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| Monday, November 26, 2007 08:38 PM |
| The Take |
 by Fëanor |
Planet Hulk
This is a giant, green hardcover collection of all the comics that together tell the story of the Hulk's exile on the planet Sakaar by the Illuminati, his adventures there, and the start of his return to Earth, which leads into the events of World War Hulk. The collection also includes the short story that establishes Amadeus Cho's friendship with the Hulk (which I actually already own in some other book somewhere); another story wherein Cho discovers that the Illuminati shot the Hulk into space, and that he didn't end up where they planned to send him (a story I'd never seen before); an Afterword by author Greg Pak; some sketches; and finally, in the very back, a lengthy and detailed guide to the history, cultures, and societies of the planet Sakaar. It's a big, heavy, beautiful collection, and it's very, very good.
Of course, I already knew the end of the story and what happens to all these characters, having read World War Hulk, but that didn't make this book any less absorbing or entertaining. In fact, I found it to be a real page-turner, and had to often force myself to slow down so I could appreciate the art - which is just as universally excellent as the writing. I'm really coming to seriously respect the talents of Greg Pak. This is an epic story that introduces an entirely new world and an almost entirely new cast of characters, and yes, some of that story and some of those characters are a bit derivative, but it's all so well written that it works quite well anyway. Every time things tend towards melodrama, Pak wisely turns them in another direction, either with a tinge of clever humor or the use of subtlety and a careful hand. It's a moving and carefully constructed story of rage, revenge, love, destiny, and tragedy, and I think it's fantastic. I also love the Amadeus Cho stories in the back (Cho being one of my favorite comic book characters). The only place the collection falters at all is the guide in the back. It is full of imagination and interesting information, but it's also a little too dull and encyclopedia-like, as well as being poorly edited and loaded with typos and grammatical errors. Still, it's not anywhere near bad enough to take the brilliant sheen off this excellent book. So thanks, Mom and Dad, for picking this up for me for my birthday!
Action Comics #859
Another great issue in this fantastically drawn, inked, colored, and written series about Superman trying to help the Legion of Super Heroes to fix their terrible future, where Earth's sun is red and the world is now run by a league of alien-hating human-firsters who claim Superman was an Earthling. It's brilliant stuff, and I'm just really enjoying reading yet another great Superman title. I never thought I'd be loving the big blue boyscout this much!
Captain America #32
This is so fast-paced and action-packed it was with a feeling of great shock and dismay that I turned the last page only to discover that there was no more comic to read. This issue even had some funny bits, too; maybe somebody finally told Brubaker to ease up a bit on the constant doom and gloom.
This comic, along with one or two of the other Marvel comics I picked up last week, features some new filler in the back, similar to the stuff from a week or two before. There's another entry of "Fury's Files," with the trivia focusing on the Avengers this time instead of on the X-Men (huh. I didn't know Firestar was created for the cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, and only added to the comics afterwards. That was a great cartoon, btw); some sketches and early page art from - and some short quotes from the creators of - the upcoming Incredible Herc, a title that I've seen advertised before but that I've only just realized is actually going to replace Incredible Hulk; a short interview with Marvel sci-fi comic creators Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (responsible for the excellent Nova); and another silly Q&A with Marvel comics creators, this time asking "What is your favorite Marvel moment?" The sketches and pull-quotes about Incredible Herc are interesting - I'm definitely looking forward to a series by Pak focusing on Cho and Hercules, especially with such great art by Khoi Pham. The interview with Abnett and Lanning is amusing and intriguing, as are the answers to that Marvel moment question. Mike Carey had the best choice - a crazy scene from Morrison's fantastic run on New X-Men.
Incredible Hulk #111
I was a little disappointed when I read in the front of this issue that it took place between World War Hulk #4 and #5, but instead of just rehashing old story elements, this comic manages to squeeze a fresh and surprising - but also believable, funny, and pleasantly epic - adventure in between the pages of those two books. It also further develops the characters in the Renegades, as well as their dynamic as a team, and reveals Cho's reaction to the conclusion of the WWH storyline. It's a great book, and I'm looking forward to its continuation in Incredible Herc!
Detective Comics #838
Part 3 of the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul story arc is by Paul Dini, whom I have mixed feelings about. I've enjoyed his work in the past, but I've also sometimes found it to be melodramatic and clumsy. So it's perhaps unsurprising that I have mixed feelings about this book, too. It has strong moments, like when Ra's says, "There, Robin. I was trying right there." And when Alfred takes down Ubu. I also liked the cliffhanger ending, wherein Batman is asked to choose between Robin and his son. In retrospect, it's an obvious direction for the story to take - but it's only obvious because it's inevitable and necessary. Nicely done!
Still, there are also bits of the story that are just clumsily handled, or mediocre. What was with that three-panel jump-cut to the trio of supervillainesses? I mean, it was kind of funny and interesting to see where they ended up, but it was also jarring to have that extremely short and out of place interruption in the middle of the story. I also didn't care for much of the byplay between Robin and Ra's, or the byplay between Batman and Talia. The Robin/Ra's scene is mostly derivative and dull, and the Batman/Talia relationship just doesn't work for me - at least, not the way it's being handled here.
Still, all-in-all, a pretty good issue, and a pretty good entry in this storyline. And it's definitely way better than Robin!
What If? Annihilation
This book - which imagines what would have occurred if, due to a last-second decision that doesn't even occur "on screen" in this book, and is instead summarized in a flashback by Nova, the apocalyptic Annihilation Wave from the epic Annihilation storyline (which I never read) had not been stopped out in space but instead had actually made it all the way to Earth - is alternately so melodramatic, corny, and over-narrated that I nearly put it down and stopped reading; so clumsily drawn that they actually put the same character in the same panel twice by mistake (see the multiple Things in the picture below - I've circled them in white); so transparently and unimaginatively plotted that you know what's going to happen before the writers do (which is impossible, but I'm just trying to make a point); and so poorly paced that they practically skip over the battle for the planet Earth. But despite all of that, I still found the ending to be extremely effective, supremely moving, and very much in the Marvel tradition, so I have to admit it's definitely not all bad.
Ultimate Marvel
This is a free book that the nice man at the comic shop threw in with my order. It consists mainly of previews of upcoming events and books set in Marvel's Ultimate universe. They're going to have a big, multi-book story arc going on there, too, this one called Ultimatum. Of course it will change the Ultimate universe forever, yada yada yada, all the usual stuff. I'm not actually much interested in it, thankfully, and I'm not interested in Ultimates 3 because I didn't particularly like Ultimates 1. But this little free book has succeeded in convincing me that I should try a few more of the other Ultimate titles. I mean, Ultimate Iron Man II is being written by Orson Scott Card, for God's sake! And of course I already knew I had to get the upcoming miniseries Ultimate Human, because it's by Warren Ellis, and it features Ultimate Iron Man vs. Ultimate Hulk. Then there's Ultimate Fantastic Four, which is by Mike Carey, and supposedly really good.
Sigh. My poor wallet.
Heroes for Hire #15
Huh. Well, this issue of this generally poor book is actually rather effective. Also tragic and pretty final. Are there even going to be more issues of this title? I don't know. This issue wasn't good enough for me to actually bother to find out, but still. Interesting.
She-Hulk #23
Yeah, I'm dropping this one. It's just not very interesting. In fact, it's pretty dull. The characters just aren't grabbing me, and the dialogue is weak. I'm not a fan of the art either - pretty ugly stuff. Plus, I just can't resign myself to reading a comic wherein people are going to constantly refer to the hero as "Shulk" or "Shulkie." Ugh.
Oh, and why the heck is there a "preview" of Captain Marvel #1 in the back of this comic, when Captain Marvel #1 came out the week before?
Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite #3
The first couple issues of this, I felt like new things kept getting thrown at me every panel, and although I enjoyed it, it did leave me feeling a little confused and off-balance. Now things seem to be settling down a bit and I'm getting a better feel for the characters, their abilities, and their relationships with each other. Which is good, in a way. But perhaps because of the lack of that insane pacing and packed-to-the-gills-with-crazy-junk style, this issue seems to me to be the weakest one yet. It's entitled "Dr. Terminal's Answer," in reference to a story Dr. Terminal tells one of the team in a flashback. A reporter asked him, "Do you think you can live forever?" Terminal never gets a chance to say what his answer was, but I guess actions speak louder than words? Anyway, I love the Terminaut dialogue, and despite the fact that it's the least good issue of this series yet, it's still a good comic, and I look forward to the next one. |
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