Favourite Comic: Journey into Mystery #641 by Kieron Gillen and Richard Elson, with a gorgeous Stephanie Hans cover (Marvel)
- This issue was a terrifically fun mix of humour, explosions, and plot twists. It brought a fitting end to the Manchester Gods story, which has opened up a lot of possibilities for future Captain Britain and Otherworld stories. It also brought a sad ending to Loki's friendship with Leah, and set up for the upcoming Everything Burns story. Dan Slott tweeted on June 29th "This happened at the @Marvel Creative Summit: @kierongillen patiently waited for the right moment... & in 1 sentence, BLEW EVERYONE'S MINDS!" With Gillen penning issues like this one, I totally believe it, and can't wait to see what he has in the works.
Runners-Up for Marvel: Captain Marvel #1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Dexter Soy, and Daredevil #15 by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee
Captain Marvel #1 was a good comic, and a nice introduction to the character for readers unfamiliar with Carol Danvers. I really thought, going into the store, that this was going to be my favourite this week. I ordered all the variants, plus signed and CGC graded copies. I'm a huge fan of all of the Captain Marvels - Mar-Vell, Genis Vell, Phyla Vell, Monica Rambeau, Noh-Varr, and Khn'Nr. And I'm also a fan of Carol Danvers and the previous Ms. Marvel series. And I think my knowledge of these characters and the Captain Marvel legacy is what kept me from loving this issue - it was an introduction that a lot of readers needed, but I wasn't one of them. Nonetheless, Kelly Sue is an excellent writer who did a great job introducing Carol - strong and commanding in her battle against the Absorbing Man, but still uncertain of herself when it comes to if she's worthy of Mar-Vell's title. Dexter Soy's artwork was great too, and I look forward to seeing a lot more of it. I'm definitely sticking with this series, and looking forward to the stories that are still to come.
Daredevil #15 was just a perfect continuation to the last issue. It's still my favourite ongoing series, and this issue is just further proof that the team deserved all those Eisners they won last week. I love the adversity Matt is facing, and that it isn't based on Kingpin or Bullseye or Mr. Fear attacking his personal life. The Iron Man and Captain Marvel cameo at the end served as a nice reminder that he is an Avenger, even though he has barely appeared in those comics since joining the team. Chris Samnee and Javier Rodriguez really nailed the art too, but who didn't expect that?
Runner-up for DC: DC Universe Presents #11 by James Robinson and Bernard Chang
This issue is the conclusion of the Savage story, which introduces Vandal Savage to the New 52 Universe, and is now my favourite New 52 story yet. The story and approach really felt fresh, like an episode of Criminal Minds set in the DCU, even though it wasn't a superhero story. It was never really established if Savage is actually immortal, or if he just believes himself to be. And it worked. The identity of the killer was a surprise. The ending was open enough that we could see more. Next month, DCU Presents goes back to telling superhero stories, but I hope they return to stories like this before too long.
Other good stuff this week:
Free stuff:
- I don't know that all comic book stores are participating, but my local store is doing a weekend sale, but also giving away free Batman: Earth One teaser comics from DC, and free Batman pins too, because Dark Knight Rises comes out tomorrow. This is a fantastic idea! Marvel should embrace it too, with their upcoming movie schedule.
Other comics:
- Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #2 has more gorgeous Amanda Conner artwork.
- Avengers vs X-Men #8 kept that event going nicely. I really liked how Fantastic Four #608 ties into it.
- Avengers vs X-Men #8 kept that event going nicely. I really liked how Fantastic Four #608 ties into it.
- Saga #5 continued the series nicely. I love how much time Vaughan takes to establish personalities and motivations for every one of his characters, not just the main ones.
Trades and hardcovers:
- Amazing Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth Hardcover - A truly great Dan Slott story, beautiful artwork by Stefano Caselli (with some Humberto Ramos in there too), and all in a deluxe size package, meaning it's even bigger than the original issues! A must have!
Comic book news:
- With SDCC last week, it's been a slower week for news. But apparently the Dark Knight Rises is good, and that's good to hear. With a running time of 2h 45m, I won't be taking my 2-week old son to it in theatres, but I look forward to the Blu-Ray release.
- I am really excited for Marvel Now! though, and the slow reveals of the full Point One cover, featuring Nick Fury Jr. and 5 characters/character groups that will see elevated status after Marvel Now launches are raising that excitement a lot. So far we've seen Nova, Ant-Man (or is it Black Ant?), Cable, and just today a grouping of Wiccan, Loki, and Miss America from Joe Casey's Vengeance mini-series, possibly a new Young Avengers team. These are all characters I love, and I can't wait to see what creators are going to be on these series.
My brilliant idea of the week:
At SDCC, someone asked how Marvel Now! would affect popular books like Daredevil and Wolverine & the X-Men. The answer was, basically, "Wait and see." With what we know at the moment - that the Avengers and X-Men will be mingling and working together more after AvX ends, I had the following idea -
Cancel Wolverine & the X-Men and Avengers Academy.
Replace them with two new titles - Wolverine & the Avengers Academy, and Spider-Man & the X-Men.
It allows you to mix characters nicely, while teaching the students that they can learn about their powers from anyone with powers, not just other mutants, or other "accidents".
The first story - Wolverine & the Avengers Academy
- After a bad first day dealing with the students having issues with his approach to teaching, and asking him what they're supposed to learn from him, other than how to kill people, Logan goes to bed angry. In the middle of the night, a mystery figure comes into his room. Minutes later, the alarms go off and the Academy goes into lockdown. The students look for the teachers, but can't find any of them. And one by one, they get picked off, separated, and taken away screaming. Wolverine is hunting them down. But why? Reptil is the last one standing, willing to fight to his last breath for his missing, and presumed dead, friends. But he is also willing to kill Logan for vengeance. And so he has learned his lesson. Yes, Logan could teach them how to kill. He can also teach them why. And hopefully he can teach them how to control their rage too.
The first story - Spider-Man & the X-Men
- Whereas the Avengers Academy kids are scared of Logan, the X-kids just don't like or respect Spider-Man. So the first story is Spider-Man versus the students of the Jean Grey School as they try and hit him with every prank in the book, plus as many new ones they can think of, and he eventually sinks to their level and starts playing some old-fashioned Spidey jokes for revenge. When both sides are equally exhausted and destroyed, they both learn their lesson - With great power comes great responsibility, and having the power to play a prank also means you have the responsibility to decide if it's the right thing to do.
