Magen Cubed's Blog, page 27

Comic book reviews: Captain America #4

Captain America continues to battle his way across Dimension Z, but is there light at the end of the tunnel? From Rick Remender and John Romita, Jr.

It’s been twelve years since Steve Rogers came to Dimension Z. Since then he has raised Ian, Armin Zola’s stolen son, as his own, teaching his to survive in the harsh wasteland. Tensions cause a rift between father and son, as Ian wants to know about his true parentage. Steve, still carrying Zola’s consciousness virus inside of him, struggles against his enemy’s voice in his head, trying to do what he can to protect Ian from the truth. Discovering a way back to his home dimension, Steve is too weakened to fight off Zola’s influence any longer.He begrudgingly tells Ian about his real father and tries to convince him that his place is on Earth, and that Steve will return with the Avengers to save the Phrox.

Ian, angry and disillusioned, isn’t sure what to believe. With Steve’s time running out, however, he has little other choice. Meanwhile, Zola and his daughter Jet have learned that Steve is still alive. Hardened by her father’s training, Jet, now a warrior princess, gathers a group of mutants created from Steve’s stolen DNA and sets off to avenge the perceived death of her brother.

Remender delivers another effective chapter in this father-son journey. Jumping even further forward in time, Steve’s physical decline is perfectly contrasted by flashbacks to his youth as a scrawny boy in Brooklyn, forced to rob a store to get money for his sick mother. Without the safety nets of his home dimension to fall back on, Remender does a great job with Steve’s character development here, showing the depths of his resolve even in unwinnable circumstances. Little touches, like the murals of the Avengers that Steve painted at the Phrox camp, show how he’s coping in the face of the unthinkable, and make his struggle more personal. His relationship with Ian is proving interesting, as well, as they clash any like father and son, and Steve does the best that he can for the boy he’s come to love. Romita’s art, even with the usual technical issues, is still solid and carries the story with help from Dean White and Lee Loughridge’s moody colors.

An enjoyable issue from start to finish.

Comic book reviews: Deadpool #5

Deadpool goes to space to fight Ronald Reagan. As always, things don’t exactly go according to plan. From Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan with art by Tony Moore.

Fresh from his victory over Abraham Lincoln, Deadpool is teleported onto a space station to fight hordes of monkeys and stop Ronald Reagan from nuking the planet. What ensues is another formulaic action sequence wherein Deadpool finds new and interesting ways to kill Reagan, this time with the added benefit of zero-gravity, which Moore uses to his advantage with his usual, gruesomely fun flair. After the day is saved, a pow-wow with Preston is interrupted by surprise ambush from Washington and Lyndon B. Johnson, where both she and Deadpool are killed. With them dead, the necromancer Michael is left to try to bring them back and kill the ex-presidents.

Another gory adventure complete with cheap one-liners, this issue is more of the same. If you like your humor juvenile and your violence extra-gratuitous, this book is for you. If you’re looking for substance, I suggest you keep moving. I wish I had something more to say, but as this series progresses, its adherence to the schlock-and-awe formula isn’t doing it any favors.

Comic book review: Avengers #6

The origin of Captain Universe is explored and a new threat arises. From Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert.

Unable to remember her host’s identity, Captain Universe is sent to Shang-Chi. The host is broken, Captain Universe asserts, and everything else is broken with her. Having wasted away for ten years after the car accident that likely killed her daughter and put her in a coma, Tamara Devoux was dying. The universe was dying, too, and reached out to Tamara to become sentient at a time when the life and death of everything in existence would be decided on Earth. However, with the trauma of remembering her accident, Tamara recedes into her Captain Universe persona, offering Shang-Chi only a warning.

Meanwhile Tony Stark is hard at work deciphering Blackveil’s language. Convinced he can build a decoding program, he is still trying to understand Ex Nihilo’s proto-man, formerly known as Adam. Shang-Chi Captain Universe return to Avenger Tower to tell Tony what they have learned and Captain Universe reaches out to Blackveil, telling Tony his true name, Nightmask. Nightmask’s speech translated by Captain Universe, he repeats a warning: The White Event is here. Outside the sky burns white as something terrible rips across the expanses of deep-space and heralds something terrible on its way to Earth.

After a somewhat lackluster last issue, Hickman delivers a solid end to his series of character introductions, and opens the next leg of the Avengers’ universe-spanning adventures on a tense cliffhanger. Team dynamics come into some play here as Spider-Man butts heads with Canonball and Sunspot, and Tony has to play parent to the teammates quarrelling under his roof. These scenes balance the dramatic, otherworldly tone of the Captain Universe story, showing the very flawed, human side of this large and formidable team. Kubert’s pencils are solid throughout and provide a cinematic sense of movement through the story, especially during Captain Marvel’s meditation scenes with Shang-Chi. Overall a very satisfying issue.

Comic book review: New Avengers #3

Hank McCoy reluctantly joins the Illuminati as they race against time to stop the end of the universe as we know it. From Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting.

Left to safeguard the Mind Gem by Charles Xavier upon his death, Hank allows Reed Richards and Doctor Strange to implant a device into his palm that binds them to their incursion detection system.  Hank is unsure about signing his allegiance to the team but ready to help, despite Namor’s protests. Reed continues trying to draw information out of Black Swan, plying her with food and human comforts, but she gives him nothing. Instead she settles into a trance-state for three days before finally emerging as the team travels to Pakistan. Locating the point of the incursion, they use the Infinity Gauntlet to push the invading universe away. This calls to attention many interested parties throughout the cosmos, such as The Watcher, Galactus and Thanos, as Captain America reluctantly wields the gauntlet to send the other universe back.

Nearly overcome by the power, something goes wrong. Cap is unable to push back against the force, causing all of the Infinity Gems to shatter. Angered, Namor lashes out and attacks Cap, and the entire team scuffles as Hank looks on. Back in Wakanda the team reconvenes at their roundtable, where Cap argues against destroying the invading universe. His moral stance costs him, as Tony Stark grudgingly signals Doctor Strange to wipe Cap’s memory of the entire event, ending his role in stopping the incursion.

Moody and atmospheric, the cinematic pacing of Hickman’s writing and Epting’s art comes together flawlessly in this issue. Using Hank as the narrator was a perfect choice, allowing us to peer into the friction between these men as outsiders looking in, as their various and conflicting ethical positions collide. The fallout between Cap and the rest of the team at the end was surprising; not only in its cold delivery, but the strain it put on the rest of the cast that was effortlessly expressed in just a few well-chosen panels. With its cerebral setup and the moral questions it raises as the story unfolds, this book just keeps getting better and better.

Comic book reviews: Avengers #5

From the farmlands of Iowa to the furthest reaches of deep space, the Smasher’s origins are detailed in this issue. From Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert.

Back at Avengers Tower, Tony Stark is trying to tease out everything he can about Adam, or rather Blackveil, Ex Nihilo’s new prototype human. Meanwhile there is chaos at the Shi’ar galactic rim as sentient drones attack the Imperial Guard. Led by Smasher, the Avengers arrive to help as thousands of armed invaders descend on them. Just as Hyperion was introduced in depth in the last issue, Smasher’s origins are explained here in flashback sequences. They tell of how astrophysics major Izzy Dare, who abandoned her dreams to help her father on his farm, came into contact with mysterious pair of goggles and became a Subguardian of the Imperial Guard.

Contrasted with these scenes of Izzy’s humble life with her father and dying grandfather is the chaos of battle, as the Avengers fight through wave after wave of enemy forces to help the besieged Shi’ar. Defeating the invaders, Izzy earns the rank of Superguardian and becomes the first human to serve for the Imperial Guard. This warm moment doesn’t last long, however. Once the Avengers leave, Majestor Lux has a captured invader tortured, only to discover the alien forces weren’t attacking the Shi’ar but were instead running away from a greater unknown threat, simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Another origin story, Hickman delivers a satisfying issue with his introduction to the new Smasher. While not as thematic and relevant to The Garden plotline as the last installment, this issue was solid and enjoyable, with just enough mystery at the end to keep things interesting. I also like seeing how these new subteams within the main Avengers roster all work together fluidly to address specific threats, giving everyone some screen time without feeling too bogged-down. Kubert’s art is strong and engaging throughout, although I found that Frank Martin’s overzealous use of reds muddied some of the action and left things feeling a little flat. Despite some nitpicks, this is still a good read.

Comic book review: The Fearless Defenders #1

A smuggling bust gone awry and a horde of undead Vikings are only part of Misty Knight’s problems in this action-packed new title. From Cullen Bunn and Will Sliney.

Sent by Dr. Annabelle Riggs to investigate stolen Asgardian relics aboard a cargo ship, Misty is met by a team of highly-skilled mercenaries instead. Retrieving a music box, she brings it back to Annabelle at her archeological dig-sit, who inadvertently activates it. The siren call awakens the Vikings raiders being excavated by Annabelle’s team and they begin attacking the research post.  Drawn to the call, Valkyrie comes to Misty’s aid and helps battle back the horde and destroys the music box, sending them back to their graves. Annabelle (who likes girls, by the way) is very impressed.

As Valkyrie leaves to consult All-Mother about the stolen relics, Annabelle demands to come with her. Valkyrie refuses to let her tag along but Annabelle forces her hand, threatening to summon her with other Asgardian relics until she gives in. Misty, coming along as Annabelle’s bodyguard, agrees to go with them to figure out who is behind these stolen artifacts.

Full of action and amusing banter, Bunn delivers a fun opening issue with an interesting nuance of mystery bookending the story. Not all of the lines are winners, but the cheeky dialogue keeps things moving along at the perfect pace and sets the characters up for great interactions and story progression. Sliney’s pencils are engaging and well-complemented by Veronica Gandini’s color work, rounding out the action with flair. It’s still early days for this title, but overall this book is off a very good start.

Comic book review: Iron Man #6

Taking off for galaxy-spanning adventures in deep space, Tony Stark is – more or less – taking an inventory of his life and trying to appreciate the little things. Little things like fending off a fleet of mechanoid space pirates, celebrating his birthday, and sampling the libations (and women) of a grateful alien civilization, for example. But since we’re talking about Tony Stark, things don’t exactly go according to plan. From Kieron Gillen and Greg Land.

Tony finds himself standing in the bedroom of an alien princess, discussing his father.  The princess belongs to an ancient feathered race called the Voldi, who worship a force they call the Void Falcon. As cultural forerunners of the Kree, the Shi’ar, and other species Tony has encountered in his many heroic exploits, their lineage predates most of what is known about our neighbors in the universe. On the other side of this conversation, Tony is, by his own admission, his father’s creation. Howard is the yardstick by which he measures himself, and Iron Man is how he tries to keep up with those expectations. It’s a fascinating moment, and is of course promptly ruined when their romantic sojourn is disrupted by Tony’s trademark goatee. Facial hair is an affront to the Voldi, and Tony is promptly tossed out on his ear.

He doesn’t get a chance to sulk, however, as he is promptly attacked by a team of police androids for crimes of deicide. Wanting to avoid an intergalactic incident, Tony turns himself in, facing the Supreme Justicar who charges Tony with killing the Void Falcon – or, as we know it, the Phoenix Force. Alone on a now-hostile alien world, Tony finally faces the consequences of his actions in Avengers v. X-Men. And so begins this three-part arc, The Godkiller.

Setting up a new chapter in Iron Man’s cosmic adventures, Gillen delivers an interesting and thoughtful story in this issue. Yes, the plot is based around a booty-call, but how he goes about the situation is interesting. Tony’s very pensive after his big win at the beginning of the issue. He’s trying to slow down and really consider the things that he’s seen and done, instead of burning through life as he’s been doing for the last few decades. His willingness to open up to this total stranger about his father shows just how badly he needs some kind of catharsis. Without Pepper to confide in (not counting his new Pepper-inspired AI, of course) and put his considerations into perspective, he’s reaching out, even as he’s trying to get under an alien’s skirt. It works for me.

Land’s pencils, complemented Guru eFX’s colors, mostly work for me this time, as well.  While there the noticeable instances of Porn Face, the action sequences are lovely, as is some of the Voldi architecture that we see. Land also frequently renders the Voldi with a certain grace and sensuality that, given that they’re in a Citadel of Rapture, makes sense.  Even the Supreme Justicar is quite lovely.

Overall this is an engaging beginning to what I hope is a solid arc.

Comic book review: Avengers #4

In the wake of Ex Nihilo’s devastating attack on Earth, the Avengers deploy in different teams all over the world to contain the damage. And so we enter: Hyperion. From Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert.

After the dramatic events of the Avengers’ mission to The Garden, the team is surveying the six S.H.I.E.L.D. quarantine zones. Scanning these zones, Hyperion sees that the impact site of Ex Nihilo’s origin bomb in the Savage Land is still infected, and calls the team in to investigate. Readers who found that the first three issues focused too much on Captain America and Iron Man will likely enjoy the focus shift of this issue, which does its best to utilize the different members of the team as well as introduce Hickman’s new Hyperion. Parallel to the main plot are flashback sequences explaining his origins, his capture by AIM, and eventual rescue by the Avengers, grounding this issue in his perspective and presenting him to readers unfamiliar with previous versions of the character. (Prior iterations used Hyperion as Marvel’s knock-off Superman, so it’s nice to see something new for a change.) This serves to highlight the two sides of Hyperion’s character: The tragic hero defined by his losses and the titan who rose from near-death to fight alongside the Avengers. In this issue, he strives to reconcile both. (And if you’re paying attention, you will notice how his backstory sounds a lot like what’s going on over in Hickman’s New Avengers.)

When the Avengers arrive in the Savage Land, the ecosystem is radically changed by the attack, and there are new creatures moving in the jungle. Hyperion soon finds a troop of AIM beekeepers nearby, taking samples of the mutated vegetation. Fusing the virus with a delivery system, they inject it into a test subject who suffers a violent reaction and quickly dies. Before AIM can clean up, Hyperion and Captain Marvel arrive on the scene. The beekeepers back-peddle to avoid a confrontation, claiming they have legal right to be there, but the Avengers don’t buy it. Before any beat-downs can commence, tentacles emerge from the test subject’s body and attack everything in reach.  Thor and Hyperion kill the creature and the AIM beekeepers are apprehended as the island is put into lockdown, but not before Hyperion finds himself surrounded by a newly evolved species springing from the nearby cocoons. When these vulnerable newborn animals reach out to Hyperion, he spares them. Meanwhile, in Norway, AIM locates the unknown seventh site of Ex Nihilo’s attack and their work continues.

A decided change in tone from the opening arc, this issue strives to set the stage for Hickman’s unfolding universe and the fallout of Ex Nihilo’s onslaught. Seeing that Hickman seems to have a plan for dealing with the consequences of The Garden, Adam, and having all of these demi-gods is refreshing. I had my own reservations about how the fall-out would be handled, and I’m glad that Hickman is addressing all this destruction rather than just dropping it for the next adventure. As the series movies along, I find myself enjoying this idea of sub-teams within the Avengers, squadrons assembled to handle certain situations, allowing the narrative to move more freely and cover more ground. Also I personally liked having Hyperion’s backstory explained here, but not everybody is going to find it as successful as I do.

As for the art, Kubert’s pencils were a solid complement to the story. Evocative with a great sense of movement, his art rooted the book in what I tend to feel is a more traditional superhero aesthetic. While I love Opena’s artwork, it would have been a little operatic for the tighter, more character-driven plot of this issue. My only nitpick would be that some of his faces became inconsistent panel-to-panel, sacrificing some level of anatomical accuracy for either speed or dramatic effect. After a few too many ape-faced Hyperions and severely constipated Captain Marvels, it undermined the polish from the overall work.

All nitpicks aside, this is a solid and enjoyable issue, and an interesting segueway into the larger universe this series is building up to.

Book Review: Red Museum by Ramiro R.

Come with me now, on a journey through the depths of Livejournal and Y!Gallery, vore message boards and AIM chat logs where links were exchanged like whispers. (Or maybe VD. That metaphor always gets away from me.) This is during my very first foray into public college, seeking my Associates degree in long mornings at the printing press with inky elbows and hands shaking from caffeine withdrawal. So tender then, flipping through art books and living on deviantART, devoting Friday nights to manga scan groups on Livejournal and vore discussion posts. I was just beginning to get my feet wet in the horror genre as a writer back then, heavily influenced by Japanese comics and art culled from the bottom of the 4Chan barrel. Those were the days before Tumblr, you see, where we can now search well-organized tags for pictures of medical dissections and crime scene photos, mutilated bodies and medical conditions. We actually had to comb the dirty back alleys of the Internet to find our creepy shit. (Can you imagine? Expending time and effort on something? Insanity by today’s standards.) So when people started showing me the work of comic artist Ramiro R., I was very excited, and rightfully so.

Now, let us enter Red Museum from Dusk Comics, an anthology of Ramiro’s collected work.

Okay, so, I’ll be honest: I love this book. I mean, I really love this book. I love every comic in it, to one degree or another, having coveted them online over the years. (In my defense, I meant to buy the single issues, but every time I went over to purchase them they were sold out, so. Whatever. But I bought the book so get off my back.) So much so that I may or may not have taken the book out to a fancy dinner to celebrate UPS dropping it off at my door. The point is, I’m terribly biased about the quality of Ramiro’s work, but since nobody else that I know of out there is doing a review of this book, I guess you’re just going to have to live with it. So, that said, let’s get on with it.

If you like horror, this is a book for you. If you enjoy independent comics, this book is for you. If you enjoy visceral gore with a side of existential questioning by way of David Lynch, this book was made for you, gently gift-wrapped with a bow. (Made of like, sheep intestines or something. I don’t know. But it’s metal.) If you’re one of those wee-a-boos who fell asleep in Art History class, and consider every stylized representation of the human form as “Anime” and therefore obnoxious to your palette, there’s the door. I can’t stand that kind of narrow-minded definition of art and comics, and you people make me punch computer screens, so I’d rather you get out now before I’m forced to throw something at you. (I’m talking to you, Guy in All of My Classes, with your stupid ponytail, trying to tell me how the horror genre works. I’ve been published more than you’ve had sex, so, please, go play in the street.)

Ramiro’s comics are like dreams: Tiny, quiet moments, spent on tip-toes peering through fogged windows to get a peek of what’s inside. They’re sparse, uncomplicated, but loaded with such terrible dread. Imagine a dreamscape made of bedrooms and winding staircases, populated by octopus women and boys with holes in them; a pitter-patter of blood, insect song competing in the hum of silence. There’s something sexual and violent hiding inside these dreams, tempered by the innate loneliness his characters seem to exude, a palpable sense of disconnect. Think Junji Ito. Think Silent Hill. Think David Lynch’s Eraserhead. Think what you want, really, as Ramiro presents each story without a statement of intent. Every comic becomes a self-contained nightmare that we watch from the margins, putting a meaning to them for ourselves. I think it’s better this way. I find what I took away from comics that I read two years ago has changed somewhat reading them now. A good comic evolves with its readers, and I feel that these comics work the same way, just open enough to allow the reader to find something new every time.

Some comics are more narrative than others. Family, Skincube: Cut and Skincube: 2, for example, are more straightforward stories. Family is about a young boy and his mother. and how unusual families (which is the mild way of putting it) are no less cohesive and loving than traditional ones. The Skincube comics are separate horror stories with a common theme; Skincube: 2 proves to be a very poignant story of two young brothers, and is one of my favorite comics from the collection. Shapeshifter and Telecar, for those of us with a taste for grotesque, are more like loose musings, highly visual and disturbing without having a concrete meaning assigned to them. There are other comics and cool visual material in the book as well, such as the AX2008 flyer, which begins as an advert for Ramiro’s booth at Anime Expo 2008 and kind of goes out of control from there. An Open Window at Night is another enjoyable little comic, both fun and darkly humorous, and a nice break from all the evisceration.

Overall, if you’re looking for a varied group of stories, from the uncomfortable to the poignant, the gross to the amusing, this is a collection worth picking up. Short, digestible, and full of memorable imagery, it’s worth every penny. My only complaint about the book, if I had one, is that my all-time favorite Ramiro comic Hole was not included. It was the first of his comics that I ever read, and holds a warm place in my heart (pun not intended). With its graphic and disturbing sexual nature, however, I can see why it wasn’t included. If you’re curious, you can read Hole online at Ramiro’s website, but I wouldn’t suggest reading it at your mom’s house. Unless your mom’s into body horror, I guess. In which case, knock yourself out.

You can pick up Red Museum at Amazon.com for $10. I suggest that you do.

Comic book review: Avengers #3

Captain America and his team return to Mars to save the Avengers and stop Ex Nihilo from remaking the Earth in his image. From Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opena.

On Mars, Ex Nihilo watches the birth of his new Adam while Aleph and Abyss look on. What emerges from the cocoon is far more powerful than any of them anticipated, his forehead emanating Builder machine code in a flashing light. Before Ex Nihilo can celebrate his creation, Captain America arrives with Hyperion and Smasher. Abyss turns the brainwashed Hulk against them but as Manifold teleports the rest of the Avengers into The Garden, the war ensues. While the team battles Ex Nihilo’s animal creations, Cap and Wolverine free the captured Iron Man and Thor, and Falcon wills the creatures away from the fight. Thor is able to strike a blow against Ex Niliho and Abyss with his hammer as Hyperion pummels Hulk into submission, reverting back into Bruce Banner now free of Abyss’ mind control.

The advantage beginning to slip from the Avengers’ grasp, all seems lost until Captain Universe reaches out to Adam. She speaks to Ex Nihilo and Abyss as their Goddess-Mother, the Universe, and tells them to abandon their conquest. Aleph sees through the pretense and challenges her, assuring his own destruction. Soon the Avengers leave Mars, taking Adam back to Earth and leaving The Garden to Ex Nihilo and Abyss to do with as they choose, so long as they leave humanity alone. As Steve Rogers and Tony Stark return to Avengers Tower, we are left with some dark foreshadowing: This is the first Avengers world, the spark that lit the fire, beginning with two men. One, Steve, is life, and the other, Tony, is death, and through them everything is going to change.

A satisfying conclusion to this opening arc of the expanded Avengers universe, once again I am enthralled by the collaboration between Hickman and Opena. The writing is solid, the action tempered by great dialogue and character dynamics, showing just how well this team works together. Even with their training wheels on, so to speak, the somewhat unusual roster proves to be both interesting and successful. As always Opena’s artwork, complemented by the colors of White, Martin and Isanove, is absolutely stunning. Maybe the “Villains learns their lesson and get to keep their planet as long as they play nice” ending is a little typical, but overall this is a highly enjoyable issue building to a larger, more ominous story.