Dr.Finger
04-27-2008, 09:35 AM
Welcome to Week Eighteen of the Official Evil Avatar Comic Book Reviews
Remember, these are NOT spoiler-free reviews.
Evil Avatar’s Weekly Comic Book Reviews – Year 4 – Week 18
Mighty Avengers #12 (A Secret Invasion Tie-In)
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Editor: Tom Brevoort
$2.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Mighty-Avengers-12.jpg
Part of the point Marvel has made over and over while selling Secret Invasion is just how long this particular project has been in the planning stages. This issue of Mighty Avengers turns the clock back to the Secret War miniseries (which began in 2004, but didn't end until 2005) where Nick Fury's actions finally forced him to go underground. A month later and Fury seems to be trying to move on in life. He's visited at his Mexican hotel by his old flame Countess Valentina AllegraDefontaine for a little secret agent nookie. But Fury being a suspicious bastard uses his personal cloaking device to follow her when she goes to get breakfast. He finds her meeting with someone who wants his SHIELDpasscodes and his death, in that order. Fury confronts the fake Countess and shoots her in the head, revealing her to be a Skrull . This of course sets off fireworks in Fury's head, and he spends the next few months planning. He meets new SHIELD director Maria Hill in her bedroom, to warn her that forces are conspiring against her. He meets with Spider-Woman, who he'd had installed as a double agent in Hydra, and tells her to go back to SHIELD, so she can be a triple agent. Lastly we get a look at Fury's planning wall, where photos of several dozen individuals, most heroes but a few villains as well, are tacked up. Some have red or blue circles around them, although we don't yet know what those circles mean.
This book is a very insidious tease. After 3+ years out of the spotlight (except for a few phone calls in the Captain America book) we finally get a look at what Nick Fury has been up to. You know Fury's going to play a big role in this event, and while filling us in on what Fury's been doing, it also teases you with what he's going to do. And that last page, with a bunch of pretty A-list heroes with circles around their names, makes me even more excited. However I'm not quite sure what it has to do with the Mighty Avengers. The only member of the team that appears in it at all is Spider-Woman, and she's only in three or four pages. I understand, and actually applaud, Marvel's decision not to just dump this in another tie-in miniseries, but it leads me to believe that both Avengers books will be in 'fill in the gaps' mode for most of this event. Still it's a fun book, and Bendis' script here is as tight as we've seen from him in a while. He reels in his tendency towards overly jokey characters while still retaining his usually whip smart dialogue.
By the way, can anyone tell me who Maleev is drawing Nick Fury to resemble in this panel?
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Mighty%20Avengers%20012-007.jpg
The face is familiar, but I just can't say from where.
Bottom Line:
A fun look back at the last few years of Fury's life also functions as a pretty good tease for Secret Invasion to come.
Rating: Worth your time and money (4 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg
Hulk vs Hercules: When Titans Collide One-Shot
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writers: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Artists: Khoi Pham, Paul Neary, Denis Calero, Eric Nguyen, Reilly Brown, Carlos Cuevas, Terry Pallot, Chris Sotomayor, Bob Layton & Guru EFx
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Mark Paniccia
$3.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Hulk-Herc.jpg
Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente's new Hercules book spun out of World War Hulk, so a special highlighting a heretofore unseen meeting between the two titans is a bit of a no-brainer. This story, framed by Hercules' and Amadeus Cho's current road trip with Athena, is set many years back, when a still simple Hulk was banished to the crossroads of reality by Doctor Strange. For a time Hulk was doomed to travel from reality to reality until he found the one that finally made him happy. He eventually makes his way to the Olympian plane, where he befriends two Giants maimed in the last uprising against he Olympians. They're enjoying a drink and a bit of roast boar with Hulk when Ares drops in and attacks them for stealing his boar. Hulk simply blocks Ares' attack and knocks Ares cold. The giants then manipulate Hulk into attacking Olympus directly, where who should greet him but Hercules. They engage in a fight that can only be called epic, which is only stopped when the Giants, led by Zeus' sire Cronos, attack Olympus. Hulk initially joins the fight on the side of the gods, but he's stunned when Hercules casually kills Hulk's giant friends while seeking out Cronos. Herc pushes the giants back off of Olympus, and offers Hulk his hand in victory. But Hulk is crushed by the deaths of his friends, and that unhappiness triggers Doctor Strange's spell, and he's whisked back to the Crossroads. All of this is told to Cho by Athena to try and prove to him that his buddy Hercules can be just as dangerous as any monster.
Pak and Van Lente once again hit it out of the park. The story, as illustrated by a metric ton of artists, is at first glance just an excuse to show a battle between Hercules and the Hulk, and that's absolutely part of the draw. But it also reinforces the theme they've been exploring in Hercules' book, that as nice and cuddly Hercules may seem, he's a danger to himself and everyone around him. There's this sense of menace building throughout the series so far, and it's just a question who snaps first, Herc or Cho.
Bottom Line:
A great throwdown between Herc and Hulk, that also once again gives another sheen of depth to Hercules' character.
Rating: A must own! (5 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e5.jpg
Quick Hits
Batman #675 - When a woman figures out that Bruce Wayne is Batman it's pretty much a sure bet that she's going to die because of it, so don't get too attached to Jezebel Jet IMO.
Thor #8 - JMS continues to make Thor more interesting than he's been since Walt Simonson stopped writing the character. It's more mythological than superhero-y, but it's a very impressive book.
Remember, these are NOT spoiler-free reviews.
Evil Avatar’s Weekly Comic Book Reviews – Year 4 – Week 18
Mighty Avengers #12 (A Secret Invasion Tie-In)
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Dave Lanphear
Editor: Tom Brevoort
$2.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Mighty-Avengers-12.jpg
Part of the point Marvel has made over and over while selling Secret Invasion is just how long this particular project has been in the planning stages. This issue of Mighty Avengers turns the clock back to the Secret War miniseries (which began in 2004, but didn't end until 2005) where Nick Fury's actions finally forced him to go underground. A month later and Fury seems to be trying to move on in life. He's visited at his Mexican hotel by his old flame Countess Valentina AllegraDefontaine for a little secret agent nookie. But Fury being a suspicious bastard uses his personal cloaking device to follow her when she goes to get breakfast. He finds her meeting with someone who wants his SHIELDpasscodes and his death, in that order. Fury confronts the fake Countess and shoots her in the head, revealing her to be a Skrull . This of course sets off fireworks in Fury's head, and he spends the next few months planning. He meets new SHIELD director Maria Hill in her bedroom, to warn her that forces are conspiring against her. He meets with Spider-Woman, who he'd had installed as a double agent in Hydra, and tells her to go back to SHIELD, so she can be a triple agent. Lastly we get a look at Fury's planning wall, where photos of several dozen individuals, most heroes but a few villains as well, are tacked up. Some have red or blue circles around them, although we don't yet know what those circles mean.
This book is a very insidious tease. After 3+ years out of the spotlight (except for a few phone calls in the Captain America book) we finally get a look at what Nick Fury has been up to. You know Fury's going to play a big role in this event, and while filling us in on what Fury's been doing, it also teases you with what he's going to do. And that last page, with a bunch of pretty A-list heroes with circles around their names, makes me even more excited. However I'm not quite sure what it has to do with the Mighty Avengers. The only member of the team that appears in it at all is Spider-Woman, and she's only in three or four pages. I understand, and actually applaud, Marvel's decision not to just dump this in another tie-in miniseries, but it leads me to believe that both Avengers books will be in 'fill in the gaps' mode for most of this event. Still it's a fun book, and Bendis' script here is as tight as we've seen from him in a while. He reels in his tendency towards overly jokey characters while still retaining his usually whip smart dialogue.
By the way, can anyone tell me who Maleev is drawing Nick Fury to resemble in this panel?
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Mighty%20Avengers%20012-007.jpg
The face is familiar, but I just can't say from where.
Bottom Line:
A fun look back at the last few years of Fury's life also functions as a pretty good tease for Secret Invasion to come.
Rating: Worth your time and money (4 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e4.jpg
Hulk vs Hercules: When Titans Collide One-Shot
Reviewed By: Michael Chauvet (Doctor Finger)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writers: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Artists: Khoi Pham, Paul Neary, Denis Calero, Eric Nguyen, Reilly Brown, Carlos Cuevas, Terry Pallot, Chris Sotomayor, Bob Layton & Guru EFx
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Mark Paniccia
$3.99
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/thumbs/comics/Hulk-Herc.jpg
Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente's new Hercules book spun out of World War Hulk, so a special highlighting a heretofore unseen meeting between the two titans is a bit of a no-brainer. This story, framed by Hercules' and Amadeus Cho's current road trip with Athena, is set many years back, when a still simple Hulk was banished to the crossroads of reality by Doctor Strange. For a time Hulk was doomed to travel from reality to reality until he found the one that finally made him happy. He eventually makes his way to the Olympian plane, where he befriends two Giants maimed in the last uprising against he Olympians. They're enjoying a drink and a bit of roast boar with Hulk when Ares drops in and attacks them for stealing his boar. Hulk simply blocks Ares' attack and knocks Ares cold. The giants then manipulate Hulk into attacking Olympus directly, where who should greet him but Hercules. They engage in a fight that can only be called epic, which is only stopped when the Giants, led by Zeus' sire Cronos, attack Olympus. Hulk initially joins the fight on the side of the gods, but he's stunned when Hercules casually kills Hulk's giant friends while seeking out Cronos. Herc pushes the giants back off of Olympus, and offers Hulk his hand in victory. But Hulk is crushed by the deaths of his friends, and that unhappiness triggers Doctor Strange's spell, and he's whisked back to the Crossroads. All of this is told to Cho by Athena to try and prove to him that his buddy Hercules can be just as dangerous as any monster.
Pak and Van Lente once again hit it out of the park. The story, as illustrated by a metric ton of artists, is at first glance just an excuse to show a battle between Hercules and the Hulk, and that's absolutely part of the draw. But it also reinforces the theme they've been exploring in Hercules' book, that as nice and cuddly Hercules may seem, he's a danger to himself and everyone around him. There's this sense of menace building throughout the series so far, and it's just a question who snaps first, Herc or Cho.
Bottom Line:
A great throwdown between Herc and Hulk, that also once again gives another sheen of depth to Hercules' character.
Rating: A must own! (5 out of 5 EvilEyes)
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e5.jpg
Quick Hits
Batman #675 - When a woman figures out that Bruce Wayne is Batman it's pretty much a sure bet that she's going to die because of it, so don't get too attached to Jezebel Jet IMO.
Thor #8 - JMS continues to make Thor more interesting than he's been since Walt Simonson stopped writing the character. It's more mythological than superhero-y, but it's a very impressive book.