February 4 Reviews

Punisher #2
Marvel
Writing: Rick Remender
Pencils, Inks: Jerome Opena
Colors: Dan Brown
Lettering: Joe Caramagna
Editing: Axel Alonso, Sebastian Girner
2.5/5

This was a quick flashy read and though decently entertaining it also lacked any real substance.

Start. Punisher meets guy who knows everything about everything because he's good with computers. Punisher hates Norm Osborn. Guy tells Punisher about Osborn's various shady endeavors. He knows of them all because, hey, computers. Punisher kills all people involved. Because Punisher hates Norm Osborn. Small theme about media controlling public perception. Unless you know all of everything. Because of those crazy computers. Scene with vomiting. End. Excuse me, to be continued.

In fairness, this was all carried out with some degree of competency from the creative team, it just happened to lack interestingness. Whether they'll bring character development, stories with weight, or anything silly like that into the mix remains to be seen.


Secret Warriors #1
Marvel
Writing: Jonathan Hickman
Pencils, Inks: Stefano Caselli
Colors: Daniele Rudoni
Lettering: Dave Lanphear
Cover: Jim Cheung
Production: Anthony Dial
Editing: Jeanine Schaefer, Tom Brevoort
4/5

Most of Jonathan Hickman's previous work has been somewhat more experimental in design philosophy than the average Marvel title. In this, his debut with the company, he reveals how his style translates to the more common format and what new elements he can bring.

It seems he's going to do quite well. His dialog works sufficiently, and the characters have discernible personality. His real strength is his mastery of complex organizations - be they corporations, militant groups, or otherwise - and how they interact with politics, history, each other and themselves. The plot of this title will never be straight-forward or simple. It will also probably be awesome.

The art looks good and the cover is far more impressive than most mainstream hero titles. A heavy dose of extra material rounds things out and is highly reminiscent of Hickman's creator-owned work. It's a wonderful example of the type of production we should be able to expect from all comics.

A strong debut.


Immortal Iron Fist #22
Marvel
Writing: Duane Swierczynski
Pencils, Inks: Travel Foreman
Colors: Matt Milla
Lettering: Artmonkeys Studio
Editing: Alejandro Arbona, Warren Simons
4/5

This issue kicks off a new arc of Immortal Iron Fist as Swierczynski presses on with his duties of continuing the tale that Fraction and Brubaker so fantastically began. He's done a good job so far and does so here as well. Moody supernatural complexities continue to hold center stage and while it may not have the pop and pizazz of the previous team's dialogue, the plots and general feel are still very fun.

While being a natural continuation of the series until now, a lot of this issue is set-up for the next several to follow. It preps the stage and sets the tone, doing both well, and concludes with enough melancholy, intrigue, and obstacles in play to leave the book with plenty of promise moving forward.

The art is hit and miss. It is very effective in darker scenes when shadows obscure some detail. Thankfully about half the comic is comprised of this look. The bevy of hideous monsters that inhabit the eighth city are truly horrendous, very creative and by-and-large are very cool. In the case of some brighter scenes however, particularly the ones in New York, the art isn't nearly as inspired and feels bland and undeveloped. Characters are set over backgrounds and environments with little to no texture details whatsoever. A colorist can try, but there's not much that can be done with that.

All-in-all, Immortal Iron Fist remains recommended reading.


Agents of Atlas #1
Marvel
Writing: Jeff Parker
Pencils: Carlo Pagulayan
Inks: Jason Paz
Colors: Jana Schirmer
Letterer: Nate Piekos
Cover: Art Adams, Guru
Editing: Lauran Sankovitch, Nathan Cosby, Mark Paniccia
3/5

Not the most immediately enticing first issue, but it got the job done. Lots of time is spent paying tribute to Dark Reign and defining the title's role within the current Marvel landscape. Action, jokes, and surprises are had, and though it's a pretty good read it does drag at times and it isn't particularly memorable.

It's a series worth keeping an eye on. This issue wasn't a home run but the talent seems solid and it'll be interesting to see how the title turns out once the intros are out of the way.


Deadpool #7
Marvel
Writing: Daniel Way
Pencils: Paco Medina
Inks: Juan Vlasco, Sandu Florea
Letterer: Cory Petit
Cover: Jason Pearson
Editing: Jody Leheup, Axel Alonso
3.5/5

There's not much to analyze about this series. It looks good, the coloring in particular, it's very simple to read and follow, and it asks for next to nothing from the reader outside a playful attitude and a tolerance of abundant immaturity. The goal here is some good-time adolescent humor, and for every couple jokes and pop-culture references that fall flat there's one that absolutely hits the mark.

It's far from lofty but it can turn a giggle or two.


Invincible Iron Man #10
Marvel
Writing: Matt Fraction
Pencils, Inks: Savador Larroca
Coloring: Frank D'Armata
Lettering: Joe Caramagna
Editing: Alejandro Arbona, Warren Simmons
4/5

With the post Secret Invasion changing of the guard heading into the Dark Reign era, Norman Osborn is the new Tony Stark. He gets face time in more Marvel books than he doesn't. The various Avengers titles all revolve around his actions. Any readers who aren't sick of him yet, will most definitely become so in the near future.

And while this is all a lamer version of what we've seen happen before it does work to our advantage in that it takes Stark off the main stage and leaves his future solely in the hands of Matt Fraction.

All comic characters should be so lucky.

It's no secret to any long-time readers that here at Newseed, Fraction is considered something of a comic messiah. And while this particular issue doesn't exactly justify this claim, it does give us an idea of how Fraction is going to move forward with this newfound freedom he has with the character. Most notably, it shows restraint. It's probably tempting to immediately set off multitudes of ideas, and with works like Casanova in his portfolio Fraction clearly has that bug in him. But he must see Iron Man as a different type of book and is keeping the throttle pulled back until the time is right.

The title will be better off for it. Too many series force themselves to have at least one blockbuster moment each installment and quickly dilute themselves in the process. Instead of turning to that path, Fraction instead uses this issue to better illustrate much of the current status quo than numerous attempts by other books have managed. The falling of Stark's company and image is a huge deal in the Marvel world, and giving it due diligence lends some credibility to this somewhat preposterous outcome of Secret Invasion.

And it's not as though there weren't some exciting or prelude-to-exciting moments to be found here. For someone who can be so direct and hilarious, Fraction has a knack for subtlety. Some of the most interesting and intelligent concepts in this issue are secreted away in seemingly disposable bits of dialogue. Tony, in his 'failure,' is retreating back into destructive self involvement - and with increasingly explosive results. Pepper is the most interesting she's ever been and Maria Hill, long time lifeless character, is growing in depth as well. The pieces are being meticulously put in place.

Stark may be dead to the Marvel U but he's going to continue being very much alive and relvant to readers with Fraction at this book's helm. Larocca's facial work and much of his art in general may still kinda blow, but this series can certainly be expected to not.