Magen Cubed's Blog, page 23

Comic book review: Deadpool #10

Deadpool targets a MAN with AQUATIC powers! Then he teams-up with your SUPERIOR Neighborhood SPIDER-MAN! I PROMISE HE KILLS ONE OF THOSE TWO! From Brian Posehn & Gerry Duggan with art by Mike Hawthorne.

Having just killed Michael to send him to Hell, Deadpool finds himself at odds with the few friends he has left in this issue. Michael, it seems, isn’t having such a great time in Hell, trying to get to Mephisto in order to get his soul back. As Benjamin Franklin’s ghost stomps off to a strip club to calm down, Deadpool and Preston set out to tackle the next name on Vetis’ hit-list. This takes them to New York City in the pursuit of a precognitive, and sends them hurdling towards a very fan-service-y run-in with Superior Spider-Man. With both Deadpool and Spider-Man now harboring multiple personalities, it’s an interesting set-up, complete with a pack of disposable villains to fight through in various colorful ways to the conclusion.

After a few sharp issues, it seems to be back to business as usual. Once again the fairly energetic pacing is bogged down by obnoxious dialogue and cheesy one-liners, despite an interesting set-up. The story is satisfying enough, with plenty of action and visual gags, but it starts to get irritating fast. Hawthorne’s art continues to be solid and engaging throughout, and delivers a solid vehicle for the plot. Enjoyable, but just barely.

Comic book review: Avengers: The Enemy Within

Can’t keep a good Captain down! Vicious echoes of the Avengers’ past are cropping up all over Manhattan…and a grounded Captain Marvel refuses to be left behind. From Kelly Sue DeConnick and Scott Hepburn.

This Avengers Assemble/Captain Marvel crossover kicks off with Carol’s search for the missing Grandma Rose. As someone from Carol’s past continues to play games with her, Jessica Drew is sent to keep an eye on Carol and keep her grounded for fear of further exacerbating Carol’s brain lesion. Those around her are being put in danger but Carol, still unable to fly, is all but helpless to stop it, which naturally doesn’t sit well with her. Too stubborn to back down, Carol is determined to find Rose and stop whoever is toying at her, no matter the cost to herself.

What ensues is an elaborate game of hide and seek across New York City. Waves of distractions are sent to keep Carol and Jessica busy while someone steals the magnitron scrap (the only surviving piece of the psyche-magnitron, and a memento from Carol’s time-traveling adventures with Helen Cobb) is stolen from Carol’s apartment. Running out of time and options, Carol and Jessica make a call to the Avengers to strike back.

Readers of Captain Marvel will likely be anxious to pick up this issue, which serves as a solid launching point for this crossover. DeConnick’s tone and pacing is consistent with what fans have come to expect from both Captain Marvel and Avengers Assemble, peppered with great dialogue and character dynamics. Although it helps to have read the build-up to this going on in CM, it has little bearing on AA’s previous storylines, and stands well enough on its own. Hepburn’s artwork, coupled with Bellaire’s colors, carry the plot with plenty of energy and drive to keep the action moving at a nice clip.

This book is an entertaining read, and while it’s not a major concern for people unfamiliar with these titles,  I do recommend it for fans of DeConnick and Captain Marvel.

Comic book review: FF #7

Field trip…into the heart of the Negative Zone! Scott Lang has already lost a daughter…watch what happens when he puts it all on the line to save…Bentley-23? From Matt Fraction and Mike Allred.

The mystery surrounding Medusa’s strange behavior wraps up this issue as The Wizard returns for his cloned son Bentley-23. With Medusa serving as his psychic slave, Wizard teams up with Fantastic Four villain Blastaar (which ties in nicely with his recent F4 appearance) to abduct the Future Foundation, whisking the building and all its inhabitants to the Negative Zone in order to start his own twisted family. Forced to step up to protect the children, Scott has to put his own issues aside to lead the FF in a siege to rescue Bentley and Medusa, and put an end to Wizard’s scheming.

While this issue is certainly full of the colorful action and sharp dialogue we’ve come to expect, the story is also well-served with an equal measure of heart. Scott emerges as a strong leader and Darla is able to assert herself as a member of the team. The FF kids all play valuable roles and make themselves useful in the fight that ensues, especially as Bentley is able to overcome Blastaar and help save the day. With a little help from the Inhumans, Medusa is returned to her family and everything goes back to normal, as the issue concludes with a jump back to Latveria to catch up with Alex Power and Doctor Doom.

Another charmer of an issue, as Fraction’s endearingly weird story of familial ties wraps up and moves on to the next arc. Allred returns with his usual dynamism, carrying this storyline with the smart pacing, clever imagery and fantastic page compositions that have become the hallmark of this title. A nearly perfect issue.

The Difference between Your First Novel and Your Second

Your first novel was a warbling and uncertain thing, standing on too-thin legs like a nervous fawn. Your second novel is a punk rock show, complete with sweaty mosh pit and drunk guy throwing elbows in everybody’s faces.

Your first novel was a bid for approval, a quiet bookish student in the back of the classroom hoping to be noticed. Your second novel is a confrontation at a bar, all pumped up on whiskey and false bravado.

Your first novel was a child at prayer. Your second novel is an asshole with a megaphone.

Your first novel was a safe place for you to hide. Your second novel is the weird birthmark you keep showing to people on the bus.

Your first novel was your training wheels. It was how you learned to occupy public literary spaces and defend yourself. This was how you took up arms. Your first novel taught you how to fly.

Your second novel is how you’re going to crash into the ground. And you can’t wait to jump.

Comic book review: Deadpool #9

Deadpool targets a MAN with AQUATIC powers! From Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan with art by Mike Hawthorne.

As the stakes in Deadpool’s demon dealings keep mounting, Deadpool and co. have to make some hard choices if they want to make it out alive. Continuing the tone from last issue’s downer of an ending, Preston takes a trip into Deadpool’s unconscious mind and learns that there’s more going on under the mask than jokes and pop culture references. As Deadpool keeps checking names off of Vetis’ hit list in an effort to save Michael, Preston takes the interesting role as his conscience, trying to steer him toward less violent courses of action in getting them out from under Vetis.

This issue is full of magic and demonic politics, as Vetis pulls Deadpool and his unlikely group of friends into his power play for Hell. It succeeds adopting a far more somber mood from the opening arc, and follows through on some of the dramatic foreshadowing from earlier issues. Deadpool and Preston’s interplay is very interesting to watch as Deadpool is forced to make some very ugly decisions. While there is still plenty of gross-outs, gore and cheap humor, this book has surprised me in the about-face it’s taken in term of storytelling, getting back to the core of Deadpool’s character as a conflicted anti-hero.

Posehn and Duggan have run the gamut of juvenile humor and have settled into a nice beat with the jokes, opting to use a few clever visual gags over the rapid-fire jokes from issues past. The scene in Deadpool’s subconscious is one of the more successful integrations of these visual gags: Preston moves through the halls of Deadpool’s mind, which include a painting of him crossing the Delaware with Captain America tied up and dragged along for the ride. Hawthorne’s artwork has been a strong addition to the book as well, carrying the story with equal measures of humor and affective tension.

Finally, this book has struck a nice balance: Gore and jokes, magic and craziness, and a nice undercurrent of intrigue to keep things moving.

Comic book review: Uncanny Avengers #8

Xavier is dead, now begins the age of The Apocalypse Twins. From Rick Remender and Daniel Acuna.

The battle for Earth rages on as The Apocalypse Twins rain down hell from above. Their pasts altered by Kang, the Twins are setting right the wrongs done to them by Kang and his centuries-spanning plot. As Thor struggles to save Rio de Janeiro, Sunfire returns to incinerate the debris from The Peak before they destroy the city. Together they head into space to confront the Twins aboard their vessel and bring the fight to them. However, this is a trap, and they are instead teleported to Akkaba. With Captain America still missing after the attack on the space station, Havoc leads the rest of the team to Akkaba as well, to deal with the Twins at the source.

In south Sudan, Cap wakes up in his crashed escape pod only to be met by armed Sudanese militants. Believing his pod was sabotaged and he was purposefully sent there, he fights his way to the safety of a church basement to patch his wounds. There he discovers a message left for him by a mysterious interloper in the Twins’ plans for domination, threading yet another player into this plot. Meanwhile, as Thor and Sunfire are met with holograms of the Twins, the team arrives in the metropolis as Uriel and Eimen destroy Akkaba, and seemingly take everyone with it.

To be completely honest, I have no idea what is going on in this book. Time-travel is one of my least favorite conventions, but Remender sells this story with so much theater and intrigue that I’m willing to take this one on face-value. All the threads running together simultaneously keep things engaging, from the team’s tense dynamics to the time-traveling hijinks, building the plot up with a sweeping sense of drama and bravado. Remender’s cinematic style of narration keeps the story moving seamlessly and Acuna’s pencils are a bold and dynamic complement to the book, punctuated by energetic panel transitions and page layouts.

This is not a perfect title, by any stretch of the imagination. But, bumps and bruises included, this still stands as a smart, fun, interesting book that delivers issue after issue.

Comic book review: The Fearless Defenders #4

Come for the banter, stay for the surprises! Everything Valkyrie knows about her origin is wrong! And Caroline LeFay unleashes her Doom Maidens upon the world! From Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney.

Picking up from last month’s cliffhanger, the Defenders are back to square off against Caroline Le Fay’s Doom Maidens. Outnumbered and outgunned, Valkyrie leads the others in a retreat to get their bearings as she remains bewildered by the truth of her origins. While the Doom Maidens wreak havoc on Harrowpoint Island, Valkyrie comes to grips with her own secret history as their sister Rage. A fallen Shield Maiden and Odin’s chosen, her memory was scoured by Odin to hide his failings from both her and Asgard.

Wanting to prevent further destruction, Valkyrie leads Hippolyta and Moonstar back out to deal with the Doom Maidens head-on. Annabelle tries to reach out to Valkyrie but is rebuffed, and soon she and Misty are left behind. Never to be outdone, however, Misty puts out a call to her fellow Heroes for Hire to take on the case.

Another solid issue from Bunn and Sliney, the story has the same tight banter that fans have come to expect from this title, and a few interesting twists along the way. The character dynamics are fun and engaging, and keeps things moving at a good pace. Caroline Le Fay is a little lackluster, and while I’m not 100% sold on Valkyrie’s new origins, all of these element serve their purposes in giving the team a formidable opponent to take on. Sliney’s pencils, which have been a weak point of the book until this point, get the job done with high-flying action sequences and some interesting page layouts. And can we talk about Mark Brooks’ covers? Perfection.

Overall a consistent and entertaining read.

Comic book review: Avengers #11

As Shang-Chi battles an ancient enemy, the Avengers hang out in Hong Kong’s swankiest casino. From Jonathan Hickman and Mike Deodato.

Fresh from an apocalyptic arc, Hickman shifts gears for a fun detour into intrigue. While Shang-Chi does what he does best in squaring off against Chimera, SHIELD sends the Avengers to infiltrate an AIM auction of advanced bio-weapons. Captain Marvel steals the show as she leads Spider-Woman, Black Widow, Sunspot and Cannonball into Macau to secure the weapons and identify the potential buyers. You won’t have to suspend your disbelief for long as the Avengers are quickly recognized, and instead find ways to use the situation to their advantage.

There’s plenty of action and deception going on here, with enough character banter and personality conflicts to keep the story moving. The inner workings of the team are used well, such as Bobby and Sam’s chemistry, Carol’s bravado and Natasha and Jessica’s respective spy backgrounds, carrying the issue to its conclusion, which sees Shang-Chi returning from his exploits to expose AIM’s end-game. Serving as an enjoyable break from Ex Nihilo, Starbrand and the fallout of the origin bombs, Hickman delivers a slick spy story that overlaps nicely with AIM’s activities in Secret Avengers. It’s good to see that AIM’s attempts to establish itself as a sovereign nation hasn’t happened in a vacuum, and that these actions have larger implications across the Avengers continuity.

While some may say the issue suffers from continuity whiplash with regards to the previous storylines, I found this to be a pleasant departure that explores the rest of the team’s dynamics. In the art department, Deodato’s pencils continue to be a great complement to the book. His dynamic layouts and panel transitions give the story a smooth cinematic feel, with the help of Martin’s dark atmospheric colors. Overall a very engaging and enjoyable read.

Things you need to know about this book: The Crashers

I’ve been getting some questions online lately about my current project. Probing, hard-hitting questions such as “What the hell is she talking about?” and “This doesn’t sound entirely awful, so how may I procure this piece of literature?” All fine lines of questioning, mind you, and I appreciate every bit of it. So, in the spirit of fairness and open, transparent dialogue (On the internet? Do go on!), I thought I would make a post to answer any and all questions you guys may have.

What the hell are you talking about?

The Crashers is a five part superhero fiction novel series. It follows the exploits of five very well-intentioned but ultimately unwitting heroes who are thrust into the realm of superpowers and immortality by a domestic terrorist attack in a made-up city. It starts off with a crash and ends in a war. They are a product of our modern society, for all of our fears and failings, hopes and prejudices, based on superhero archetypes of comics and literary fiction. A little Watchmen, a little Earth X, and a whole hell of a lot of Misfits, this book series is both my love letter to and dissection of the mythic nature of the genre itself.

The Crashers is a story about heroes who aren’t so super, and supers who aren’t so heroic. There are no radioactive Ubermensch or square-jawed slices of Grade A all-American justice. These are just people who were in the wrong place at the right time. Morality is situational, ethics are up to debate, and the ultimate question lies in the mythology itself: If you can only become a hero through the tradition of the heroic sacrifice, what happens when you can’t die? Does life lose its meaning in the face of immortality, or can you still find something profound as you stare into the abyss?

Also, there will be Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave references. So many Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave references.

Why do you call it The Crashers?

It started off as an offhand remark from the first book, in that all of this stemmed from a subway crash. After it a while it became the working title, then it just kind of stuck.  I wish I had a deeper reason other than a half-joke one of my characters makes because he’s kind of a dick, but that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

Okay, so if it’s a superhero story, why aren’t you writing a comic?

That’s a good question. The answer is simple: I don’t know. On one hand, it would function very fluidly as a comic book. It would also make more sense to draw this junk than kill myself trying to find elegant cinematic ways to explain it you people. On the other, if I’m writing a story about comic books as a medium, and superhero comics as a genre, it feels a little too on-the-nose to write it as a comic, you know? Watchmen already did that, and I want to go in a different direction. It’s one part critique, one part impersonation, one part homage. I want to treat the book like a comic book read as novel, if that makes sense. (Gon’ get literary up in this bitch.)

Also, this is a story that’s all about people and the connections that they make, and I fear some of that emotional resonance might be lost in the translation from prose to comic. Who knows? I guess we’ll see.

So who is this book about?

It’s about a lot of people, with different ethnic backgrounds, economic classes, religions, sexual orientations and gender expressions. There’s Kyle, the disgraced cop. He’s a tattooed detective who lives in the attic. He keeps to himself and watches the entire city spiral out of control. He can’t die — he won’t even bleed — and he happens to have a network of connections in the local police department to help keep their asses out of jail. So, yeah, he’s in charge. Then there’s Clara, a genius who moves faster than a speeding bullet. She also talks faster than a hyper ten-year-old whacked out on Mountain Dew, and isn’t afraid to pants any and all astrophysicists willing to go toe-to-toe on her best day. Living forever is exciting for somebody who wants to watch the seas scorch and the sun explode in the next five billion years.

After that there’s Adam, an Afghanistan war veteran with a heart of gold. He was discharged after trying to eat a gun. Now he has superhuman strength, endurance and flexibility. He carries the team’s weight on his shoulders because nobody else is strong enough to try. Then comes Norah, a single-mother to a special needs child, who happens to wield total control over the base forces of the universe. For now she’s an elementary school teacher who’s home by six o’clock for dinner, homework and bedtime stories. And if she has time, she might put on a black hoodie and help Clara take the piss out of some thugs. Or, you know, whatever. And of course there’s Bridger, who used to sail the high seas of financial piracy and now sees a broken future. Unable to die of the cancer eating his body, he can only hope to hang on long enough to stop what’s coming down the line. In the meantime he’s tumbling in and out of feverish visions of a coming war and trying to make sense of his dream about fire and water. Oh, and he’s started collecting guns. (Shhh, don’t tell Adam.)

Then there are others out there, in the dark. Like Charlie Seven, the self-proclaimed moral authority who has the strength of seven men. And Libertine, the psychic leech who hollows people out for fun. And Idris, the homeless time-traveler who sees all the threads that Bridger can’t. And Bosie, the special forces veteran and pyrokinetic who finds himself on the wrong side of the fight. And Socha, the mute technopath who sees the entire world from a tiny white room. And Maya, the weather witch who trades her powers for a golden ticket out of her small Mexican border-town. And finally there’s Luther Kind, the ancient philosopher-king with whom Kyle is bartering for the fate of the city.

So how do you plan to publish this?

Very carefully? Actually, that’s a good question, since I don’t think anybody out there really even publishes superhero fiction? Not from what I’ve seen, anyway. I would love to get some funds together (Kickstarter anybody? No? Okay, fine then) and publish it as a free-to-read serial in order to maintain complete control over the series. I feel like the format lends itself to be being treated like a serialized comic, and it would be neat to play around with that. Maybe put some covers together once a month and such. That’s a while down the line, though.

Have you written any of this yet? If so, can I read it?

I have some general materials floating around on my Tumblr right now – character biographies, flash fiction, playlists, etc. – for public consumption. If you’re curious, have at. Basically I’m posting every little snippet that pops into my head in order to indoctrinate readers into my cult of followers, because I want people to write me dirty fanfiction in the night and slide it under my door. Which I realize is an oddly specific goal, but I like to aim high.

So, that’s what this is about. That’s what’s going on. Coming soon to a desktop computer, laptop, smart phone or tablet near you.

Comic book review: Avengers #10

We learn that the Canadian super team Omega Flight got lost in a Garden Origin Site. Discover what happens when the Avengers go in to rescue them. Learn why ADAPTATION is the scariest word in the Marvel Universe. From Jonathan Hickman and Mike Deodato.

Something terrible has happened in Regina as the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. are called in to assist Department H in the aftermath. Alpha Flight team members Wendigo, Validator, Kingdom and Boxx were lost when they were sent to secure one of the quarantine zones following Ex Nihilo’s onslaught of creation bombs, and were overwhelmed by the violent evolutionary chain-reaction. Sent in with Agent Michaud, Validator’s father, Eden teleports the Avengers into the quarantine zone. They are immediately met with the new sentient life in the area, which take the Avengers to a glowing chasm where Validator, or something wearing her skin, emerges. She whispers something in her father’s ear — then reality as we know it breaks down. Prepare to have your brains scrambled on this one, because things get weird in a big way.

Without giving too much away, I will say that this is a very puzzling and fascinating chapter in Hickman’s growing mythology. It is shocking and weird, and Hickman in every possible way. While the non-linear storytelling may perturb some readers, I found it very engaging, and that it made up for the somewhat lackluster Starbrand excursion of the last few issues. Back on track, Hickman’s ideas of change and evolution are at once lovely, confounding and existentially terrifying. I was a bit on the fence about this book recently, as the Mars storyline seemed to peter out in favor of seeding future plots and reintroducing characters, but this issue really turned a corner for me. Not to be outdone, Deodato’s art has been a wonderful addition to this book, and carries the uneasy hard sci-fi elements with equal measures of energy and poise.

On that note, I will broach a subject that I have purposefully put off. By and large the biggest complaint from fans has been about the lack of character development. I completely understand that, and for a while, felt the same way. As the book moves forward, however, I find myself less and less concerned with individual character development. This is a team book with a well-established cast of characters, most of whom have their own solo titles, or at least a few other monthly appearances to let them stretch their legs. For once, I am completely in favor of focusing on story rather than well-trodden character drama. Do we really need to see how Wolverine feels? Do we really care about what Captain America does in his spare time? I certainly do not.

Despite a few bumps and bruises over the last ten issues, this book remains strong as it continues to develop a mind-bending mythos that challenges as well as engages. Not everybody is going to like this book, but I for one am enjoying the ride.