The Marvel Thread

[deano_ue]

thats just stupid and confusing

[lugaru]

I'm a little confused about it myself and I hope things start to come together because Dark Avengers may be my favorite book right now. I just kind of prefer "characters" over "heroes/villains" and I feel that the book does a great job of giving everyone a voice. I would love to see this sort of thing continue in the marvel universe... basically with your teams of heroes, your teams of villains but at least a couple of teams of villains who pose as heroes, with a light (dark avengers) and darker (thunderbolts) side to it. And it is weird to see Bullseye so much... I've loved the character since I was a teen but he was a rare sighting, now he is one of the most prominent villains in the marvel U and so long as they dont over expose him too much (or give him powers) I'll be real happy.

Also: I like the fact that Marvel is starting to really set up boundaries and roles for their characters, eliminating some redundancy. Each genius kind of has a field now, each sorceror has a domain, each town has a few heroes... it feels more like an ecosystem than a convoluted mess of contrasting themes.

And question: I have not read spiderman in a while despite hearing it is really good again (too many titles too often, I will catch up on Marvel.com eventually) but are they seriosly trying to do the clone thing again? Why!?

[Previsionary]

Yes... every book under Spider-man's branch right now has done something with the clone saga. Whether it be a re-telling (Ultimate), a continuation (Spider-girl), a "the way it was meant to be" (6 issue mini of Spider-man Clone Saga), or just another storyline (Spider-man: BND). It's clone central up 'n dat joint, yo.

However, my current feelings on Spider-man BND is very mixed. The last few storylines, and months, have reminded me of the "constant web jammings" problem, only this time it's based on "how vulgar we can get" and "how many sex jokes and references can we fit into one issue!" Tis an all ages book last time I checked. It should try to stay in that little area if it's going to continue being marketed in such a way. *shrugs*

[BlueBard]

However, my current feelings on Spider-man BND is very mixed. The last few storylines, and months, have reminded me of the "constant web jammings" problem, only this time it's based on "how vulgar we can get" and "how many sex jokes and references can we fit into one issue!" Tis an all ages book last time I checked. It should try to stay in that little area if it's going to continue being marketed in such a way. *shrugs*

Exactly why they had to lose the marriage to MJ... [sarcasm-on] So they could pursue those quality storylines and fresh ideas that they couldn't tell otherwise. [\sarcasm-off]

[AfghanAnt]

Has anyone else read the New Mutants/Necrosha preview pages yet?

I thought it was extremely good and seeing how

Spoiler

Doug

sees things was really neat.

[Podmark]

Yeah I saw them, and had similar thoughts. I also liked how Xavier was used, except it really hasn't been that long since he's seen most of the New Mutants.

[murs47]

Where can I see this preview?

[Podmark]

Where can I see this preview?

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=3661&disp=table

[Podmark]

I read about a whole lot of zombies today.

[Previsionary]

I read about a whole lot of zombies today.

Oh didja? How was that, Pod? Also... did anyone pick up Red Hulk today? If you did... please tell me Loeb DID NOT kill off She-hulk/Jen and Domino. I could careless about Elektra. She always gets better.

[Podmark]

I read about a whole lot of zombies today.

Oh didja? How was that, Pod? Also... did anyone pick up Red Hulk today? If you did... please tell me Loeb DID NOT kill off She-hulk/Jen and Domino. I could careless about Elektra. She always gets better.

Well he can't kill off Domino. She's in X-Force.

Well I'll leave the DC zombies for a different thread. But over at Marvel I'd give the whole X-Force/Necrosha/New Mutants combo a 3.5 maybe a 4 out of 5.

X-Force was pretty good, it's an action X-23 issue and I liked it. However I feel like they could pack a little more into the issue. The non-X-23 stuff is crawling, and it keeps crawling straight into Necrosha. The stuff with Rhane and the Wolf Prince I just have no idea how it's going to be resolving in the remaining issues of the run. There's I believe 6 issues of Necrosha and then we're straight into Second Coming. Anyway I'm really liking Choi's art, he's starting to cut down a bit on making things look too pretty, just a bit but it's a good change.

Necrosha was a solid start but nothing amazing. I kinda wish things would have gone a little further but this is just the prologue. There's a couple of surprises but nothing too shocking yet. The New Mutants story pretty leads straight into New Mutants, while the Legacy story is a little more set up as the Legacy Necrosha issues don't start til December. Crain's art is bogging it down a bit. He captures the mood prefectly but he's soo murky. Some shots are pretty nice, others are ill defined and murky. You can tell he rushes through some stuff. The other two artists were alright. The Legacy one was kinda I dunno grainy.

New Mutants had some cool stuff. The internal dialogue of Cypher is really cool, and I liked how Xavier was used alot. Actually I've read very little with Doug in it but I really liked him here. Not too sure about the rest of the New Mutants - they skirt the line of seeming too immature and reminding us that they're really only in their early 20s. I like Illyana though, she's all dark and creepy with her own goals. Again I wish the plot had moved a little further but honestly you find that in most comics written these days. The art is mediocre. There's potential there but so much of it looks awkward and maybe rushed. Colours aren't helping either, it suffers from the same problem Young X-Men had for all but the last two issues, the colour palette is too pale. It needs colouring more like the Initiative.

[lugaru]

I read about a whole lot of zombies today.

Oh didja? How was that, Pod? Also... did anyone pick up Red Hulk today? If you did... please tell me Loeb DID NOT kill off She-hulk/Jen and Domino. I could careless about Elektra. She always gets better.

Dout it as well, either part of the trap or a mistake on the red she hulks part.

Anyone read Punisher: The List #1?

I've never been able to get into mainstream punisher (although LOVE punisher max) and honestly I keep trying and saying "meh".
This time around I loved the art, the story, everything minus the damn outcome:

Spoiler

Daken butchers Frank Castle. I dont mind Daken as a character, especially when he is getting schooled, but I dont think he should have won and no matter what they do with Frank now it will be as silly as angel frank with magic guns. Not that I care too much, since I almost exclusively read MAX, but I picked this up for the art and was hoping it would be a better new direction.

[Glitch Girl]

.. and no matter what they do with Frank now it will be as silly as angel frank with magic guns.

Possibly sillier.
I present... FRANKENCASTLE
I am not making this up.

[Tomato]

... I don't know what I find more bizarre... the idea itself or the fact that in that article the writers are acting like this is not only not completely insane. but the natural thing to do with the character.

[lugaru]

... I don't know what I find more bizarre... the idea itself or the fact that in that article the writers are acting like this is not only not completely insane. but the natural thing to do with the character.

They are so matter of fact about it that they pretty much convinced me.

Btw thanks for the links GG, I knew what was going on from the art floating around but reading the issue confirmed my fears. Thank god for Punisher Max...

[Previsionary]

Punisher has the worst luck. We all need to accept this. I think this will be finely engraved in your heads once "Punisher and Eminem" comes out.

Short reviews to come later... I suppose.

[bat1987]

And I thought OMD was bad...

[Podmark]

Wait? So Punisher is dead? And he's coming back as Frankenstein??
That's the most bizarre thing I've ever heard!

[Zippo]

Is it really so bizarre considering the origins of hundreds of other superheroes? Not that I'm for it, necessarily (though I could care less what happens to the punisher, that guy is a jerk), but it's just not that strange in a world where radioactive spiders, or being caught in the explosion of damn near anything (gamma bomb, "kree device", hot dog stand (it'll happen eventually)) gives you super powers.

[Silver Shocker]

Punisher has the worst luck. We all need to accept this. I think this will be finely engraved in your heads once "Punisher and Eminem" comes out.

That story was actually available as a digital comic a long time ago. I read it, it wasn't terrible. It wasn't especially great but it wasn't bad. It was a lot like a cop buddy movie, where Eminem was the funny/annoying guy who's for the most part completely useless in a fight.

[GhostMachine]

*sigh* I'm so glad the only Marvel series I read is Captain America. Bru seems to be the only writer they have who isn't insane or on drugs.

[Tomato]

Is it really so bizarre considering the origins of hundreds of other superheroes? Not that I'm for it, necessarily (though I could care less what happens to the punisher, that guy is a jerk), but it's just not that strange in a world where radioactive spiders, or being caught in the explosion of damn near anything (gamma bomb, "kree device", hot dog stand (it'll happen eventually)) gives you super powers.

I'm not a punisher fan by any means, but I think the main problem is that this is a bizzare plot to begin with(even by Marvel standards this is a bit cheesy), and it's being done with a character who is probably the most "real" (in that he has no powers or cool gadgets) and who consequently doesn't exactly lend himself to the bizzareness that you could accept in an FF plot or an X-book.

I still dunno about this whole thing though... A character is revealed to become a monster that close to Halloween? *shrug*

[GhostMachine]

The thing that actually bothers me the most, is that one of my favorite artists, John Romita Jr, had to draw that crap, with Daken killing Frank. Normally I'd be tempted buy anything that JR Jr drew, but wouldn't touch that with a 10' pole.

[lugaru]

Is it really so bizarre considering the origins of hundreds of other superheroes? Not that I'm for it, necessarily (though I could care less what happens to the punisher, that guy is a jerk), but it's just not that strange in a world where radioactive spiders, or being caught in the explosion of damn near anything (gamma bomb, "kree device", hot dog stand (it'll happen eventually)) gives you super powers.

I'm not a punisher fan by any means, but I think the main problem is that this is a bizzare plot to begin with(even by Marvel standards this is a bit cheesy), and it's being done with a character who is probably the most "real" (in that he has no powers or cool gadgets) and who consequently doesn't exactly lend himself to the bizzareness that you could accept in an FF plot or an X-book.

I still dunno about this whole thing though... A character is revealed to become a monster that close to Halloween? *shrug*

That is pretty much it, if Batman became a vampire in the regular Batman comics which tend to avoid supernatural events, well it would throw everyone off. Same with the punisher, seeing him so severely altered feels wrong in ways that seeing a mutant or superhero does not.

Still for all the people who are not so sure about what the deal with the punisher is I recomend reading "the slavers" from the max line, just pick up some booze to cheer you up after. It is very much frank saying "What I do makes no difference, I'm powerless to change the larger world, but doing awful things to awful people make's me feel better". You know, such as hanging a guy with his own guts.


btw since the punisher is now a "mystic" character something tells me that in 6 issues he will make a deal with mephisto and emerge with his old body, nobody knowing his secret identity... and married to peter parker in a classic mephisto twist.

[Talavar]

This is just another example of why the Punisher shouldn't be in the mainstream Marvel universe.  He should stay over in MAX land where he belongs.

[Previsionary]

Punisher, Punisher, blah blah, Punisher.

Podmark, why did you not report that the X-force cover is a clever homage (easter egg) to "The Lost Boys"? Shame on you. But seriously... a review or two later. Maybe. You know how that goes.


Hulk 16:

Spoiler

I glanced this book while I bought comics I actually enjoy. I'm not going to rate it for two reasons: 1. I know I'd dislike it based on Loeb's output and 2. I didn't actually read it. However, from what I glanced, this is basically what went down. Red She-hulk randomly shows up and claims she killed elektra and DOmino just before threatening Wolverine. Logan and Red She Hulk go at it just before Punisher intervenes and shoots Logan right up. Archangel breaks into the fight, and everything begins to settle down when a mysterious man intervenes just after R. Shulk and R. Hulk run for safety. The rest of the book focuses on Red Hulk and Red She-hulk as they bond until... a double cross happens and a missing character re-enters the picture. A character with green hair that was betrayed by Osborne. Whoever could it be? Also, no... no indication about whatever happened to Jen, Elektra, or Domino.

X-factor 50:

Spoiler

After the "startling" conclusion of last issue, this issue finds Jamie, Layla, Ruby, and Fitzroy in a fight for their lives against Senile Doom and Evil Jamie from Messiah CompleX's alternate future. During the first few pages, someone is killed. OMGAH. This death sets Ruby off, and she plans to make someone play for her loss. Well, that was the plan... until she lost someone else in a totally different manner. Talk about a bad day for an offspring. Sometime later, Jamie gets into a fight with his evil clone, who boasts that he can kill Jamie at any time. Jamie prime is shot down and is rescured by the future heroes. The fight begins again... or it would if massive sentinals weren't entering the fray. This leads to a pretty significant event that I'll just ignore, but we do find out Layla's true powers in this issue. Let's not kid around, the last half of this book fills in a lot of gaps in regards to Layla in general.

Issue 50 was an ok read for me. I'm glad the time travel stuff is over, and it's nice to see PAD tie up so much history with Layla and Fitzroy. Knowing what Layla's real power is now kinda cements why she'll be out of the picture for a lot of the time, me thinks. The preview for issue 200 kinda intrigues me, but not by much. Hopefully, it'll fully grab my attention again after it almost lost me with the 5 issues of "lost in time." So... 3.5

[marhawkman]

Yeah, apparently Layla HAD demonsterated her true power before this.  Just in a very small way.

[tommyboy]

Anyone else thinking that this "necrosha" thing is just a pale imitation of "blackest night"? House of ideas my bottom..

[AfghanAnt]

Anyone else thinking that this "necrosha" thing is just a pale imitation of "blackest night"? House of ideas my bottom..

This has been in works just as long as Blackest Night has been which is at least 20 months.

[tommyboy]

Anyone else thinking that this "necrosha" thing is just a pale imitation of "blackest night"? House of ideas my bottom..

This has been in works just as long as Blackest Night has been which is at least 20 months.

Ahh...well, a happy coincidence then. Both companies jumping on the zombie bandwagon.
Colour me wrong.