Comic Book Reviews: Weeks Thru 03/18/09 – 03/25/09
I missed a comic book weekly review so I’m gonna cram two weeks of reviews into one post. So bear with me.
Wolverine #71
Written by: Mark Millar
Art by: Steve McNiven
I don’t want to jinx this book, but I gotta say that every issue of Millar/McNiven’s “Old Man Logan” arc has been outstanding. I’m hard pressed to find anything that I didn’t like in each issue. If you happen to be not reading this either because you hate Wolverine or don’t know about it, you really should be.
So last ish, we are left with a shot of the geezer-y duos next challenge, a T-Rex with the powers of Venom chasing after them through the desert wasteland. Take that concept out of context and you would laugh and tear this issue up in your hands, but for some odd reason, Millar and McNiven make this work. Awesomely.
So back to the giant Venom-y T=Rex. It’s chasing Wolverine and Hawkeye through the barren desert towards their ultimate goal: reaching a place called New Babylon. Even in the ridiculously cool Spider-mobile, the T-Rex is closing in on them. But just when it seems like the curtains are falling on our adventurers, a familiar face shows up in one of the coolest cameos in this storyline and stops the T-Rex dead in its tracks. The softly spoken savior whisks the team down into a secret hideout that is home to some of Wolverine’s past friends, most namely Emma Frost. This series has always seemed to pride itself on showing us future versions of characters that aren’t really there for anything but nifty cameos. Which brings me to my next point: I LOVE THEM! This issue has one of the best cameos and it just solidfies this series as a really cool interpretation of the Marvel Universe’s future. Much like the city of Hammer Falls in a earlier issue that featured a city based around the location of where fallen Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, fell to Earth. In my opinion, this newest “cameo” trumps that one. It’s so great, that McNiven used two pages to show it.
So by now, you should realize from my tone that the current storyline in Wolverine is worth reading. If single issues aren’t available to you, I’d say that you need to mark down the date that the trade is released. So far, barring some unforseen disaster in the last issue, Wolverine “Old Man Logan” is worth your hard earned penny, even in this shitty, crumbling economy.
X-Force/Cable: Messiah War Chapter 1
Written by: Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost
Art by: Mike Choi & Sonia Oback
Well here we are at yet another big event in the Marvel U: Messiah War. Basically, Messiah War will add to the mystery of last year’s big X-men event, Messiah Complex. So the gist of the story is that after the events of House of M, mutant kind was reduced to roughly 150 mutants in the world, and ever since, mutant kind has only dwindled and never gave birth to new mutants, until Messiah Complex. The birth of a new mutant baby sparked a war from opposing sides, some who want to profit from the mutant, some who wanted it destroyed and others who felt it was neccesary to safeguard it. The true nature of the child has yet to be revealed, but it is being touted as some kind of Jesus Christ/ Anakin Skywalker mutant. The world is unsure of whether the mutant will herald them out of X-tinction (See what I did there?) or finish them off as a species. At the end of Messiah Complex, Cable stepped in and nabbed the baby and made a mad dash to the future. With the X-men and everyone else trying to locate him and figure out what he knows about the child. Obviously, the baby is to of some importance in Cable’s future timeline and it may be the reason as to why the future of the X Universe has been doomed. But hot on their trail was future time cop, Bishop, determined to stop the pair from escaping. All this leads up until now, in Messiah War.
The current premise is that Cable has been located in the future by the X-men. Their goal is to send a task force into the future to help him with whatever he feels is necessary to prevent a future disaster. X-Force is that task force. X-Force, if you haven’t been reading, which you should be, is comprised of Wolverine, Angel/Archangel, X-23 (Think Girl Wolverine), Warpath, Elixir, Domino, and Vanisher.
X-Force are sent into the future, where they first meet up with Deadpool. If you know anything about Deadpool, then you know that he will either hurt the team or help them. Being a fourth wall breaking mercenary, his goals are never cut and dried, but at least in this issue, he seems to be tagging along for the ride. Also, he is just as hilariously dark humored as ever. I would actually say that this issue is worth the price of admission just to read what Deadpool has to say. He is always entertaining.
Also, we are shown a scene where Bishop is in a bar talking with someone who mysteriously looks like Cable. I won’t spoil it for you, but I have a feeling that this series will have some heads spinning with some not so familiar “future” mutants. SO on that note, if you aren’t up to speed on some of the future timeline mutants, I can’t totally recommend this book to you. I am just about CERTAIN that this book will have some continuity requirements for new readers. Especially if you didn’t read Messiah Complex. Which you should have. It was excellent or should I say X-cellent?
Kyle and Yost are two of the best X writers in the Marvel bullpen, so it is pretty safe to say that the story is in very capable hands. Choi and Oback’s artwork are something great, too.
Overall, a promising start to another big X event, but one that requires a little knowledge before jumping in.
Daredevil #117
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Art by: Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano
By now, you should have realized that anything by Ed Brubaker is fucking money. Daredevil continues to prove this. This is the first issue of the newest arc, “Return of the King”. Wilson Fisk has been out of the picture for a while now. Living in Spain and dealing with his wife’s murder, Fisk aka Kingpin has tried to move on with his life and attempted to go straight. Even so much as starting a new family and giving up crimes and his vicious ways, Fisk learns that trouble is like a shadow to him. Lady Bullseye tracked him down and killed his new “family”, sending him right back into the gutters of New York. Much like Brian Azzarello’s “Joker”, Fisk comes back to the city and reclaims what was once his. Taking out the weak criminals that thought they were running the show and re-establishing himself with brutal assurance, Fisk has reclaimed the crown.
Meanwhile, Daredevil has been training for the onslought of attacks from the Hand, a clan of ninjas, now being led by Lady Bullseye. Daredevil senses that a full scale assault is coming and he needs allies. Could Daredevil and the Kingpin, two people who are at war with the Hand, come together and stop a common enemy? We will soon find out next month.
Next Week’s Pull List
Marvel
Amazing Spider-man #590
Cable #13 (Messiah War Issue #2)
Deadpool #9
Secret Warriors #3
DC
The Flash: Rebirth #1. (Finally!)
DC/ Vertigo
Scalped #27
Others
G.I Joe #4
G.I. Joe Movie Prequel #2: Destro
Irredeemable #1
Wrap Up
So, I was going through my boxes of comics the other day. I became dizzy from the amount of shitty comics I have, yet I also came across some that I can never part with. So I got an idea. Why not list off my favorite comic issues of all time and share with you readers about some comics that every comic reader should have read. You may be surprised by some of my favorites. Whether or not they are just a part of a several issue long arc, or just a single, stand alone issue, I will list em all. Who knows, you may even find one that you remember reading and forgot about until now. So peep that shit out real soon.
Also in the works, my favorite trade paperbacks. Lots of mainstream and indie books, but there is something for everyone. Whether it is a gothic, Edgar Allan Poe style Batman or a hitman who is trying to get out of the biz or even a wisecracking, paranormal investigating robot. There will be something for everyone to enjoy. Stay tuned!
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Tags: Big ridiculous events, daredevil, ed brubaker, Old Man Logan, wolverine, x-men
April 1st, 2009 at 11:05 am
117 was the first Daredevil book I’ve ever purchased, mainly because I saw Brubaker’s name on it, and yeah…I’ll be buying it regularly from here on out. There was an element of Tony Soprano in it that really make the book work for me.