Infinity Countdown: Black Widow #1

I got this in June at Merrymac Comics and Games in Merrimack NH.

Title: Infinity Countdown: Black Widow
Issue: 1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: August, 2018
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Nik Virella, Brent Schoonover
Colorist: Chris Peter
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Cover:Yasmine Putri
Editor: Annalise Bissa, Jordan D. White

Black Widow has somehow ended up with the Space Stone, and she's found herself in "some kind of profoundly British nonsense" with Jamie Braddock on her trail in London. The infinity stone has given her teleportation powers, but that may not be enough to match Braddock's magical abilities, not to mention a legion of hooded cultists and some magically-controlled children. Natasha ends up getting help from a rather unlikely ally before all is said and done.

This was fun start to finish. I don't want to spoil, but the special guest star was completely unexpected and a very clever rendition of the character.

Although this is part of a crossover, the immediate story wraps up to a satisfying conclusion.

Black Widow dealing with magical foes is something I hadn't seem much of and it worked here way better than I would have expected.

Rating: 8.5/10

True Believers: Guardians of the Galaxy: Galaxy's Most Wanted #1

I picked this one up at the Shanghai Comic Con.

Title: True Believers: Guardians of the Galaxy: Galaxy's Most Wanted
Issue: 1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: September 2016
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Valerio Schiti
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Cover: Arthur Adams, Jason Keith
Editor: Kathleen Wisneski, Jake Thomas, Nick Lowe

After Peter Quill's brief tenure as the ruler of a planet came to a bad end, he finds himself on the run, along with Kitty Pryde (no, I didn't know she was in the Guardians either) on a prison planet with alien soldiers trying to kill them.

At which point they have an extended discussion about Kitty Pryde's fashion sense.

The idea here is that Quill has been left hopeless after recent events, and Kitty is trying to distract him enough for him to get his will to live back. I get what they were going for here, but it just didn't work for me. For one thing, there really wasn't any actual discussion of fashion. Nothing that substantive, anyway. And while this may seem like an odd complaint to make, the whole effect just came off as hollow, with no authenticity. It all felt like a big space-filler where little was actually accomplished.

Things picked up a bit when the action intensified, but the bad guys were generic, and the additional bad guys introduced at the end looked just as generic (if perhaps a bit more menacing) than the previous ones.

Kitty's rage as she describes the prison planet as a concentration camp packed some emotional punch, but would need more emphasis as the stories continues for it to really have an impact.

Rating: 4.5/10

The Avengers: Free Comic Book Day 2009

From the random stack of unread comics by way of Free Comic Book Day 2009.

Title: The Avengers: Free Comic Book Day 2009
Issue: 1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: May, 2009
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Jim Cheung
Inker: Mark Morales
Colorist: John Rauch
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort, Jeanine Schaefer
Cover: Jim Cheung, Laura Martin

The frost giant Ymir has invaded New York, and it's going to take two teams of Avengers to stop him. In this rather crowded book, narrated by Spider-Man, we've got the post-Civil-War Avengers, currently outlaws, and the government-sanctioned Dark Avengers, led by Norman Osborne wearing the Iron Patriot armor.

As mentioned, you need a scorecard to keep track of everyone here, and it doesn't help matters that you've got two Spider-Men (one is actually Venom), two Wolverines (one is the original's son... X-24, I guess? Or is X-24 some other dude?), and two Captain Marvels (neither of which is Mar-Vell OR Shazam; both are women).

While I realize that having all of these duplicates is part of the point, it does not make for a good story. Most of this book was the various team members trudging through the snow to find some super-powered sword, which they didn't even really need to use on anyone. Just breaking the thing out of its display case was all that was needed to save the day.

Oh, and then the two teams almost-fight.

This was a lot of buildup to a massive fizzle of an ending. The only think holding this together was Peter Parker's snarky narration, and even that felt forced at times.

Rating: 3/10

 

Jessica Jones #2

Last of the small batch of comics I bought in the US (at Newbury Comics, Braintree MA) in November during my short trip home.

Title: Jessica Jones
Issue: 2
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: January, 2017
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Gaydos
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort, Alanna Smith
Cover: David Mack

Luke Cage confronts Jessica over the whereabouts of their child, and Jessica tries to find a safe place to rest after the case she's working on falls apart around her.

There was a lot to like in this story. The conflict between Luke and Jessica is great because there is no clear objective right or wrong, just two parents who love their child and are trying to protect that child as best they know how.

I also love the appearances of superheroes in the background, keeping the story gritty and street-level while constantly reminding the reader that Jessica Jones resides in Marvel's New York City, which super-powered beings are part of the background of everyday life.

There were some intriguing plot twists and good pacing as the story moved along. A flashback added some depth to the relationship between Luke Cage and Jessica Jones without overstaying its welcome. Ending was a solid cliffhanger.

Rating: 7/10

Jessica Jones #1

Last week I got the news that my Grandmother passed away. She was 92 years old, and my only living grandparent. I made a quick decision that I needed to be there for the wake and funeral, and bought a ticket to head home. This was last Tuesday. I flew out from Ho Chi Minh City just before Midnight on Wednesday, and through the magic of the rotation of the Earth, arrived in Boston on Thursday afternoon. Wake was Friday. Funeral was Saturday. I left Boston for Vietnam on Sunday morning and was back at work on Tuesday. The rest of this week has passed in a bit of a jetlagged haze, which I am now finally somewhat recovered from.

During the brief trip home I got to see a lot of family members and celebrate Nana's life together with them.

I also managed to catch a showing of Arrival, which was not released in Vietnam (loved it!) with a friend, and met up with a bunch of friends at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree on Saturday night for dinner.

Since I got to the mall early, I also visited Newbury Comics and bought a somewhat random selection of five recent comic releases, which will be featured in my next few reviews.

Title: Jessica Jones
Issue: 1
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: December 2016
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Michael Gaydos
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Cover: David Mack

I know almost nothing about Jessica Jones. I completely missed her earlier appearances in Alias and other Marvel titles, and I've never watched the TV show. Really all I know about her is what little I've read from reviews of the show, which was quite popular with a lot of my friends.

So I saw the second issue of this series (from Marvel's "Marvel Now" soft reboot) in the "new releases" section at Newbury Comics, and also saw that they had #1 in stock, so I figured I'd check it out.

Sound decision so far. This was really good on a lot of levels.

The characters, Jessica especially, make sense. There is a gritty feel to the story, but it's still grounded in the full-fledged Marvel Universe. It has a snarky sense of humor, including the occasional in-joke, but the pacing is such that the jokes enhance, rather than detract from the overall story.

That story begins with Jessica being released from jail and trying to get back to work. She's got a case that may involve parallel universes and Spider-Man, or it might just be a husband who has gone a bit crazy and a wife who wants to find out why.

And she's also got some personal problems that are showing up at her doorstep in the form of costumed heroes for hire.

The story had excellent pacing, and most importantly for me, it served as a really good introduction without having to retell an origin or over-explain. By the time I was done with this issue I felt fully invested in the story.

Looking forward to reading #2.

Rating: 8/10

X-Men #175 Wizard World Boston Edition

Title: X-Men
Issue: #175 (Wizard World Boston Edition)
Date: 2005
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Penciler: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Danny Miki, Allen Martinez
Letterer: Virtual Calligraphy's Cory Petit
Editor: Mike Marts

This is a special edition featuring a variant sketch cover and the Wizard World Boston logo.

The story centers on an outbreak of animal mutations in Africa that brings an X-Men team to investigate. With Logan, Ororo, Havok, Polaris, Iceman, Rogue, and Gambit on the team (and Emma Frost calling the shots from back home), the mutant crocodiles don't stand much of a chance.

Ororo really takes center stage here as her return to Africa opens the floodgates of mixed emotions. Logan, meanwhile, is just being Logan.

This was fast paced, with some good character development for Ororo, and at least some basic attempts at character development for the rest of the team. The surprise ending isn't all that shocking, but it at least serves the thicken the plot.

Rating: 7/10

The Avengers #1

Title: The Avengers
Issue: #1
Date: 2010
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: Klaus Janson
Colorist: Dean White
Letterer: VC's Cory Petit
Cover: John Romita Jr., Jason White
Editor: Lauren Sankovitch, Tom Brevoort

Sadly, not John Steed and Emma Peel. This is a 2010 reboot for Marvel's long-running superhero team comic. The roster on the cover features Iron Man, Cap, Thor, Spidey. and Wolverine. What? No Giant Girl this time around? Actually, by the time we're on page 4, you've actually got more than 25 prospective team members being recruited. But still no Giant Girl. Unless they changed her costume. There were some I didn't recognize. So it's Steve Rogers (out of costume) doing the recruiting, and they finally settle on the characters from the cover (including some other dude as Cap) plus Spider-Woman and Hawkeye. Oh, and a woman named Maria Hill, Agent of SHIELD, apparently, as team leader.

Within moments of the getting-to-know you stuff it's "Let's do the time plot again!" (feel free to sing along), as Kang shows up to warn Stark about some device he hasn't invented yet. Stark: "It's a doomsday device." Thor: "You invented a device who's purpose is doom?" Ha!

At this point it degenerates into silliness involving Ultron, the "children" of the Avengers, and some dystopian future that is supposed to be distinctive from all of the other dystopian futures that Marvel heroes have confronted over the years. Spidey manages a few more witty lines before everything fizzles out and we get to the backup feature, a reasonably interesting prose history of the (retconned) Avengers. Oh, and the lovely pinup by Arthur Adams and Laura Martin that features just about all past and present Avengers? Still no Giant Girl.

Rating: 4/10