Marvel Civil War Continues?!?
August 28, 2007 | 2 Comments
IGN posted this image today with a gigantic veil of secrecy. It’s drawn by Marko Djurdjevic, perhaps the hottest cover artist at Marvel right now… As soon as I looked him up, I realized he is the artist responsible for nearly every painted cover I’ve been in love with since December.
Anyway, from left to right this image includes: Sentinels, Cable, Wolverine, Thing, unknown #1, Ms Marvel, Cloak (without Dagger, WTF?), Captain America (who’s in the suit?), Iron Man, Thor, Hercules, Yellowjacket, unknown #2. I think I should know unknown #1. IGN makes a big deal about who unknown #2 is (the dude in the top right corner). If we knew who was writing this, we might be able to make a better guess. A Marvel.com article makes me wonder if this is Vulcan, but that’s a serious shot in the dark.
Many knock Civil War, but I haven’t felt the passion since that series ended. This has the potential to make me dig in with some serious Marvel induced excitement. Is this a one-shot? A new series? An alternate universe? What does it mean?!? I can’t wait to find out.
Tags: cable, captain america, civil war, cloak, comic books, comics, dagger, emperor vulcan, hercules, IGN, iron man, marvel, ms marvel, sentinels, thing, thor, vulcan, Wolverine, x-men, XMen, yellowjacket
Which Wiki? Marvel.com vs Wikipedia
April 25, 2007 | 4 Comments
In Casey’s recent post: “Please, Not Another Wiki”, I felt some serious resonance with an internal debate I’m having. In short, Casey states that in general new wikis are a bad idea. They require an entire community to be successful and why not leverage an existing wiki (like Wikipedia) to accomplish your task.
Specifically, when externally linking to details about a comic book character in the Marvel Universe I find myself unsure whether to link to Marvel.com’s Marvel Universe Wiki or to a specific article on Wikipedia. Marvel’s wiki has a much more structured format. There is always a consistent set of data about each and every hero.
However, it is limited in this structure as well. There are less pictures, no external links, and a lack of information tertiary topics. The tertiary topics I find lacking include publication history, video games, and television appearances, etc. Similarly, Wikipedia has great profiles on the various artists and authors. This can develop insight and detail not available on Marvel.com.
Also, Wikipedia has a larger community who can be more responsive. Yet, Marvel has the expertise in this area and in turn should be able to provide better editing. In the end I still find myself leaning towards Wikipedia, however, I remain torn as Marvel has develop a fairly competitive alternative. I’ve pulled a couple side-by side examples so you can compare yourself.
| Carol Danvers/Ms Marvel | Wikipedia | Marvel |
| Jessica Jones | Wikipedia | Marvel |
| Peter Parker/Spider-Man | Wikipedia | Marvel |
| Sandman/William Baker | Wikipedia | Marvel |
I am left wondering if Marvel had just invested their initial time and resources into working with Wikipedia, wouldn’t contributors, consumers, and fans have benefited more?
Tags: carol danvers, comics, jessica jones, marvel, marvel universe, ms marvel, peter parker, Sandman, spider-man, spiderman, wiki, wikipedia, wikis, william baker
Marvel Tragedy in Wake of Civil War
March 10, 2007 | 6 Comments
Many people predicted either Iron Man (Tony Stark) or Captain America (Steve Rogers) would die in the final throws of Civil War. When the concluding issue #7 came and went with Cap’ surrendering and becoming imprisoned, I believed these two Marvel icons had both dodged death. Shockingly, it came in an epilogue issue of Civil War, Captain America #25 (volume 5). Captain America was assassinated.
Ed Brubaker delivers this tragic event in an equally stunning and touching manor that remains true to the character of Captain America. As Cap’ is being led into the courthouse to be arraigned for his crimes in violation of the Super-Hero Registration Act, he is shot in the back by a sniper. Amazingly, Cap’ spots the sniper before being shot and turns himself into the shot, seemingly protecting the guards escorting him. However, one bullet would not take down this super soldier.
As the crowd scatters, his friend and recent lover Sharon Carter steps from the crowd. She is there working secretly with Nick Fury and Winter Soldier in hopes of avoiding something like this. As she gets to Cap’ we see him shot three times to the stomach from close range. We are left unsure of the shooter at this point. Later we learn Dr. Faustus has manipulated through some sort of hypnotism, Sharon to have pulled the trigger and killed Captain America. When she learns this, Brubaker makes her pain palpable.
Interesting to note in this, is a brief moment of history relating to Captain America. As far as I know, he is one of the first major super heros who was clearly killed, then revived years later. He died in World War 2, but was found by the Avengers frozen in a block of ice. The modern character of Cap’ has repeatedly used this plot point of a man out of time. Since then, it’s almost become a cliche that you can’t really kill anyone for long. The list of characters who have died and been reborn is extensive: Jean Grey, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Vision, Winter Soldier, Colossus, Elektra, Punisher, Professor X, Angel, Wonder Man, Thor, Human Torch, Captain Marvel, Green Goblin, need I go on? Usually Marvel will wait for a writer change, a major story line, or a big crossover before they come up with some low percentage explanation that allows the revival of a beloved character.
With this death, they haven’t even bothered to wait a week before laying the ground work to bring Steve Rogers back from the dead. In the Civil War: The Initiative one-shot, Brian Michael Bendis delivers a scene where Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) and Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) come into conflict. Spider-Woman is still unregistered and opposing the act. Ms. Marvel tries to convince Spider-Woman to take the pardon and come in. The hurt from Cap’s death is clearly still to near the surface for Jessica and she lays the blame square on the shoulders of Tony Stark. It is at the point that Ms. Marvel states that Steve Rogers is not dead. She says: “He’s tucked away safe on The Raft. No one knows. No one. They’re trying to save his life even as we speak.” When asked how this is possible she retorts: “What am I? A super-soldier serum expert? He’s not dead!” However, Marvel has issued this statement: “Comments from Ms. Marvel in this week’s Civil War: The Initiative, which seemed to indicate that Captain America is still alive, and being held prisoner by the Pro-Registration forces may not have been exactly what they seemed on the surface, and events related to those comments will play out in upcoming issues of New Avengers.” I still think this leaves a nice wide opening to resurrect Steve Rogers whenever it is necessary, my prediction, right before the 2009 Captain America movie hits theaters.
But “Captain America” is not in fact dead, Steve Rogers is. With the clear foreshadowing they did in Civil War #7 by having Frank Castle (The Punisher) take Captain America’s mask, most definitely this will be the guy to wear the red, white, and blues real soon. Throughout Civil War, it was shown repeatedly how much Frank respects and admires Steve Rogers. This is a story line with a lot of potential and is destined to stir interesting controversy in the Marvel Universe.
On a final note, I love when comic book events are large enough to gain attention of traditional media reporting, but it is annoying to find out about events like this before you read them. Sadly I had this story spoiled for me less than a day after it happened and my copy of the book had not yet arrived…
Tags: america, angel, captain america, Captain Marvel, carol danvers, civil war, civil war the initiative, colossus, comics, death of captain america, elektra, frank castle, Green Goblin, hawkeye, human torch, initiative, iron man, Jean Grey, jessica drew, Magneto, marvel, ms marvel, Professor X, punisher, spider-man, spider-woman, steve rogers, thor, tony stark, Vision, Winter Soldier, wonder man
Avengers, New and Mighty
February 22, 2007 | 9 Comments
In the wake of Civil War, the Avengers are left split into two teams. These will be the New Avengers and the Mighty Avengers. Little is known about either, especially considering Civil War has not yet completed. However, the cover for Mighty Avengers has been revealed, and the first issue with the new New Avengers is out!
We do know that Brian Michael Bendis will be writing both books. Leinil Yu will be drawing New Avengers and Frank Cho will be drawing Mighty Avengers.
Here’s what the teams are looking like so far:
Mighty Avengers
based entirely off the cover art
- Ms. Marvel - leading the team
- Iron Man - is this Tony Stark? I have my doubts…
- The Sentry
- Ares
- Wonder Man
- Wasp
- Black Widow
New Avengers
- Luke Cage (returning)
- Spider-Man (returning, now in black suit)
- Wolverine (returning)
- Spider-Woman (returning)
- Maya Lopez/Echo (returning, no longer as Ronin)
- Iron Fist - no longer wearing the Daredevil costume and clearly the new money for this group.
- Doctor Strange
- Ronin - not Maya, so who’s Ronin? They imply it is “not quite” Matt Murdock. Could this be Nick Fury? Captain America? Sue Storm? Some other lesser known disenfranchised character?
I find the Mighty Avengers to be the more surprising of the teams. Lots of old characters being brought back to the main stream.
Early indications say that Mighty Avengers will be the more government acknowledged team addressing the massive universe effecting events.
New Avengers are a darker more street level team with a concentration on fighting crime. The art styles do a great job of immediately indicating that distinction as well.
Tags: ares, art, avengers, bendis, black, black widow, brian michael bendis, captain america, civil war, comics, daredevil, doctor strange, echo, iron fist, iron man, luke cage, marvel, matt murdock, maya lopez, mighty avengers, ms marvel, new avengers, nick fury, Ronin, sentry, spider-man, spider-woman, spiderman, spiderwoman, sue storm, tony stark, wasp, Wolverine, wonder man
2006 in Review: Year of the Comic
December 31, 2006 | Leave a Comment
I read more comic books this year than anyone should. Honestly. I read hundreds. My collection expanded at least five times, I became the largest comic customer at the local shop, my monthly expense reaching into the hundreds of dollars. My intention was to review each major title or series I read, so I could look back on how I felt about them. In many cases I could, but my pace of consumption far exceeded my capability to write. So… here are a few of the comics I read that were most significant.
Titles I Already Followed
Amazing Spider-Man this was a big year for Spider-Man. He died and was reborn with new powers in The Other, he got the new iron spidey costume from Tony Stark, he revealed his identity in response to the registration act in Civil War, and as most recently switched sides and gone on the run. A banner year for Mr. Parker and J. Michael Straczynski has done a good job towing us along through all of this.
Sensational Spider-Man - a renaming of Marvel Knights: Spider-Man, this Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa written title has been fairly solid with nice tie-ins to the larger events occurring around it. Issue #28 particularly stands out as a story that follows one of Peter Parker’s students and how Parker’s identity being revealed effects this kid. A great single issue and the start of this run. Clayton Crain has been remarkable with his art on the few issues he did. This is an understatement, Crain is possibly the best artist currently working at Marvel. In particular, his covers will take your breathe away.
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man - I’ve had mostly a hate relationship with the Peter David written book. I even called for him to be fired at one point… Recent issues have been much better.
Ultimate Spider-Man - Bendis and Bagley have taken this title into dangerous territory as they explore the infamous Clone Saga. They seem to be handling it well and I still read this book immediately upon its arrival. I am sad that Bagley will be leaving the title in 2007 and also regret the foreshadowed and destined breakup of Peter and Kitty Pryde in the title. I liked the pairing and the stories they created.
Spider-Girl turned Amazing Spider-Girl - a bit of a roller coaster here with the cancellation following issue #100 and the subsequent creation of Amazing Spider-Girl. Tom Defalco has continued to make this title fun and engaging. I hope for at least 100 more…
Ongoing Titles I’m Now Following
Astonishing X-Men - All I can say about this title is holy crap Joss Whedon is awesome. If you like X-Men or Joss, you must read this book. His character portrayal, group dynamics, plot lines and action sequences can not be beat. It is no mistake that this is the only X-book I follow. Whedon made me love Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost who I previously had no notion of. I can’t wait to see what 2007 brings as it is sad to see him leaving this title. Can’t Marvel get him to write three or four for them?!?
Irredeemable Ant Man - this brand new Robert Kirkman title is funny and interesting. We’re only 2 issues in, but I’m liking it so far.
Marvel Spotlight - A great way to get to know artists and writers in greater detail. A lot of what I’ve picked up for back issues or checked out in new titles has been directly related to what I’ve read highlighted here.
Ms Marvel - Love it. See previous commentary.
New Avengers - This series has made my life exceptionally expensive… Almost any new character Bendis introduces here is portrayed in such an interesting way I need to read more about them (Spider-Woman, Ms Marvel, Sentry, etc). For more, see my previous comments.
Nextwave - I’ve already said it, Nextwave Rocks. This Warren Ellis written and Stuart Immonen drawn book is by far the funniest monthly Marvel puts out. It’s a strange humor, but one that appeals to me greatly. Unfortunately, it has to come to an end. Marvel has canceled this title, issue #12 will be the last. Fortunately both are off to places where I will still follow them. Ellis is taking over Thunderbolts with issue #110, a new exciting team spinning out of Civil War. Immonen will take over for Bagley on Ultimate Spider-Man.
Runaways - I started reading this purely for background on the Civil War tie-in. What I found was a deep love for Brian K. Vaughn. He is now in the same place in my regards as Bendis and Whedon. This series is just plain amazing and I recommend it to everyone. I’ve hooked Sara and Jenny, I intend on having my mother read this! Unfortunately, Vaughn is leaving Runaways and Marvel. The good news is this book will be taken over by none other than Joss Whedon! I hate to see Vaughn go, but I couldn’t ask for a better replacement.
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane - This Sean McKeever written book is great. It lead me to read Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man and I am not sorry. I hope Marvel soon realizes McKeever for the talent he is and gives him a higher profile more serious book. See my previous thoughts.
X-Men First Class - Only a couple issues old, Jeff Parker has created an X-Men title set in the past, that I find highly entertaining. This is the original cast of the X-Men with Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Professor X. These are stories during simpler times wit less back story and continuity. Often comics like this are done poorly, but in this case I find myself being drawn into another X-book.
Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man - Again, McKeever is a wonderfully underrated author. If Bendis ever leaves Ultimate Spider-Man I’d love to see McKeever as his replacement. He understands and writes high school age Peter Parker better than anyone. Unfortunately this is a title geared toward younger readers (like all his stuff) so we can never really know if McKeever possesses the capability of exploring deeper plots.
Marvel Adventures: The Avengers - This title is still relatively new, but I like the team line-up: Iron Man, Captain America, Storm, Spider-Man, Hulk, Giant Girl, and Wolverine. Jeff Parker is doing a fine job with this title.
Limited Series, Incomplete
These are limited series that stretch into 2007 and in turn I have yet to complete.
Annihilation - This was not an event I ever intended on paying attention to. The cosmic side of the Marvel Universe never really interested me. However, I read Annihilation: Nova and was hooked. Not by Nova, but by Drax the Destroyer. This misunderstood villain and his “sidekick” Cammi interested me a great deal. I now intend on seeking out the older Drax mini series about him and Cammi. These two were enough to sell me on following the entire event. The Silver Surfer title was also good, but I was unimpressed with the Ronin and Super Skrull titles. The main event is still going on and I’m yet to pass judgment on it as a whole.
Beyond! - This is terrible. I’m halfway through issue #5 out of 6 and I can hardly go on. I originally purchased this because Spider-Man was on the cover and soon found out what a mistake that was. This is Marvel’s version of the Surreal Life with only C-list characters showing up. The story is miserable and the art matches. McDuffie and Kolins have done nothing for their readers here. Barring a startling conclusion issue, I would not recommend this to anyone.
Civil War - The many tie-ins and side stories have made this an expensive event for me, but worth every penny. The core title is fantastic. Millar and McNiven make a great team and I don’t even mind the delay they caused. This book stands to effect all of the Marvel Universe with rippling effects. Iron Man vs Captain America is just one small part of this crossover masterpiece. My only complaint is the occasional continuity stumble. (how did Sue leave Reed exactly?!?) As a whole the tie-ins have been exceptional, with Paul Jenkins’ Front Line standing out as arguably the best comic cross over tie-in ever. There are no words. Stay tuned for more write-ups on Civil War.
Eternals - Neil Gaiman is putting together an interesting story here that brings these underutilized characters back into play in the Marvel U. Unfortunately I am one of the few who hates John Romita Jr’s art. I’m having a hard time getting over it to enjoy Gaiman’s story.
White Tiger - Tamora Pierce, famed for writing stories involving young heroines, raises the prestige of a new female heroine to the Marvel Universe: White Tiger. This is the fourth Marvel hero to take on the role of White Tiger. Pierce has not disappointed, but we’re only two issues in. I love the female comic character, this seems like a good match for me.
Limited Series - Completed
These are limited series that I read completely.
1602 - My first introduction to Neil Gaiman and I was most impressed. I was also impressed by Andy Kubert’s art. I now understand why he was a big loss when he left for DC. If you enjoy the breadth of characters in the Marvel Universe and also like alternate re-imaginings, this is a book for you. I intend to try out some of the 1602 spin-offs and maybe venture outside Marvel to experience the critically acclaimed Gaiman masterpiece Sandman.
House of M - This is the only Bendis written series I’ve ever disliked. There are major failures with tie-ins. See my previous write-up.
Kitty Pryde - Shadow and Flame - Whedon made me fall in love with Kitty and this was the first mini-series devoted to her that I could find. It is enjoyable, but not stellar.
Last Planet Standing - Set in the Spider-Girl alternate Marvel Universe, this DeFalco Galactus story is wretched. I enjoy the Avengers Next crew, but the story here is flimsy and contrived. Not worth reading by a long shot.
Marvel Zombies - My first experience with Robert Kirkman. This story spins out of Ultimate Fantastic Four and is a lot of fun. A bit disturbing and entirely like Chinese food, it does not leave you at all full an hour after reading.
New Mangaverse - An interesting Manga-style take on the Marvel Universe. If no one has noticed yet, I love alternate universe re-imaginings. I would not discount writer CB Cebulski’s ability to tell an engaging comic story. Hopefully he’ll find his way onto a more mainstream title.
Secret Wars - See previous discussion.
Secret War (2005) - The Bendis written event that left Nick Fury on the run and absent from the Marvel U. I found this enjoyable and engaging. An event that has had lasting impact which is even effecting the current Civil War event. Highly recommended to fans of Spidey, Cap, Fury, the Avengers, Luke Cage, etc.
Spider-Woman: Origin - Single handedly Bendis made Spider-Woman cool again when she appeared as a key member of the New Avengers. This limited series adds to the depth and intrigue of Jessica Drew, simultaneously establishing a reasonable and hopefully definitive origin for her character.
The Sentry - Intrigued by his membership in the New Avengers, I explored the original Sentry mini-series. Not a good choice… Read my detailed thoughts on this. I’m glad to have not judged Paul Jenkins by this alone.
Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra Wonderful. Read full writeup.
Ultimate Elektra Terrific. Read full thoughts.
Ultimate Iron Man - Orson Scott Card puts together the most interesting Iron Man portrayal ever. Read my full thoughts.
Ultimate Galactus Trilogy - Long, drawn out, full of potential, tragically executed. There is really no more to say about this major Ultimate-verse event. Don’t get me wrong there are some great moments in this, but in the end it is enirely cobbled together. I may need to read this through once again and fully analyze why it sucked and where it failed.
Canceled Titles
These are old titles which have come to be canceled
Alias - I will soon be purchasing the Omnibus edition of this and writing a detailed analysis of why this is the greatest thing Bendis ever wrote and why I love it so very much. At the moment this is the absolute best comic series I read this year. In it’s time it was quite popular and Bendis voluntarily canceled the title to avoid “jumping the shark”. The story of Jessica Jones is continued in The Pulse.
The Pulse - After reading Alias, this is an unfortunate let down. The depth and grit from Alias is all washed away. I found myself reading these few issues and wishing there was more Alias… There are still good aspects to this book, it is written by Bendis. Ben Urich is further developed into a character positioning him nicely for his role in Civil War. I wanted more of Jessica and less of the Daily Bugle, but alas it was not to be. Fans apparently agreed as this book was canceled. I hope Jessica Jones has her only series revived after the dusts settles on Civil War.
Back Issues
These are chunks of an existing title I decided to read.
Amazing Spider-Man #1-111 - here is where it all started. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko establish over 75% of the most significant members of Spider-Man’s rogue gallery way back then. Very few villains since have stuck. This is the golden age of Spider-Man and worth reading for any fan. Just remember, there is a lot more reading in comics back then…
Cable & Deadpool #1-32 - After reading the Cable & Deadpool Civil War tie-ins, I had to know more about Deadpool. This is the second funniest book Marvel publishes. (Just a hair behind Nextwave). Fabian Nicieza writes Deadpool with witty, quick dialog that truly stands out. Deadpool has quickly skyrocketed up my list of favorite Marvel characters. Sometimes the plots in these books are thin, but again, the dialog from Deadpool makes up for it completely.
The Ultimates #1-13 - Mark Millar’s skewed take on the Avengers. Read my detailed take on this.
Ultimate Fantastic Four #1-23 - Loved it. Read more. On a sidenote, Greg Land’s art in this book may be my favorite in all of Marvel, in close competition with Crain and McNiven.
Ultimate X-Men #1-65 - not as good as the other Ultimate books, but entertaining nonetheless. I intend to catch back up on this series in 2007.
Young Avengers #1-12 - Like Runaways, I decided to read Young Avengers back issues in preparation for understanding the Civil War tie in. I found this to be an entertaining read, Alan Heinberg does put together an interesting new team. All the story lines are engaging, but nothing truly stands out about this book. Although, Jim Cheung’s art is amongst the best at Marvel. I am looking forward to more from the YA and have enjoyed their high level of involvement in Civil War.
That’s it. A “quick” rundown of what I read in comics this year. If you’ve made it this far, I’m shocked, and hope I’ve touched on at least some new comic that you might pick up and try out. There is a wealth of good comics being produced today, I hope more people realize that there is more to Marvel than their movies.
Tags: "astonishing x-men", 1602, alias, amazing spider girl, amazing spider-man, Annihilation, Back Issues, bendis, Beyond!, Cable & Deadpool, Cancelled Titles, civil war, comic, comics, friendly neighborhood spider-man, house of m, Irredeemable Ant Man, Kitty Pryde - Shadow and Flame, last planet standing, Limited Series, marvel, marvel spotlight, Marvel Zombies, ms marvel, new avengers, New Mangaverse, nextwave, Ongoing Titles, runaways, secret war, secret wars, Sensational Spider-Man, spider-girl, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, spider-woman, The Pulse, the sentry, The Ultimates, Ulti, ultimate daredevil and Elektra, Ultimate Elektra, ultimate fantastic four, Ultimate Galactus Trilogy, ultimate iron man, ultimate spider-man, Ultimate War, ultimate x-men, White Tiger, X-Men First Class, Young Avengers
Ms. Marvel - A Great New Series
August 1, 2006 | 5 Comments
Female protagonist heroes generally stand out for me as favorites. I’m not sure if writers are trying to reach female audiences by spending a lot of time on character of female heroes, or if they just take a more tender approach to these powerful women. Any way you figure it, I can’t help but like almost every female hero Marvel has presented me with in the last few years. With this in mind, I was immediately intrigued by Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) when she had a cameo in New Avengers. Her positioning as a reluctant and somewhat unsuccessful hero left me wanting to know more about her.
I hurriedly picked up the Giant Sized Ms. Marvel one-shot which explained some good back story, and was the direct lead-in for her new series. Since then I’ve been following the new series and it has been wonderful.
I decided to look into where this character had come from, learning that this is Marvel’s second attempt at a series. The first series ran 23 issues in the late 1970s. The Giant-Size Ms Marvel features a few of the classic stories which highlighted a lot of overlap with classic Spider-Man characters including J Jonah Jameson and Mary Jane Watson. The writer at the end of her first series was X-Men legend Chris Claremont. Shockingly, Claremont had originally planned on using Ms Marvel instead of Jean Grey for what later became the classic Dark Phoenix series.
Enough of the classic series… The new series is written by Brian Reed, penciled by Roberto De La Torre, and colored by Chris Sottomayor. Ms. Marvel is back with cosmic-like powers. Her primary power is to absorb and manipulate all forms of energy, in addition to this she can fly, is resistant to injury and has superhuman strength. Yet, with all this power, Carol Danvers is still self conscious and personable. You just can’t help but like her.
One of my favorite things about the new series are the frequent guest appearances. So far we’ve seen: Jessica Jones, Captain America, Tony Stark/Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, and Doctor Strange. It would appear that they are setting up a bit of a romantic relationship between Carol and Doctor Strange. It’ll be fun to see how that plays out. They set Jessica Jones up as her best friend which has already played out as important as they are on differing sides of the Civil War.
I also appreciate that Ms. Marvel is drawn somewhat realistically (excluding covers). Certainly she is a very attractive woman with a great figure, but that’s true even of the actors and actresses we see… My point is that she is drawn with idealized dimensions, but at least she shouldn’t be overtly insulting or degrading to women.
She is about to become involved with Civil War in the next issue (#6). Carol is being recruited to startup and manage a super hero training camp. As an ex-Avenger, Tony Stark feels he can trust her to properly train the more amateur of heroes who are registering. Others involved in training include Wonder Man and Arachne, formerly Spider-Woman (Julia Carpenter).
I’d love to see them consider this for production as a film. It seems like it would be an easy and appealing project. Especially if they could keep the feel of an entangled universe by throwing a couple cameos from some other successful Marvel properties.
I’ve even convinced Sara to start reading this series. I’m hoping this will be a series which can be as successful as Spider-Girl and hang around for 100+ issues.
Tags: arachne, Brian Reed, captain america, carol danvers. jessica jones, chris claremont, Chris Sottomayor, comic book, comic books, comics, doctor strange, fantastic four, heroine, iron man, Jean Grey, julia carpenter, marvel, ms marvel, Roberto De La Torre, spider-woman, super hero, tony stark, wonder man
Nextwave Rocks
March 11, 2006 | 3 Comments
When I first heard about Nextwave as was a bit intrigued. It’s billed as a humorous comic centered around five less than popular Marvel super heroes. More importantly, the humour is English, which I love.
I picked up the first issue, gave it a read though and came away feeling that maybe it wasn’t what I was looking for. Maybe I was taking it too seriously. Who knows… Anyway, I gave issue #2 a shot, and wow am I glad I did! This book ripped out and had funny pouring all over the place.
OK, a bit of back story, the five characters resurrected for Nextwave are: Monica Rambeau the leader (aka Ms Marvel or Photon), Aaron Stack a robot who “does robot-y things” (aka Machine Man), Elsa Bloodstone who’s super strong and English, Tabitha Smith blows stuff up (aka Boom Boom or Meltdown), and The Captain who is strong and can fly for some reason (aka The Captain). So those are the characters, a seriously motley crew. They were put together as a team by Dirk Anger or H.A.T.E. who they promptly rebelled from. He’s unhappy about that.
The main premise at this point is that they are going around fighting off H.A.T.E.’s UWMDs (Unusual Weapon of Mass Destruction). The first of which is Fin Fang Foom, a huge ancient Chinese dragon in purple underpants.
Clearly not targeted at children, there is a ton of innuendo and sarcasm that I find hysterical. At the moment my favorite character is Machine Man, but this is most likely related to the two frames I’ve included in this post.
I was also entertained with the description of The Captain:
The Captain is so absurdly strong that he once smacked someone’s spine out through their lungs just by patting them on the back.
In his defense, he was extraordinarily drunk.
Is it possible The Captain could be Chuck Norris?!?.
Anyway, if you like comics and you like to laugh, go read Nextwave.
Tags: aaron stack, boom boom, comic, comic books, comics, elsa bloodstone, fin fang foom, H.A.T.E, machine man, marve, marvel comics, meltdown, monica rambeau, ms marvel, nextwave, photon, purple underpants, robot-y, tabitha smith, the captain, uwmd