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Today's edition of Thursday's Comics contains a LONG AWAITED comic and does it disappoint? Find out next! Over to you, The Mast!
Thanks.
Thor #610.
This issue is very much a stop gap between Siege and Thor's next story.
After the fall of Asgard, Ragnarok (Clone of Thor) had been crushed under the rubble and the rest of the Asgardians are left to ponder what could have been done to avoid such a tragedy.
Balder invites Thor to becoming King, he denies, but offers to be Balder's advisor. When The Warriors Three unearth someone they THINK is Thor, it turns out to be Ragnarok and they end up severely wounded. Thor kills Ragnarok and all is right with Asgard again.
It's very much a loose-end issue, but the cover is pretty badass. I may even consider getting Kieron Gillen to sign it when he comes to Gosh! Comics.
The next issue, it seems, is written by Matt Fraction with #612 written by Gillen again. I'm not sure when Fraction's run starts, but based on his minis (I FINALLY read them), I'm happy it's him. Do I want Gillen to leave Thor? No.
Stay. Stay Kieron. Stay and write us an epic thunder god for many more times to come.
The Thanos Imperative: Ignition #1.
The Master of Madness, The Titan of Terror, The...Mad Titan!
It's Thanos. He's back, and what a role to play. Leading on from Realm of Kings, the word is out on the Fault and its dangerous inhabitants.
Nova is chasing down the evil Quasar and the real Quasar aids him. Upon chasing him down to The U.C.T.'s H.Q., they discover Adam Magus. The dark alter-ego of Adam Warlock has lead The Universal Church of Truth to the edge of The Fault. In a massive intended explosion of all The Church's worlds, The Fault rips open completely.
It's revealed that the Cancerverse (The universe inside the Fault where nothing dies) is being lead by none other than that universe's version of the long-gone Captain Mar-Vell. He sends for The Revengers (I'm guessing this is the Cancerverse's alternative to The Avengers) and the issue ends.
Throughout, it's shown that the Guardians of the Galaxy have kept the awakened/resurrected Thanos captive on Knowhere. Still in a very feral state, some wish to kill him, some want to use him against the Fault's creatures.
Ignition is the set up to the event entitled The Thanos Imperative. I'm not entirely sure what this is going to entail, but I know the big guns are coming out. The Silver Surfer AND Thanos are involved, so that's how big it is.
The first issue launches next week, so we'll see.
I really dig Dan Abnett's cosmic writing, I've said that so many times. I didn't REALLY dig Realm of Kings, but I kind of hope this is good.
X-Force #27 (Second Coming: Chapter 9).
Remember when I said I didn't get how The Avengers and such could be there to help if the dome had sealed everyone in? Turns out Cyclops, a few others AND The Avengers are outside the dome, trying to find a way in.
I took a bit of a wild guess as to where exactly the portal inside the dome lead to, the one birthing all the Nimrod Sentinels. Turns out I was right. The portal that Bastion created in the dome happens to lead to the Days of Future Past timeline. For those of you who don't know what that is, click here.
An incredible story, it's the timeline where Sentinels rule North America and all surviving mutants are hunted or put into concentration camps.
Nimrod, the advanced hunter-Sentinel from that timeline, was a big deal in this time. With Nimrod eventually going on to be merged with Master Mold, becoming Bastion, it's actually quite poetic.
A huge battle ensues at the portal opening. It's wordless art for the first few pages of this issue and, courtesy of Mr. Choi, it really doesn't disappoint.
After a crunch meeting and with several X-Members in a terrible state (Hellion, for example, has a both hands and part of a forearm missing from the battle). Cyclops gives a pretty foreboding pep talk. With a calculated 170,000 Nimrods coming through that portal, they only have one option: to send X-Force into that timeline and destroy Bastion's production of Sentinels. As common with ALL Second Coming stories, this one really does pile on the epic sense of impending doom.
For example, when it's revealed that X-Force can't actually come back due to Cable only having enough power left for one more time jump, it truly feels shocking. Even though you know Wolverine and Co. will return, it's still a magnificently poised scene.
The most genuinely killer scene is at the end. You see the look of undeniable fear on the faces of those X-Men left in the dome, facing the portal, as Colossus says, "We need to not be here." As the issue finishes, the last panel depicts an ungodly amount of Nimrod Sentinels passing through, ready to end mutantkind for good.
Look, I'm not gonna say it again. Read this story-arc.
If you do not buy these issues now, I am going to ram advertising for the trade paperback down everyone's throat until someone purchases it.
Of all the series' I never expected to be a brilliant read, it had to be the franchise I couldn't stand for many years. The one franchise I'd always been let down by, The X-Men, has finally delivered.
Secret Avengers #1.
If I've been awaiting one series, it's this. The writer of my all time favourite Daredevil run outside of Frank Miller, Ed Brubaker...and Mike Deodato, one of my favourite artists right now.
Secret Avengers sees Captain Steve Rogers reveal his post-Siege, post-Captain America role in the world of Marvel. The book opens with his voice-over telling us that he's afraid of the threats in today's world that people DON'T know about, the ones that you can't see until it's too late.
Let me start by saying the art on this issue is fucking gorgeous. I'm so glad Deodato didn't just stop doing a series I loved after Dark Avengers.
A balding, fat male is being accompanied to his private quarters by two very voluptuous female escorts. After revealing he works for Roxxon you just know he's in for some violence. You'd be right! His hands make themselves a bit busier than one of the escorts would like and she decks him. Who are they? None other than Black Widow and Valkyrie of course! After calling for extraction, they fight off the guy's guards and locate the case they came for. Close to being overwhelmed, Captain Rogers just barrels through the window and just starts taking everyone out.
It's actually too heroic. Even without the outfit and the shield, the dude does the business. It's a terribly exciting and well drawn scene, seriously.
The rest of the issue is a well plotted explanation of how this team came to be, and why. It borrows from the Thunderbolts theme of having some less than savoury characters that are out for redemption (Moon Knight, Eric O'Grady/Ant Man) and The Avengers theme of having out and out heroes (Everyone else: Nova, Valkyrie, War Machine, Beast etc).
Nova is in space, but lost contact with the rest of the team and so they go off to rescue him. You see, the team are after these special artifacts for some unexplained reason. One is apparantly on Mars, one is in the possession of the Secret Avengers. Nova lost radio contact while retrieving one piece, hence the rescue. The other was in the bald man's case.
Anyway, the real big, HUUUGE reveal comes when the team take off for space. Sharon Carter is left to hold down the forte and finds herself knocked unconscious. Who by? Nick Fury! Nick Fury's new outfit claim rights to these artifacts and nobody knows why.
What I do know is that this shit is epic and I'm in.
Get in, guys.
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Thanks for reading this edition of Thursday's Comics. I appreciate all readers AND comments (Of which there have been lots of lately! My threats worked!, so really, thanks.
According to some kind of irrelevant British working vacation day, Thursday's Comics will be delayed next week. I don't actually know when they'll be available, but as soon as they are, you bet your kids and house that I'll review them!
I'm sure I'll get another review up between now and then. What do YOU guys want to hear more about? What characters, series or graphic novel are you interested in?
We shall see!
Also, due to my internet being fucking ridiculous lately thanks to line faults, I may not be as quick with the updates. Bear with me.
Until next time, peace.
-The Mast
