Splish Splash: Incredible Hulk #12

"If it was Thanos or Dr. Doom breaking into your secret old underground prison, you'd get Captain America and Thor. But when you got a Hulk problem... You get us."

In "The Incredible Hulk #12," writer Jason Aaron wraps up his five-issue story arc ("Stay Angry") with another moment of the Hulk waking up in a strange situation and piecing together Bruce Banner's evil plot.  In this issue the Hulk awakens in a forgotten S.H.I.E.L.D. prison nestled deep within the confines of Antarctica; he realizes that his plan of 'staying angry' has not worked out quite as planned, and is promptly pitted against Wolverine and The Thing in an all-out slugfest.

Unsurprisingly, the Hulk does a lot of damage; there is a lot of pain for all parties, lots of stabbing, and lots of punching.  It is an action-packed issue that instantly becomes the highlight of Aaron's story arc.  By bringing Wolverine, the Hulk and Thing together for an all-out brawl it has a sort of throwback feel to it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this issue--more so than the last few.  I had never really considered myself a huge Hulk fan up until reading Aaron's run, however, with his writing and  the stellar art it's hard not to be a fan!  In particular though, this issue caught my eye--from page two onwards (which features Wolverine and The Thing heading into the prison discussing their reason of being there).  Carlos Pancheco's art and Frank Martin's coloring are spectacular, and at its heart is the inspiration for this post.  That coupled with the line above really sets the tone for the whole issue.

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Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #5 of 12 (2012)

Avengers vs. X-Men #5 is by far the worst issue to be released in the series. It tries to be edgy and on the cusp, but unfortunately it dives into the weird and starts to bend continuity to the breaking point.

I thought that the opening was just as stellar as the prior issue, but it was all down from there. It was definitely a great throwback to X-Men: Schism and seeing Wolverine burnt to a crisp (yet alive) is both wrenching and a testament toLogan’s awesomeness.

Continuing with last issue’s moon battle the (now standard) duels have carried over while the Phoenix Force speeds towards them. In traditional Stark fashion Tony has ‘hopefully’ devised a way to stop the Phoenix Force via a technological innovation. As a writer, this avenue is logical and fits fairly well into Stark’soverall character.

However, Stark’s invention looks incredibly like an early Transformers' Autobot. I found it an unusual path to take considering that within the world of science there were so many other possibilities that would have been more viable. Also, this precludes another contention: Where is Reed Richards during all of this? He would be the perfect asset to assist Tony Stark and would have been more than willing to help evade a world-destroying event, yet he is mysteriously absent. His expertise and knowledge are practically unrivaled, and it is disappointing to see him omitted from the plot line.

As the Phoenix Force appears, key individuals are depicted throughout the globe being affected by the God-like energy. Interestingly enough Charles Xavier (Professor X) and his son are shown within a single panel. It was out of place, and I hope that he has a larger role in the issues to come; otherwise he’ll become just another plot inconsistency.

SPOILERS

The issue concludes with Tony Stark’s Transformer splintering the Phoenix Force into five separate energies, resulting in the force possessing Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik. I am curious as to why the Colossus and Magik were chosen to be apart of the ‘Phoenix Five,’ when considering that there are other more prominent members of Cyclops’ X-Men such as Magneto. Overall, this plot twist is grossly unexpected and (yet again) redefines the entity known as the “Phoenix Force.”

END OF SPOILERS

Matt Fraction’s dialogue was acceptable, but the plot points are muddled, and the general direction of the series is blatantly disregarding the Marvel Universe’s continuity.

Even with all of the narrative splices, John Romita’s artwork takes the leap in, and represents some of the best work that he has produced for the series. The cover is also incredibly apropos and appropriately sums up the intrigue of the issue. Jim Cheung and Justin Ponsor have really outdone themselves and created some spectacular covers for the series, and I am excited to see what they have to offer for future issues.

Avengers vs. X-Men #5 receives a flat three-out-of-five stars.

(SOURCE: Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #5 of 12 (2012))

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Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #4 of 12 (2012)

Avengers vs. X-Men #4 is very much a filler issue. It is nothing more than a transition comic from one major plot point to another. It does not stray too far in either direction plot-wise, so all-in-all the comic serves its purpose.

Starting off where the last issue left off (almost to the panel) Wolverine is depicted trudging through the snow with a newly adorned Polar Bear for warmth. All of a sudden he finds a can of beer protruding from the snowline, then another, and another, and so on and so forth. Eventually this trail of ‘Wolverine candy’ leads to an awaiting Hope Summers, who is interested in employing Wolverine’s aid in an effort to get to the Phoenix Force before the others. All of this is on the promise that if things go awry Wolverine has Hope’s permission to slay her like he always intended to do.

Personally, I thought the opening sequence was great!John Romita’s artwork really shone during the introduction, and the narrative was humorous, but still on point.

The issue then segues into the various skirmishes across the globe that are occurring between the X-Men and the Avengers. I loved the action sequences, and the battles presented really showcase Romita’s talent, but a lot of the material seems to have been recycled from the Avengers vs. X-Men companion series, Versus. I would rather have an extra four or so pages of battle sequences in the main series and Versus cut entirely, or have the panels that are already represented in the Versus run to be stricken from the core cannon and replaced with a little more exposition and narrative to iron out the inconsistencies in the plot.

Essentially, the issue splits into three (almost four) different narratives that all tie-in at the end in a finale that takes place on the moon. Several pages are devoted to following the Avengers and/or the X-Men, others follow Hope and Wolverine on their trek to the moon to receive the Phoenix Force, and the last plotline follows Thor and company as they try to thwart the Phoenix Force’spath towards Hope and subsequently Earth.

I do not want to divulge too many plot points, but I found Wolverine’s actions to be very contradictory to his prior rhetoric. A more thorough transition from one school of thought to another would have been much appreciated. I feel as if Wolverine backtracked a bit, and then dived further down the rabbit hole with his whole handling of the Hope situation and resulting journey to the moon.

Overall, the story was solid, but nothing momentous came to fruition. Jonathan Hickman’swriting is admirable, but very un-Hickman-like; it is as-if he were following a strict outline or guide, so very little of his style bled through in the final product.

The art was phenomenal at its high points, such as Romita’s introductory panels with Wolverinetrudging through the snow with a newly slain Polar Bear upon his back. But, for every high…there was an equal low. I thought Thor’s blood was incredibly fake-looking, and several pages in, there is a shot with Quicksilver running over the crest of the hill that is so horribly skewed it looks like he is a little person jogging. Jim Cheung’s cover was slick, and appropriately held the tone for the issue.

I rate Avengers vs. X-Men #4 a middle of the road three-and-a-half stars out of five.

(SOURCE: Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #4 of 12 (2012))

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Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #3 of 12 (2012)

In the closing panels of the second issue Hope channeled the power of the Phoenix quickly eviscerating Wolverine into a seared heap.  Avengers vs. X-Men #3 begins with a scorched Wolverine rebuilding his muscle tissue and charred skin under the supervision of Spider-Man.  A couple quips are exchanged, with Spider-Man as the catalyst, before the two rush out to regroup with the rest of the Avengers.  Unbeknownst to Captain America and the rest of the team the Avengers are being duped by a Doctor Strangedoppelganger, but with the arrival of Wolverine and Spider-Man Wolverine sniffs out the imposter spoiling Cyclops’ruse. 

At this note, the X-Men disappear in a flash and the two groups are once again separated, except this time with the common of goal of finding the Mutant Messiah, Hope.  With the narration now split three ways (between the X-Men, The Avengers, and Hope) the story is beginning to unfold as the three jockey amongst each other waiting for the return of thePhoenix.  The X-Men are now on the run (but hold an ace within the heart of Wolverine’s school), the Avengers take a tip from the very same defector and scatter about the globe to search for Hope in five possible locations, and using specialty tech Hope has masked her trail and is hiding out till the Phoenix Force returns.

Due to Wolverine’s subordination of Captain America’s orders during the battle of Utopia (in the first two Avengers vs. X-Men issues) Captain America questions Wolverine’s motives and trust as the Avengers’ jet flies over Antarctica en route toHope’s possible location.  Their argument escalates untilCaptain America and Wolverine windup battling till Wolverinegets thrown out of the jet into the snow below.

The script is slowly getting better as the issues wane on, but thus far Avengers vs. X-Men is still pretty shallow.  TheAvengers vs. X-Men: Versus crossover miniseries often reveals more pertinent plot details than the actual AvXcomics.  Nevertheless, the run has been consistent, and the quality (rather than needlessly fluxing) has gradually improved.  John Romita’s artwork shines even with the lack of action, and yet as the tension builds and finally erupts between Captain America and Wolverine the art takes off and climaxes with a literally steaming Wolverine shaking the snow from his battered body.

I give Avengers vs. X-Men #3 four-out-of-five stars; check back here for my future reviews on Avengers vs. X-Men, as well as its counterpart series, Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus.

(SOURCE: Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #3 of 12 (2012))

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Comic Book of the Week (4.2.2012)

Avengers vs. X-Men #3 and Dial #1

Prior Comics of the Week

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The Wolverine (2013)

AWESOME.

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Comic Book of the Week (2.22.2012)

Deadpool #51

Prior Comic of the Week

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Tumblr Reblogs

I found some awesome comic book art from freelancers on Tumblr, and I thought I'd reblog them to share the wealth!

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Comic Book of the Week (12.21.2011)

Wolverine & the X-Men #3

Prior Comics of the Week

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Slow Week Equals Walking Dead (No Pun Intended)

I haven’t had the pleasure of physically perusing my comics for this week, but after looking at this week’s releases (on an online catalogue) it doesn’t look like a plethora of comics will be hitting store shelves this week.  Between my girlfriend and I we have a whopping two comics in our Merlyn’s subscription pile.  After several fifty dollar weeks I suppose a six dollar once is in order every once in a while.

As recommended by Bleeding Cool (which I of course am seconding here) this would be an excellent week to catch up on some TPBs.  It’s the perfect time to pick up some graphic novels, because after all the sales are only going to get better from here till the New Year.  I personally plan on picking up a "Walking Dead" TPB or two this evening to fill in my comic void.  I also heard via Bleeding Cool that this week’s issue of "Wasteland" was a good comic to pick up in case you’ve missed it.  It’s similar to "Walking Dead" except more along the vein of "Mad Max."  A comic underdog.

Speaking of Walking Dead and Mad Max I’m planning on writing a comparison of the Walking Dead graphic novel and television show.  With the aftermath of the mid-season finale still lingering horrifically in our hearts I think it would be a perfect time to compare the series with the source material.  I’ll most-likely structure my review akin to my “Wolverine: X-23 vs. Daken” article by describing the two, their similarities and differences, and then wrap up the expose with my opinion and an overall ‘favorite.’

Also, on the Mad Max front I was pleasantly surprised to find out that George Miller will be making three new Mad Max films featuring Tom Hardy (Inception) as the eponymous protagonist.

Well, that’s the wrap-up.  Enjoy the holidays everyone!

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Wolverine #14

With DC relaunching their entire lineup and DC half-assing the ending to the majority of their series I have been reading more Marvel lately.  I particularly enjoy the current Wolverine run and I think that Jason Aaron has done a fantastic job creating a truly memorable Wolverine tale.  After reading the conclusion to "Wolverine's Revenge" yesterday evening I was almost drawn to tears.  I felt horrible for Logan and was somewhat left in awe at the Red Hand's ingenious scheme.

SPOILERS

The Red Hand trains five of Wolverine's children to be brutal killers and then has them battle Wolverine, to the death, without either party knowing that they are his children!  The Red Hand then watches and waits till Wolverine slaughters his foes and reaches the Red Hand's hideout.  At that precise moment the members of the Red Hand (men, women, children, and the elderly) all commit suicide and leave Wolverine a video and documents informing him that he has killed his own children and that he will never achieve vengeance because they have killed themselves before he could act.

END OF SPOILER


The Red Hand's plot is sick, but effective.  The last panel has Wolverine shown in anguish as he grapples with his actions.  The plug for the next comic looks amazing.  Wolverine will return to the Canadian wilderness where he will shed his   humanity and become feral once more.

I highly recommend this comic and I would follow Jason Aaron closely.  He has amazing talent.  His writing is subtle and heavily nuanced, but the climax follows through and emphasizes his writing ability by drawing the reader in emotionally.

Wolverine #15

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Kalman Andrasofszky

Last week or so Celeste and I nabbed an older copy of X-23.  Number seven to be exact, and one of the main reasons we grabbed it was because of the stellar cover.  Here is the cover for X-23 #7:

X-23 #7 Cover by Kalman Andrasofszky

So after becoming intrigued by the cover art I started digging a little deeper into the bio of the artist and it turns out that Kalman Andrasofszky has caught my eye with his art quite a few times without me even knowing it!  He’s worked on the DC 12-part series, Ion, starring Kyle Rayner, X-23 (of course), R.E.B.E.L.S., Soldier Zero, Action Comics, Captain America, and a myriad of others that I enjoy reading but regretfully haven’t been regularly purchasing so hadn’t realized that I was looking at Kalman’s art until now!

Here are some other pieces of art that Kalman has done over the years that has caught my eye:

Definitely check out Kalman Andrasofszky’s blog and/or webpage at ComicVine.  He showcases a lot of his art there, and you could jot him in email or see some of the art that he is working at the moment.

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