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.