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.

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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!