Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Still Hungry for More...NOW.

I'm still scratching my head, trying to figure out what the big deal was about the Age of Ultron limited series.   I was prepared (and excited) for something colossal to happen.  What I got was a mishmash of storylines and characters.  There was no cohesion.  Every issue featured different characters.  And issue #10 was so "top secret" that it had to come in a sealed polybag?  So they saved the universe from Ultron's threat by changing the timestream.  And...the big revelation is bringing some scantily clad chick named Angela over from Image Comics' Spawn series?  Meh.  Even Flashpoint was more interesting, and I hate what that did to the DC Universe.

Figuring it was a tie-in to the conclusion, I pre-ordered what was previously listed as Age of Ultron #10UC before Marvel changed the title to Hunger.  Wow.  What an idiot I am.  As hinted at, it *does* feature Galactus (just a tiny bit), but it's mostly about teenage punk Rick Jones from Marvel's Ultimate Universe, which I don't even read.  

Because I've always been a fan of the Vision (especially when he and Scarlet Witch were a couple in the 1980s), I also picked up Avengers A.I., thinking a team full of robot-like characters sounded pretty interesting and something unique.  Sadly, the first issue was pretty disappointing because it was extremely...average.  I didn't care about any of the characters (even Vision who wasn't even in the story enough, being that he's probably the biggest draw). 

Age of Ultron (and anything related to it) has -- so far -- been pretty lame.  DC's Flashpoint at least made some sense.  I don't get the whole Marvel NOW initiative.  What exactly are they trying to do besides just restart series with #1 issues for the sake of sales?  Where are the big, life-changing events?  More importantly, where are the decent stories?



 

2 comments:

ARS said...

You have made me secure in my not reading any Marvel titles. The way you described the story and how it was unfolded is the exact reasons I stopped reading Marvel at all. I have long contended that they seem to be writing stories and putting characters into slots and that sounds like it is still going on. Thank you for at least recognizing that whether you liked it or not Flashpoint had a purpose behind it more than just gaining new #1's. What ever is going on behind the scenes editorially, I am enjoying the books I am reading at DC. The Trinity War has just begun and we can get a glimpse at what DC's events will be like outside of the Green Lantern line.

If you are not reading them, I would recommend two DC books that have been good reads for me. They are Earth 2 and World's Finest Powergirl and Huntress. These two have characters based on the old versions of these characters with modern twists along the way. One is on a world where Darkseid was beaten back, but they lost Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman to stop the invasion.

Catman Scratches said...

Thanks, Barry! I am reading both of those comics. I've always liked Earth 2, and those two series provide an interesting twist on it. I just wish we could see more of the personal lives of the characters (e.g., Flash, Green Lantern).