I guess that intro loses potency when done without wearing a Kool-Aid Guy outfit.
Regardless, welcome to another fine edition of Thursday's Comics! I am your host, The Mast. You should know that by now.
I want to start this weeks post by gloating about a few gems I recently picked up! Last week I got my hands on THIS bad boy: The Daredevil #505 Deadpool variant.
It's special because it's a parody/edit of Daredevil #187, as I've said before. That comic is special because it's the first Daredevil comic I ever read, so to have a Deadpool variant of Daredevil (My two favs) that happens to be a mock-up of my first Daredevil comic? Pretty special. I want to give special thanks to Mr. Alex...well, just Alex, of Comicana Comics for providing me with this gem for a stupidly reasonable price. Someone actually wanted to charge me £25 more than what I paid, so major thanks to him for that.
I also want to thank Alex for providing me with this: The Fantastic Four #576 Deadpool variant.
I think it's hilarious, totally Deadpool and thus, essential. I don't have it NOW, unfortunately. I have to go back next week to get it, but he's putting it aside for me.
Comicana and Gosh (My main sources of comicy goodness) BOTH happen to be void of websites, so if you want anything ordered, get in touch with me or Google the number/email address of the respective places. Between those two stores and the really awesome staff that work there (In Comicana's case, just Alex. He's a trooper!), there's nothing you'll really be left wanting for. As soon as either of these establishments have an internet place of purchase, you'll see me spam the links here.
Alex has a knack for making people spend money...it's like a sickness, so watch out.
With all that apple-polishing out of the way, let's get to why all seven of you are here (I totally must have more than seven regulars by), to read comic stuff!
Deadpool #20.
Ehh.
The interaction between Spider-Man and Deadpool is solid in this issue, as it was in the issue before, but something just...lacks. I'm so glad that Way seems to have ditched Pool-o-Vision and seems to be cutting back on the two-voices thing, too. That's always a good thing.
The whole issue revolves around Deadpool and Spidey trying to figure out how to deal with Hit-Monkey and his impending assassination attempt on our favourite 4th wall-breaking mercenary. There's one scene where Deadpool shows up in a dress...which was so unnecessary that it made me sick. Like Deadpool isn't portrayed as enough of a joke nowadays, they gotta put him in a dress.
I must admit, the first time they encounter Hit-Monkey is amusing; Spidey theorises that if he can't kill Deadpool then Deadpool can just let himself get shot and then heal, derived from the fact that Hit-Monkey isn't aware Deadpool can heal. Spidey then stands up and just gives Deadpool's hiding place away, thus causing him to get peppered with bullets.
Regardless, it's hard to like or dislike this issue because NOTHING HAPPENS. It honestly feels like absolutely nothing happens at all. There's a subplot involving some corrupt cops who are quickly assassinated by Hit-Monkey...so that was pointless. The issue ends with Hit-Monkey attempting to make amends with Spider-Man after attacking him, but Deadpool mistakes it for an attack and engages Hit-Monkey. The final page shows Deadpool getting pumped full of bullets.
I don't know where this is going, it frustrates me. I wish there was some kind of cohesion between his comics, I really do. During his first main on-going series, it honestly felt like each comic had a purpose. The filler issues at LEAST felt solid. Now it feels like hardly anything's going on. These last two issues have been improvements, but it's gonna take something good to dig it out of the hole it has been in since #12.
I can't say I'd recommend this series right now. Get #1 to #12 and then don't bother with any of them until there's a better arc.
I do love the art, though. Chunky and nice, I dig.
Realm of Kings: Inhumans #4 of 5.
So frustrating, I swear to god.
Realm of Kings is truly suffering without a main serious, I feel. I can only hope that somewhere and somehow things end up relating to everything else. Let me clarify that point...
In the one-shot you had all this horrifying shit revealed and things seemed like they would blow up, big time. Then...never heard of again. Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard is doing well, but that's because it has characters I like and contains actual creatures from The Fault. Realm of Kings: Inhumans has gone four issues without really revealing how or why The Fault is connected.
The loose connection of Black Bolt is running through the issues, this one included. Triton and Ra-Venn continue their research within The Fault and come to the conclusion that they can't tell Queen Medusa of their discovery. The reason for this is that they don't want her to get her hopes up of Black Bolt being alive. They agree that if there's some kind of ghost in The Fault, that Black Bolt himself might be, but don't feel that telling her is a viable option yet.
Mainly, though, the story consists of Ronan and co chasing down Maximus who has betrayed them yet again and been revealed as the orchestrator of the Alpha Primitive rebellion. Toward the end of the issue they corner him and it's revealed that Queen Medusa herself had been the one ordering him around.
Could she be a Fault-controlled being? Who knows? With one issue to go, I don't understand nor see how they could possibly connect it to everything else, but we'll see.
Of the two miniseries, this is the one with the least focus. I've stopped reading Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy, though. I can't be missing much as there're only a couple of issues of those left that can be considered tie-ins.
I very much look forward to Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard #5 of 5, but aside from that. I really can't recommend this. The first half of this arc was good, but then...I don't know what happened. It has dissolved.
Dark Wolverine #83.
This is a bit of a weird issue.
After revealing that the Asgardian Fates had dubbed Daken the bringer of Ragnarok (The cycle that ends Asgard and rebirths it again), we saw him kill Norman Osborn. Naturally, it wasn't real and had to be revealed as a daydream in this issue.
We see the Fates continually courting Daken and getting rebuffed for their troubles. They seem certain that Daken is the one for the job, and it's only when they explain things that it gets interesting. You see, Thor ended the Ragnarok cycle and this caused the Fates to be cut from Asgard and somewhat bound to Earth (Best I could tell, anyway). The Fates cannot handle this, they consider it unnatural and explain that Ragnarok MUST occur as it's a natural cycle. Daken, confused, asks what the Hell this has to do with him and, while not totally explained, it's revealed that the circumstances of Ragnarok have changed.
It used to be that Ragnarok could only be brought about by a certain kind of person, but now Daken is somehow eligible. He says he's in, but on his terms and shakes himself out of the hallucination, just in time to get fried by an off-panel Thor (See Siege #2).
The Fates begin plotting their next move with regards to manipulating Daken as the issue ends.
I think Daniel Way meant to hint to a lot of things in this issue, but failed to do so clearly enough. The result is a reasonably odd issue that neither asks nor answers questions. It isn't revealed how Daken is meant to be involved at all, which is expected, but I thought it'd be hinted at a lot more.
I'm curious, so I'll keep reading. I doubt Dark Wolverine is going to have a massive Siege revelation in it, though. I'm sure that'd only ever happen in a Bendis title.
Thor #607.
Now, this is such a nice issue even if Thor isn't in it.
Throughout the issue, multiple things happen that spell quite epic consequences for all involved.
Asgardian hobo, Knut, begins running around prophesising that Asgard will not survive the night, which ends with Loki murdering him after confirming that what he is saying is true, all following a typical scene whereby he is dismissed as a crazy old man by King Balder. This is compounded by the fact that Heimdall contradicts him and says that there IS no threat coming, that he would have seen it if it were true.
The very next morning we see the Siege of Asgard begin (I guess this is where Thor's series catches up). Volstagg, currently held in a jailcell (Willingly), is released by the two jailers so that he can go and defend his home. He vows to return and honour the justice he is served as soon as things are settled, but not before he uses a broadcasting system to plead his case and reveal that he was provoked.
Loki traps Heimdall in some kind of room and tells him that trying to escape will mean his own death. He isn't capable of escaping in this issue, but we must assume he does since he is the one who explains things to Ares.
The issue ends with Volstagg on his way to Asgard as Thor seemingly flies down to greet him, old costume and all. With great vengeance, Thor begins attacking Volstagg, revealing himself to be none other than Ragnarok, the Thor clone from Civil War!
I'm very glad they brought Ragnarok back, simply because I want Thor to smash him into oblivion. Thor is definitely the most effective Siege tie-in right now, seeing as it's the source of the battle.
If you do want to get into Siege but don't want all the tie-ins, Thor #607 is a good issue to pick up. The art is phenomenal, courtesy of Billy Tan, and Kieron Gillen's dialogue gives the Asgardians a robust and potent aura. I'm enjoying this series thoroughly.
The New Avengers #62.
This issue is set before/during Siege.
Following on from the battles in the previous issue, we see Spidey fighting for his life against a Mandrill-hypnotised Spider-Woman. He takes a fairly hefty beating without fighting back before he manages to shake her out of it and the two of them team up. Griffin and Mandrill don't really stand much of a chance against the two and the focus of the issue quickly shifts to the Living Laser Vs Steve and Bucky.
Steve, using the diplomatic approach, tries to reason with the guy but ultimately fails. The coolest moment comes when he tells Laser to walk away and change his life or else. Laser's all like: "...or else what?", "...or else Luke Cage will punch your head off your body.". Something to that degree. Luke Cage then appears and deals Laser and ALMIGHTY uppercut. Such a badass, and a badass entrance.
Bucky overloads him with a stray electrical wire and knocks him out of commission. There's a really, REALLY touching moment at the end of this battle as Luke Cage realises Steve is back. They embrace and it's the first real time you see someone affected by his return. Before they can share pleasantries, Nick Fury and his Secret Warriors appear on a rooftop opposite with rifles aimed directly at them. Convinced they are who they say they are, Nick Fury and his crew follow the three of them back to the area we saw them gathered in during Siege #2.
Upon Steve returning to the base, he meets the assorted Avengers teams for the first time since being back and again, it's a really touching scene. The look on all of their faces, Ms. Marvel especially, is priceless. Luke Cage has the line of the issue, though: "I went to the Living Legends store and this is all they had left.".
Another really cool piece of dialogue is dropped when Spidey and Spider-Woman show up. Spidey says that they wouldn't believe the night they had, but before he can finish his line he sees Fury and Steve together and says: "Ok, you guys clearly had a crazier night.". They gather around to see Thor getting decimated on TV (See Siege #1), to which Steve says something needs to be done (Leading into the planning stage from Siege #2 I guess). Bucky and Fury state that they don't have nearly enough manpower to go up against Osborn, but Steve says it'll have to be.
With the immortal line of "Avengers Assemble!", Steve inspires the group and the issue ends.
I cannot get enough of this team. By "This team" I mean Bendis and Immonen. Stuart Immonen has long proven that he is one of the world's premier comic artists, man. The dude can draw like a motherfucker. Bendis isn't perfect, but when he gets his shit right, he gets his shit RIGHT. The dialogue in this issue, as with most of his latter-Dark Reign and Siege work, is as on point as it needs to be and really does convey a great sense of character understanding and situational gravity.
It feels like they're preparing for a war. Hopefully the relevant tie-ins will have caught up to Siege in time as it's a bit weird reading stuff as if it's happening before Siege. Besides that, which isn't really a negative, I have nothing bad to say.
The Siege tie-ins are not spectacular, they've actually been kinda mediocre up until Thor #607 and this issue. As single comics, they are doing a very good job, though. Again, if anyone wants to get into Siege I have an entire read-order ready for anyone who needs it. it tells you what comics you need to buy and in what order. Don't hesitate to let me know!
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I was going to review Nation X #3 of 4, but it's so fucking shit that I really can't be bothered.
I definitely want to start putting at least one post between editions of Thursday's Comics, but the past two weeks have caused me to be a bit scatterbrained. I'll definitely start doing other posts with the same regularity as I do Thursday's Comics, though. I'm not sure what they'll be, but I'm SURE I'll think of something.
That's all I've got for you today, but keep your eyes glued to this blog! Bookmark me, RSS me or do whatever makes you feel good, because you never know what I might post next! I am very sneaky.
Until next time, peace.
-The Mast
