Hello, you. Welcome to this blog. It's a blog about comics. It's called Welcome to the Mast and I am The Mast, but so is the blog! Multiple meanings, I likes them.
Today, I make a painful decision. I am no longer going to be reviewing Deadpool's comics on this blog until further notice. In less uncertain terms, until Deadpool's comics actually start being worth my time, I'm not gonna give them the time. Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War and anything by Duane Swierczynski aside, don't expect to see anymore Deadpool here.
Before we get onto talking about the printed deliciousness that we all love so much, I have something excellent to share.
The previous pictures from the Thor movie have left people with mixed feelings, myself included. The new ones are no different, but they've certainly done a lot more to ease my mind!
Odin and his throne room. To the right you can see Hogan and Fandral of The Warriors Three, with what I assume to be Volstagg's leg. In the centre, of course we have Thor. To the far left, and most importantly, we have Frigga (Odin's wife) and Loki. Loki has his HORN HELMET. This is joyous, absolutely joyous.
Now, many have said it looks too shiny, clean and too much like a scene from the long-forgotten Masters of the Universe movie. In a way, it definitely does, but I don't think it looks bad at all. We've seen many different depictions of Asgard, and while I would have preferred a darker tone, maybe it will work well. You never know. Someone made a tremendous point regarding Odin's costume when they said that, in the comics, Odin has been seen wearing far more flamboyant and ridiculous attire.
So far, though, Loki and Thor look utterly brilliant in most shots.
Here we see the god of thunder with his father, Odin. I'm glad they're making Hopkins look bigger than Hemsworth, it really is a good idea. Odin is the Asgardian ruler, he SHOULD be immense. That's a thoughtful touch, I must say. Thor, again, looks terrific I feel. I do wonder where his helmet is, and I do hope he has it, but if he doesn't, it won't be the end of the world. That said, Loki has one and Odin has one. I see no reason why the most iconic of them all would be missing his.
Finally, the one that silenced by doubts most of all...
I saw Chris Hemsworth in Star Trek and I had seen publicity shots of him, neither of which gave me the vibe that he was going to look the part. This proves just what kind of dedication he appears to have to the role. He actually looks like Thor, a believable god of thunder. No, that is not him hitting something with Mjolnir. I'm guessing that is him removing Mjolnir from its crater, as seen after the credits of Iron Man 2.
My one curiosity above all else, besides whether or not it'll be good, is whether they'll have him use Asgardian dialect. I hope they do. I hope they don't welch out on it just because they think audiences will find it boring.
Get psyched!
Anyway, on to the comics!
The Avengers #3.
Let me prefix this review by saying that I love certain things that John Romita Jr. does as an artist. I love his Daredevil run, his first major run on any comic. I loved his work on The Man without Fear, a mini-series he did with Frank Miller. I generally like most of his early work.
On The Avengers? I must say that I am waiting to be sold on it. It was pretty good in the first issue, but I feel like as soon as action happens, it is the worst style to use nowadays.
So, The Horsemen of Apocalypse and Apocalypse himself have burst into the present day via an opening in time, caused by the various dilly-dallyings of Kang and The Next Avengers killing Immortus in the future. A gigantic battle erupts in which Bendis shows how well he can write Thor, punctuated by some pretty tense action pieces involving the other members of the team.
Eventually, Thor whoops them all and they disappear through time before he can finish the job. Maria Hill is on scene to call the shots, and I'm glad to see Bendis is still writing her character.
Iron Man and The Protector (Noh-Varr) are tasked with making a new time machine, necessary due to Wonder Man destroying the previous one. Noh-Varr does this fairly instantly while Hawkeye, Spidey and a few others take off to deal with some other business. Lo and behold, another time-travelling inhabitant arrives in the present day; Killraven. He also brought a dinosaur.
Now, I am very curious to see the development of this story and these characters. Bendis writes, as always, with extreme competence and makes it no hard task for you to enjoy the dialogue he packs the book with. My issue lies with the fact that the story has lost all sense of urgency to me. On top of that, I really need Romita Jr. to hook me in with his art. A combination of the less-than-enthralling story AND art that I'm not enjoying is a surefire way to bore me. Being that it IS The Avengers, I'm less inclined to ditch the comic, but to be considering that at such an early stage is no good sign.
It's only three issues in, so if this is something you're interested in, go grab the first two. I don't necessarily think the art or the story will make it too easy for readers with no prior knowledge, but I'm always here to fill in any gaps.
The New Avengers #2.
The problem I have with this, The Avengers and the Marvel Universe in general right now, is the fact that there are way too many conflicting stories.
I'm sick of Wolverine and Spider-Man. Please have one or the other, and one team each. Spider-Man being on this team, while doing his own thing in The Amazing Spider-Man, AND being on The Avengers...it's too much of a stretch for me. Wolverine more so! He's an X-Man, he's in X-Force, he's in two Avengers teams...you know? I totally respect how hard writers work to make continuity smooth, and thus I am willing to overlook certain errors in it.
Right now, though, it seems as if they're ignoring continuity for the sake of pushing certain characters into the market. Spider-Man sells, Wolverine sells. They do not need to be this over-exposed. It just makes it a little harder for me to lose myself to the continuity.
Anyway, that aside, this book really did grab my attention. I enjoy the specificity of magic-based stories because they require certain characters to be involved. Luke Cage is possessed, as are Daimon Hellstrom and Dr. Strange, which is NO good for The New Avengers. As they struggle to keep the Eye of Agamotto from the possessed heroes, a battle breaks out across Central Park. The dialogue, also by Bendis, is really enjoyable here. The interactions between Spidey, Dr. Strange and Wolverine are quite sharp. Ms. Marvel, thankfully, gets a lot of play here and I hope she remains a regular member.
As the epic battle breaks out through the park, drawn impeccably by the remarkable Stuart Immonen, Dr. Strange and Daimon Hellstrom come around back to normal. The Thing and Ms. Marvel take the lead in trying to subdue the maddened Luke Cage, and succeed in getting the Eye to Iron Fist. They do so just in time to see the, as yet, unknown demon transfer right into Iron Fist's body in a desperate attempt He disappears with the Eye of Agamotto, much to the horror of all the magic wielders present. Dr. Voodoo, having just shown up, is met with a lashing by Hellstrom. Deservedly so, being that he was the Sorcerer Supeme and should've protected it.
Dr. Strange ominously tells The New Avengers that without the Eye, they forfeit. When asked what is being forfeited, he says, "Everything". The sky is shown to be a fiery red, ripping open in a hellish blaze.
It's a terrific image to end the issue on, and one of my favourite splash pages of recent memory.
Like I said, I really enjoy that magical stories are more of a specialist situation, thus requiring more of a story/character driven scenario. I'm excited to see where this goes! It's only two issues in and you don't REALLY need prior knowledge, to MY knowledge at least, to get into it.
I do apologise if my reviews of Avengers titles can be a little non-descript lately. It's just that with so many of them out, spaced apart, and with all the other things I read and enjoy more, it's hard for me to be too invested.
I hope you still enjoy them though!
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That's about it for now. The only other comics that came out this week were Deadpool #25, Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth #13 (The final issue of that series) and Lady Deadpool's one-shot. As you've read and can probably imagine, it's not happening. Not until they give me reason to review them.
If any of you are at Comic Con, you suck. I just saw the Marvel booth's signing schedule and cried myself into submission.
Regarding comics, next week SHOULD be better, if a little quiet, and I will be back tomorrow with a pretty cool and timely reminder of something!
Until then, peace.
-The Mast
