Daniel Sherrier's Blog, page 40

Today’s Super Comic — Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1 (2005)

Spider-Man works best as a teenager. Sure, great stories about an adult Spider-Man are possible and do exist, but the awkward teenage years are a perfect match for the character.

The Marvel Universe Spider-Man had entered his twenties long ago, however, so how could they tell teenage Spidey stories that weren’t flashbacks?

The answer was the Ultimate imprint, which featured rebooted versions of popular characters in a new shared continuity. The line as a whole was a bit of a mixed bag, but Brian Michael Bendis’s take on Spider-Man perfectly captured the spirit of the character while modernizing all the classic elements. And he capitalized on story opportunities that weren’t possible in the established Marvel Universe—such as Spidey and the X-Men’s Kitty Pryde becoming great friends and a potential couple.

And that’s the main idea of this annual—two teenagers trying to connect despite and because of their unconventional situations. Charm abounds. It’s the sort of comic that just puts a smile on your face.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Mark Brooks

Inkers: Jaime Mendoza and Scott Hanna

Publisher: Marvel Comics

How to Read It: back issues; Marvel Unlimited; Comixology; Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 15: Silver Sable (TPB)

Appropriate For: ages 11 and up

Today’s Super Comics — Madrox #1-5 (2004-05)

Before 2004, if Marvel were to put out a miniseries focused on Madrox the Multiple Man, my first thought would not have been, “Yes, I must buy that!” But Peter David excels at finding approaches to often-overlooked characters that make them incredibly interesting.

Jamie Madrox, longtime bit player among the numerous X-Men titles, can create a seemingly endless number of duplicates of himself. So you could use him as a one-man army, or perhaps kill off one of his duplicates to demonstrate a villain’s power. But David went with a more imaginative take.

If a man can create independent, sentient copies of himself, then those copies can go off and pursue paths the original man would otherwise never have time for, all those “roads not taken.” Those duplicates can then reintegrate with the original, who can benefit from their memories and experiences. Madrox isn’t just the Multiple Man—he’s the multiple-choice man who can almost always select “all of the above.” And of course, “all” doesn’t necessarily mean only good choices.

In this storyline, Madrox is trying his hand at being a private eye, and one who’s as noir as he can manage. He’s not exactly a hardboiled kind fellow, so opportunities for humor abound.

Beginning with this miniseries, David turned Madrox into one of Marvel’s most fascinating characters, mutant or otherwise. This story served as the pilot for a new X-Factor ongoing series, which maintained the superb quality for years. Fantastic stuff.

Writer: Peter David

Artist: Pablo Raimondi

Inker: Drew Hennessy

Publisher: Marvel Comics

How to Read It: back issues; Marvel Unlimited; Comixology; Madrox: Multiple Choice (TPB)

Appropriate For: ages 14 and up

Today’s Super Comic — Zatanna #1 (2010)

Zatanna is a fantastic character, and so far, no writer has demonstrated a better handle on what makes her great than Paul Dini.

It’s a shame that Dini’s ongoing Zatanna series didn’t last long, but what exists remains an enjoyable read. In this first issue, he not only begins establishing a supporting cast for her, but he also contrasts her against the dark, disturbing world of magic. She’s the lighthearted professional stage magician giving magic a friendly face, but she also serves as a formidable protector against supernatural threats. She takes her work seriously, but she’s not overly serious as she completes that work.

That’s exactly the right approach. Dark and brooding does not suit Zatanna. She’s the ray of light in the darkness, not the darkness itself.

Given her occupation as an entertainer, Zatanna should be one of the most charismatic and fun superheroes around. Whenever Dini writes her, she often is.

Writer: Paul Dini

Artist: Stephane Roux

Publishers: DC Comics

How to Read It: back issues; Comixology; Zatanna: Mistress of Magic (TPB)

Appropriate For: ages 12 and up

Today’s Super Comic — The Astonishing Ant-Man #2 (2015)

This is shaping up to be a fun series. Ant-Man working private security! (Or trying to.) It’s not exactly a straight superhero book, but it takes full advantage of playing in a world of superheroes and villains. And “playing” is definitely the right word—and definitely the right approach for a character like the Scott Lang Ant-Man. (If someone could pull off a dramatic take on Ant-Man, I’d be pretty darn impressed. Alas, he’s not exactly Marvel’s answer to Hamlet.)

The book is saddled with convoluted continuity as backstory, but writer Nick Spencer uses what he inherited to fuel entertaining story possibilities. The second issue draws on Ant-Man’s time leading the substitute Fantastic Four that served while the real FF were playing Doctor Who not too long ago. He had gotten involved with a teammate, “Ms. Thing” Darla Deering, and the way it ended was not Scott’s finest moment. That history leads to a compelling dynamic for this series.

The Astonishing Ant-Man features a character who is very human and capable of screwing up in huge ways, but he keeps plugging along and trying his best. And once in a while, he might even succeed.

You know, he did beat up Doctor Doom that time.

Writer: Nick Spencer

Artist: Roman Rosanas

Publishers: Marvel Comics

How to Read It: recent back issues; Marvel Unlimited; Comixology; Astonishing Ant-Man vol.1: Everybody Loves Team-Ups (TPB)

Appropriate For: ages 13 and up

Today’s Super Comics — Superman #650-653 and Action Comics #837-840 (2006)

About a decade ago (oh, dear … where did that decade go?), DC Comics launched a gimmick that actually led to a bunch of interesting and/or great stories. Gimmicks, on account of being gimmicky, tend not to always do that. But “One Year Later,” in which every DC Universe title jumped ahead one year in their shared continuity, opened up many story possibilities that aren’t always possible in ongoing comic book series.

Such as this terrific Superman story. At the start, the world hasn’t seen Superman in a full year. He’s lost his powers and is living as plain old Clark Kent—and enjoying the change of pace and the chance to be the best reporter he can be, relying on only his human skills.

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest. Show us a world that’s been missing its Superman for a while, and show us how special and grand it is when he returns. And it is all special and grand, because it’s Superman done right.

This is how you do the world’s original superhero. Skip the recent movies and read this instead.

Writers: Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns

Artists: Pete Woods and Renato Guedes

Publishers: DC Comics

How to Read It: back issues; Comixology; Superman: Up, Up, and Away (TPB)

Appropriate For: ages 9 and up

Today’s Super Comic — Fantastic Four #51 (1966)

This may be an old one, but it also holds up as among the finest Fantastic Four stories of all time.

An unnamed scientist, who envies Reed Richards’s success, lures the self-pitying Thing into his apartment and steals his powers, reverting Ben Grimm to human form. Posing as the Thing, this scientist infiltrates the FF as Reed is trying create faster-than-light travel in his quest to build defenses against threats like Galactus (the world was almost eaten like yesterday). He’s preparing to embark on a one-man exploration of sub-space, but he’s depending on the Thing to keep him anchored to their own dimension. When Reed gets into trouble, this nameless scientist has a chance to show what kind of man he truly is.

It’s a short but incredibly effective redemption tale during which not a single punch is thrown. If last year’s Fantastic Four movie left a bad taste in your mouth, rinse it out with this and observe the classic writer/artist team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in top form.

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: Jack Kirby

Publishers: Marvel

How to Read It: back issues; Comixology; Essential Fantastic Four vol. 3 (TPB)

Appropriate For: ages 8 and up

Today’s Super Comics — JLA/Avengers #1-4 (2003-04)

Two major comic book movies this year have featured superheroes facing off against each other. Batman vs. Superman in one corner. Captain America vs. Iron Man in the other. And one of those movies was even good.

But in terms of sheer scope, both are downright pedestrian compared to the JLA/Avengers miniseries, the intercompany crossover that had been in the works for many years before it finally materialized thirteen years ago.

Marvel and DC could have phoned this one in and still sold a ton of copies, but instead they called in the big guns: Kurt Busiek and George Perez. Busiek is a fantastic superhero writer who understands the genre better than most. And if there’s a better artist than Perez when it comes to drawing crowded pages full of classic superheroes, well, that would be news to me.

So yes, JLA/Avengers is the ultimate comic book summer blockbuster. It offers no new insights about these characters, but why would it? The fun is seeing our favorite Avengers and Justice Leaguers interact, and sounding and behaving in-character as they do so. The book performs that task wonderfully, but it does go the extra mile by contrasting these two great superhero universes. The most interesting part is how the Justice League views the Marvel Universe as practically dystopian while the Avengers view the DC Universe as nearly utopian.

But seeing, for example, Superman going into battle while carrying Captain America’s shield and Thor’s hammer? It’s not high art, but it’s Superman going into battle carrying Captain America’s shield and Thor’s hammer. And really, that’s what it’s all about.

A grand fun time.

Writer: Kurt Busiek

Artist: George Perez

Publishers: DC & Marvel

How to Read It: back issues; JLA/Avengers (TPB)

Appropriate For: ages 10 and up

Today’s Super Comic — Invincible Iron Man #4 (2015)

In which Iron Man resolves to enjoy a moonlight ninja fight beach party, like one does.

Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez deliver another fun issue, full of grand quipping, a villainous ally of sorts, a new supporting character (who is not a new character), and a charming scene in a children’s hospital that features a real-life guest star (and a very deserving one at that).

The cover gives away the new/not-new supporting cast member, and I like the idea of bringing Mary Jane over into another superhero’s life. It’s a great opportunity to flesh out her character by removing the Spider-Man association that has defined her for pretty much her entire fictional career, and one only possible in a shared universe such as Marvel’s. She’s not a huge part of this issue, though, so I’ll have to keep reading to see how it turns out.

Given Bendis’s track record, I’m willing to bet it’s an entertaining ride. Really, the man makes it look so easy.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: David Marquez

Publisher: Marvel

How to Read It: recent back issue; Comixology; Marvel Unlimited

Appropriate For: ages 13 and up

Today’s Super Comic — Batman: Rebirth #1 (2016)

Batman fared better than most of DC’s characters in the New 52, and this “Rebirth” one-shot seems to be continuing that status quo. As someone who stopped reading the New 52 series midway through, I felt a little out of the loop (who’s that young man who already knows Bruce is Batman?).

But I consider the book a success. It had one job to do: get me interested in the relaunched Batman titles. Thanks to Batman acting in character, a potentially interesting new take on old villain Calendar Man, and overall strong execution with the writing and art, I’m wondering if it’s time to get back into Batman’s monthly adventures.

So this “Rebirth” isn’t much of a reboot—but why fix Batman if he isn’t broken? With this issue, I remain optimistic that DC is getting back on track.

Good work, team!

Writer: Scott Snyder and Tom King

Artist: Mikel Janin

Publisher: DC Comics

How to Read It: new issue; Comixology

Appropriate For: ages 12 and up

Today’s Super Comic — X-Men #111 (1978)

Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s collaboration on X-Men got off to a solid start several issues before this, but this is the point at which it became consistently great. The best was still to come, but in retrospect, as offbeat as it is, #111 feels like the start of something special indeed.

The story drops us right into the middle of a mystery and places us in the point of view of a character who has been out of the loop for a while—Hank McCoy, the Beast. He has been busy avenging with the Avengers and hasn’t gotten a chance to personally meet the new X-Men yet. So imagine his confusion when he finds people who look like dead ringers for Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus performing as carnival freaks. (Well, you don’t have to fully imagine—Byrne renders Beast’s bewilderment rather vividly on the opening splash panel.)

Three X-Men Hank does know—Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Banshee—are also part of this carnival, but they aren’t acting like themselves. Complications ensue as the Beast attempts to unravel this mystery, leading to a terrific final-page reveal that basically commands you to read the next issue.

And that was part of the trick Claremont and Byrne accomplished in this run—incredible storytelling momentum carried directly from issue to issue. Events happen, and they have consequences that don’t get tidied up within twenty pages, thereby setting up the next issue. But this isn’t just one long tease to leave readers salivating in anticipation of some eventual grand payoff. No, each issue provides its own payoff in one way or another. Serialized storytelling at its finest, and X-Men #111 serves as a great starting point.

Writer: Chris Claremont

Penciler: John Byrne

Inker: Terry Austin

Publisher: Marvel Comics

How to Read It: back issues; Comixology; Marvel Unlimited; included in Essential X-Men vol. 1 and other collections

Appropriate For: ages 9 and up