Secret Avengers #1

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Nick Spencer. In fact, you could say I'm addicted to him like crack, but only the biggest of morons use crack, so let's say I'm addicted to him like I am redheads. While his creator-owned books are some of the best books I've ever read, his mainstream work has never been his strongest. So when it was announced he was writing this book (his second time on the book), and he was bringing my two favorite Avengers in Black Widow and Hawkeye with him, I was excited, with a bit of trepidation.

Any fear went out the door almost immediately. Spencer takes all of the mystery and intrigue he puts in his own books and attaches it to Marvel's long-standing heroes as well as their up and coming new characters. Some people could look at this book as just a way for Marvel to integrate their movie universe into their comic universe. All of the characters are big players from the Avengers movie, including Agent Coulson, who first premiered in the movieverse. But this title is far from a throw-away tie-in book. It's a spy book first and foremost, with SHIELD taking the spotlight. It's a genre that has really disappeared from the comic racks the past few years, especially at the Big Two comic companies. If you're a fan of the genre, then don't miss this book. Everything from the gadgets, to the exotic locales, to the deception is present here. But the strong suit is the dialog Spencer brings to the group. The humor is reminiscent of Bendis, while the technical jargon reminds you of Hickman, blended together as only Spencer can.

Luke Ross' art is not as realistic here as it was during his time on Captain America. I can only assume it's because of the humor, and to make sure the characters don't look 100% like their movie counterparts. We need to know this is the comic world, not the movie world, and his pencils keep us firmly reminded of that. The coloring by Matthew Wilson plays an integral role in telling the story as well since it sets the mood. Mood is one of the most important things in a spy thriller. Shadows are always present, but if it's too dark, you can't tell what's going on. Wilson does a great job of allowing the reader to clearly tell what's happening while still portraying the dark and seedy environments flawlessly.

There are a ton of Avengers titles out there on the stands today. This one sets itself apart from the rest by bringing something different to the table. What it brings is the suspense, thrills, and humor that no other Avengers title has. If you want a little more from your Avengers than just the huge interplanetary battles, then look no further.

Uncanny X-Men #1

Hmmm, I feel like I have already reviewed an Uncanny X-Men #1. Oh, that's right! It's because I have. In today's market, books get renumbered almost on a monthly basis. It's frustrating to keep track of which number goes with which volume, but it's a sad necessity if certain titles want to survive. Long gone are the days of creators staying on books for years (with a few exceptions like Bendis, Brubaker, and Johns), as well as readers sticking with a title forever due to prices constantly rising. So companies relaunch to get higher exposure, and hoping to get readers to try something different. While not ideal, Marvel's current NOW! initiative has taken the idea and done it quite well. Shifting creators on almost their entire line of books was a bold move, and renumbering, in this case, was needed. So while this might be the second Uncanny X-Men #1 we've had in just the past couple years, I feel this one will not be renumbered anytime soon. And that is thanks to Brian Michael Bendis.

Bendis has come over to the X-Universe and completely made it the top franchise at Marvel, something it's taken a back-seat to the Avengers to for the entire time he wrote Marvel's mightiest heroes. All-New X-Men is the best book on the stands right now. It has the feel of newness that Stan Lee wrote back in the 60's combined with the present day of today's ever evolving world. If you are not reading that, mutant fan or not, you need to. You won't be disappointed.
But Uncanny has a different feel from All-New. While All-New has a feeling of hope for mutants, Uncanny has a feel of desperation. Cyclops is doing all he can to recreate the mutant race with his version of the Xavier school, recruiting new mutants as they arise after the fallout of the battle with the Phoenix Force. Cyclops' task isn't an easy one though, because now he and his group are wanted fugitives. He still believes in the next generation of mutants, but as an army, not students. He wants to teach, but must teach them survival, because now thanks to him, the world hates and fears mutants possibly more than they ever have.

This is a great sister book to All-New. Together, we get to see both sides of the coin. We get the Xavier/Magneto dynamic in Wolverine/Cyclops. Both men feel they are on the right side, and both men will fight to prove their point. This series is all about Cyclops' transformation into the Mutant Messiah, a title previously thought to belong to Hope Summers. After all the build-up of making it seem like Hope would save the mutant race, it ends up being Cyclops who will do that. And by any means necessary.

In this first issue, Bendis does a great job of blending a tale that alternates back and forth between dramatic dialog, and frenzied action, something he has always excelled at (unless you're a comic message board commenter, then you hate him). The scenes between Maria Hill and the mystery character are more important than the climatic battle scenes Cyclops' X-Men engage in. The last page twist sets up this series in the most intriguing of ways.
Chris Bachalo has been a favorite of mine for almost 20 years, dating all the way back to his Generation X days (hellllooooo 90's). But as great as he is, I'm not sure if he's the perfect choice for this book. I feel the book would be better off with an artist who does more "clean" lines. This team of X-Men is akin to a para-militaristic force, and I feel the characters need a more regimented look. Bachalo's hectic style sometimes makes the action scenes confusing, making it hard to tell exactly what's happening in certain panels. It's not anything that overly brings down the book, I just feel his strengths are better off suited for books with a bit more humor. Like his time on Wolverine & the X-Men. Cyclops is the farthest from being a hilarious chap. It'll be interesting to see what Frazer Irving's take on the book is with the next arc.

In any case, this is a fantastic read. Worthy of relaunching the original X-title into the next phase of Marvel's history. Whether you're a long time reader, or are jumping on board with the new #1's, it's a great time to be a fan of Marvel's mutant franchise.

Invincible #100

It all led to this! And what was it this led to? A whole bunch of talking. This had to be the most boring anniversary issue I've ever read. All the build-up from the previous months was disappointingly wrapped-up not with action, which is what you'd expect from this book, but with page after page of word balloons. This was so underwhelming, that I really don't have much to say. The characters said enough. In fact, I think they're still talking...

Aside from the wordiness of the issue, the fact that most of the overall plots were wrapped up so neatly, and in most cases so stupidly in their unbelievability, you'd think Robert Kirkman was busy with a tv show or something. The whole issue just seemed rushed. One thing this book did do right though, was to set up the next chapter in Invincible's life. We can see what is in store for Mark Grayson in his professional life as well as his personal life. I just wish there was more of a climatic battle that we were ultimately cheated out of. After 100 issues, the audience deserved that at least. I guess there wasn't enough room behind all the word balloons.

Ryan Ottley did his usual excellence on art, but there just wasn't a lot to draw except for a ton of characters standing around talking. I mean, seriously, it was panel after panel, page after page of Invincible talking. Talking to Dinosaurus, talking to Cecil, talking to Eve. At the end, he should've turned to the reader and said "I'm sorry."

I am looking forward to seeing where this book goes. I still feel it's an exceptional series, always being one of the best superhero titles each month. I just now worry that Kirkman is paying too much attention to The Walking Dead to give Invincible the time it deserves. Invincible was first and it is better. But has it passed it's prime? Hopefully not.

The Answer! #1

I went into this book thinking I'd get an exciting new character by two of today's hottest up-and-coming creators. What I got was a book with way too many questions. Kind of ironic since the book is entitled The Answer.

The story revolves around a research librarian named Devin MacKenzie, who receives a mysterious puzzle for her birthday. As Devin solves that puzzle, she's led to more puzzles to solve. Meanwhile, we see our hero stopping a convenience store robbery, who then is alerted to Devin's puzzle solving prowess. The Answer must get to Devin before she solves the final puzzle, unleashing a cadre of soldiers upon her. For what purpose? That is the premise of the book.

Frankly, there just wasn't enough here to really care about. This is a new universe we're being introduced to here, and we should have been given some back story into who The Answer is and what makes him tick. With this being only a 4-issue mini series, the answers need to come a lot quicker than they would in a monthly ongoing title. Sure, the next issue could be entirely about The Answer's origin. But by then, I'm not sure if I'm interested. The first issue was too boring to really expect any excitement in the remaining three issues.

The other area I was disappointed in was Mike Norton's art. The cover looks just like his art on Revival, but the interiors were almost sloppy. I don't know if the colors muddied everything up, but it was just very bland overall. And there was a huge coloring mistake where Devin has red hair on the cover, but was blond on the inside. What's the Answer to that??

This series could still end up being a good read because of the talent behind it, but I think it's going to take a lot to turn this whole thing around.

Uncanny X-Force #1

This book most definitely continues the wave of excellence that the term X-Force has been riding the past few years. I have never read anything by Sam Humphries before. In fact, before The Ultimates (which I gave up on long before he took over), I had never heard of him. I didn't hear many things about his run on the book, and the few things I did hear weren't glowing. But he's hooked me right away. He fills in the gaps of what happened after the last incarnation of the team disbanded almost immediately, while still leaving a few questions left to answer to get you to come back for more. You still get a sense that this is what an X-Force book should feel like, but with it's own new take on it.

All of the characters are easily introduced in a way that new readers can get into the groove right away, even if the lesser known characters aren't fleshed out entirely. You get the feeling you'll learn what you need to in the next couple of issues. One of the best attributes of the book is the fact that, so far, all of the characters have back story together. It's not like the readers nor the cast don't know who anybody is. We can get right past introductions and on to the meat of the story right away.

Ron Garney has been a favorite of mine for many a year, and this book really shows you why. He has a way about him that allows him to draw the grittiest of battle-hardened heroes, to the most sexiest of women. In this instance, they are one in the same. His stuff looks the best it has in years. The coloring almost acts like a character itself as well, setting the mood quite exquisitely in each exotic locale.

Rick Remender's run on the last volume of Uncanny X-Force drug on too long. The book needed a fresh perspective. This is without a doubt that. While there are currently two books with the name X-Force on the stands, I feel this one just made itself the true bearer of the name.

Oh, and that last page is sure to get some tongues wagging across the 'Net!

Young Avengers #1

This book didn't really grab me like I hoped it would. I am a huge Jamie McKelvie fan, but Kieron Gillen is hit or miss with me, with mostly misses. But the two of them together really tend to shine. I just couldn't get into this first issue, though.

The characters were really take 'em or leave 'em. First we see Kate Bishop (who I think is still going by the name Hawkeye) and Noh-varr (formerly Marvel Boy, formerly The Protector). Right here is where I have a major problem. Noh-varr seems to have already forgotten he had a somewhat girlfriend on Earth. Granted, it's only the first issue, and maybe we'll get into that, but I feel like it was a topic that should've been brought up immediately upon the reader seeing his actions with Kate. Hopefully Gillen hasn't forgotten that bit in Noh-varr's history, which is not that deeply involved.
Next we get Hulkling and Wiccan. This made the book for me. Their relationship has always been an important part of every previous Young Avengers series. It's never played out just for the fact that it's a gay relationship because that would be very offensive, it's always been about accepting the fact that two people can truly love each other, no matter their sex. Gillen does a fantastic job with Teddy and Billy. Every bit as good as Allan Heinberg, who co-created them.
Finally, we see Kid Loki and Miss America. Loki is as fun as he has been the entire time Gillen has written him. I only read Journey Into Mystery when it crossed-over with New Mutants, but even there you could see Loki as a youngster really should only be written by Gillen. Miss America, on the other hand, has been a boring character since she premiered in Vengeance. There's just not much to her. If Marvel was just looking for a strong Latina character, I really wish they had used Arana. She at least has some history to work with.

It's too early to tell exactly where the plot is going. This first issue set up about three different story lines with no clear hint of where they're heading, or if they connect. I'm going to assume they connect, or why are all these charcters coming together as a team?

At least Jamie McKelvie gave me everything I wanted (and somewhere so did Mike Norton, because he's also credited on art, but for the life of me, I see no difference in art style). I love how bold and clean every panel is. And there are a LOT of panels in this book. It has a very modern look to the storytelling. Without a doubt, I feel the art is the big selling point here.

This Young Avengers series is a far cry from every previous incarnation. I'm not sure every YA fan will be pleased with the new additions to the title. I know I wasn't happy with the subtractions. I still have hope for the book, because Gillen's stories always have a long lead-in to the overall plot. I'm just not sure if the plot is all that interesting to begin with.

Wolverine and the X-Men #24

This issue is what you'd call one of those "Great jumping on points!" And it really is. Nowadays, how many people don't know who Wolverine or the X-Men are? I'd wager very few. There's no need to get into who everybody is at the beginning of every arc anymore. I remember growing up and reading The Punisher, and every six issues you'd be reminded that his family was killed in a mob shootout in Central Park and he killed criminals for vengeance. It got so tiresome. I understand the need to fill in new readers, but in today's world of Google, and websites, and whatever, if the audience needs background info, they can find it easily without being constantly bogged down story-wise every few issues. This issue realizes all of that.

The premise this time is simple: date night. After all the months of crazy things that the X-Men have had to go through, they decide to take a night off to have some fun. We see the teaching staff leave the school to party, leaving Wolverine in charge, which he does not appreciate. Kitty Pryde and Iceman have their first official date, which is about as awkward as a first date can go. Jean Grey and Quentin Quire have a nice little exchange that shows how Jean is adapting to today's youth. And yes, there just might be a kiss that the cover blatantly spoils.

Wolverine and the X-Men has always been a lighter book, which is something you wouldn't expect from Jason Aaron. But I've always felt, since it's beginning, that it's portrayed the X-Men exactly how they've always acted at their core. It makes them human. The X-Men have always been the characters you're supposed to connect with because they could be you. Aaron does a wonderful job making you feel like these characters could be your neighbors, friends, or even family.
David Lopez on art even takes it a step further and draws the majority of the cast in normal clothes, almost making you forget you're reading a superhero book. His style here is almost reminiscent of the old 60's romance comics. He's been doing great with the super heroic action over in X-Men recently, and now he gets to show another side of his fantastic art. Some of his facial expressions he gives Kitty and Jean are priceless.

This isn't the perfect issue to introduce anybody to the X-Men if they're expecting action and wild powers. But it is the perfect issue to show them that the X-Men are more than a team with powers, they are us.