I bought a grand total of eight comics today. It's highly likely that I will choose to finish the reviews tomorrow, but if I don't then pay no attention to ANYTHING I've just said. I may indeed finish it all tonight, though.
The Mast's Post-Post Writing Note: I did finish ALL eight reviews, but such is my excitement about the final two that I decided to post them tomorrow. If you're gonna read either of these, I'd rather it be that one. I don't want my reviews of those two particular issues getting lost in the mix. This post is awesome too, though. So, ya know, read on.
Without further ado, prepare for me to take your face off...or just be ready to read a lot. Your choice. Personally? I'd go with the face thing, that way you will be relieved if the most unpleasant thing you have to endure is lots of reading. Who wants their face taken off? Nobody...but I'm doing it anyway.
Haunt #3.
Let's take a moment to appreciate how gruesomely attractive that cover is and thank Todd McFarlane for such visual delicacies.
Haunt is three issues in now, so let me give you the very quick low-down here. Kurt Kilgore is a mercenary who is sent on a mission to capture a man named Dr. Shillinger and his notes; simple, right? EEEH! Wrong, McFly! Upon discovering how sinister and downright sick this guy is, Mr. I-Kill-for-Money-with-No-Questions-Asked suddenly has an attack of the moral flu. He kills the doctor and makes off with the notes, freeing and rescuing all the disfigured test subjects that he finds.
As he is leaving, he witnesses someone else leaving with the notes. Kurt is drugged and subsequently kidnapped soon after. Growing increasingly angry by the loss of the notes, and Kurt's betrayal, he is beaten severely while interrogated. This fails, Kurt doesn't talk and he is killed. At his funeral, his ghost appears to his brother, Daniel Kilgore; Daniel is a gritty, cynical priest with nothing left in his life. He tells his rather distraught and shocked brother to go to his grieving, still-living girlfriend's house. Daniel is understandably reluctant but eventually goes ahead with what Kurt asks.
He spends the night on the couch after consoling Amanda (Kurt's girlfriend) and is awoken by Kurt's ghost. Kurt tells Daniel that he must leave with Amanda, urgently. Before they can do so, two agents burst in and fire at Daniel. Kurt leaps in front of the bullets and, in bonding with Daniel's body, absorbs the bullets. They first stand together as Haunt and swiftly decapitate the two agents in quite a brutal first display.
Throughout this issue and up through issue #2 we discover more about the relationship of the brothers and Haunt's abilities. Let me interject here and pay special mention to the frankly astounding artwork. It truly is an amazing, nasty slice of '90s-esque McFarlane on top of Ryan Ottley's pencilling.
Haunt dispatches a few more agents and eventually fights what appears to be their first major villain, an assassin named Cobra. Cobra proves capable of holding his own, but only because Daniel and Kurt find it hard to work as two minds in one body. Kurt orders Daniel to go limp (Like most male priests; oh snap, religious satire) and not fight his control. Cobra escapes unharmed after the fight. Kurt tells Daniel to follow him to a house nearby, and the bewildered Daniel follows along. This house, occupied in disguise by two unwitting stoners, is a secret entrance to Kurt's ex-agency. As Daniel enters, he finds guns pointed at him, as the agents cannot see Kurt's ghost accompanying him.
Haunt #3 starts here. Kurt tells Dan not to make any sudden moves, which he ignores, swiftly receiving a tranq dart in the head for his trouble. While locked up with two of the lesser mutated survivors from Shillinger's complex, a women - strangely resembling Tia Dalma from the Pirates of the Caribbean series - confronts them both. Yes, both. She can see Kurt's ghost and informs Dan that they are tied together by being relatives by blood, preventing Kurt from passing on. She refers to them as Haunt for the first time and that's pretty much all we get on the subject.
It's a pretty slow issue (Bound to happen sooner or later and I'd rather it happen just after an exciting start), but it picks up again with the action when the guy who killed Kurt somehow appears in their cell. Kurt tries to wake Dan, but he is too late as Dan is stabbed with a sedative. They transform into Haunt and a fight ensues. It's a fairly brutal fight, as to be expected, but there's something additionally smart about it.
During the fight, the would-be assassin scores a massive knife wound to Haunt, still trying to fight off the sedative). It's a small, but important detail that really grounds the character and puts across the point that these two are very, very new to this. As terrifyingly intimidating as Haunt looks, and is, Kirkman is not prepared to let him swagger invincibly about, decapitating all in his path. At least not all the time. He CAN be harmed and it instils a sense of curiosity as to whether or not he's going to make it out of ANY fight unscathed.
Haunt eventually overpowers the man, cutting off his arm and, in a SWEEEEEET move, impaling his head. He does this by curb-stomping the guy with his morphable sharp tendrils a-la Carnage. It really was an "Oooh!" moment. So delicious. People have said it's excessively violent, this comic, but it needs to be. I am primarily a Marvel head, but think of it like movies. You can conceivably make mainstream horror, but Takeshi Miike will always have the edge because he's independent and has a flair for violence.
The issue continues with Dan being interrogated by Kurt's former agency. Previously they did not accept his answers and even in light of seeing Haunt, Beth (One of the agency members) is still skeptical. She says she needs proof that Kurt is really there, she needs to be told something that only Kurt knows. Whispering in Dan's ear, Kurt advises him to say the words "Autumn Leaves". Upon saying this, Beth leaves the room in tears, revealing that she finally believes Dan. It's at this point that Dan finally breaks down.
Dan angrily accuses Kurt of having slept with Beth. Why? In a rather cheerless and depressing twist, it is revealed that Dan and Amanda were together before she left him for his brother. Even despite this, Kurt cheated on her with Beth. Dan is distraught that he went through what he did, even accepting it because he thought they were happy, only for Kurt to disrespect the woman he gave up to him by cheating on her. It really is a madly evocative scene. I was surprised at how much I felt for this guy having known him for three issues. It really did justify what was becoming the rather cliche grizzled-and-jaded-man-of-the-cloth thing.
The issue ends with a woman, apparantly a double-agent, entering the hidden base by request of the agency. She's on the phone to a rather large, intimidating man who has ties to Cobra and seems to be the big boss of whoever the bad guys are. She assures him that her identity is secure and he suggests she better be right.
I REALLY wish this could have been a shorter review, but again, whenever I dip into a series that I've not reviewed yet, I have to give a retrospective or a run-down on it. Forgive me for that, but hey, it was for your benefit.
I am typically a Marvel head, but I had heard of this upcoming series from a friend. I was reminded of it by Andrew - a friend at Gosh! Comics (The ONLY place in London to get new comics) - while in there picking up my weekly subscriptions some time ago. I figured that it was the first issue so where would the harm be in trying?
I really, really enjoy this series so far. It's SO cliche, but I get the feeling it's stepping away from that a bit. Kirkman is a talented writer and McFarlane is a legend with a taste for the profane and nasty; there's no reason why this cannot develop into a must-read series. The art, again, is absolutely gorgeous. Some have said Ottley is better than he shows on this comic; I'd agree, but he's still doing some stellar work.
Pick up the trade paperback if you're interested. I doubt it'll be until there are five or six issues out. Keep your eyes open or keep checking back here. Leave me a comment if you're interested and I'll keep you updated (You CAN feel free to leave comments by the way, guys! It's what they're there for).
I look forward to the next issue. It'll be entering a crossroads soon; let's hope it goes the right way.
Uncanny X-Men #518.
I'm not too sure if this title came out early or if #517 came out late; I'm inclined to think the latter. Regardless, this continues on with the Nation X storyline. I didn't forsee much happening in this issue, considering that the actual Nation X five-parter begins next week, but this is still quite a weak issue.
Quite literally all that happens is that Cyclops psychically goes into Emma Frost's mind to try freeing her from The Void (A dark entity that formerly/possibly currently possessed/possesses Sentry). She has a tiny sliver of The Void inside her due to having gone into Sentry's mind to help him before. Fearing what it may mean if it gains control, she stays in her diamond form to combat this.
Cyclops, using Professor X as a psychic link, goes inside her mind and is confronted with many mental sides to Emma Frost's persona. Eventually, Emma wakes up in her normal form and appears to be cured. She informs us, however, that The Void stopped pursuing her and has now transferred to Cyclops; it wanted him all along.
I am so sorry, but I really am starting to not give a fuck. If this Nation X story is going to be Cyclops' version of The Dark Phoenix saga then, quite honestly, I'm out. I had enough of that when it happened; it doesn't need to be revisited. Truly.
A sub-plot is emerging also; Beast is still bitter about being tortured while Cyclops waited for the right time to rescue him. Not to mention that Magneto being on the island/Utopia is not sitting well with him either. The preview art for #519 has Beast carrying a bag, so presumably he's leaving. Oh, and the island is in dire straits as there seems to be too many people and too much weight for it to keep afloat.
Again, I'm sorry, but *YAWN*. I only started reading this comic because it seemed to tie into Dark Reign (See the part regarding Utopia in my Dark Reign retrospective). Once this is all over, I'm out. That's if I'm not done before then.
Unless this gets better or Deadpool makes an appearance, I shan't be buying anymore. I'll give it until Nation X #2 to decide.
Nova #32.
This is a Realm of Kings tie-in. Please read previous Realm of Kings reviews to keep-up.
After doing a patrol near the planet Shard - perilously close to falling into The Fault - Nova met up with Darkhawk. Despite being a fugitive for being accused of murdering former Shi'ar Empress Lilandra, Nova decides he is innocent (He is, so that works out nicely) and follows him to reconcile. Before they can do so, they are sucked into The Fault.
Nova and Darkhawk spend their time in what appears to be ancient Egypt. Confronted by the god-like cosmic despot - Sphinx - Nova is informed that he was selected because he is a fearsome warrior and that a battle against the Djinns will occur momentarily. Confused, Nova asks what he means, but is interrupted by gigantic models of deities made from sand. As Sphinx fights them, Nova is hesitant and Sphinx leaves, disappointed.
As Darkhawk and Nova wander the desert, they discover Reed Richards. Reed reveals he too has been abducted by Sphinx, but from MANY years prior to 2010. This past version of Reed Richards attempts to share information with Nova to figure out what's going on. Nova and Darkhawk try to fly off and escape, but Nova smacks into some kind of invisible wall whilst Darkhawk continues. His path eventually blocked by more sand monsters. Awakening at dawn, Nova is again met with Reed Richards who begs him to rest, but Nova insists he leave to find Darkhawk and discover what the stirring commotion is outside.
Someone emerges from the distance, at first thought to be Darkhawk, but revealed as Black Bolt! Naturally, since he is currently dead, Nova deduces that this is another past version of Black Bolt, akin to Reed Richards. In his arms he carries a mummified figure, but before Nova can help, a gigantic (And I do mean gigantic; amazing artistic moment) lizard creature emerges from the ground. Nova swiftly dispatches it and heads to the mummified body. Unwrapping it, he discovers that it's none other than Namorita, the cousin of Prince Namor who dies in the events that caused the Civil War.
The issue ends here and it left me with one lingering thought; damn you Dan Abnett.
I swear this guy is making me spend more money. Everything he touches turns to cosmic gold this year. War of Kings, Guardians (From what I've read), the Realm of Kings one-shot, both Realm of Kings mini-series' and Nova. I love Nova, but I've only been sporadically keeping up with his latest series due to all the other stuff I buy. Now I have to add the trade paperbacks to my wish-list this Christmas.
I'm assuming Namorita isn't the one that is currently dead, but a past version like Reed and Black Bolt. Even still, it's a mighty cliff-hanger and I'm very curious how all of these on-goings start tying into Realm of Kings. I hope it's somewhat significant and not something I could have easily gone without buying, but we'll see. Regardless, these issues are not just good tie-ins, they're legitimately solid comics. Impactful tie-ins or not, I really don't feel bad about purchasing these.
The art is very good, not the best, but good, with moments of outstanding brilliance. The dialogue is a right balance of personal characterisation and above all else, Abnett knows how to get shit done. Whether it's one comic or five, he never makes you feel like nothing has been achieved in an issue (Hey, Daniel Way. Sup?).
This man knows how to write cosmic and political action fantasy. That's for damn sure.
Dan Abnett, I salute you sir.
Thor #604.
As this is currently one of the series' I'm enjoying most leading up to Siege, I was very much looking forward to this issue.
After ripping out Queen/Goddess Kelda's heart in the previous issue, Doom has grown more and more attached to the idea of cutting up Asgardians in pursuit of eternal life. Bill's death at the hands of Loki's warriors spurred the other Asgardians into action. Well, not so much action as it was a gathering to say "We've had quite enough of this, thank you.".The Asgardians finally decide, in this issue, that war is the answer. They agree to declare war on Doom and Loki, but are indecisive as to whether or not to include Thor, due to his exile from Asgard.
Loki is brought (Brought or comes of his own accord, not sure) before the Asgardians, with King Balder telling him in no uncertain terms that his punishment will be death. Loki begins lying through his teeth, claiming to not have known what Doom was planning and asks for forgiveness. These efforts are rebuffed, but they are unable to kill Loki without trial, due to him being an adopted son of Odin.
Trying to summon Thor and failing leads to some of the Asgardians feeling as if he has disrespected them, whilst others surmise that he simply isn't receiving the message. Elsewhere, an injured Donald Blake is on the phone to Jane Foster who is pleading to him to reconsider any rash actions he may take. She reminds him that he is not Thor, just his mortal host and that he can be killed. Blake reassures her that he has an idea, and she does the same.
This is where things get rrrather exciting. Blake contacts Reed Richards and asks for his findings after studying parts of the altered Doombot that attacked them in the last issue. Richards says that he cannot directly trace it due to the genius with which the tracks were covered, but only a shortlist of people would be capable. Can you tell where this is going? Oh, so exciting.
The Asgardians arrive at Castle Doom and request that Doom step down and turn over whatever remains he has of their Asgardian bretheren. Doom cockily (God, I love Dr. Doom) dismisses the first request, but sarcastically suggests he can help with the latter. At this moment, the previously vivisected Endrik comes froth, brimming with horrifying cybernetic implants and hailing Doom as his new master. Many other altered Asgardians also pour forth from the castle, and the Asgardians reluctantly engage them in battle.
Everything is looking remarkably bleak until a voice from above Doom says: "A friend of mine was struck by machines of destruction. Its maker managed to conceal - from all genius - whose hand wrought them. Who but Doom could have achieved such a task? He may be one of the most learned mortals of Midgard; yet today he has a hard lesson to learn.".
As the last line is said, Doom casts his glance upward and sees Thor, backed by the night sky filled with lightning, about to strike down on him with Mjolnir.
Thor is not as powerful as he once was, but he's still one of the most powerful beings in existence. This must mean that Dr. Doom has a mighty trick up his sleeve - ever the sly genius - with which to combat a god.
This was the first issue written by Kieran Gillen, and I have to say that I see no decline in quality. He still needs to get to grips with Thor's archaic dialogue, but besides that he seems very competent at writing all players involved.
Do I really have another title to add to my subscription?
Deadpool Team-Up #898.
Looking forward to an issue of Deadpool, or an issue he's in, is a rare thing for me nowadays.
I will always buy them, but ever since issue #13 of his main series, I've been madly disappointed in it. I love Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth, as you can read in a previous post, but it's not ideal Deadpool. Fred van Lente's take on Deadpool in Deadpool #900 (A mock number, obviously) was suitably ballsy considering he didn't speak for most of it (Van Lente pulled it off, could you? Yeah, exactly). He also produced a really enjoyable slice of Deadpool comedy in Deadpool Team-Up #899 - the third Deadpool series that's following on and counting down from #900 - which was quite funny.
Deadpool Team-Up is a series that does what it says on the cover. It's not in continuity, so I doubt it's canon, but we will see Deadpool team up with a different guest star or guest stars each month.
Issue #898 had me way more excited than I expected. Why? Because Mike Benson was writing it. Mike Benson would be a candidate to write Deadpool's main series; he was my top candidate until recently (See X-Force Annual review further down). Not only did he write an overlooked gem of a five-parter (Deadpool: Suicide Kings), but he also wrote a story in Deadpool #900. It was my favourite story out of the book, simply because it was dark. Real dark. It captured the troubled side of Deadpool that nobody had captured since Joe Kelly's '90s run.
Enter Deadpool #898, written by Mike Benson.
I can't really say much about this story. A mob boss named Pablo Espinosa has ordered that the head of a dude he dislikes be brought to him and we see the head being brought to him at the beginning. A flashback occurs and the story begins. It opens with Deadpool digging for the head while singing Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC; I knew this issue would be, at least, good when I saw this.
He is knocked unconscious by two large men, later revealed as the tech-savvy Zapata Brothers. When he confronts them at a bar, asking why they took the head, they apologise profusely and say they didn't know it was him. It turns out that they are huge fans of Deadpool and decide to aid him in getting the money for the head.
We return to the present and The Zapata Brothers are presenting the head to Espinosa. He refuses to pay them, telling them to leave the coffin - they brought the whole body as an extra - and walk away with their lives. Outside, they ask what's taking "him" so long. At that moment we cut inside to find Deadpool in the coffin. He jumps out, decapitates one man and kills the rest.
The issue ends with him and The Zapata Brothers playing cards as they tell him about another million dollar bounty that needs collecting. Deadpool says that this could be the start of a beautiful friendship and the issue ends.
All in all, it was fun; a fun and enjoyable issue. It's still not good enough for Deadpool; he's still being used as a comedy vehicle, but it was nice. I am pleased that I got to see him decapitate someone and he even roundhouse kicks some guy in front of a train after promising not to kill him. It's not the ideal level of lethality I'd like to see Deadpool display, but I'll take what I can get.
It's just very sad when the best Deadpool writers are the ones NOT working on his main series.
X-Force Annual #1.
I am not actually going to be reviewing this comic as such; I do not read X-Force currently.
The only reason I bought this was because it has a Deadpool mini-story entitled Un-Deadpool. Robert Kirkman (Haunt, Marvel Zombies) wrote the issue, and I was quite excited to see another person take a crack at my boy. I was surprised to see regular X-Force writers Craig Kyle and Chris Yost take a back seat, because they were the ones writing the mini-story.
I really went into this expecting nothing. Nothing at all.
What I got was the most enjoyable, grin-inducing slice of Deadpool I had read since the early 2000s. These guys GET Deadpool. For one thing, they didn't use the RIDICULOUS plot-point of him having two independent voices in his head (Drop it, Marvel. It doesn't work. I know you're trying, but stop that). They made him lethal, they made him bad ass and they made him corrosively hilarious! Not as corrosive or snarky as The Circle Chase or early X-Force-era Deadpool, but amazing nonetheless.
I realised that this is why I hate the two-voices-in-the-head thing; it's like when someone is having a really entertaining conversation with you and someone keeps chiming in. They did away with that in this story and it was better for it.
Deadpool is on Utopia and we first hear him speaking from an outside view. After zooming in, Deadpool is seen playing with two Fantastic Four action figures with himself as the hero. It's just so typical of Deadpool; I cannot explain how well these guys get Deadpool's psyche. The very fact that even in make-believe, he's the main hero and providing commentary on the cliches of heroes is just Wade Wilson to a T. When speaking as the Sue Storm-Richards action figure, he says: "Why would you save me; a flexible gymnast-slash-flight attendant, but still only human woman?". That kind of self-aware commentary on cliche is just...it warmed my heart to see Deadpool get that back.
He hears screaming outside, so he pokes his head out the door and says something like: "Was that a happy scream, or an 'Oh God! Please help me!' scream? Because I'd like to be involved either way...". It's this kind of Deadpool writing that reminds me of years passed; I used to laugh my head off on the bus ride home whilst reading Joe Kelly's comics. The only other comic that really came close to being as funny, unexpectedly, was Van Lente's EXCELLENT run on The Incredible Hercules.
The story is entertaining enough; The Acolytes attacked the girl, despite being undead - though not zombies - and say they're there to kill Magneto. Deadpool agrees to "go get that bastard" and is informed by Loa - the girl he saved - that he's joined the X-Men. This causes Deadpool to call Cyclops' cell phone during this massive attack (I'm guessing the Predator X attack, though it's never stated) and asks him if it's true.
A fight breaks out between The Acolytes and Deadpool, with Deadpool kicking a majority of ass. It was SO cool to finally see Deadpool have a fight in which he wasn't the punching bag; he was one of the most feared assassins and mercs in Marvel, then he slowly became a mere annoyance. He actually slices an arm off, graphically. SO good.
He runs off, leaving the girl to The Acolytes only to return armed to the teeth. The sheer amount of excessive weaponry he has is another Deadpool trait that Kyle and Yost seem to use to full effect. He utters the line: "To me, my guns!" and another fight breaks out. Obviously he does get beat up on, but that wouldn't be a Deadpool fight if he didn't. I'm just happy he paraphrased Surfer. Big fanboy moment for me.
Eventually he uses Loa's phasing ability to re-kill The Acolytes due to promising Cyclops HE wouldn't kill. Naturally, he blames it all on her and the story ends.
AMAZING.
I am both happy and sad in equal measure. Happy because there are writers capable of writing Deadpool right, sad because the odds of these guys writing Deadpool on a continual basis is slim to none. I just realised that they also wrote Deadpool when they did Messiah War in the current X-Force comics. He was awesome in that, too. I wonder why I didn't remember that right away.
Hmm. I haven't read the main story yet, but I don't even know if I will. I bought it for Deadpool and it was more than I hoped for. If you're a Deadpool fan as frustrated with his current treatment as I am, this comic is for YOU.
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Thank you again for reading my blog; I truly appreciate it. I know it's a lot to take in at once, especially if you're not into comics, but I thank you for sticking with me and supporting the blog.
By the way, feel free to comment on these posts, that's what the comment links are for!
Until tomorrow, peace.
-The Mast
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