Teen Titans vs. Champions

With the two Teen Titans series set in the New 52 Universe that truly sucked (not to mention the even worse Ravagers spin-off), I had hopes that the latest Teen Titans series set in DC's Rebirth would return to its New Teen Titans roots, or would at least resemble Geoff Johns' fantastic 2003 series.  I've read the Teen Titans: Rebirth #1 issue, and I'm disappointed to report that it doesn't get much better, folks.

Gone are Bunker, the new Power Girl, Wonder Girl (?), and Superboy, with additions of Starfire, the new Kid Flash, and Damian replacing Tim as the Robin on the team, but it still doesn't have that spark or character chemistry that the 1980s or 2003 series had.  Everyone just seemed bratty with shitty dialogue, just like the New 52 Teen Titans.  This was DC's big opportunity to do something great (again) with the Teen Titans...and they sadly fucked it up (again).

At the same time, I also read (and compared) the first issue of Marvel's new Champions series, which features teenage versions of Avengers characters.  Champions captured the spirit of the original 1960s, 1980s, and 2000s Teen Titans (and TV's Young Justice) that DC's "Rebirth" of the Teen Titans should have.  Fed up with the adult Avengers, the teenage Ms. Marvel, Totally Awesome Hulk, time-traveling Cyclops, Miles Morales' Spider-Man (boy?), Nova, and Vision's daughter Viv, form their own team.  The dialogue isn't cheesy or forced, and the first issue provides a great banding together of members.

Because the Teen Titans were always my favorite growing up, I hate to admit that in the contest of Teen Titans vs. Champions, Champions wins hands down.

To Thrill A Mockingbird

West Coast Avengers #1
(limited series)

I've been a fan of Mockingbird since the days of the West Coast Avengers back in the 1980s, as that was one of my favorite series.  I also loved her as half of the Hawkeye/Mockingbird coupling.  

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #6

Cut to: 2010.  I was excited about the Hawkeye & Mockingbird series...only to be disappointed that they didn't reunite romantically and the series was canceled after only six issues.  

While I'm not crazy about the emphasis put on her involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D. in the past few years, I decided to pick up her latest comic, a one-shot, celebrating 50 Years of S.H.I.E.L.D.  As I started reading, I thought, "Who wrote this?" and "Why isn't this a regular series?"  It was unlike a lot of the action-packed and non-character-focused crap that I've read as of late.  Turns out, it's a new writer to comic books -- Chelsea Cain.  Ah, that explains it.  She hasn't been editorialized to death yet.  She's a published novelist and, because it was a one-shot issue, Marvel probably let her write whatever she wanted to.  And what she wrote was an excellent story of mystery, romance, and character development that left me wanting more.  It's a shame I can't slap down $4-$5 on a comic book and get the same quality time and time again. 

Mockingbird #1 (one-shot)

The back-up story introduced the Red Widow who has some connection to the Black Widow.  Meh.  After a lead-in like Cain's Mockingbird story, the Red Widow story by a YA novelist was doomed to fail.  I would have liked another story of Mockingbird. 

With Mockingbird becoming more and more known through ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series and Marvel wanting to increase the number of female-driven comics, I'd like to think it's only a matter of time before Mockingbird gets her own monthly series.  Let's just hope that Chelsea Cain writes it.

It's No Secret: the Latest Event Series is Lame

Back in the 80s, I read the Secret Wars limited series and freakin' loved it.  It was so exciting and so many exciting things came out of it:  Spider-Man got his black symbiote costume, The Thing stayed behind on Battleworld and got his own series, She-Hulk joined the Fantastic Four, etc.  Not only was the series unique and interesting, but Secret Wars action figures came out of it.  There were characters I had never had or seen before to play with!  Yes, they were pretty cheaply made with no points of articulation, but still it felt revolutionary.

A couple of years later came Secret Wars II, which was just plain farcical with the Beyonder in his white Miami Vice leisure suit. 

After the most recent shitty Marvel event series, AXIS, I was really looking forward to the new Secret Wars series.  I finally read Secret Wars #1 (2015) and all I have to say is, "Huh?"  What the fuck was that?  Seriously.  What the fuck was that?  I don't even know what the hell happened.  It felt like I was picked up and plopped down in the middle of something going on -- a battle of some sorts on Earth -- and I'm supposed to enjoy that and follow along?   Did I miss the introduction?  This was the first issue, correct?  

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  It was written by Jonathan Hickman after all, who has previously turned me away from his storytelling on Fantastic Four and the Avengers.  There's no character development.  No character interaction.  No enjoyable/followable plot.  It's just battle after battle after pointless battle, like watching Man of Steel on repeat.  And while his comics always have more word balloons than most comics, they don't really say anything.  The dialogue doesn't feel real or seem to come naturally to the characters speaking it.  The characters are always telling what is happening, when the pages should naturally just "show" it without explanation and the extraneous wording. 

After reading the latest Secret Wars #1, I can only guess that the rest of the series will be equally boring and pointless, much like every Marvel event series that has recently preceded it.  Wake me when the Marvel Universe is over. 

Hawkeye Misses His Target...AGAIN.

What's up with Hawkeye #22?  

Issue #21 was finally released in April 2015, five months after #20.  And there were several lapses in the comics prior to that.  Now instead of releasing (forever delayed) #22, Marvel Comics goes ahead and releases an "All-New" Hawkeye series?  FAIL.  

Who hires these bozos?  You can't meet a deadline?  Writer?  Artist?  Editor?  Etc.?  Did Kevin Smith write this book?  Hello?  Anyone home? 

Tell ya what, Marvel, you can keep Hawkeye #22.  My collection ended with #21.  

With the Avengers movies riding a huge financial wave, you'd think they'd want to capitalize on one of the main characters by producing a consistent series.  By the way, it also helps that when you have a Hawkeye comic, that you include that superhero (the Clint Barton version) instead of focusing on the "other" (lame) Hawkeye (Kate Bishop).  And just why can't she get her own moniker anyway?  So, Marvel, you can keep All-New Hawkeye, too, because I'm not buying into it when you can't even include the main character in his own book.   

I've always loved Hawkeye and was a HUGE fan of him during the West Coast Avengers days, so I was excited when he was included in the silver screen version of the Avengers and got his own series.  Sadly, while Marvel Studios seems to know what to do with Hawkeye, it seems Marvel Comics doesn't.

Crazy Nuts

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is a return to when comics were fun.   I'm not saying they all need to be "fun," but they don't all have be so dark and dreary (yes, I'm pointing fingers at you DC New 52 and Marvel NOW!). 

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is about Doreen Green who is a nerdy girl going off to college for the first time.  She just happens to have all the powers of a squirrel (?), can communicate with squirrels, and has a big bushy squirrel tail.  How does she become inconspicuous at college with a big ol' tail?  Why, she neatly tucks it into her pants, giving her a Kim Kardashian booty. 

It's apparent that Doreen doesn't have a lot of friends outside of squirrels, probably because they think she's a bit -- pardon the pun -- nuts because she talks to squirrels, or just looks like she's talking to herself.  Her new college roommate has a secret cat in their dorm room, and they already seem to be hitting it off, so good for her.  Doreen also gets flirted with a bit, gets scared, and runs off.  You know, normal college girl stuff.
 
Besides establishing her character and supporting cast in issue #1, Squirrel Girl also battles Kraven the Hunter.  Well, not so much battles him as she outwits him.  

Writer Ryan North provides a fast, enjoyable read, and Erica Henderson's art is cartoonish, which normally I wouldn't like for comic books but it suits Squirrel Girl's style.  

While The Unbeatable Squirrel doesn't hold the same exciting appeal for me as the new Ant-Man comic, I will continue to pick it up every month, as it's fun and a nice break from all the darkness and seriousness that plagues too many comics today.

Hawkeye Goes to the Dogs

Why was the 2012 Hawkeye series canceled by Marvel Comics?  I'll tell you why:  it sucked.

Pizza Dog

Don't get me wrong; when the series first started, Matt Fraction and David Aja did a fantastic job.  I even hailed it in a previous review.  Sadly, it quickly went to the dogs.  (And I don't just mean Pizza Dog.)  

Pizza Dog himself was a great addition to the Hawkeye supporting cast.  Who wasn't?  "Hawkeye" Kate Bishop.  I'm pretty sure the reason Marvel gave Hawkeye his own series was due to his popularity in a tiny movie called The Avengers.   I don't recall ever seeing Kate Bishop in the movie. 

Shown above, the series originally promised us Clint Barton (a.k.a. Hawkeye) and his life outside of the Avengers.  Sadly, the series quickly became about some teenage chick that Fraction apparently has fantasies about who would never ever warrant her own book.  Heck, she can't even sustain a team book (Young Avengers).  That's how crappy her character is.  And do we even need a second Hawkeye?  Why not just call her Speedy or something?

Surprisingly, that wasn't the worst thing about the series.  Yes, I'm talking about issue #17.  The summary for that book is as follows:  

Who could forget that time when Clint Barton let his neighbor's kids watched a holiday cartoon at his place?  At long last, this issue is pretty much the cartoon they all watch.

And they are correct.  Not only are we subjected to Kate Bishop instead of Clint Barton, but now we're given a joke for our $2.99.  It had to be one of the worst comics I've ever read in 30 years.  With issue #18, the story returned to -- you guessed it -- Kate Bishop.  

And THAT, my friends, is why this series was canceled.  Who wants to continue reading this garbage?  

Now Marvel (or is that Marvel NOW!?) is putting out the All-New Hawkeye in 2015, restarting the series with #1.  Naturally, that's not uncommon nowadays for Marvel (sigh...), and it's probably meant to coincide with the release of the next Avengers movie. 

In the first issue's summary, we're told that we'll be getting "a fresh new look into the life of everyone's favorite Avenger."  Then the next sentence starts, "With Kate Bishop, his trusted ward and protégé back at his side..."  I guess Marvel hasn't learned their lesson.  Have you?  I have.  I won't be spending $3.99 now for a series that still can't get it right.  

 

Marvel Sins Again

So, I just finally finished reading Marvel's latest "big crossover event," Original Sin.  When I first heard about the series, I was grateful that it didn't involve the word "secret," "infinity," or a play on the letters "A" and "X."  The concept fascinated me, too, as I was curious what secrets the Watcher held and how these would play out and affect the various regular series.   I again foolishly thought, "This one will be better!" 


While there were some interesting consequences that bled into Marvel's regular series (such as Charles Xavier's last will and testament and the Fantastic Four's inner drama), I honestly could have done without reading the entire Original Sin limited series.  As has been the case with most of Marvel's "big events" over the years, it was quite dull and lifeless (no pun intended) from the start.

By the time I reached the double-sized final issue, I was just grateful that this latest moneymaking disaster was over.  The outcome was just...meh.  The answer to all of the questions above was, "Frankly, who cares?"  I was just grateful that I didn't buy invest any more of my time and money with the various tie-in limited series. 

That being said, I look forward to wasting my money on Marvel's new AXIS limited series and next year's Secret Wars redux. 

Santa Claws

Let's face it:  Wolverine is everywhere.  Not only does he have two of his own solo comic book series (Wolverine and Savage Wolverine) but he's also a member of several X-teams and Avengers teams, plus appears in the other self-titled Wolverine and the X-Men (and these don't even include the alternate versions of him in the Ultimate Universe or Wolverine: MAX).  It's especially -- for lack of a better word -- interesting when the storylines don't even intersect.  He can be in outer space with the Avengers, fighting solo in Madripoor, taking on Sentinels with the X-Men in New York, or just sometimes...DEAD in hell.  ALL AT THE SAME TIME.  Now, one man cannot seriously be in all of these places at once.  So, naturally, I've come to the conclusion that, like Santa Claus, there must be several actors playing the Wolverine character (or, as I like to call him, Santa Claws) in order to make this a reality.  I'm waiting for the day when Marvel comes out with Wolverine, Inc. with all of the Wolverines from around the world and across the galaxy and puts them all in one double-sized, bi-monthly comic. 

I hate to sound like that grumpy old man in the corner that people talk about, but I remember when there was ONE Wolverine and he appeared in Uncanny X-Men.  Period.  And we liked it.  Then in 1982 he got his very own mini-series.  And we loved it.  Then he finally got his very own monthly series in 1988.  And there was a collective "Meh."  I read it for a few issues, got bored, and removed it from my pull list.  

In 2013, we now have his fourth solo self-titled series, so I decided to give him another try.  I enjoyed Paul Cornell's take on Lex Luthor in Action Comics, so I looked forward to what he was going to do scripting Wolverine.  After reading several issues of the new series, I've been less than impressed.  There's little characterization.  It's just Wolverine doing what he does best: fighting.  There's no emotion in the comics.  The storylines are otherworldly.  And there's no personal connection for the reader.  Maybe Cornell had a ghost writer for Lex Luthor?  Frankly, any generic writer who has no background in comic book characters could have written the first several issues of the latest incarnation of Wolverine.  And what's with all of the guest stars, from Nick Fury to S.H.I.E.L.D. to Black Panther to other X-Men?  If Marvel is worried that Wolverine can't carry his own series, then why give him a series?   I already see Wolverine interacting with several different characters in several different monthly comic books.  Shouldn't a solo title be focused on his experiences exclusive of others in the Marvel Universe, a la Hawkeye?

I haven't even picked up an issue of Savage Wolverine.  Why?  I'm already oversaturated with Wolverine in EVERY comic book and, to be honest, with that much exposure he just becomes boring.  Yes, I said it.  Wolverine now bores me.  How about getting back to basics with Wolverine?  Giving him stories that really bring out and develop his personality?  There's so much depth to him, but all anyone wants to use him for is being the angry guy and slicing up people and things.  He's Marvel's cash cow, so they figure that just by throwing him in every comic he'll generate increased revenue.  

Wolverine deserves better.  He deserves to be properly explored with excellent written stories, and he deserves to be illustrated with excellent artwork, neither of which he's gotten in a long, long time.  Most of all, he deserves to be given to readers in smaller, natural quality doses, not shoved down our throats like gallons of artificial High Fructose Corn Syrup. 

My Annual Dilemma

Comic book annuals used to be something exciting that were "must haves" because they featured the debut of a new character (Rogue in Avengers Annual #10 from 1981), featured a big reveal (Jade and Obsidian discover their mother is Rose/Thorn in Infinity Inc. Annual #1 from 1985), or wrapped up an important storyline ("The Judas Contract" finale in Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3 from 1984).  They also used to be annual.

  
I think the big two comic companies have lost sight of the purposes for annuals.  They're not just to increase sales in the summertime.  They're supposed to give the readers something in return, too.  I used to look forward to DC's and Marvel's annuals.  Now they just feel like a huge waste of money.  $5+ for a comic in which they test out on me new writers with bland, generic stories and artists with dubious art?  No thanks. 

I've been reading the "Zero Year" storyline in DC's New 52 Batman series.  Unfortunately, I've been less than impressed.  So when I saw that the latest Batman Annual #2 (2013) also featured part of the storyline, new writer Marguerite Bennett, and about 16 different artists, my first impression was, "Ugh."  What happened to quality storytelling?  What happened to consistency in artwork throughout one freakin' comic book?  Those were questions I asked myself as I set aside some extra time and waded reluctantly into Batman Annual #2.  

As I began to read it, I was quick to note that the dialogue was very appealing.  It didn't feel amateurish, forced, or untrue to character (hello, Felicia Henderson).  It wasn't full of crappy action scenes with no direction or plot.  I didn't even notice the changes in artists.  Everything felt seamless.  And I was actually drawn into the story and into Arkham Asylum, where the entire story takes place.  The introduction, history, and character of the Anchoress, Arkham's longest resident, was intriguing as well.  I think Bennett did a wonderful job, and I'm actually a bit green with envy.  (I overlooked the fact that this woman who looked like a frail 90-year-old was holding her own against Batman.) 

Batman Annual #2 gives me hope in summertime annuals again.

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?



 

Captain Marvel-less

When I heard last year that Ms. Marvel was being "promoted" to Captain Marvel and getting her own new series, I thought, "Well deserved!"  Back in the day, Ms. Marvel was created as Marvel Comics' answer to DC's Supergirl; she was the female version of a male powerhouse.  I've always liked her character since her days as Ms. Marvel in the 1970s and Binary in the 1980s.  I also loved the connection between she and Rogue (back when Rogue was ultra cool, a bit wicked, and not some hooded no-personality with a daddy fetish).  There was such animosity between the two that led to some great tension in the X-books.  Ms. Marvel may have started out as a "super girl," but she became so much more.

My first reaction a year ago to the released images of Ms. Marvel as the new Captain Marvel was, "Why are they making this once-sexy woman look like a bird-headed dyke?"  Yes, that was a brash and stereotypical thought and comment.  However, it wasn't far from the truth.  Her new hairstyle did look like that atop a cockatoo, and not unlesbian-like. 

Despite my initial reaction, I gave the series a try, and I recently had the chance to read the first year of the new Captain Marvel series.  Sadly, I'm underwhelmed.  The stories and characterizations are very mediocre.  The time-travel saga with the female pilots felt like I was caught in a time loop and couldn't get out.  The highlight of Captain Marvel's first year was probably the guest appearances of Monica Rambeau, the 1980s Captain Marvel, another character I really liked. She could make for a great regular supporting character. 

Fortunately, in the later issues, Carol Danvers is letting her hair grow long again and gaining back some of her feminine appearance, but the stories still feel lacking to me.  Worse, the art has gotten poorer with Filipe Andrade's distorted imagery of Captain Marvel.  For instance, what's happened to her face?   It's enough to send children screaming.  Is there a new Cubist movement?

I don't see myself continuing to read the new Captain Marvel series.  It feels like such a letdown, which is disappointing because Marvel has so many great female characters in their universe, but too few solo female comic books.  There's Captain Marvel and, um...Red She-Hulk.  Is that it?  Am I missing any?  Even Marvel Comics' new upcoming female-only X-book is simply titled X-Men.  What's that about, ladies?  Marvel would probably reply, "Female-driven comic books just don't sell."  The reality, though, is that crappy comic books don't sell.  It doesn't have to do with sex; it has to do with quality storytelling (and art). 



 

Avengers Academy Closes Its Doors

I knew it was coming.  Marvel Comics kept saying that the storyline titled "Final Exam" didn't mean the end of Avengers Academy.  Sadly, they lied.  What a shame, too.  This was one of Marvel's best written books.  It dealt with real human issues and interactions.  It offered character development and not just boring action sequences.  These were real kids with real problems...on an elevated level.  All thanks to writer Christos Gage.  With Tigra, Hawkeye, and Giant Man as instructors at the academy, it was even getting close to being the line-up of the original West Coast Avengers, my favorite Avengers-related comic of all time.  The academy was even based at the old WCA compound! 

It's sad to say goodbye to old friends.  I'm not too confident in the Academy's replacement: Avengers Arena.  It's the younger Avengers in a Hunger Games setting.  Haven't we seen this before?  Waaaaaaaaay too many times?  Secret Wars.  Dark Side Club.  Murderworld.  Just to name a few.  

Just what we need.  A comic that's all about battle sequences with a cast of dozens.  Goodbye, character development and interaction.  Hello, boredom and uncreativity.  

Wake me when it's over.

Shooting for 9

Hawkeye #2 (2012)

Long before Hawkeye was a popular movie character played by Jeremy Renner, he was one of my favorite comic book characters.  It's not every guy who can pull off wearing purple.  I loved the West Coast Avengers so much more than the regular Avengers (wait, was I the only one?) and he was a big part why.  I also enjoyed his dynamic with Mockingbird.  Although Marvel will deny it, it was obvious that Hawkeye and Mockingbird were modeled after DC's Green Arrow and Black Canary, but they felt like a totally different couple.  

After numerous mini-series and short-lived attempts a couple of monthly series, with his popularity surging from the Avengers movie, Hawkeye finally gets his own solo monthly comic book series.  Again.  (Hey, to be a success and be his longest running series EVER, it only has to last more than eight issues.) 

Immediately by looking at the covers, you can tell that this is a different Hawkeye.  They have a retro-mod look to them.  The letters are all in lower case.  The colors are minimal, but there is that predominance of Hawkeye's signature color, purple.  I wasn't sure, though, how David Aja's minimalist cover art would translate to an entire comic.  And, upon starting the first issue of the series, I seriously had my doubts. The art seemed too rough and rudimentary.  However, after reading the first two issues, I really think it works. And I love the heavy use and different shades of purple. 

The issues introduce Hawkeye with the promise that the series will be about his non-Avengers adventures:

I hope that the writer, Matt Fraction, keeps this promise.  Hawkeye is a strong enough character that he doesn't need his teammates always stopping by.  He doesn't need crossovers.  He has stories that can be told without intertwining them with other series.  So far, with the first two issues, Fraction has kept his promise.  Hawkeye's biggest worry has been taking care of the other residents in his apartment building from the big, evil landlord.  Let's hope that he continues to deal with these more human issues and interactions.  And, of course, canine issues (Clint adopts an injured dog that he rescues). 

Kudos to the start of what I hope will be an 9+ issue series! 

Crossing Over

I remember when two crossover events in the 1980s really shook up and reshaped the comic industry's two biggest players.  DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths and Marvel's Secret Wars were two of the best series I'd ever read and really started the annual crossover boom.  I loved that they were both so different than each other, but both so engaging and so much fun.  Well, not fun for characters like the Flash and Supergirl, but they've been resurrected since then...several times.  Out of those came a shift from DC's multiple earths to one.  And, for Marvel, Spider-Man's black suit and The Thing manning his own series, staying on the Secret Wars planet.  Yes, they were indeed creative times. 

Sadly, following those two very successful limited series came a string of unimaginative "sequels" that played on the words "Crisis," "Infinite," "Secret," and "War." The best DC crossover since then has probably been Identity Crisis, wherein the members of the Justice League cross lines of morality.  With the exception of House of M, I haven't seen a decent Marvel crossover event story until now with Avengers Vs. X-Men (but don't get me started on the shortcut name AvX).  I tried reading Civil War, Siege, Fear Itself, Doomwar, etc.  All of them felt subpar.  And sometimes didn't even make any sense to me.  I was really looking forward to Secret Invasion because I thought the concept was fantastic.  Unfortunately, Marvel really let me down.  It was so poorly executed that I stopped reading several titles.  

Anyway, despite my initial lack of enthusiasm for Avengers vs. X-Men when hearing/reading about it, so far, I've really been enjoying it.  It feels fresh, and I don't feel like I have to read additional comics to understand what's going on.  Best of all, the Phoenix Force entity, although overused in the past, is being used in a manner that it different than previously.  It didn't bring back Jean Grey.  It didn't inhabit the body of a red-headed Jean Grey lookalike (yes, I'm talking to you, Madelyne Pryor, Rachel Grey/Summers, and Hope Summers).   Instead, it inhabited five X-Men, giving them immense powers to (so far) do good in the world, but altering their minds and personalities. 

 

While I'm on the subject, let's talk about Madelyne Pryor.  Bringing in this first Jean Grey lookalike was brilliant.  It complicated matters by confusing Scott Summers (Cyclops) and toying with his emotions.  At the same time, Madelyne had to deal with the fact that the man she loved only loved her because she looked like his one true love.  This was some amazing character development.  Unfortunately, Marvel ruined all of this by making Madelyne yet another villain.  Worse, a Phoenix knock-off and Jean Grey clone.  

Avengers Academy #32

With Avengers vs. X-Men, I can truly see why they'd be at war.   The X-Men still hold a grudge against the Scarlet Witch for what she did to their race in House of M.  Meanwhile, the Avengers are trying to stop the Phoenix Force by removing Hope Summers from the equation; the X-Men are just trying to protect their own.  With that many characters involved, though, it's difficult to actually illicit any sort of emotional response from the readers.  There is some decent character development, though mostly in related titles like Wolverine and the X-Men between Kitty Pryde and Colossus, and in Avengers Academy between Juston and his Sentinel.  

I'm looking forward to seeing where Marvel takes the remainder of this series and beyond.  However, I'm skeptical (again) about the new Marvel NOW (secret) plans that promise (threaten?) to reboot the Marvel Universe and restart with all #1 issues, much like DC's New 52 which, as you know from reading my blog postings, I'm not AT ALL happy with.  

Sayonara, Daken

Daken #23 (final issue)

With issue #23 of Daken: Dark Wolverine, we say goodbye to Wolverine's son.  SPOILER: It's not only the last issue of the series, but Daken supposedly dies.  Of course, we all know how that goes in the superhero world.  After a few months of no appearances, he'll show up again.  Maybe in Marvel's new Dark Avengers ongoing series.   

It's quite sad to see Daken lose his own series.  He's a very intriguing and complex character, and I'm sure there are many excellent storylines that writer Rob Williams could have come up with for future issues.  Sadly, we'll never see them.  Instead, we'll see dozens of mediocre Avengers and X-Men comics on the shelves featuring the same characters over and over and over.  (Yes, I'm talking to you, Wolverine and Spider-Man.)

Daken #10

Daken had such great, well-written storylines when he took over Wolverine's own series for awhile that he was given his own monthly series.  Unfortunately, Daken's self-titled series started out a bit slow with the ho-hum "Wolverine Goes to Hell" and Madripoor storylines.  However, it quickly livened up when Daken hit Hollywood and writer Rob Williams came onboard and shook things up, showing us why we fell in love with Daken in the first place.  He's a bad boy.  And who doesn't love a bad boy?  I guess it was too late at this point, though.  Readers had already jumped ship and sales declined enough to warrant Daken's cancellation.  Such a pity.  Wolverine appears in all the X-books (literally) and yet his more complex, mysterious, hot-headed, selfish, bi-sexual son can't even get one. 

Here's hoping that Marvel sees the error of their ways...and Daken never does.

Lost Your Own Series? Come Join the Avengers Academy!

I caught up with Avengers Academy over the weekend.  (I was about five or six issues behind!)  I have to say that AA is probably my current favorite Marvel comic.  It's very fresh and relevant and, thanks to writer Christos Gage, the characters become more and more developed with each issue, as they explore their relationships with one another.  Gage gives each member their own personality, incorporating diversity in a subtle (or not so subtle) way. 

Avengers Academy #1

During Marvel's Avengers explosion of 2010, I sampled each new Avengers comic, only sticking with the Academy after the dust settled.  They were the only team to offer something different, and they reminded me of the New Mutants when they first debuted in 1983.  And, having been a huge West Coast Avengers fan back in the day, I was happy to see Tigra used again, this time as a teacher to young Avengers-in-training.  

I liked the possibilities of characters Veil, Hazmat, Mettle, and Reptil during the first several issues.  However, I felt that Finesse and Striker were too generic, both in their codenames and their personalities.   The name "Striker" reminds me of a character from the Airplane! movies, while "Finesse" sounds like a hair product.  They also have black and white costumes to match their bland, angry personalities.  

When it came time to shake things up during a roster change (circa issue #20), I was disappointed that Veil was the one to go.  She was my favorite character and had what I thought was the best costume.  What about Striker or Finesse?  I felt like they could leave and nobody would even notice they were gone.  

New additions to the team were -- surprise! -- Lightspeed (from one of my favorite 1980s comics, Power Pack) and White Tiger, whom I had never heard of, but I liked the costume, despite being black and white, colors already in abundance at the Academy.  I was excited to see Julie Power join and grateful that at least one of the Power kids was finally being used in a series and allowed to grow up outside of the confines of the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building.  She's more a teenager now with a more adult costume (hello, bare midriff!).  (Note to FF:  let the other Power kids grow up a bit, too!)  She also comes with secrets that I never would have guessed (more on that later).   Additionally, I was pleased to see series-canceled teens Spider-Girl, X-23, and She-Hulk (Lyra) joined the Academy.  I guess they have to go somewhere, right?  The new Avengers Academy recruiting slogan should be:  "Lost Your Own Series?  Come Join the Avengers Academy!"

Not only were there good additions to the team, but the team also added Hawkeye as a full-time teacher AND moved to the old digs of the West Coast Avengers!  How psyched was I?!  It was like a WCA reunion! 

The Avengers Academy series gets a bit bogged down during the crossover events (I'm talking to you, Fear Itself) and is at its strongest when dealing with one-on-one character interaction.  I love the relationship struggle between Mettle and Hazmat.  It reminds me of the torture that Colossus and Kitty Pryde went through for years and years, with a little bit of The Thing and Alicia Masters thrown in for good measure.  And Mettle's kind of sexy in his own, skinless way.  

Mettle and Hazmat

Most recently, I loved the very personal conversation between Striker and newcomer Lightspeed.  (SPOILER ALERT!  Just warning ya.)  Striker gay?  Lightspeed bisexual?  Whoa... Thanks for making me appreciate Striker more, Christos.  He's not just a pompous ass; he's confused and insecure!  Can we change the generic codename, though?  And, come to think of it, Julie always was pretty butch back in her Power Pack days.  Now, she's more of a lipstick lesbian -- er, bisexual.  I'm still not crazy about Finesse, though.  Can we kill her off?

I look forward to the continuation of Avengers Academy with characters that aren't popular enough to support their own series, but as a team do pretty damn well.  After The Children's Crusade, how about adding Hulkling and Wiccan to the school?  (Hint, hint.)

Drawing the Line at $4.99

Brightest Day #24 (2011)

Yesterday, I stopped into my local comic book store and picked up the past two weeks' comics from my reserve bag.  Included in the stash were the last issue of Brightest Day, the last issue of Justice League: Generation Lost, Action Comics #900, and Avengers Academy Giant-Size #1.  The first two were $4.99 each, Action Comics $5.99, and Avengers Academy was $7.99!  Are you freakin' kidding me with all of these jacked-up prices?!  I bought the first three because they're part of the ongoing series that I've collected, but I couldn't justify spending $7.99 (really?) on the Avengers Academy book.  I can honestly say that I've never seen such an expensive "regular" comic book.  Even Annuals don't cost that much!  I hope whatever's in it isn't integral to the regular series' storyline, because if it is, I'll never know about it.  How many people does Marvel think will actually fork over $7.99 for a single comic book? 

Avengers Academy Giant-Size #1 (2011)

I read the Brightest Day and Justice League issues one evening.  While they were enjoyable, they certainly didn't provide more excitement than a $2.99 comic.  In fact, BD had several two-page spreads, so it wasn't even more story, just bigger pictures.  I felt a little violated.  

A few days later, I read Action Comics #900, hoping for some big revelation or big conclusion to the "Reign of Doomsday" storyline.  Nope.  It was just a mediocre segway story that was about the same length as a regular issue.  I can't even call it a "bridge" between two other issues because nothing much really happened.  If I hadn't read the story, I certainly wouldn't have been lost reading Superman or another Super-title.  The additional $3 I paid for this "100 page" issue were random Superman stories that weren't part of current continuity...and weren't very good themselves.  

DC may be "Drawing the Line at $2.99," but I'm drawing it at $4.99.  No $5.99 or $7.99 comics in my future (even $4.99 was severely pushing it!).  It's time for me to re-evaluate the comics I currently read and shave a few off the list accordingly. 

We Will Be...Invincible

When Iron Man 2 came out in theaters last spring, I decided to flip through the Iron Man comic(s) currently published to see what was going on in the world of Iron Man.  I've never been a huge fan of the character, so I never read Iron Man regularly.  However, I did appreciate the fact that he was "real" and had personal problems such as alcohol abuse.  The closest I ever got to reading Iron Man regularly was when I was reading the Avengers and West Coast Avengers back in the 1980s. 

When I picked up the most current issue of Invincible Iron Man, I immediately noticed the impressive art.  It was incredibly lifelike.  I had never before heard of the artist, Salvador Larroca, but I was amazed at the realism on the pages.  Never had Tony Stark looked so three-dimensional to me.  He didn't have that creepy, mustached, middle-aged man look to him anymore.  He was younger, handsome, and sporting a goatee.  Even his blue eyes stood out against his dark hair.  

Invincible Iron Man #30

I bought issue #25 and brought it home to read.  Not only was the artwork something to behold, but the story (written by Matt Fraction) was fantastic, too.  It involved human interaction and personality clashes.  Fraction seems to be all about character development -- traits, flaws, strengths -- which is why I've stuck around for the past year now.  There's very little superheroing and a lot of character interaction.  In issue #30, Tony and Sasha Hammer play a game of cat and mouse with all kinds of sexual innuendos.  I've learned more about Tony Stark and his supporting cast in the past year than I would have if I had read Iron Man throughout the entire 1980s.  

As long as Fraction and Larroca are onboard for The Invincible Iron Man, so am I.