Positive Feedback - August 8th

A little late this week, with new comics out tomorrow, but here's my thoughts on August 8th comics, in brief.

Favourite comic - Fantastic Four #609 by Jonathan Hickman and Ryan Stegman

After reading my New X-Men by Grant Morrison Omnibus last weekend, I decided to dive into re-reading Hickman's Fantastic Four and FF runs to date, and I'm just finishing up now. All the connections are a lot clearer reading it over a couple of days, as opposed to years, and I really love how he's tying up all the loose ends now that his big main story is wrapped.

In this issue in particular, I enjoyed Stegman's art, the re-appearance of the New Defenders characters that first appeared in Millar's run, and that Hickman has visited on Nu-World 2 or 3 times before, the idea of using the body of the deceased future Galactus as a space ship, and the sweet conversation between Reed and Sue at the end.

"Oh, there's a very real possibility that it won't [work]," says Reed. "A significant statistical probability, in fact."
"But you think it will," replies Sue.
"I do."

It's optimism that sits at the heart of Reed's character, and that has been a theme of Hickman's run. I found it very uplifting.


Other good comics -

Venom #22 by Rick Remender and Declan Shalvey - Remender ends his run on Venom on a high note, with a good epilogue to his main arc, a nice summary of where Flash Thompson's life is at, and how he got there. Shalvey's art really stole my attention away from the script, though. The two-page splash would have been especially good textless.

Spider-Men #4 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli - This mini has definitely been enjoyable, and I liked this issue for its sweet character moments, which Pichelli handles beautifully, and its humourous moments. I hope Peter gets to share a few words with Ultimate MJ in the next issue, and I'd really like to see more of Gwen, May, and MJ in the ongoing Ultimate series.

Deathstroke #12 by Rob Liefeld - Say what you will about Liefeld. I'll probably join in. He's the Aquaman of comic creators; whether his current stuff is good or not, people are going to make fun of him, if for no other reason than because it's common practice. That being said, I liked this issue. Lots of fun and action, and a few interesting plot developments too.

Captain America and Iron Man #635 by Cullen Bunn and Barry Kitson - I always love Kitson on art, and this was definitely my favourite "Cap and..." story yet. I'm hoping this series is continuing into Marvel Now! with Cullen Bunn writing, but, even if it doesn't, the next story features the Black Widow with Francesco Francavilla art, so I have that to look forward to.

Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #2 by Len Wein and Jae Lee - Man, Jae Lee's art, right? Is there anything else to talk about here? I read a blog this week in which someone postulated that DC had chosen creators for Before Watchmen by picking recognizable names in order to try and bring credibility to an otherwise unscrupulous project. I think they probably picked the people with the best ideas and art, who would produce the best comics.






Hardcovers & Graphic Novels -
Scarlet Spider vol 1: Life After Death by Yost & Stegman - This is the only hardcover collection I picked up this week. I really enjoy this series, and it's one I would love to take a stab at writing if I ever had the chance. My only problem with this collection - it's not printed to the same quality as all of my other Marvel hardcovers to date. The cover is printed right on the book, not on a dust jacket with a nice black cover with an embossed title underneath, and the paper is lighter and flimsier. It actually feels like the same quality paper the original issues are printed on, which is disappointing, because I buy hardcovers as well as original issues because the hardcovers are higher quality. If that changes, Marvel will sadly see less of my money.


Comics News from last week -

- Marvel posted interviews with all the creative teams they announced the week before. After reading the interviews and seeing some of the covers, the order of which titles I am most excited for has changed.

#1 - Tie - Fantastic Four and FF, by Matt Fraction and Mark Bagley and Mike Allred (3M?) - Fraction plans to tell a story about an intergalactic, time-travelling family road trip in the main book, and feature a backup team of Scott Lang as Ant Man, She-Hulk, Medusa, and Miss Thing in FF. Not a single part of his plans didn't sound really fun and awesome, and I can't wait to see it.

#2 - Captain America by Rick Remender and John Romita Jr. - A 10-issue opening arc featuring Arnim Zola, and re-telling the origin of Steve Rogers, as a boy in the depression? Yes, please. Brubaker is going to be a tough act to follow, but it certainly sounds like Remender's up to the job.

#3 - Iron Man by Kieron Gillen and Greg Land - Remender said he plans to leave the WWII stuff that Brubaker covered so well alone with Cap. Gillen said he plans to leave the "corporate" stuff that Fraction covered so well alone with Tony. Instead he plans to tell a story about Tony travelling the world, tinkering with his armor constantly, and seeing the effects of supertech like Extremis unleashed. Fraction's run is the first time I've really loved Iron Man for more than 6 issues, but I'm definitely prepared to love Gillen's run too.

#4 - Indestructible Hulk by Mark Waid and Leinil Francis Yu - Waid played his plans pretty close to the vest in his interview, but I have every confidence in this being an awesome series.

In anticipation of these series, I'm going to do more re-reading. After I finish Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF, I'm going to re-read Invincible Iron Man by Fraction and Larroca, and then Brubaker's Cap, and then I'm going to dig out some Peter David Hulk comics. It's going to be a good couple of weeks.


Lastly, my brilliant idea of the week -

Ultimate Comics Spider-Woman

I said I wanted to see more of Ultimate Gwen, May, and MJ. I think this would be a great series for them to support in, since Ultimate Jessica Drew is a clone of Peter Parker, who also still has all his memories up to the point his blood was taken at least.

The story (to start) - Once again, Norman Osborn wakes up, transforms into the Goblin, and breaks out of where he is being held. Except this time, he wasn't taken away for study. He was presumed dead, pumped full of embalming fluids, and buried. The embalming fluids cause brain damage, among other physical damage, so he goes on a wild, mindless rampage as his body and brain try to heal. The damage is on scale with the Hulk's rampage in the Ultimates.

Obviously, Nick Fury and the Ultimates are the first to catch wind of it. He assembles the team (including Miles Morales) and sends them in to shut Osborn down. But not Jessica. He has a special mission for her. She needs to go get May and Gwen and MJ to safety.

It's awkward for Jessica, as she finally has to fully explain who she is to the people who were closest to Peter, but, of course, the situation gets worse when the Goblin does show up, still half brain-dead.

Emotions run high as the Goblin and the Ultimates fight to the finish, with Spider-Woman scrambling to keep the Parker clan safe, and the big question - how do you keep the Goblin down for good?