The Bionic Mayhew

I received my monthly shipments of comics in the mail the other day.  As I was going through all of them -- BAM!! -- immediately the cover of Bionic Man #16 stuck out.  This was one sexy Steve Austin.  As soon as I saw the artist signature, I knew why.  It was drawn by Mike Mayhew, who also turned in a sexy vision of Hawkeye naked and tied to a chair, a la James Bond in Casino Royale.  This was the best I've ever seen Steve Austin look since the Bionic Man series from Dynamite Comics started.  It wasn't just the muscles, it was the handsome face and styled hair.  It's been awhile since I really stared and studied a beautiful cover.  It took this particular cover to do the trick. To me, Mike Mayhew is sadly underutilized.  He not only draws comics, he creates stunning works of art.  I look forward to seeing much, much more of his work. 

The Better-Than-Average Spider-Man

I started reading Amazing Spider-Man again with #583, the comic that grabbed all of the headlines because it featured President Obama on its variant covers.  I had stopped reading just before #400, when I quit comics all together.  I had never been as satisfied with ASM anyway, after the fantastic storylines of Spidey's black costume, the first appearances of Venom, and Todd McFarlane's art chores.  The stories were just kind of so-so.  

Amazing Spider-Man #698

Jump to #583 and beyond.  The stories still were just kind of average, but I still kept buying them.  I've put up with Mary Jane and Peter Parker splitting up as if they've never been married, Spider Island with a bazillion Spider-Man rip-offs running around NYC, the introduction of the annoying Alpha, and all of the extra "Point One" issues.  I even put up with ridiculous three issues per month stint with various writers and artists, making the series so incoherent and inconsistent.  Finally, Marvel signed on Dan Slott and went to a twice monthly publication (at a heftier $3.99 price tag), giving the series at least some consistency and regularity.  I truly admire Dan Slott for being able to put out so many stories of Spidey every month.  It's quite a feat.  Unfortunately, to me, the stories, again, have just been so-so (with the exception of the poignant issues, #655 and #657). That is, until issue #698 when it was revealed that -- SPOILER ALERT!! -- Doctor Octopus had mysteriously switched bodies with Spider-Man, leaving our web-headed friend in a dying body.  Even the cover is one of the best I've seen since picking up ASM again.  At first you think Doc Ock has discovered Spider-Man's secret identity and is calling him out on his deathbed.  Only inside do you discover that that's actually Peter saying his own name to try to get people to help him.  Now, that's AMAZING.  

There are a lot of angry readers out there, disgusted by the thought of a "Superior Spider-Man."  I, for one, am actually looking forward to where Slott is going to take us with Doc Ock as the new Spider-Man, since this is one of the best storylines I've seen for Spider-Man in YEARS.  I also wonder when Peter Parker will "come back to life" and take back control of his own body.  And...will the series still be called Superior Spider-Man?  Or will we see the dawn of another Amazing Spider-Man title?  Will the sequencing start over again with #1?  Or will it return to the 700s? 

Cajun Turd

Ever since Gambit first appeared in the X-Men comics in 1990, I thought he was a pretty cool character, despite rarely being able to understand what he's saying because of his Cajun accent.  I loved the flirtation between he and Rogue, before she got into daddy figures (see: Magneto).  Plus, you've gotta admire a straight dude that can pull off purple (see also: Hawkeye).  But what's with the long overcoat?  Doesn't that get in the way of battle...or make the Louisiana Bayou heat even more unbearable?

Unfortunately, Marvel hasn't really done Gambit justice, evidenced by the numerous attempts at solo series for him.  The latest (2012) attempt isn't any better.  After reading the first seven issues, I'm all, "A sphincter says what?"  I couldn't even follow what was going on from issue to issue because I was so disinterested.  There was battle sequence after battle sequence with little to no character or story development.  Sure, we got to see some Gambit nips as his costume was destroyed, but that hardly makes up for the lack of decent storytelling.  Now he's supposed to be some sort of international James Bond?  I just don't get it.  And, frankly, I don't have to.  This is just another Gambit series headed for cancellation due to lameness.  Mon Dieu!

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.

Batman Origin, Take 58.

With DC Comics having *just* rebooted their entire universe and uprooted and revised all established superhero origins, do we really need another Batman origin story that's different from the original Batman created by Bob Kane, different from the post-Crisis Batman, different from the post-Flashpoint/New 52 Batman, different from Batman starring Michael Keaton, and different from Batman Begins starring Christian Bale?  The answer, simply, is no. They're all similar, but each tells a slightly different tale, using different somewhat characters and string of events. However, Geoff Johns and Gary Frank did an amazing job with story and art in Batman: Earth One that it's hard to say no.

I'll be the first to admit that I was not a fan of the Superman: Earth One book that came out a couple of years ago. The story was lame and...another, different Superman origin?  Really?  And what's with the "Earth One" thing?  Don't the current series in the DC Universe take place on Earth One?  Is this a different Earth One?  Besides multiple Earths, are there multiple Earth Ones, Earth Twos, etc.?

Needless to say, I hesitated buying Batman: Earth One.  I had faith in Johns and Frank, though, so I decided to give it a shot.  If it were any other creators, I probably would have skipped it.  Luckily, I wasn't disappointed.  Johns provides a different take on Batman's origin, but still sticks closely to the original premise. The Penguin is involved this time around, as is a much younger, thinner, and sober Detective Harvey Bullock. There is no Robin, but there is hint of a Batgirl in Barbara Gordon, who makes a couple of brief appearances. Rather than Bruce's parents' deaths being an accident, it's more like a conspiracy. By far the most interesting twist was that Martha Wayne's maiden name was Arkham(!), that her bloodline was doomed for insanity, and -- I think -- that the house in which she grew up was abandoned and would one day become Arkham Asylum. I would love to see that detail added to Batman's mythos. It would make for some interesting stories. And while I liked the interaction between the young Bruce Wayne and a goateed war vet Alfred, I think it was too big of a change for one of the major characters in Bruce's life for people to digest.  Alfred was the only character on this alternate Earth who didn't even come close to resembling the "real" character. 

There were some sensitive, emotional moments that Johns captured between Bruce and his parents and Bruce and Alfred, but there weren't enough to really involve the reader emotionally in the story as much as they should have been.  I know Johns has it in him, so I was disappointed that there weren't more heart-tugging moments.  Gary Frank did an amazing job on the artwork throughout, and I loved looking at every detailed panel.

All in all, it's worth the read, even if you know Batman's origin inside and out. Just don't confuse it for his real origin...whatever it may be now.