Welcome to the Mast! You know the purpose of this blog, why I'm here and what my name is. That makes it reasonably hard to do an introduction, so from this moment henceforth onward, I will be called Ruddiger.
Jokes aside, I have come back with this week's edition of Thursday's Comics!
Also, not only will The Mast's 30 Days of Comicdom be rolling again (Starting below), but I may have two doses of pretty sweet news over the coming weeks!
For now, though, let's talk some story!
Thursday's Comics.
X-Force: Sex & Violence #3 of 3.
A rather decent end to what has been a surprising series.
I don't believe this series could've gone beyond three issues as it simply doesn't have enough to carry it. What IS there, however, is really excellent. I've been singing the praises of this mini since it came out, so I'll try to keep this short and not tread old ground.
Basically, it's like issues #1 and #2. There's lots of fighting, Domino and Wolverine are taken to The Assassins' Guild and Belladonna orders them dead. Lots of blood, lots of fighting and a final appearance by the traditional X-Force line-up, adding more blood and violence to the proceedings.
All works out in the end. Wolverine and Domino, thanks for X-Force, escape and the money stolen gets donated to an orphanage. Well, some of it, thanks to Domino, haha. She shows up at the end having bought Wolverine what looks like a Ford Mustang. Not too shabby!
They drive off together and Wolverine insists he's still mad while, and no I'm not lying, Domino gives him oral sex. You don't see it, naturally, but she tells him to keep his eyes on the road and then the last shot only shows Wolverine in the driving seat. Presumably because she's doing other things!
If you can, and you should be able to, get the trade of this series as soon as possible. It should read really well and it's a deliciously brutal, fun, sexy piece of drawn candy. Dell'Otto's art is, as always, very nice and Yost/Kyle prove why they are such a successful duo at writing these characters.
A hearty recommendation.
The Thanos Imperative #4 of 6.
This is a series that I am glad is picking up a glorious head of steam in the run up to its finale.
Thanos, having been killed in The Cancerverse by Drax in the last issue, almost immediately comes back to life. What's his first action? He kills Drax. Thanos is so fucking badass. You don't even get it, man.
The whole push is that Nova's assembled team (Gladiator, Surfer, Ronan, Quasar, Beta Ray Bill) have gone into the enemy starship in an attempt to hit them where it hurts and end the war for good. In doing so, Lord Mar-Vell reveals that he is now aware that they are but a distraction, and that the avatar of Death (Thanos) is in THEIR universe.
Let me just say that for someone I barely cared about, Lord Mar-Vell is becoming a really sinister, believably formidable antagonist. Abnett and Lanning have done a stellar job of making everyone nail their roles.
Something really awesome, for me, was just how brilliantly Abnett writes Surfer. There's a part during the attack where Nova shouts out that The Revengers are the big guns to look out for. Surfer obliterates them and says, "After this, we shall review how the weight behind that term differs between us." Basically saying, "Yeah, I just whooped the so-called big guns. I'm the fucking man. Polish my surfboard."
It's epic. If Surfer gets another on-going and Marvel don't intend to cancel it after 14 fucking issues, I want Abnett on it.
What I really love in comics, above most other aspects, is a really delicious ending. A lovely splash page that makes you salivate for the next issue.
After Lord Mar-Vell heads to The Cancerverse with The Revengers to get Thanos, he blows up the starship with the whole of Nova's team still inside. They survive, naturally, but only for Surfer to tell them that they have vastly underestimated the opposition. I agree, and that's what surprised me, again, about Lord Mar-Vell. He BEASTS Nova in this issue. Nova. It's epic.
In The Cancerverse, The Guardians of the Galaxy are met with The Revengers on the last page, complete with The Cancerverse's version of War Machine.
I would say that this probably reads better in trade format, same for Realm of Kings. Opposed to War of Kings, which reads awesome in any fucking format.
If cosmic Marvel is something that tickles your noodle, or you want it to, then Abnett is where the action is, and so is The Thanos Imperative.
The New Avengers #4.
Hmm.
The New Avengers...it's definitely not the worst of the newest Avenger-centric titles, but it's certainly not the best.
I have raised my issues with Bendis as of late, and I don't see any of those problems rearing their head in this title, but I would honestly like it if the line-ups were properly defined, without sharing three members with The Avengers.
So, the last issue ended with The Ancient One revealing himself to be behind all the magical chaos. What else was said between him and Danny Rand, Iron Fist, is unknown...until now.
This issue contains varying assortments of chaos, but I have one gripe. It seems to be that the characters, until the end, are simply telling us that loads of shit is happening. There never seems to be much HAPPENING, just lots of dialogue saying it is. Once again, Bendis shines with Luke and Jessica Jones-Cage. He writes them so brilliantly that any scene with them is just a joy to behold.
Spider-Man is another character he writes well, but I'm getting a little burn-out from him. Not EVERY line he says has to be funny. We get it, he's a wise-cracker and cracks wise in situations that aren't always best, but...ALL the time? I do think his dialogue between himself and The Thing, as well as Ms. Marvel, is something that can develop into one of the best character dynamics Marvel has, though.
With that said, it's only four issues in and it does feel like a lot has happened, but not...at the same time.
We're a little the wiser as to what's going on. Iron Fist falls out of the crack in the sky with a brand new white and gold suit, before punching Dr. Strange in the face. That's the culmination of this issue, really. Danny says that The Ancient One told him how this attack is minor compared to what will happen if The Eye of Agamotto isn't given back to its rightful place. Now, what that rightful place is, who it belongs to, and just what Dr. Strange is hiding? Nobody knows besides Bendis. I must admit, I am intrigued now.
I shall watch carefully.
Daredevil #510.
Let me quickly and briefly re-cap Shadowland #3.
Daredevil gets into a fight with his former friends, The Kingpin proposes he be stopped once and for all, with some heroes inclined to agree. Elektra enters the fray and appears to take his side. Master Izo reveals that he is being used as a vessel for The Beast, the demon that The Hand worship. Killing Bullseye weakened the barrier between the worlds and allowed him to get a total grip on Daredevil. The biggest revelation is that Daredevil reveals he needs a new champion, a fighter he can trust. He is then seen digging up Bullseye from his grave.
Enter Daredevil #510.
Daredevil falls further and further off the deep end as he almost kills Black Tarantula for daring to suggest this has gone far enough. With Elektra and Typhoid Mary at his side, he seems to be almost inapproachable and unstoppable at this point. Whatever magic or power is affecting him has started to affect Hell's Kitchen throughout.
Looters, rioters, muggers. It's all happening.
Dakota North and Foggy Nelson are soon accosted by ninja claiming to be from The Hand, but they're not. Almost meeting their end, Black Tarantula saves them and expresses his worry that Matt has gone beyond being stopped safely, wondering what it's going to take.
When he approaches the possessed White Tiger about this, accompanied by many ninja of The Hand, she says that all looters and rioters are to be executed by order of Lord Daredevil.
Now, I've not got many negative things to say about Andy Diggle. I do think this whole series is really well written and gives a dramatically overwhelming sense of dread toward Daredevil. However, I think that he's playing fast and loose with plot details a bit.
So, the issue ends, shockingly, with White Tiger murdering Black Tarantula with a katana and throwing him off a roof. Even though B.T. isn't someone I'm totally fond of, his death did shock me. One, because I didn't expect it. Two, because it can't seriously be the final death in the story. I'm wondering who's next!
The question is, as a Daredevil aficionado, what do I think?
I think Shadowland has suffered. It started brilliantly, but it has suffered. We have not seen enough Daredevil throughout, it's not clear how this is all affecting him or what he's thinking/feeling. Not in Shadowland, nor in his main title. It has also suffered due to Marvel's obsessive habit of spoiling stories months in advanced with explicit solicits. Now, I don't read them, but I know there's gonna be a new Man without Fear.
This is why Shadowland is suffering. People are way too concerned with what's gonna happen after that they're not totally invested in what's happening NOW anymore. I must sadly agree, I am one.
I said this to my good friend Andrew a while back, Daredevil has been blessed with such amazing stories and such a long succession of competent writers that it's only a matter of time before Marvel decides it's working too well and fuck it up.
Now it has been revealed that there's this new Daredevil: Reborn mini-series in January. Like, it's been on the rumour mill that Matt was gonna die, for a while now anyway. It would've had minimal impact as it is, unless done right, but now we know that he's gonna come back, and when?
I'm so fucking angry about all this, but my logic is key and I will wait to see what happens before I truly commit that anger.
Shadowland has fallen under what I consider to be horribly mismanaged marketing and timing. It's the fall of Matt Murdock, but not in the way we all were interested in.
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That's about all I've got time for today.
Stay tuned for the latest installment of The Mast's 30 Days of Comicdom tomorrow, as well as some possibly delicious news to come!
Until next time, peace.
-The Mast.
