Pullbox for week of 3/2/10
Mighty Avengers 34: This issue came off horribly to me. The worst issue of Slott’s run, hands down. Part of it was the ugly art, I’m sure, but several story moments just felt sloppy and rush. I mean, is Thor REALLY gonna rush to Loki’s defense vs. the Avengers automatically? That just seems stupid, even given the appearance of reform Loki put on lately in Thor. The dialogue felt stilted in a lot of places too. Just really felt like a rush job overall.
Wolverine – Weapon X 11: The art was decent, but I really wasn’t feeling Wolverine’s characterization here. And I think there was some really irresponsible writing at one point. Wolverine basically picks a fight with a completely normal dude. The guy is not a bad guy in the least, and Wolverine picks a fight over music, then punches the guy clean through a window. Probably killing him. Seriously. Adamantium fists + your face = crushed skull. Super “hero” writing fail.
Ultimate Avengers 5: Ugh. They are still printing this. It just seems gratuitous and gross to me. Not gross in the sense of something disgusting – no wait, look at the origin of the Wasp in this issue… that was disgusting and unnecessary – but gross in the sense of too much. Overkill on the “we are so badass and teh awesome and we rock and oh god look we are ultimate Captain America is an asshole and you love him for it right. You love him!!! Right?” ARGH. Stop now.
Ultimate Other Avengers 1: [I forgot the exact title]. Also horribly written, but better than the above Ultimate book in the way only a Jeph Loeb book can be better than a Mark Millar book. No, I don’t know what that way is, but evidently it exists. Generally I expect them to be equally terribly written. I suppose the Millar title was better written in the sense that it was completely understandable… I just judge it worse because its more offensive. Both books were visually interesting but the “meh” is strong in their writing. Also, ultimate Mjollnir continues to come off silly and weak.
Justice League – Cry for Justice 7: I read this one because of all the stuff it supposedly sets up but wow, was it ever lame. The biggest kick in the balls (not the heart, where it’s supposed to hit) was the death of a child – made even worse by the fact that her dad wasn’t even around to fight for her. Also maybe made even worse because her babysitter left her alone during a disaster to go save other people? This was just plain stupid. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the writing in this series has been weak the whole way through, so there aren’t any surprises. Also, the way in which the villain was finally dealt with rang doubly weak because a) you build him up to be this crazy badass, you have him kill hundreds of thousands of people (include a freaking child, one of the few child supporting characters in DC canon right now (the only one?), then he’s done in by a simple arrow? REALLY? Super uber genius is lax in his own lair? Or something. The whole series was terrible. The plotting had some potential – I mean the IDEAS here are interesting, but the execution is one of the worst event (because really, it was an event, albeit a surprisingly self contained one) fails that I can remember. Reading this helps to understand why the last few issues of Justice League have been so oddly written & paced (same writer).
First Wave 1: This was actually an interesting read. I’m thinking it will do better in trades, as lots of pieces were missing. But still, any DC trade I think about picking up can’t be that bad.
Iron Man 24: The dreamscape thing didn’t work for me. Not enough of it matched up with how I would think Tony actually feels. Still, it was beautifully drawn, and now that part is finally over and we can move back to business. Having him forget the Civil War though? WEAK. I hope it comes back to him, because “I don’t remember that but I’m really sorry” would be a horrible way to do the coming interaction between Tony & everyone else. Oh, also having Steve Rogers Cap in uniform is really confusing, as he isn’t actually wearing the uniform anywhere else yet. I mean, he put it on to visit Tony in the hospital but not to hang out with the Avengers and plan the Siege stuff??
The cover is nice though.
Broken Trinity: Pandora’s Box 1: I don’t usually read Top Cow stuff, but I’ll skim the events sometimes. This one has some promise. The “13 artifacts” is an interesting take on the genesis, function and role of superpowers in that world and I’m curious to see where it will go.
The Wolverine fight with the random guy annoyed over the music was the only thing I didn’t understand from Wolverine and wish I had commented on when I reviewed it. Really didn’t make much sense. By the looks of it, Cap got in on the action somehow by the end of it (maybe he stopped Wolverine?) with his shirt ripped and everything. I dont mind him getting in a bar fight, but those guys didnt even deserve it this time. Usually it’s just some random thugs/gang members or whatever that cause trouble.
Yeah, I mean, usually they go to the trouble to paint any normal humans he brawls with as evil bikers or human supremacists or murderers or SOMETHING.