Greetings and welcome to Welcome to the Mast! Yes, name of blog and also a greeting! I am The Mast, I am back to talk your rotten faces off with some words arranged in order. When read in order, my opinions will be revealed!
I don't think I have much to blog about today. There is a teaser to The Avengers online, somewhere. It's just Nick Fury's voiceover saying that there comes a day when Earth's mightiest heroes have to unite to fight a force they cannot defeat alone, and on that day, The Avengers were born.
It's pretty nice, but the movie hasn't even begun shooting yet so...people need to chill. It's nice that it all feels very, very real, though.
I bought nine comics today, but I will be reviewing just four. It saves time and after all, this blog IS about what comics I enjoyed most and think you should get. Shadowland: Bullseye is a pretty fun, yet inconsequential and non-essential one-shot about how he's haunting some kid from beyond the grave. I hope his death sticks, but we'll see.
Let's get this cracking.
S.H.I.E.L.D. #3.
Once again, I really cannot say much of this series because hardly ANYTHING is being revealed!
So far, Leonardo Da Vinci has travelled forward in time (Though still in the past) to apparently re-write a wrong that the original Brotherhood of the Shield has committed, or will commit. He is passing his role on to young Leonid, who doesn't feature in this issue. Don't feel bad for not having a clue what's going on, because it's not clear yet.
One thing I will say is that if you are not versed in history, science or even very dense vocabulary, then you will find this series confusing or boring. It has the potential to be one of the greatest series' of all time, to me. It combines so many great, well written elements.
This issue is told from the narrative stance of Sir Isaac Newton. Taken under the wing of Galileo, he has been seeking answers to things he cannot find anywhere he has been looking. Galileo sends him off to find said knowledge in the kingdom of The Deviants, an alien race. He mates with one of their females, is accepted into their culture and absorbs their secret knowledge for the purposes of The Brotherhood of the Shield. It is implied, I believe, that Newton is a mutant. I cannot confirm this, but the leader of the aliens says he is very unique.
Don't get me wrong, Hickman's writing is stellar and he clearly is the guy to be writing these characters in these settings, with this subject matter. I do strongly feel that this story will read immeasurably better as a trade, though. It has such a dense plot that reveals nothing much, and it's going at one issue every two months. I'm gonna stick with it because I've started, but if you haven't and you ARE interested, wait for the trades.
The art...well. I would dare say it's among the best in any comic as of this time. Dustin Weaver is absolutely FLAWLESS. Majestic. Any superlative I could use is applicable. I appreciate it more so because I also have the sketch variant of #1, but the colours and inking all come together to prove what is essentially amazing pieces of art in a comic book.
My favourite part was Galileo confronting Galactus with a being of unknown energy advising him. A younger Galileo, mind you, back in Rome circa the 1500s. Instead of letting Galactus destroy Earth, they devise a contraption that can create an entirely new world. A new world that would serve as home should Earth ever be destroyed. Now...I think that instead of doing this...they just use the energy to satiate Galactus directly.
It really is all very clandestine, especially considering I last read this series when S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 came out back on June 2nd!
I can't recommend it, I can't. Trades? For sure. I'm not avoiding recommendation due to quality, just the subject matter and the fact that this series is on a delayed schedule.
Deadpool: Wade Wilson's War #3 of 4.
With the end to this mini-series fast approaching, I cry. Where will Duane Swierczynski, arguably Deadpool's greatest writer since Kelly's run, go? Probably nowhere near Deadpool.
Such a fucking brilliant series. It's packed with violence, gore, hilarious quips by Deadpool and the fourth wall-breaking everyone loved him for.
Still on trial, we just get Deadpool continuing to tell the Senate of his exploits as a member of a U.S. government secretly sanctioned team. It involves lots of killing, his team mates (Bullseye, Silver Sable and Domino) getting killed and him conveniently escaping. A satellite, the Senator reveals, proves he is lying about how events transpired, but Deadpool insists.
Domino is proven to be alive, to Deadpool's shock, and shoots him upon being brought into the courtroom.
This is packed full of tremendous dialogue and very Tarantino-esque artwork courtesy of Pearson. Deadpool even references Robert Rodriguez, the soon-to-be Deadpool movie director (We hope!). He even goes so far as to use the first issue of this series as proof of what he is saying.
It's just so self-aware and so brilliant. Definitely a trade that any Deadpool-curious person should be picking up and looking out for.
The Avengers: Prime #2 of 5.
Another mini-series that suffers delays, but nonetheless, one I've been waiting for.
The team of Bendis and Davis works real well in many areas, not so good in others. That is to mean that Bendis seems to be losing his touch in certain areas, where as the art of Alan Davis is fucking beautifully classic on every page.
The Trinity (The unofficial name for Iron Man, Thor and Steve Rogers) have been split up, each ending up in one of the nine realms; Thor is trapped by The Enchantress in one, Captain Rogers is caught in another and Iron Man is in what I believe could be Svartalfheim or Vaneheim. The general gist of this story is how each man must overcome their respective pickles to end up back on Earth/Midgard. So with that said, let me tell you what I LOVE and dislike.
Bendis writes a badass Thor, he really does. The sections where Thor and The Enchantress go at it verbally and physically are extremely well drawn and scripted. The Captain Rogers stuff seems pretty bland, but it's the Iron Man parts that bug me. I don't know if it's the influence of the movies, but he's being portrayed in many different ways. Bendis tends to portray him as an arrogant douche with too much immaturity, where as Fraction is portraying him as a semi-repentant hero who has forgot what it means to be a hero.
Some of the things that Stark says in this issue just smack of Robert Downey Jr. It's not as good when it's read as it is when he's saying it. Granted, it's not as bad as Bendis' diabolical Iron Man dialogue in The Avengers, but it's still a bit uncharacteristic. Also, why does Captain Rogers say that he speaks a little Italian? Sure, the comment was made in jest, but as someone who has been through what he has, does what he does and knows what he knows, surely he'd speak more languages. I'm pretty sure it's a known fac that he speaks German and Russian. Additionally, why does he seem surprised that Earth is called Midgard? He knows that. It's not like Bendis, in my opinion, to be so sloppy.
The Enchantress reveals to Thor that his moving of Asgard to Earth has caused tremendous unsettlement in all other of the nine realms. Realms are bleeding into each other and, she says, it's Thor's doing. Hela, to cap it all off, has reclaimed the area Thor is in as her new Hel. Naturally, Thor and Hela get into violence over it and the effects of the battle bleed into the realm Stark is in.
I'm totally excited to see where this goes and how it resolves. Thhis takes place immediately after Siege. Like, right after the battle has ended. So everything else is happening after they presumably get home. How do they? How do they resolve their differences? That's what everyone's waiting to find out. I personally have a harder time agreeing that a Bendis-written Iron Man would regain a friendship with Thor, as opposed to the more humble Fraction-written Iron Man. There are multiple continuity/character errors as it stands, but Bendis claims it will all make sense in the end.
Check it out. With the delays, you should easily be able to get the first issue, too.
Shadowland #2 of 5.
People seem to have issues with this mini-series, so let me tell you what I think about that.
Those consistently criticising Daredevil and Shadowland seem to have no regular interest nor overall connection to his character. This is a brilliant Daredevil story and Diggle/Johnston totally get the character. People who don't really need to stop talking like they do.
Anyway, Shadowland #2...
Matt's going far. Too far. The Kingpin approaches Luke Cage and Iron Fist in a sly attempt to reclaim New York, specifically Hell's Kitchen, from The Hand's clutches. He has a point, really. Like it or not, Daredevil needs to be stopped. How? That's what the big question is. Luke Cage, Iron Fist and a few others trick their way into Shadowland to have words. It appears, thankfully, that Daredevil DOES have some reasoning skills, but ultimately he chooses to adopt the with-or-against mentality that he is fond of recently. Interestingly, Misty Knight informs Daredevil that mob bosses are getting assassinated, to which he says The Hand has a no-kill policy. So either he's lying, or there's a rogue cell...
Diggle really nails some good Spider-Man dialogue, also showing up at this time, when he says something about the black suit thing never ending well. It gave me a real chuckle.
The Kingpin makes his big move when he summons none other than Ghost Rider, who is revealed at the end to be tearing his way into Shadowland's basement and working his way up. This is where things WILL pick up, and the art on those last couple of splash pages is PHENOMENAL. Billy Tan nails that shit. Ghost Rider won't mess around, at all. He'll go in and he'll do damage.
I'm so excited to see how shit all unfolds. Elektra's involvement is to be revealed, on top of it all.
It's all heading to a car crash finale, and with Marvel already advertising that there'll be a new character that becomes The Man without Fear (Don't...get...me...started), I'm riveted.
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Thank you SO much for reading, I appreciate it greatly.
To the people who have been commenting more frequenly, thank you! I really do appreciate your words and your comments. Sincerely.
Don't forget to drop me a comment if you're interested in getting into comics, or tell me if my blog has spurred you to do just that. What are YOU reading? What do you think of it? What do you think of what I'M reading if you read it too? Let's talk!
Tune in on Saturday for my 85th post and the 1st day of The Mast's 30 Days of Comicdom!
Until next time, peace.
-The Mast
