Back to blogging, Marvel Reviews... Daredevil, Captain America, Ultimate Comics Spiderman and more!

Man, I missed this. Been busy with my real life lately that's why I haven't got any posts for a long time, and I'm still pretty busy so I'm just gonna make this quick. 

So what's up? Well, I will tell you right off the bat that its a FREAKING GREAT time to be a comics fan now. No scratch that. ITS AWESOME!

Marvel is hitting the strides with their books and they have pretty much kept pace with their own new #1s, especially with their revamped Ultimate Comics line, and a new Punisher and Daredevil series that has kept me absolutely happy every month.

Here are my picks (ongoing series and individual issues) from The House of Ideas:

• Punisher #3 (new ongoing series) by Greg Rucka and Marco Checchetto - Frank Castle is back and is better than ever with Rucka writing a detective-themed and action packed book with good 'ol guns, knives, decapitations and badasserry that you can't help but scream the word awesome. Marco's art is on full force here with some of the most bad-ass action sequences in comics today featuring a high flying Vulture-Frank Castle battle in midair. Another reason why this is one of Marvel's hottest books. You gotta see it to believe it. 

• Daredevil #4 (new ongoing series) by Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera & Marcos Martin - say goodbye to the old DD. This is a fresh take on the Man Without Fear and the man behind the suit, Matt Murdock. Waid has figured this hero out completely by balancing  the life and thought-process of the lawyer and the vigilante, and is starting to become of the greatest 'Devil runs since Frank Miller's. And the art? Gorgeous. The guy has mastered the ability to illustrate Daredevil's Radar Sense partnered with simple, yet dynamic storytelling sequences. This issue has some detective work, old-school vigilantism, and a tutorial on how to defend yourself in a gut-wrenching trial. Cool.

• Captain America #3 (new ongoing series) by Ed Brubaker and Steve McNiven - I have reviewed issues #1 and #2 somewhere in this blog, and that's all I need to convince you that this is a gem that you should be digging. This time, Cap fights a gigantic robot in a Captain America costume! Full of non-stop fighting, chaos, and incomparable art, (that scene where Sharon throws the shield to Cap is priceless) McNiven and Brubaker continue their streak as they make this series completely unpredictable to make fans happy. Damn, how I wish they could make this a bi-monthly series already so I don't have to wait for 30 more days for the next issue.

• Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic - after the horrible Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum, Marvel decided to reboot their continuity-free franchise for new and old readers alike. And issue #1 just hit the mark. Our heroes has to deal with an uprising threat to the US, but with little resources to back them up. Previous political overtones from Ultimates #1 and #2 are retained which sets up a connection to previous installments. Finally Esad Ribic's clean pencils blend in very well with the naturalistic dialogue and setting. Overall, a solid book that any Marvel fan (new and old) should pick up. 

• Ultimate Comics: Spiderman #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli - you might have heard this in the news. Peter Parker is dead (at least in the Ultimate Universe) and now, we got a new #1 which means a new Spiderman. And he's black! He's Miles Morales! Ethnicity aside, this is a great start. New storyline, new hero, familiar villains and new power(s) that I haven't seen before. Then throw in Sara Pichelli's stunning art and I don't know what else would make you skip this. I'm sold on this one and I believe you will too once you read it. 

• X-Men: Schism #4 by Jason Aaron and Carlos Pacheco/Cam Smith -This is it! Cyclops vs Wolverine. And it doesn't get any bigger than that. More importantly, this marks the beginning of the end of the X-Men that we all knew. By the end of this battle, the X-Men will be no more. Cykes and Logan battle it out in Utopia after a bitter disagreement, while a dangerous and powerful uber-Sentinel looks out to eradicate mutant kind. The stakes have never been higher, and the end coming closer. This is one event that you don't want to miss out on.

•  Ultimate Comics X-Men #1 by Nick Spencer and Paco Medina - I never thought Spencer's writing will work on an X-book, but damn he does it. This is not the X-Men you were used to see in the past Ultimate stories. Mutants are being tortured and hunted more than ever, and the government is behind it all - while telling people and the media otherwise - making them look good on the outside. Sinister. What a great way to set up an intriguing storyline that sees Iceman, Human Torch and Kitty Pryde take center stage. Art is not great but good enough to make me try a second issue. Can't wait for the X-Men to re-group and kick the government's skinny fat asses. 

• Fear Itself #6 (intercompany crossover) by Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen - ah the event that wasn't as big as it was dubbed. But still, I can't help but follow this and see our Avengers get newly designed Tron costumes and powerful RPG-inspired weapons courtesy of Tony Stark and Odin's Asgardian warehouse after that last panel. I know they will be kicking The Worthy and Sin's asses next issue, and Thor will go one-on-one with The Serpent himself to end things once and for all. Or maybe not. Nonetheless, this is a pretty cool issue. Stuart Immonen's art is another reason why this is on my pull list.

That's it for now folks. I'll be back tomorrow with my DC New 52 Picks that should at least help you choose the titles you will be spending your money on because like most of you, I'm just an ordinary guy with a decent work who just can't get every comic book that's on the stands right now. So we have to pick carefully. 

Are we good with that? Alright.

Now back to reality.

Latest Comic Book Reviews (06.24.2011): X-Men Prelude To Schism #3 & Ultimate Spider-Man #160 (Death of Spider-Man)

Two pretty good books from the House of Ideas yesterday.

The dragging Prelude to Jason Aaron's "Schism" event finally shakes up a little bit thanks to Cyclops finally coming up with his decision, and then the death of the one of the most important characters in the Marvel Ultimate Universe finally bites the dust - for good.

All of my reviews after the jump.

X-Men: Prelude to Schism #3
Written by Paul Jenkins
Art by Will Conrad
Colors by Lou Loughridge
Published by Marvel Comics

"About damn time."

After Professor X and Magneto took turns in issues #1 and #2, Paul Jenkins has finally decided to shift the focus of his story to the man of the hour (or week): Cyclops.

And just like his previous Xavier and Erik Lensherr stories, Jenkins uses the same formula here but he puts a new spin by intelligently writing Cyclops' origin as an allegory to the X-Man's own description of himself as a broken man who has been falling ever since he was a kid - that is until he was found by Charles Xavier and joined the X-Men.

Jenkins' writing is fluid and symbolic, often using a lot of metaphors in Cyclops' narrative which I find very impressive. A lot of writers use the same style, but they often fall into a pit of utter nonsense and boring-ness as they go on, but Jenkins' completely avoids that mistake because the clearly understands the complete nature of his subject. He definitely made sure that this issue will be a reflection of how Cyclops evolved as a person/mutant and leader over the years, and I could say that he successful in doing that, one-upping himself based from his two previous gigs.

He also gives an exciting teaser on what is going to happen in the upcoming event by having Cyclops finally step up to the plate and telling everybody his decision. Not only that, Wolverine also got to say what's on his mind like the no-holds-barred character that he is that clearly shows the rising tension within the members of the X-Men, and signals the eventual disagreement between the calm general and his best, but often impulsive soldier.

Will Conrad's art is very likable in this issue, he is able to portray every character effectively without sacrificing quality.  Loughridge's colors does the trick in this book with that impeccable lighting and tone, especially with the red color. A full splash page with nothing but a plane and a red flash of light was impressive, and it totally gets the job done in terms of conveying the tragedy. 

But despite all of the good stuff, readers are still left to guess as to what is this "threat" that is coming that could possibly eliminate the whole mutant species. And from all the teasers that Jenkins provided, I'm not so sure as to what a 4th prelude issue could possibly provide, unless Jenkins has a big rabbit to grab out of his hat.  

Rating:

Ultimate Spider-Man #160 

Written by Brian Michael Bendis

Art by Mark Bagley

Published by Marvel Comics

The Death of Spider-Man.

It couldn't get any clearer than that, and that's all you need to know.

Because that's exactly what you get in this issue.

After 160 issues and 10-plus years of groundbreaking story arcs, adventures and emotional roller-coasters - Ultimate Peter Parker finally bites the dust. His foe? None other than the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn.

The road towards the ultimate death was something that many fans were looking forward to, mainly because Marvel "spoiled" fans all over the world by giving away the ending (together with the death scene images) 2 days after the actual issue came out. Well, in a sense it wasn't really a spoiler because the title is the goddamn "Death of Spider-Man" anyway and that's as straight-forward as it gets. 

Bendis was successful in many ways in creating a convincingly real death story for Ultimate Spidey. First, his characterization here is spot on, from Gwen Stacy's frantic expressions, to Mary Jane and Aunt May's delusional screams of fear and sorrowful cries as they witness their beloved Peter getting decimated by a monster, up to Spider-Man / Peter Parker's bravery and selflessness all in the name of protecting those who are dear to him.

Second, Bendis decision to have an unmasked and bloody Peter Parker fight the abomination in his own neighborhood adds a necessary dramatic touch to the story, and third, his decision to have Norman Osborn fight Spidey to the death was definitely the right decision, because that's how it should come full circle for both men. Any fan wouldn't have it any other damn way.

But... (there I go again) there were a lot of things that happened in this issue that I thought was irrational... or wasn't necessary, like Mary Jane crashing a truck towards the Goblin in the heat of battle with Spidey. What was that for? I understand that Mary Jane can't do anything in this issue but cry and scream and cry a bit more, but ramming a truck over a freaking "Doomsday"-like monster? Doesn't make sense to me.

And Peter asking the help of Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch? Bendis didn't need to do that. I could have just been Spidey vs Green Goblin one-on-one, mano y mano, without anybody else intervening. This kind of ruined it.

Oh there's one more thing. What's up with Spider-Man able to carry a ten-wheeler truck above his head and then hammering it down repeatedly to his opponent until he fucking bleeds to death? How did he get that super-strength all of a sudden? I was kind of confused on that one scene and I thought I was reading " The Death of Superman" instead.

Mark Bagley does this thing in this issue and he was able to nail the great moments together with gut-wrenching expressions right on target. I'm not a big fan of his style though, which is a bit cartoony and rushed, but there is no doubt in my mind that he can deliver powerful and explosive sequential art unlike no one else in the industry today. Ponsor's colors makes it even more vibrant, providing well chosen palettes for each scene.

Overall, the emotional impact of this story could have been better if Marvel had not spoiled it ahead of time, but I commend them for giving us what they advertised - nothing more, nothing less - and for creating a pretty good send off for Ulti-Spidey, despite the bad stuff. 

And now that Ultimate Pete is dead, now what? Bendis didn't give a solid conclusion by the end of this issue and that is one of his biggest flaws... among others that I mentioned. I guess that would be answered once the new Ultimate Spider-Man is revealed and how Bendis will handle that new friendly-neighborhood in town. But for now, Spidey is gone from the Ultimate Universe for good, and that's that.

Rating:

Marvel Launches 'Ultimate Comics' With Kaare Andrews On The Covers

I'm a big fan of Marvel's Ultimate Imprint line because of its very new reader friendly approach to storytelling that doesn't really care about the main Marvel Universe that contains 40+ years of storyline and character continuity. It started in 2000 with the Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men titles that eventually spawned numerous award-winning titles like The Ultimates (a reimagining of the original Avengers) that was received well by old and new readers alike. But just like any other comic book line that has been going on for more than 5 years, the Ultimate Imprint has showed signs of decline amongst its readers through the years. 

So on its 10th year, Marvel has decided to re-brand its Ultimate line and rename it as 'Ultimate Comics' that would mean a complete overhaul of the imprint and its publications. The main target is to get back old fans that got tired of the old Ultimate stories, and attract new fans who are just starting to get their groove with Marvel. 

New storylines, reinvented character histories (possibly new powers that we had never seen before) and new villains will be showcased in the Ultimate Comics line, and it will kick-start in August with Ultimate Comics Ultimates # 1 and Ultimate Comics Hawkeye #1; to be followed by Ultimate Comics X-Men #1 and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 in September. 

Below are the 4 covers for the mentioned titles by artist Kaare Andrews:

[images courtesy of Marvel via ComicBookResources]

All covers are looking good, except for Andrew's take on Wolverine. He looks like a retard on that long-sleeved suit. We need to see some animalistic hairs.

And oh, we got the "movie Iron Man" version right there!

Check out more news about the Ultimate Comics line at their official site. 

If you like my post, get free updates via email or RSS.