March 25 Reviews

Immortal Iron Fist #24
Marvel
Writing: Duane Swierczynski
Pencils/Inks/Colors: Kano
Lettering: Nate Piekos
Cover: Patrick Zircher
Editing: Alejandro Arbona, Warren Simons
4/5

Iron Fist takes a break this issue from its current story arc and gives a one shot accounting of an Iron Fist from an ancient time and the story of his trials and triumphs. And even though it's hard to get past how much anticipation there is to see more from the Eighth City after last month's very serious cliffhanger, this is a well told story that easily does the title justice. Swierczynski has the poetic tongue needed to give the book the quality and aura that makes it so special, and this issue is a wonderful testament to this. There's a grace to his language that makes more than a small handful of these panels worth reading twice.

This issue's artist, Kano, delivers exquisitely. His work is atmospheric and detailed, majestically colored and full of grandeur. It's a departure from the kung-fu-noir the series has typically embraced, but it's a beautiful revelation for this stand alone installment. Very well done.

Another great issue of Immortal Iron Fist. Is there any other kind?


Proof #18
Image
Writing: Alex Grecian
Pencils, Inks: Riley Rossmo
Colors: Dave Casey
4/5

Proof, despite it's vast righteousness, continues to be one of the more overlooked comics on the shelves. With each passing month this seems to be increasingly rectified but as of yet it's still a title that deserves a much larger audience than it's received. It's solid comics, and this installment illustrates as much.

This issue takes a step back from the typical timeline of the series and introduces a story from the turn of the century. The second most recent such turn. 'Monsters' are relevant and interesting in any age and this is a fun little jaunt with some fantastic looking art to back it up. It continues next month before presumably returning to and continuing on with the present.

One of the more excited aspects of this title is its dedication to providing a hefty reading experience. With each installment, Grecian and Rossmo go out of their way to provide a letters page, multiple articles, fan drawn pinups, bonus comic strips written by readers or other authors, and various other bits of supplemental material. This issue is no different and will give you plenty of entertainment value for your scrilly.


Guardians of the Galaxy #12
Marvel
Writing: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencils/Inks: Wes Craig
Colors: Wil Quintana
Lettering: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Paul Renavo
Editing: Michael Horwitz, Bill Rosemann
3/5

This issue wraps up the little aside that Guardians has been playing with before it dives into War of Kings, and while it doesn't seem as lively and fun as the one that proceeded it, there's certainly stuff to be enjoyed here. The biggest complaint to be levied against the issue is that most of it revolves around several moments of 'suspense' that are little more than empty threats, resolved quickly and without any real impact on the reader. All serving as a rather artificial series of devices used to bring back several characters that had until now been dead or something like it. In this regard this is a somewhat important issue if you follow, or intend to follow, Marvel's cosmic books, but only in the respect that you will need to know what happened in these pages. The actual reading of them is nothing extraordinary. Find, ya know, an outline or something somewhere.

That said, there's still some fun to be had here for the willing. While not being as meaty as it could have been, the issue has a light playful feeling to it that makes up for some of lack of real suspense in its pages. Several lines of dialogue are joyfully creative, there are some fun spacey concepts, and there's the occasional big dragon. These things may not be totally worth the price of admission, but they definitely keep it readable.


Nova #23
Marvel
Writing: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Pencils/Inks: Andrea Divito
Colors: Bruno Hang
Lettering: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Daniel Acuna
Production: Irene Lee
Editing: Michael Horwitz, Bill Rosemann
4/5

One thing's for certain - Abnett and Lanning sure have kept this title on it's toes, making drastic changes to its dynamic and style on a regular basis. The last several issues have brought the most drastic of these transformations to the table and this one contains a couple doozies as well.

Most notable in this issue though, is that the series starts to pick up some momentum again. While this may seem a weird thing to say given the many alterations it has been undergoing, the title has felt out of character and in a bit of a slump as of late. Changing, sure, but there was uncertainty whether for the better, and questions about where some of the title's charm had gone. In this issue the charisma starts coming back to the surface, and the various changes start shooting off in enough exciting directions that there's a new life to be felt here. And boy is it a relief to say as much, Nova having been one of the most rousing titles on the shelves for several years running now. It would truly be a shame to see this one fall. Very glad that things are looking up.


New Avengers #51
Marvel
Writing: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils/Inks: Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, Billy Tan, Matt Banning
Colors: Justin Ponsor, Antonio Fabela
Letters: Albert Deschesne
Production: Tony Dial
Editing: Jeanine Schaefer, Tom Brevoort
3.5/5

New Avengers continues to be the most consistent of the Avengers titles, which means that it's a must-read for anyone who's interested in keeping up with the core happenings of the Marvel Universe, and that while it's only sometimes a great read it's usually at least decently entertaining and well put together. This also, being Bendis, means that there's probably a fair deal of super talkative pages that only advance the plot in baby steps.

This issue definitely fits this mold. It can be easily broken into two halves. The first - an update on Doctor Strange and the search for the new Sorcerer Supreme. We're shown several of the potential candidates and get a few pages of strange explaining without explaining exactly what the situation is with this whole deal. Most intriguing in all of this are some developments with The Hood, a character who is consistently becoming more and more viable as a major player who deserves serious screen time and attention. The second half of the issue has the team sitting around the table having a conversation over lunch. It's multiple pages of Bendis-speak with several key developments snuck in there for good measure, and ending on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Sure not a lot happens, but this is New Avengers. It's entertaining and at times charming, and it will continue in this fashion very effectively slow-building toward some future event which, when it arrives, will be a big loud substanceless mess that isn't nearly as fun as the buildup.


Unknown Soldier #9
Vertigo
Writing: Joshua Dysart
Pencils/Inks: Alberto Ponticelli
Colors: Oscar Celestini
Lettering: Clem Robins
Cover: Igor Kordey
Editing: Pornsak Pichetshote
4.5/5

This come-from-nowhere title continues to pound forward with it's devastating story of the violence, depravity, godlessness that plagues Uganda and the hearts and souls of those who must live through such an environment. It continues to be one of the most heartbreakingly real things you'll read in weeks and every act of carnage in its pages will stir anger or sorrow in even the most desensitized and jaded readers.

This issue spends more time with the perspective of characters other than the main protagonist, so it doesn't get into the internal struggles and mysterious voices that have made the previous issues so fascinating. It doesn't, however, keep it from being a great read. The supporting cast have emotions and intrigues all their own, and following them gives a great deal of context to what Moses is experiencing and doing.

This issue concludes the opening arc of the story, and in some ways concludes the transformation of Moses from the man he once was to the force of violence he has now become. New readers from hereon in may not feel the full weight of the work without having read the previous issues, and doing so is definitely recommended.

Bottom line is that Unknown Soldier is one of the best new series in quite some time and needs to be read.


Thunderbolts #130
Marvel
Writing: Andy Diggle
Pencils: Bong Dazo
Inks: Joe Pimentel
Colors: Frank Martin
Lettering: Albert Deschesne
Cover: Matt Mattina
Production: Joe Sabino
Editing: Michael Horwitz, Bill Rosemann
3/5

It's hard to know against which standard to judge this issue while reading it. In the context of a Deadpool-centric comic this is quite well done. The jokes found here are far funnier than those in the first installment of this crossover found in Deadpool #8. Far, far funnier. Held against what we've all come to expect from Thunderbolts in this last year or two though, this is a bitter disappointment and quite boring.

Of course it isn't entirely fair to hold this series in comparison against what it was under the previous creative team. Diggle isn't Ellis, and the book is going to have a different personality with him at the helm. But here's where we get to the root of the problem -- this title has no identity. What is this new Thunderbolts? Is it the poor-man's version of the sadistic playtime Ellis oversaw? Is it a goofy playful book that has characters like Deadpool as guest stars and an artist who calls himself 'Bong'? Is it something that demands to be taken seriously? Or is it just biding time for a handful of issues before it finds it's way to the chopping block? So far it's dabbling in all these areas, except perhaps the part where people take it seriously.

This was a fun issue. It didn't flirt with being offensively bad like the last issue of Deadpool did. It'll raise a laugh or two from most readers. At the same time though, it's no where near the bar that's been set for this title, and it didn't do a whole hell of a lot that's going to compel people to return for more in the coming months.


Daredevil #117
Marvel
Writing: Ed Brubaker
Pencils/Inks: Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudino
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Lettering: Chris Eliopoulos
Cover: Marko Djurdjevic
Editing: Alejandro Arbona, Warren Simons
5/5

It's a considerable blow that Brubaker will be leaving this book several months from now. His run has been a thing of dreams, and to think of him leaving, when the title's as good or better than it's ever been, is very much a letdown.

So thankfully, there are still a handful of issues to go before he's gone - and they are looking as though they'll be some great ones. This issue continues the Return of the King story arc that kicked off last month with the phenomenal reintroduction of Wilson Fisk to the fold. This is a story that's been a long time coming. It has roots in, and threads from, countless corners of this title's recent history. And already, it's not disappointing.

Daredevil is such captivating comics because its cast is so devastatingly real, their trials so entirely believable. The best characters are always flawed, and Bru has never written one that isn't. The saga of these people's attempts to struggle through the lives that circumstance and they themselves so frequently destroy is truly compelling reading and the type of thing that allow arguments to be made for comics (even superhero ones) to be considered serious literature.

This issue certainly plays up these elements as it's primarily a series of conversations exploring where characters have been, what they feel, and where they're going in response. It's the type of installment that makes action-filled ones that follow have some severe weight and impact. In many ways, this title has never been about the action anyway. It's the setup and the fallout that is the most meaningful.

If you've not followed the past 117 issues of this book, it's time to hit the library. Daredevil is consistently one of the best titles in Marvel's or any lineup. Let's hope this somehow continues to be true when Diggle takes over the book this fall.


X-Force / Cable : Messiah War Chapter One
Marvel
Writing: Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost
Pencils, Inks, Colors: Mike Choi, Sonia Oback
Lettering: Cory Petit
Cover: Kaare Andrews
Production: Joe Sabino
Editing: Jody LeHeup, John Barber
4/5

This one-shot bridges the gap between Messiah Complex and Messiah War, recapping the first event and summarizing the subsequent happenings that lead up to the second. It does a good job streamlining all of this into a digestible and fluid story, and sets the stage well for what's to come.

After doing that due diligence, the remainder of this issue kicks off the first major move forward into the Messiah War event, bringing the casts and stories of Cable and X-Force together and expanding on elements of the threats they're up against. It's well written and entertaining and, like the set-up & opening of Complex before it, doesn't feel overly contrived or unnatural. The X books' current endeavors may have some baggage and superfluous threads that could use some trimming up, but the core of what they've been up to this last year has been well conceived and certainly very enjoyable to follow. This issue continues that trend.

It's not without possible complaints or concerns. Whenever time travel plays an intricate role in a storyline there are always handfuls of questions, plot holes and oversights that can linger and distract. It's the type of thing that just needs to be looked around / given the benefit of the doubt, and moved on from. Over-thinking time travel can overwhelm and destroy the smartest minds or the nicest afternoons. Depending on how intricate a role this element plays from here on out will determine whether it's something that needs to be given much concern.

This and some additional minor quibbles aside, Messiah War is off to a good start and is showing definite potential. If you're a mutant fan, this is definitely recommended reading.


Captain America #48
Marvel
Writing: Ed Brubaker
Pencils/Inks: Butch Guice w/ Luke Ross, Steve Epting
Colors: Frank D'Armata
Lettering: Joe Caramagna
Editing: Jeanine Schaefer, Tom Brevoort
4/5

This issue concludes the three part 'Old Friends and Enemies' storyline. It's an exciting read, opening with several scenes of intense dialogue and turning quickly into a big action piece. The art looks great as usual, and though the issue reads and is over quickly it's a fun experience in-line with what fans of the series have come to expect.

It's not the best work that the title has put forward. Some of the dialogue falls a bit flat or rings cliched. There's lots of head punching while the outcome is already inevitable to readers. But the series is able to get away with these things because of the richness of the cast, both with each character's own personal story and with their histories together. There are unspoken depths under the surface here that, along with the palpable stylistic ambiance Bru and the art team are slinging, more than make up for any lines of conversation that aren't total zingers. It's the type of storytelling environment that can guest star someone like Namor and feel like it's supposed to. There's a quality and a realness to this book that gives it a feel unlike most of its contemporaries.

Captain America is always worth your time and money. Everyone says so - and everyone knows what they're talking about.