Tagged: Captain America

‘Secret Invasion’ So Far: The Main Story

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  • September 22, 2008

So we’re more than half-way through Secret Invasion, the event that’s supposed to be the biggest thing to rock the Marvel Universe since Civil War, where the question was “whose side are you on?” Secret Invasion’s question is “who do you trust?”, which is almost the same question as Civil War’s but not as grammatically correct ( it’s "whom", people!) and concerns the revelation that several Skrulls (shape-shifting aliens who’ve had their asses kicked many times) have secretly been living among us for a while. This story is the brain-child of Brian Michael Bendis, who has been praised for his series Powers and his run on Ultimate Spider-Man and who has been writing New Avengers and Mighty Avengers since both titles were created.

This plot has been done before to lesser degrees. In the early 90s, the Fantastic Four discovered that the Human Torch’s wife had been impersonated by a Skrull since before they were even engaged. And a couple of years later, the X-Men found out that Wolverine had been replaced by a Skrull who then died because he didn’t know he didn’t have Wolvie’s powers too (idiot).

But there are three major elements that mark this particular invasion story as different from what we’ve seen in comic books a million times over. The first element is that what’s left of the Skrull Empire has now taken up religion. Their holy texts tell them that Earth is theirs by right and they have become quite creepy by habitually saying “He loves you” to everyone they attack. Secondly, they’ve learned how to infiltrate us in such a way that they are now beyond the detection of super-powers, magic and technology – very scary in this post-9/11 world. Finally, the Skrulls have finally figured out how to produce super-powers on a large scale. Where once the Super-Skrull and Power Skrull were unique, now there are thousands of Skrull warriors who have the combined powers of many different villains and heroes.

But how’s the execution? Well, in a nutshell, the main series started off very strong and has recently picked up steam again full force. Even when it was slow, it had some great scenes. But these are over-shadowed occasionally by pages of wasted space and repetitive recaps. And out of the eleven tie-in issues Bendis has written so far, eight of them can be ignored or have a smidge of substance that’s surrounded by filler pages.

But if you are one of those unfortunate souls who bought all the New Avengers and Mighty Avengers tie-ins and then realized you’d wasted over twenty bucks, don’t worry! Just do what I and my good friend Lisa McMullan did. With a little creativity, you can take those pages and make yourself a very smart looking jacket! Now you’re not a sucker, you are actually quite fashionable!

Don’t believe me? Just look at this photographic evidence, nay-sayer! All you need is scissors, tape and maybe an hour of free time.

And when people ask you "How did you think to make such a snazy and debonair sport coat?", you can simply say "I got the idea from those crazy guys at ComicMix and Alan ‘the Sizzler’ Kistler. He’s one nutty guy, that Sizzler."

Not a bad series, but I definitely have some criticisms. Hmmm? What’s that? You want more detail about what my problems are with the main series and the Bendis-written tie-ins? Not a problem, folks. That’s what I get paid for.

By the way, folks, if it pleases you, feel free to check out my old list of the Six Worst Moments in Skrull History! (more…)

Review: ‘[[[Next Avengers]]]: Heroes of Tomorrow’

Right off the bat, to put to rest an already angry legion of fans who want to know why this movie exists instead of Allan Heinberg’s [[[Young Avengers]]] or even Tom DeFalco’s [[[Avengers]]] Next as a series or movie, know that this animated film is a great self-contained story done in the vein of Marvel’s other animated DVDs, and deserves a close look from anyone who can call themselves a Marvel–or even an animation fan. With that said, this story is not for any fan who cannot take themselves out of the grown-up world of [[[Skrulls]]] and [[[Hulk Wars]]]. In order for an adult to enjoy this, you need strip down to your inner child (metaphorically speaking) and watch the movie with a purely childlike mindset.nextavengers-7133013-4477575

The plot takes place in the future of an alternate reality where five of the original eight Avengers have been killed off by Ultron, but not before most of them produced offspring that Tony Stark whisks to a secluded location, safe from the arms of evil. They are raised by the aging [[[Iron Man]]] and trained to use their powers, as James Rogers, son of [[[Captain America]]] and Black Widow; Pym, son of Giant-Man and Wasp; Azari, the son of Black Panther and Storm; and Torunn, the daughter of [[[Thor]]], who didn’t die, but just left Earth one day. Each of them posess an amalgam of their parents’ powers, and even some of their personality quirks as well. Their hideout becomes compromised, Iron Man gets kidnapped, and the kids must then go for the rescue, running into fellow heroes like an elder Hulk and Clint Barton’s son, Francis, taking the helm of Hawkeye.

The great thing about movie is the way they depict the “age of heroes” in the beginning of the film as a bedtime story to the children. The mythos is described almost biblically by referring to the Avengers with names like the Soldier, the Knight, and the Ghost (Cap, Iron Man, and Vision respectively). There are certainly enough wacky “kid” moments and bright colors to keep anybody under the age of 13 interested, but that stays balanced by the amount of mature themes throughout the film, such as abandonment issues, and a rite of passage subplot. The film touches on the subject of death and heroism that most kids would understand, but is clearly meant for adults.

The animation is the same used for Marvel’s [[[Ultimate Avengers]]] films, like a Japanese/American animation hybrid. The strongest element here is  BBC composer Guy Cichelmore’s (Ultimate Avengers) score. This sold the entire film in its epic interpretation. The voice work is mostly done with Marvel and Lionsgate’s in-house talent. Going in the opposite route that DC Animation had gone, the company uses mostly unknown actors and professional voice actors rather than pull in celebrity names. Much like the other Marvel animated films; this was the weakest element in the film, leaving us with a poor-sounding [[[Hulk]]] and Iron Man.

Overall, the film may borderline puerile at times, but makes for a nice competitor for DC’s leading animated series [[[Teen Titans]]]. There is certainly potential for a franchise here, and will most definitely do as well, if not better than the aforementioned show. It should also be mentioned how “ironic” it is that the only two established heroes that are alive and kicking throughout the film are the only two that had a major motion picture this year.There is certainly plenty of action and violence for us adults, and more than enough geek-fodder for the die-hards. A clear recommendation for any true Marvel fan. RATING: 8/10

Marvel Studios Touts Year’s Successes

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  • September 11, 2008

Marvel Studios Chairman David Maisel told investors at Merrill Lynch that their debut this year was” arguably the most successful" in modern history. He touted facts and figures for the smash success of Iron Man and coupled it with the so-so performance of Incredible Hulk to show their dominance.  While claiming Iron Man is the 21st top grossing film in domestic history, adjusted for inflation, it’s actually 113th.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, he has compared their 2010 Thor film as akin to The Lord of the Rings.  At present, no director or cast has been attached.

Maisel also indicated the films will continue to seed characters and threads from film-to-film comparing it with the Star Wars films as opposed to the organic manner in which Stan Lee populated the Marvel Universe. The cameos were "a taste of what’s to follow."

While announcing nothing new, he reiterated the planned 2010 releases for Iron Man 2 and Thor and the 2011 releases of The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers.  He made no mention of the other films rounding out the 10 films Paramount agreed to co-finance including Ant Man. 

Nor did he make mention of Sony’s competing 2011 release, Spider-Man 4, or 20th-Century Fox’s Marvel properties including next year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

"And with our track record, we can normally keep those release dates pretty clean," Maisel noted. He also indicated the advance scheduling allows them to line up premiere licensing and merchandising partners.  He pointed to the forthcoming theme parks in Dubai and South Korea as partnerships aiming the studio and its characters for global domination well into the 21st century.

Also yesterday, actress Eva Mendes pooh-poohed the notion of a Ghost Rider sequel, telling MTV, "No, I think Ghost Rider had its moment. I don’t know about a sequel, but I don’t think it needs one. I was so proud of it. It was fun…but I think it’s done…but look, hey, if it’s Nicolas Cage again – I’ll do anything with him."

Hoffman as Penguin is news to Hoffman

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  • September 9, 2008

The problem with smash hit films is that everyone immediately begins speculating about the sequel.  After all, Hollywood is driven by success and “tent pole” films are necessary for business.  Its one reason, studios stake out release dates years in advance, sometimes before there’s even a script (see Spider-Man 4).

Since the box office records shattered with The Dark Knight, everyone has been running around guessing who might be in the running for the third film from Christopher Nolan. Actors have let it be known they’re interested whether appropriate or not to the part.  The merest hint news sends news around the Internet in a nanosecond.

As a result, retractions, clarifications or denunciations follow just a tad slower.

No sooner did the dust settle from the Cher-as-Catwoman nonsense, MTV began reporting that Michael Caine received Warner Bros. confirmation that the next movie in the series will offer up Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin.

Of course, Nolan insists he hasn’t thought once about the next film, preferring to concentrate on a non-Bat feature as a palette cleanser before returning to Gotham City.

Hoffman, who would be terrific in just about any part short of Catwoman, told The Stone Report that ”Some friend of mine told me he read that [rumor]", Hoffman reported from the Toronto Film Festival. "First I heard of it. I don’t think so.

"I grew up a comic book fan, so I love that stuff. I love going to that stuff. I think what they’re doing with that whole Batman story is really true to what that whole Batman thing has always been. It’s one of the darkest origins of a super-hero, to get all nerdy and geeky on you. That character sees his parents gunned down as a young child. I remember when I was a kid reading that story, so seeing it now come to life as the dark tale that it really is as an intense, really dark, very visceral, adult tale that they’re doing now, all the great work people are doing on it, of course I wouldn’t say, ‘Well, no, no no.’ But I don’t know the reality of it, so I wouldn’t say ‘yes’ to you."

Marvel isn’t immune from this nonsense either as they had to quickly stomp out the word that Will Smith was being cast as Steve Rogers in the Captain America movie.  Previously, rumor had it Cap would be played by Matthew McConnaughy.

 

Marvel Universe and Marvel Legends Images From Comic-Con

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  • August 3, 2008

Hasbro recently sent over a pile of images from the new 3.75" Marvel Universe figures that debuted at Comic-Con International last weekend, as well as the two new "Build-A-Figure" lines that premiered. Since it’s that typically slow post-SDCC weekend, I figured I’d post them here.

Seen here are two of my favorite figures from the lines, Black Bolt from the Ares Build-A-Figures and Captain America from the new Marvel Universe line. I’m not even a very big fanof Cap, but something about that figure is really impressive. As for Black Bolt, well… he’s just another one of my favorite characters in the Marvel U. ‘Nuff said.

 

I’ve posted a big ol’ gallery of the rest of the figure photos Hasbro sent over after the jump.

 

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Shiny, Shiny Superheroes, by Mike Gold

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  • July 28, 2008

Despite the graphic to the right, this week’s column isn’t another screed against “everything you know is wrong and will be wrong again” superhero plotting. We’ve pretty well strip-mined that topic, and unless I get inspired by original thought I’ll wait for DC and/or Marvel to make the next move.

This column is in the wake of a lengthy and continuing series of conversations I had with my ol’ pal John Ostrander. Having such conversations is the best part of the job; really, if you like talking with knowledgeable and highly creative people, I strongly recommend you become a comic book editor. I can’t quote from these conversations – for one thing, you’ll be seeing some of the results right here on ComicMix, and for another, I understand the Wi-Fi reception down at Gitmo isn’t so good. But I can give you the gist.

We were talking about doing superheroes in 2008. John does a lot of ‘em; depending upon your view of GrimJack and Jon Sable, I don’t do all that much in the genre. But I like it. I’m an American comic book fan and I proudly admit I enjoy a good superhero story. But there’s that “relevance-to-our-times” thing.

Brand-new superheroes were created in two waves: the build-up to World War II (Superman, Batman, Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Captain Marvel) and the cold war build-up to Vietnam (Spider-Man, The Hulk, Iron Man, The Question). There wasn’t a truly successful superhero created in the ten years following World War II, and the only totally original superhero created in the post-Vietnam years that comes to mind is Len Wein and Herb Trimpe’s Wolverine.

It’s easy to understand the element common to each of these two fertile periods: the reader had an overwhelming need for security. In the early “Golden Age” we were in a devastating economic depression with unemployment hovering around 25% and surrounded by massive international inflation. Japan had invaded China, Germany was beginning to engulf its neighbors and nations historically friendly to us were looking to us for war material. We had a lot of unemployed people who could aid their, and later our, war effort. (more…)

The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 26

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  • July 26, 2008

Wait a second, reviews of actual comic book? Isn’t Comic-Con going on?

Yes and yes. I made it to the comics shop a bit belated this week on account of the San Diego craziness, but apparently real comics came to real comic book stores this week, although it was an understandably small batch. That being the case, it’s a somewhat truncated Weekly Haul this time around.

9999_400x600-8545251Book of the Week: X-Files #0 — One of the great all-time shows is back in a big way with this week’s movie and DC’s one-shot comic. Reviews aren’t kind to the movie, but the book (set in the show’s early years and scripted by one of the creators) is top-notch.

Comic adaptations are always tricky, as the art can go too far into trying to perfectly recreate actors and the writing can fall flat. But this issue reads and looks just like a classic episode.

Scully and Mulder investigate a series of weird deaths, where victims have no signs of injury or illness. Turns out there’s something playing the possession game, which puts the heroes into a fun game of chess with the invisible adversary.

It’s strong throughout, but the final reveal is a doozy, making it a must-read for fans.

Runners Up:

Daredevil #109 — This arc is (finally) all about Matt getting his life back on track, but of course he can only do so while bringing some gangsters, the FBI and the CIA down on his head. A tense read, as Matt and his crew pull themselves further into danger’s path with each page.

Invincible #51 — Lots of daddy issues surface as Mark shows Oliver the superhero ropes and they each get a new costume (in a sequence fairly ripped out of The Incredibles). A few big plot developments, but mostly this is Robert Kirkman doing the teenager-as-superhero thing better than it’s been done since Ditko’s Spider-Man.

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The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 17, 2008

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  • July 17, 2008

A couple disappointments and a near no-show from DC aside, this was a pretty good week in comics, especially outside of the mainstream superheroes.

Still, this week more than anything is just a little whisper, as all eyes are on San Diego for next week’s Comic-Con. All the same, books came out, so on to the reviews…

Book of the Week: Mice Templar #5 — This series started out as a fairly typical fantasy story, albeit told with mice and featuring a violent edge.

Last issue, it started becoming clear that writer Bryan J.L. Glass was veering away from the expected route of the young protagonist realizing his great destiny and triumphing over evil.

This issue, any and all signs of the archetypal fantasy narrative have been thrown clear out the door. Paradigms change in a big way for Karic, and to write anything about it would be to spoil the fun.

Mike Oeming is once again top-notch on art, and really the only question left is how many times the creative team can keep raising the bar.

Runners Up:

Captain America #40 and Ghost Rider #25 — Marvel had two superhero winners this week, with very different very good issues. Ghost Rider starts out slow, continuing the retrospective storyline of Johnny Blaze in jail. Zadkiel’s manipulations continue, and things build to a hellacious conclusion, highlighted by Blaze literally using the Bible as a weapon. Only Jason Aaron could make that work.

Cap sees the big fight between Bucky and the new impostor (the old Nomad), but the real bout to watch is that between Sharon and the Red Skull’s daughter. Ed Brubaker uses his skil with pacing to tell both stories at once, using each to heighten the drama of the other. And the ending? An out-and-out punch in the stomach moment.

Omega the Unknown #10 — The weirdest Marvel series in a good, long while finally ends, with Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple taking a bow with a nearless wordless denouement that comes straight out of David Lynch’s oddball mind. It’s a fitting conclusion to the series, which was enigmatic for the whole trip.

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The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 11, 2008

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  • July 11, 2008

All around, a great week for comics even in the face of a few serious missteps. And while the latest Secret Invasion was quite good, it was the monthlies that really kicked into high gear. Let’s get to the reviews…

jsa16-4829475Book of the Week: Justice Society of America #17 — This book hit a pretty serious lull in the middle of the Gog storyline, as Magog went away and Gog (an apparently benevolent god) made his presence known.

The latest issue is all about that old axiom, be careful what you wish for. Gog is on the peacepath, so to speak, and turns his focus on the members of the JSA, granting their deepest desires.

But his altruism cuts both ways. Damage gets a new face and Pieter regains his sight, while Starman becomes sane ("not a good thing") and Power Girl is transported home… wherever that is.

It’s a slickly done issue by Geoff Johns, who crafts an extremely dangerous story without a whiff of a villain. This series had been needing a kick in the pants, and this issue was a big swing of a steel-toed boot.

Runers Up:

Captain Britain #3 — Even better than Secret Invasion is this spin-off title, which has the Skrulls invading Britain as part of their global conquest. This is one jam-packed issue, with epic fight scenes, tough decisions and even a believable turn from Merlin.

The expected rebirth of Captain Britain was goose-bumps good, and my only complaint is that this Skrull battalion is all fighting and no subterfuge, as they don’t utilize that huge shape-shifting advantage.

The Goon #26 — A classic gangsters-at-war story. Think Miller’s Crossing, except with monsters, zombies and filthy humor. Eric Powell maybe goes a bit too far in places, but all in all it’s a damn fine issue, and his art is brilliant as ever.

 

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Shelf Watch: This Week’s Comics

ikillgiants_cover-8368705Every week I look ahead at Diamond’s shipping lists to see what I’ll be reviewing for the Weekly Haul. Here’s what’s on tap this week (reminder, comics aren’t out till Thursday):

Not sure why, but I’m looking forward to Image’s I Kill Giants #1, even though I don’t have much of an idea what it’s about. The art reminds me a lot of Alex Robinson’s — but with more manga influences — so that might be a lot of it.

Dark Horse has a couple of usual suspects on the way in The Goon #26 and B.P.R.D.: The Warning #1, as well as the Hellboy: Oddest Jobs trade. I’ve been especially impressed with The Goon of late, after it nosedived when Eric Powell shifted his focus to Action Comics and the Chinatown GN.

DC has a fairly ho-hum slate. Tops would be Booster Gold #1000000, though DC’s Web site says that’s not coming out till next week. There’s Final Crisis Requiem, the one-shot that deals with the Martian Manhunter’s death (glossed over in Final Crisis), and the Batman books are tied into the lackluster RIP storyline. Nothing screams "must read."

Marvel has a big headline with Secret Invasion #4, but aside from that there’s nothing of exceptional interest, aside from the preview for Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Captain America: White and the always excellent Nova (issue 15). Am I the only one already tired of Matt Fraction’s Invincible Iron Man, even though only the third issue is coming out now?

In the small presses, there’s the eighth volume of Bone and the trade of Badger Saves the World. Other than that, pretty slim pickings.

What are you looking forward to?

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