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Marvel Comics Review: Ultimate Comics Avengers #1

Posted by David Torres Categories: Editorials, Reviews, Marvel Comics

Avengers

Addendum: The writer of the following article regrets the oversights that were made while writing this post - both comic book and political related.  The writer intends to be more careful in the future to adhere to the core subject of Comix 411, which is comic books, and not personal political opinion. Thank you.

Rating: *** 1/2*

The relaunch of the Ultimate Universe continues with Ultimate Comics Avengers.  There have been three separate Ultimate Avengers series (then known just as The Ultimates).  I read and enjoyed the first series, which was written by Mark Millar, who is also the writer of this new series.  Since the premiere of that first series and the recent mini-series Ultimatum, numerous characters have died including: Wasp, Hank Pym, Black Widow, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver.  The remaining members of the team will make up the current team: Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, and Nick Fury.

Before I give my review of this issue, I want to give a little back story on my feelings about Mark Millar.  I made a conscious decision not to pick up The Ultimates after the second series.  Why?  Because of Mark Millar’s political beliefs.  Many creators within the comic book world are liberal - which is fine, but I think that Mr. Millar leans more to the left than a liberal.  I think he’s a communist.

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Tuesday Preview

Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics

Here we are again. The Tuesday Preview has hit three in a row. Couldn’t do it without you.

Some interesting books this week. In Batman 685 I am sure we will learn everything we have to know about Bats. Again, I recommend anyone trying to follow this continuity to read Bubba’s comment for a clear viewpoint on our caped hero. Justice Society of America 23 should either wrap up the Gog storyline or start another. And the biggies, Final Crisis 7 and Revelations 5 - all will be cleared up. Grant Morrison reveals all. Comic readers head for tall buildings.

On the Marvel side we start with the always great Captain America. My best book of the year soldiers on. One of my new favorites is Hercules. Here is a hero that chases every woman in every story that he appears in, but with a grin on his face. And yet he seems to succeed and, as a spill over, the 7th (or 8th) smartest man in the world seems to be getting something out of his palling around with Herc. New Avengers 19 debuts and should contain the Dark Reign Saga. The only worry is that we are going to have too many Avengers teams, but I am sure we’ll never get to 50. Wow, 50 Avengers Initiative teams and 52 DC Universes. Lots of characters huh? And In Ultimate Spider-Man 130 we may continue killing off characters from Ultimatum. Or not.


Random and Not So Random Thoughts

Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, DC Comics, Marvel Comics

  • Okay, in JLA 28 we have this character named Starbreaker. He devours the energy of planets and sends heralds out first. Now I realize there are a few differences, but haven’t we seen a similar character over in Marvel? Galactoid, Galacman, Dark Galac…something like that.
  • I actually liked Dark Avengers. This is the way to set up a new storyline. Each replacement of an Avenger is recruited based on their powers in a nice orderly way. After trying to slog through Final Crisis this story seems so straightforward that it is a great relief. Starting a storyline at the beginning - a novel concept! And Mighty Avengers, also plunging into a new storyline was pretty much linear too. To have two Avenger books that have easy to read stories in the same month… Christmas is 11 months early.
  • But Superman 3D is beyond awful and in a universe all its own. I guess I could try to re-read part 1 to have any hope of figuring this out, but life is too short. Who the hell are all these people? And why do so many entities want to destroy everything? Is it the characters or the writers that have deep-seeded psychological problems? The DC Universe needs its own Doc Sampson.
  • There are so many factions running around trying to kill each other and conquer each other in Guardians of the Galaxy that it could get confusing, but luckily, we have Rocket Racoon to keep everything on the straight and narrow. And Cosmo the dog is just too precious.
  • Over in Astonishing X-men besides all the regular mutants, we have Triploids (mutants with three-stranded DNA) and mutants from a parallel universe. Gee, weren’t we supposed to be down to 198 mutants plus one baby. And speaking of babies, wasn’t X-Factor off the weirdness chart?
  • Emma Frost and Namor? Who knew? I am not sure if this book raised or lowered my mental IQ, but did I ever mention the sex quotient has really gotten more blatant in comics? Still, on a purely prurient basis I loved it. And it actually blends into the entire ILL-illuminati story line. And it has lots of sex in it. Or did I already say that.

 


Random Thoughts For The Day

Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials

X-Men and Spiderman

  • I have the greatest screw up of 2009 by far. X-Men Manifest Destiny 5 is not X-Men Manifest Destiny 5. It is really X-Men Spiderman 3. They either printed the wrong cover or the wrong book. Stay tuned.
  • Does anyone else have the slightest idea what is going in X-men Noir. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? I am so confused.
  • Batman 684 is a good continuation of the story line if only I could figure out what story line it is the continuation of? And remember, boys and girls, never end a sentence with a prepostion.
  • I have been told I am the biggest perv on the website. If that’s true, what do you have to say about Ultimate Hulk Annual? Hulk and Zarda? Remember that every woman the Hulk has sex with seems to die - Betty, Jarella and what’s her name from Planet Hulk.
  • If Katherine Heigl can have sex with dead Denny on Grey’s Anatomy, why can’t Hank Pym have sex with dead Janet in Avenger’s Initiative?
  • Sub-Mariner is a beautifully drawn book, but on which planet is the story set? Is it in any continuity? In fact is there any story here?
  • After January 20th can we still refer to Black Adam, Black Panther, and Black Lightning? I mean we do have Dark Avengers coming.
  • The freebie Marvel is giving away on War of The Kings is a pretty good recap of everything that has led us to where we are. I wonder if we will ever have a War of the Queens? I am collecting jokes now in case it ever happens.

Casting Captain America

Posted by David Torres Categories: Editorials, Movies, Marvel Comics

Captain

Now that we know that the casting of Will Smith as Captain America was just a rumor, we can continue to debate who we would like to see be cast as Captain America.  Personally I would like to go with an unknown.  Prior to the Richard Donner “Superman,” not many people knew of Christopher Reeve.  Instead of going with a big name for the lead, they went with this unknown actor and surrounded him with well known actors like Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, and Glen Ford.  The movie was of course a big success and is now a classic.  In my opinion, it’s the best comic movie of all time.  So I would go with an unknown, but here are some of the names floating around.

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JLA/Avengers

Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, Reviews, DC Comics, Marvel Comics

JLA and Avengers 

This week Diamond Comics shipped the paperback version of the classic JLA/AVENGERS saga. These came out in comic book form in 2003, but was only compiled in hardcover format for $75. Now we have a softcover at $19.99 and it is time to revisit this story.

I believed at the time that the entire concept was flawed. Kurt Busiek wrote a story in which every Avenger and every Justice Leaguer that ever existed made at least a token appearance. He succeeded in his mind, but not mine. By putting too many characters in a story, you lose the ability to focus deeply on any of them. Recall the series of Marvel/DC Crossover books. These stories usually had one hero and one villain from each universe and you had a real interaction among the heroes and villains. Remember Crossover One with a full Superman/Spider-Man story, Hulk/Superman, etc. You really got into how the characters reacted to each other. In Crossover 2 we had Batman/Punisher, Silver Surfer/Superman and Batman/Captain America. The other two books weren’t as good, but it is always fun to match heroes from different universes. In my opinion, confining the epic to 7 or so stars from each universe would have made things much less cluttered and a better read. Characters kept coming and going so quickly it is difficult to keep track.

The story itself starts as one of the generic contest of champions ideas we have seen a million times before. Mystic artifacts being sought by both sides being manipulated by cosmic beings. Ho-hum.

No real detail in the battles to get an artifact and the 12 items are quickly divided up. They we get a mish-mash of heroes from diferrent universes interacting in a confusing way and then A Crisis on Infinte Earths climax against the super-duper villian with everyone throwing in a few shots. Been to the Source, done that.

It was, I suppose, a noble effort and it is certainly a better buy at $20 rather than $75. But as the pundit said about Dicken’s Great Expectations, I hoped for more.


Waiting for Cap

Posted by David Torres Categories:

Captain America

Many fans of Captain America have been waiting years for a big budget Captain America film.  Shortly after the release and success of last year’s “Iron Man” film, Marvel Comics announced that we would also be seeing a film staring Thor, The Avengers, and Captain America.  Like most comic book fans I’m worried.  I’m worried it’s going to suck big time. 

Almost no comic book movie is perfect.  Very few have come close.  I would say the first Donner/Reeve “Superman” film and the more recent “Iron Man” and “Dark Knight” have made nitty picky and overly critical fan boys (like myself) the most happy.  What makes most comic fans cringe the most is when Hollywood decides to make changes to the character or the story.  Sometimes it works like Richard Donner’s vision of Krypton.  The “ice” was loved by the fans and the look has now been incorporated into current DC continuity thanks to Geoff Johns and Richard Donner himself who co-wrote the story “Last Son” for “Action Comics”. 

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