The Marvel reboot seems to be churning out new books every week, but very few appear to break a new specific mould. The comics produce a reasonable amount of scene setting and some character exposition, but the plot doesn’t progress except with a final page twist. If you have yet to set up a proper foundation then the shock value turnabout has little or no impact. This happens time and time again and is a very uninspiring start to many a generic book. An advertisement then appears asking whether we want to know what happens next, and the real answer is an unenthusiastic, “I guess so”. It is insulting to the reader that we are caught in a suspense trap of an average story and I thought that Marvel Now had brought new life to comic scene but this shows mass regression. It is genuinely disappointing. DC are putting out fewer books but they seem to be trying new approaches like Marvel once were, but the new52 stagnation has come late to Marvel. This does not bode well for my future Marvel/DC purchases and I would be interested in hearing other people’s thoughts on this topic. I am not even going to complain about Extraordinary X-Men because I have voiced my thoughts on the Inhuman and mutant disparity previously and this comic only served that lack of respect. DC also had an odd week and Detective Comics was downright strange, but had a nice idea in using super sleuth Gordon. Though it felt forced and heavy handed because Batbot did all the heavy thinking, and the league stood by like dummies with no suggestions of their own. If the art was a little more pleasant to look at without being so heavy and inconsistent, this probably would have made the list. The two Darkseid War books were not a patch on the Batman issue and has some reasonable ideas but just did not execute that well. The creator owned scene was on fire this week with the best books all putting out stellar performances. Add to that three new books that started well and you can see where my money is being spent. Let’s see what we have…
Marvel Codes
Deadpool #1 – THMIDEK6886U
Drax #1 – THMS1AQJ6GQC
Hercules #1 – THMHSX3HKFM7
Howard the Duck #1 – THM3J5AP7B81
Nova #1 – THMTJ7D9SYKI
Extraordinary X-Men #1– THMGHKZVTY72
Marvel
The Vision #1 – THMKKH2DEKVM
I have far too much to say about this book so I will save that for a review this week.
Dr Strange #2 – THMKA4URDNNW
I thoroughly enjoyed this comic because Dr Strange was charmingly clueless in a very dark fantasy based scenario. The house is excellently drawn and Bachalo is clearly loving the black arts, reminiscent of hid time with Magik in Uncanny. The story was simple and well delivered with some solid character work.
Independent
Klaus #1
This book reminded me of Happy in that it starts off with a cliché setup and them completely turns it on its head. The art was beautiful and was so clean and pretty from a line and colour perspective. The acid trip scene was brilliantly coloured and a lot of fun to read.
Stray Bullets #9
I do struggle with this book but I keep buying it because it has some excellent writing at times. This issue was no different as it reads like a film noir black comedy of a caper that is doomed from the get-go. I do quite like the insanity of Kretch but it’s Beth that really scares me.
Black Science #17
It is time to take a step back from the lunacy and take a breather with Grant. It has been three years and much has changed which adds a new level of seriousness to the overall time travelling arc. The personal turmoil begins with flashbacks and personality transitions and Remender excels at these stories.
Rasputin #10
I am quite upset to see this book finish because it has truly been a delight to read. It links back to the first issue and plays the toll of being Rasputin. The artwork was fantastic as it has been throughout and the story came together very well as a twisted version of the legend.
Velvet #12
The perfect creative combination bring together another brilliant issue of Velvet. The skills of our central character are certainly not in doubt but now the cross and double cross are firmly in play. This makes for confusing but very compelling reading.
The Shield #1
The art style is simple and the plot well rendered with a fantastic reveal at the end. It is a modern day superhero book featuring a character literally borne from colonial America. This is how to do a first issue: build a character, develop some tension and deliver with a great finale. This is rather an unassuming book and if it wasn’t for @joshcrewsreally I would have completely walked by this comic.
Monstress #1
I appreciate this is a double issue but as an opener it is a bloody good one. It does feature a human vs robot trope but it is explored well enough to make it interesting, plus there are magical elements yet to be fully revealed. Taker’s art has that amazing quality of being very detailed yet completely concise.
House Of Flying Scalpels 