between Mr. and the newly-resurrected (in the single-most cathartic moment in Secret Wars) is ridiculously interesting now that Mr. Morales knows about his son's heroics, while Mrs. is still in the dark (for now; one of the best parts of Bendis's run has been his liberalism with secret identities).

YA BOI GANKE

I won't spoil the threat that nearly levels the Avengers toward the end of the book, nor the amazing art Pichellil produced to depict it. One of her many stellar abilities involves changing styles between pages, creating dynamic visuals like the ones included above. For Miles Morales (and sometimes Ganke), life is always moving quickly.

On a critical note, I do wonder just how much more story Bendis can get from Miles encountering Peter Parker...yet again...at the end of the book. When everything else is so good, however, I'm willing to let the mystery unfold.

And so at the outset of the new ongoing Miles Morales book, simply titled Spider-Man, we have a teenage hero struggling with grades, girls, and a secret identity while fighting crime. He feels uncomfortable socially and academically, even though he's got the brains to back up his brawn. Unlike some of those other stories you've heard, Miles isn't motivated by survivor's guilt or deep pain; he's simply following a great example of doing the right thing, regardless of the cost. Miles is a a high school student; he's a young man of color; most importantly, he is Spider-Man. Give him a spin.

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EAT, PRAY, THOR: All-New All-Different Avengers #4 by Waid, Asrar & McCaig

Right after they defeated Cyclone, "Thor" grabbed "Captain America" and planted a big, wet kiss on his lips!

Of course, during that time, Steve Rogers was off busy with Deadpool and Rogue (in what is easily the worst post-Secret Wars book so far) or something. And the Odinson was chilling in Nifelheim. The mantle of Thor, at the time of the superheroic PDA, was held by Jane Foster, while the shield of the Sentinel of Liberty was held by Sam Wilson, formerly the Falcon.

Marvel touted the kiss between Thor and Cap as a major event in All-New All-Different Avengers a few months ago, and I must admit that I was as curious as a young Nova around Kamala Khan to see how the books built up to this monumental event. Avengers, as a comics title, has been coasting by on more promise than anything since the first issue dropped months ago. The House of M relocated Mark Waid from his character-defining run on Daredevil to this team-up book, which features some of the best (Miles Morales, Ms. Marvel, the Vision) and most popular (Iron Man) characters that the publisher has to offer at the moment. Featuring a changing roster of artists (Mahmud Asrar is new to issue #4), this book should be Waid's lighthearted playground for the very best that Marvel has to offer...so why does it feel so perfunctory?

Let's handle the 800-lb. Frost Giant in the room first: the kiss is meaningless. Waid and Asrar (although, based on the insane beauty of the Alex Ross cover, I have to speculate that this was a corporate-driven story point) literally have the kiss come out of nowhere, and afterward, have Thor chalk it up to "living in the moment." This is all rooted in Jane Foster's current struggle with cancer, but since she hasn't disclosed this information to her team (and Waid isn't willing to truly lean on it as a story point), there is minimal pathos involved with her year of "yes." I can't criticize what I haven't read yet, but in this issue, there's no context (Thor has also not appeared in Sam Wilson: Captain America yet, so it's not rooted in solo issues). I would be first in line to high-five Joe Quesada and Axel Alonso if they actually found a way to have Steve Rogers plant one on the Odinson through his own free will. However, the transience of these titles for these characters just makes the kiss seem all the more opportunistic and temporary. I'm really enjoying Wilson's tenure as Captain America in his solo title, and my wife tells me good things about Jane as Thor. However, it doesn't take a Tony Stark-level IQ to know that, eventually, Steve Rogers is going to pick up the shield again, while Mjolnir will somehow find its way back to the Odinson. Except for Jane Foster, the kiss feels like a waste of time.

You could say that about a lot of Avengers #4, too. The first 2 pages are dedicated to Edwin Jarvis's commute to Avengers HQ. Characters like Kamala and Miles react in quiet horror to the powers of The Vision, even though Kamala has dreamed of being an Avenger for years. We are still spending panels with Nova having a schoolboy crush on Khan, still seeing the characters verbally discussing how to work best as a team, instead of us learning with them through action. Warbringer, the Chitauri warrior that rampaged through issues #1-3, is nowhere to be found in this book, while Cyclone is the definition of a D-list threat. The book would be better off if it worked in a character that could connect to one of the heroes, rather than yet another random villain.

As a Miles Morales true-head, I continue to be disappointed by the lack of him in the book (his stories in Ultimate End and Secret Wars have been enough to get me through the interminable wait for the debut of Spider-Man #1), while the emphasis on Nova (essentially written as Peter Parker wearing an asterisk) is frustrating. Asrar's art is engaging, alternately sparing and detailed when the story calls for it.

I really think Mark Waid is doing the absolute best he can, too, given the enormous task of the diverse cast with different opportunities to cash in on their solo stories (why can't we see Kamala's home life? Why isn't the Vision concerned about Viv and Vin?) and the pressure to make it all work in an easily-digestible book. However, All-New All-Different Avengers is now more of an appetizer sampler for some great characters, and not necessarily the most flavorful dish you could order. It's out of my pull list, for now.


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NORRIN IS RAD: Silver Surfer #1 by Slott, Allred, & Allred

If the powers that be at Marvel Comics have been wielding the Power Co(s)mic a little liberally since the relaunch of the All-New, All-Different Universe back in October, you could hardly blame them. The House of M pulled out all the stops back in April with the launch of Secret Wars and the launch of all the mini-events set on Battleworld. One of the shining spots of Marvel's summertime blitz was the bevy of books that reflected on particularly awesome runs of the past. Really like the idea of Peter Parker with a wife? Don't get comfortable, but here's Renew Your Vows. Missing some Grant Morrison in the X-Men timeline? Enjoy E is for Extinction. If you're still high on adrenaline from cruising on Fury Road, we really hope you'll consider Ghost Racers.

You might also notice that many of the characters at the center of those books, give or take a Superior Spider-Man, have been failing to anchor the most compelling books in the Marvel line-up over the last few years. Characters like Kamala Khan and Matt Murdock helped to anchor books like Inhumans: Attilan Rising, which (to put it light as Black Bolt) needed an injection of compelling humanity. It's not coincidence, either, that Khan and Murdock, before the Battleworld relaunch, were holding down some of the greatest stories Marvel had put on the shelf in years. Kamala's encounters with the Inhuman Royal Family and Wolverine were hilarious and revitalizing to a relapsed reader, while Matt Murdock's journey into the lighter side of life was a wonderful pivot away from the angst and pain that came to define the character. Neither of those protagonists got their own Battleworld stories, and when the creators slated for the relaunches were announced, many breathed a sigh of relief that G. Willow Wilson got to stay on with Ms. Marvel, her greatest creation. Many others were dismayed at the loss of Mark Waid on Daredevil, and his run bears the marks of a creator who stuck a landing that came far too soon.

Given the tendency of Marvel to turn their post-Secret Wars titles into facsimiles of their television shows (shots fired, Charles Soule's Daredevil) or to lose track of a character completely (I come to bury Dan Slott in a pile of Amazing Spider-Man #2 before I praise him), I really am overjoyed to herald Silver Surfer #1 as a wonderful Marvel title that hasn't changed a bit since the Last Days issues a few months ago. The creative team of Slott and Michael and Laura Allred have come together to continue the cosmic adventures of Norrin Radd & his companion Dawn throughout time and space, and the results are just delightful. The book is more than a little inspired by the popularity of Doctor Who and other time-traveling buddy shows (I think of the better episodes of Sleepy Hollow) and the influence shows in the fun banter between our two heroes.

The team achieves a wonderful balance between making Norrin completely alien to our Earth, while also recognizing that he's visited many times. It helps the book avoid many "fish-out-of-water" tropes that could easily occupy valuable pages in a much-missed book like this. Instead, Slott & the Allreds make sure that Dawn's family back in Anchor Bay, once the book gets there, are funny and strange (and ultimately, real) enough to weird out anyone, former Herald to Galactus or not. The planned celebration for Dawn having missed so many important holidays and family moments, a "Happy New Hallow-Givings Birth-Mas" Party, is a chance for the Allreds to flex on what makes them so special as creatives: an insane eye for detail mixed with human emotion.

This first issue, unlike many All-New All-Different stories that have hit the ground running with a villain so non-threatening that you can feel the writers blustering (looking at you, All-New All-Different Avengers!), wisely devotes the story to establishing emotional stakes between Norrin and Dawn and how much their relationship has changed since they met back in 2013. Dawn is a companion to Norrin, but her presence in the book is such a grounding and necessary human force that the story would simply not function without her. On page 4, her gleeful greeting to her father and twin sister are literally given prominence of place over the Surfer's cosmic battles.

The villains of the issue, the Hordax, look and sound silly at first, but their plan is actually terrifying (they manage to steal most of the world's culture and history of fictional characters before Norrin and Dawn stop them), and the metatextual aspect of it all can't be ignored: Slott and the Allreds have to be terrified, on some level, that their creations will be taken over someday by another writer, be it human, Hordax, or otherwise. When it's revealed that the Hordax are only servants for a stronger master (who has also managed to enslave new Guardian of the Galaxy, Ben Grimm), you realize that the team here has baited-and-switched you on a legendary level: the Hordax weren't trying to steal human culture for kicks; they were doing a public service by preserving the years of stories we have come to love.

You can't come to love comics without illustrations, and Silver Surfer strikes the perfect balance between being a verbose showcase for Slott, while also clearly being the Allred show. I'll start this blog off a take hot enough to melt the snow around my house: I think Michael Allred is the G.O.A.T., and the work on display in Silver Surfer #1 does nothing but confirm that opinion. His beautiful depiction of The Thing, not seen so wonderfully human and exasperated since Kirby drew him, appears at the end of the story to talk of next month's issue. The cover art, insane and brimming with exquisite detail, belongs in a textbook about semiotics. When the full extent of the Hordax power is revealed, I sincerely hope you have as much fun as I did picking out which characters from popular fiction that Allred was shouting-out in his art. When you pack a frame with tributes to Zorro, Neo, Marty McFly, and Leeloo, you've done good.

Marvel will continue to launch their post-Secret Wars books in the coming weeks and months, some with All-New creative teams and some holding steady with their successful creators. While it'll be easy to get lost in the hype of a universe redefining itself, I know for a fact that I'm relieved that one corner of that big galaxy hasn't changed a bit. Slott and the Allreds have done the impossible: they make going "anywhere and everywhere" feel just like coming home.

Buy It, Wait for Unlimited, or Skip It?: Buy It

JUST SWINGIN' BY

MISSION STATEMENT: I aim to write about comics like I really love reading them and I'd like others to do the same.

I was bored and I've been wanting to write about pop culture for a long time. I want to write a comics blog that I'd like to read.

I hope to post once a week or so, probably about whatever Marvel book made me think a lot in that time. I have a rating system of Buy It, Wait for Unlimited, or Skip It. Obviously if I cover some indie stuff or some DC stuff you'll have to think critically about that rating, but I believe in you. 

Tomorrow, my first blog, about a really great relaunch of Silver Surfer, goes up around 11 AM. See me then!