Comic Book Reviews! Avengers, Daredevil, and Thor!

July 6, 2008

Before I get started, I just have to say that Hancock was made of AWESOME, and it is now my second favorite superhero movie of all time. The storyline was fantastic, the effects were great, the cinematography was very well done and the script made everything work very well.

Anyway, yeah, we’ll make this short and sweet. We’ve got five books to review this week, because again, I’m still poor.

Five Magnetos is the perfect score for this week’s reviews. Okay, let’s get to it.

New Avengers #42

Written by Brian Michael Bendis/ Art by Jim Cheung

I can’t say that I’m a big fan of the way Bendis writes the Avengers books, but I really admire how he’s tied in all the stories since the very first New Avengers books, especially in this issue, with the revelation of the story of Spider-Woman.

 I’ve always suspected her of something, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. But now, HAHA, we’ve got it. The dialogue is Bendispeak, of course, which, in this issue, wasn’t that bad. It flowed somewhat naturally, and it didn’t sound like they were all 15 year olds or Jewish people.

As always, Jim Cheung’s art is very pretty, even though everyone kinda looks like each other, if not for the hair. They all have the same face shape. So, there was this scene where you couldn’t really figure out who said what, but it didn’t really matter all that much.

All in all, it was a very good read, a very good reveal. Give it a read if you’re curious about Spider-Woman.

Four Magnetos out of five!

Mighty Avengers #15

Written by Briah Michael Bendis/ Art by John Romita, Jr.

Puzzle pieces. These issues are puzzle pieces.

It amazes me that Bendis has been planning this for so long now, and has weaved something that has so much history and has so many connections to past stories. It all fits together. Like puzzle pieces. In that regard, it was awesome.

I am happy that Yellowjacket is getting some love. I mean, he is one of the biggest brains in the Marvel Universe. He’s right up there with Tony Stark and Reed Richards; if I were a Skrull (I’m not), he’d definitely be someone I’d go after. This makes perfect sense.

Bendispeak wasn’t so bad here, although we do see a Brit attempt at Bendispeak.

John Romita, Jr.’s art really bothers me for some reason. I was just never a fan of it, although I know a lot of people who are. One thing I noticed, though I’m not entirely sure if Romita’s to blame here and maybe he isn’t, but the Skrull speak in New Avengers isn’t the same as in the Mighty Avengers. The symbols used for “I” and “Am” are different. Oh well. I wanted to write my name is Skrull letters, too. Maybe Marvel should come up with a standardized alphabet, hm?

Four and a half Magnetos out of five!

Captain America #39

Written by Ed Brubaker/ Art by Rob Dela Torre

This was a set-up issue. To what, I can’t exactly say, because that would be spoileriffic, but let’s just say I am disappointed.

There were some reveals and the storyline did move forward, but not enough, I think. Not enough for my money. Also, I’m sort of disappointed because Ed Brubaker has been doing this a lot, even with his run on Daredevil. It was quite a bit of explanation and internalization, and a couple of expositions, but not enough.

The art is nice, because I like Dela Torre’s art. It worked well for Iron Man, and it worked well for Captain America. Only problem is that Sharon Carter was fugly. And some art of Falcon made him look like he was Luke Cage.

It did manage to do one thing- excite me for the next issue, which is what set-up issues really should do.

Three out of Five for Captain America. I seriously wish I could give it more.

Thor: Reign of Blood

Written by Matt Fraction/ Art by Khari Evans and Patrick Zircher

I say it every single damn time- Matt Fraction can write. However, this time I can see what I really like about his style. It’s his play on words and his dialogue that flows so naturally, no matter what timeframe or context or mythology his tales are set in.

“I have always hated her, and has always delighted in my torments. I have hated her since before mud had a name, and since before the wolf chased the sun and moon across the heavens.”

That’s some Fraction Action for you right there. (Fraction Action is reserved by Baddie.)

We get more Odin facetime and history. And since he’s Norse, he’s gotta be a horndog, right? Damn, I love Odin. Also, he’s a hard ass, and that makes him that much more awesome. Thank you, Odin, for being so fucking awesome.

So, yeah, a two-parter, just like the last one. It’s kinda like telling the history behind why Thor got sent to Midgard in the first place. It’s a very entertaining read; and what’s cool about it is, I think, it’s canon. Another thing that made this issue awesome- Enchantress being gang raped by three dwarves. Yes, you read that right. Enchantress. Gang Raped. Three dwarves.

And then, after all that awesomeness, you get to see THE BLOOD COLOSSUS, also known as Baddie’s penis. He says such things because he does a lot of drugs and drinks a lot of alcohol. After which, asskickery and badassery ensue.

Trust me on this one. If you like intricately woven tales with beautiful words coating it like chocolate from a fountain, check out Thor: Reign of Blood. If you like Thor fucking killing the undead and swimming in fucking blood and riding an eight-legged horse, killing the fucking undead, then check out Thor: Reign of Blood.

It gets four and a half Magnetos out of five!

Daredevil #108

Written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka/ Art by Michael Lark

Daredevil is best when he’s being pushed to the edge of snapping. Unfortunately, that’s been done so many times that it has already gotten old and boring. Forunately, he’s always amazing in mysteries.

So, in this issue, we’re thrust right into the thick of it. Matt’s up and at em’ again. The plot thickens, so to speak. New players are introduced and some revelations are made. To my dismay, not enough to get my hyped up for the next issue.

Daredevil seems to be losing its steam lately. Or, I dunno, maybe my expectations of it are too high. Or Ed just really loves crawling along his stories. The current Cap arc and this Daredevil arc would be fantastic reads on TPB, but as singles, they’re kinda lackluster.

Moreover, although I think it’d be very difficult to write about a character who’s supposed to have 360 degree awareness, and a super high level of hearing and understanding of everything going on around him, there was a little bug in the flow of the story. Matt should’ve heard what he should’ve heard. And isn’t he something like the fourth or third best fighter in the Marvel Universe? Howell.

 The art also threw me off a lot. There were panels in which Matt Murdock looked like Helga from “Hey Arnold!”. The dude seriously needs to shave his eyebrows.

Three out of Four Magnetos. It wasn’t without its merits.

Iron Fist #16

Written by Matt Fraction/ Art by David Aja

Oooohhhh, more FANTASTICNESS from Matt Fraction and David Aja. I am terrified that the new creative team won’t be up to snuff.

Danny Rand, the Immortal Iron Fist, has been reinvented. He has reinvented what a hero is supposed to do, what the word hero is supposed to mean, by helping out in more than one frontline of battle. Things are being mixed up in his mythos, and things are looking to be very interesting. This is what makes a comic book good.

Storyline-wise, the opening of the arc is solid. The premise is simple, but very intruiging; I hope that the new creative team of that guy with the unpronounceable and unspellable last name and that other dude is up to the challenge. I seriously hope they don’t drop the ball on this one.

Immortal Iron Fist is one of the most interesting books out there now. This issue lacked action, but the way the characters interacted was so natural and so fun, the art was fantastic, the story pace is great and all of that done with Fraction’s dialogue.

Four and a half Magnetos out of five for Immortal Iron Fist!