Review: Carnage U.S.A. #5 – Double-Amputees Battle to the Death!

April 11, 2012

Carnage U.S.A. #5 (of 5)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Art: Clayton Crain

So here’s the recap: Carnage takes over a small town in Colorado. Spider-Man and a group of Avengers (Captain America, Hawkeye, Wolverine, and Thing) go there to stop him. Unbeknownst to them, the Carnage symbiote ate a ton of cows at a meat-packing plant and expanded exponentially, allowing its host, serial killer Cletus Kasady, to control the town’s occupants like puppets. This also allows the Carnage symbiote to possess Cap, Hawkeye, Wolverine, and Thing in the same manner.

Spider-Man narrowly escapes, finding the town’s survivors in a compound/private zoo owned by the now-dead owner of the meat packing plant. The government sends in the cybernetic symbiote Scorn (see last year’s Zeb Wells and Clayton Crain mini-series Carnage] and a spec ops team augmented by the four symbiotes that once composed the symbiote Hybrid, and Cap breaks free of Carnage’s control long enough to call in the newest Secret Avenger, Venom. Scorn manages to trap Carnage (and Venom) in some sort of sonic machine that scares away their symbiotes.

That brings us to this week’s final issue of Carnage U.S.A., which opens with Cletus Kasady (complete with cybernetic legs) preparing to kill double-amputee Venom host Flash Thompson. Fortunately for Thompson, Kasady’s legs were partially powered by the Carnage symbiote and the machine fries their circuits in short order. The result is (and I’m making an assumption here) the first fight to the death between double amputees in a comic not published by Avatar Press. This fight gets nasty pretty quick–I’m talking blades impaling arms, biting, and meathooks to the rib cage. It’s exactly what you’d expect to see in a book starring Carnage.

Meanwhile, the Venom and Carnage symbiotes have gone rogue. Remember that private zoo I mentioned earlier? Yeah, you can see where this is going: Avengers vs. Animal Kingdom.

For what it’s worth, Carnage U.S.A. (and last year’s Carnage) have been the best story involving Cletus Kasady I’ve ever read. Wells has successfully revamped a character that, for many people, was run into the ground during the ’90s in a lot of cheesy, over-the-top stories. In all fairness, though, comics were still fairly PC at the time, with the darkest the Spider-Man books had gone probably being Gwen Stacy’s death, Harry Osborn’s drug addiction, and “Kraven’s Last Hunt.”

This story is as fun as it is dark, and Crain’s art, though it doesn’t always have the most detailed backgrounds, compliments it perfectly. I think I’ll pretend “Maximum Carnage” never happened in favor of this.

STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10

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Review : Secret Avengers #24 Divide and Conquer and Leave Venom all alone

Matthew Sardo

April 7, 2012

Secret Avengers #24

Story By : Rick Remender

Art By: Gabriel Hardman

Review Score: 7/10

“There is no such thing as paranoia ; the real situation is always worse than you imagine” With that quote by Hunter S. Thomson Remender drops us back into our story. Its a bit jarring considering last issue The Irredeemable Antman was getting stomped into a bloody pulp. Captain Britain is the first to make it back to the Realm of the Adaptoids and Descendants and the plot unfolds at a breakneck speed from there on out . It’s hard to catch your breath and Remenders choice to break up the team hurts this issues narration . It feels to scattered and the pacing is a bit skewed . Again I think it’s because the last issue was focusing heavily on AntMan .

Remender continues to give Beast the best of the character moments . Choosing to write him as sarcastic first and intelligent second. It’s a fresh take on a character that rarely ever is anything but the moral center or thinker of the group in the X – Books. I also enjoy his use of The original Human Torch and enjoy that the Adaptoids have a history with the character. Again as I said most character and writing choices are spot on. However I’m still not buying the main villain of this arc Father yet. He’s spent the last three issues giving the readers one expository monologue after another , it’s time Remender shows us why he’s respected and feared by his peers. Also poor Flash Thompson aka Venom has been left alone the last two issues at base…in his wheel chair …without access to his symbiote. It looks like next issue will be Flash’s Avengers initiation party , until then he sits .

One thing that’s always consistent is Gabriel Hardman’s art . This is definitely his strongest issue yet from panel to panel. This issue is full of action and he doesn’t disappoint . He uses many different angles to create a great sense of weight and motion with his characters and you never get lost in the action. He’s slowly becoming one of my favorite artists working in the business.

Due to the constant jumping between his team of characters that are split up and a last second bait and switch I feel like this is the weakest of Remnder’s three Secret Avengers issues so far. I have faith that these plot points will come back together in a cohesive fashion but this issue felt too disjointed for my taste. However I still will continue to recommend this book for the amazing artwork and crazy concepts that jump off the page.

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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#AvX-Who is gonna die?

Matthew Sardo

April 7, 2012

All right, Marvel’s big event is here. Finally, we get the comic event of the summer. Yes, it’s Avengers vs. X-Men! Marvel does love these things, as do many fans. But, when there is an “event” of this magnitude in the Marvel Universe, we all know somebody is going to bite the dust. But who is it going to be and how big?

The obvious choice is Cyclops. He has been quite the jackass lately, and after all, he’s the leader of the X crew and his death would certainly change the future of at least the X-Men on Utopia. Is he too big a character to fall? Perhaps. Iron Fist is a name that keeps popping up in some conversations. This is a possibility because Iron Fist gets involved in the Phoenix Force in some of the tie-in issues. I don’t see it. He just isn’t a big enough name. Captain America? Oh yea, been there, done that. Could it be that finally the Scarlet Witch gets snuffed out after all the shit she’s pulled? Nah, too obvious. Folks, whoever gets knocked-off has to be big, just not too big. So who is it going to be?

Here are a few ideas. Ben Grimm, The ever lovin’ blue eyed Thing, has been in the background for many years, and this may be the send-off he deserves. Look at his fight card for AvX! He fights Colossus and Namor? The problem is, Johnny Storm died not too long ago and another FF death may just kill the comic. Nope, not gonna happen. Hmm, let’s see. Storm? Nah. Dr. Strange? No way. Red Hulk? Possible, but no.

The characters in the Marvel Universe that are big enough to have an impact but are not big enough to affect the movie franchises could be these three folks. Protector, Emma Frost, or Hope. Yes, Protector is a minor hero, but it’s just a gut feeling (are they willing to kill off two heroes?) Hope is obvious. She is gonna be the host and it’s already killed off Jean. But it just doesn’t make sense to rub out the “Mutant Messiah”. Emma Frost is the most logical character to die. Why? This could be how Marvel sets Cyclops in a new direction. Also, she has a loyal convention follow that would make the X-Men panels insane. What a shame, she is such a babe.

As a fan you just hope that the crew over at Marvel does it right and actually lets whoever it is die in peace, not for a year, but for good. It will have more of an impact if it’s permanent. So, if it’s Emma. She’s big, but not too big. Rest in peace, White Queen.

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Review : Swamp Thing #8 : Swamp Thing Unleashes Green Hell on the Rot

Matthew Sardo

April 6, 2012

Swamp Thing#8

Story By: Scott Snyder

Art By: Yanick Paquette and Marco Rudy

Review Score: 9/10

After a near perfect last issue of Swamp Thing Scott Snyder, Yanick Paquette , and Marco Rudy continue to produce a Dark and engaging comic that stands at the top of DC’s New 52. This issue starts off heavy on the narrative side as Snyder works with Rudy to show the Rot making its way through State after State, killing and claiming victims to add to Sethe’s Army and world of death. Snyder finally gives Sethe a voice warning his Dead Army that Swamp Thing is coming to take everything away from them. It’s an interesting touch that he chose to have the numerous dead speak for him and creates an added sense of fear and despair to each page as his puppets await The new Swamp Thing Alec Holland.

Rudy’s final Splash page provides an amazing reveal of the New Swamp Things Face , not only showing the new touches to Swamp Thing included Moss Covered Wings and a body that’s as much plant as it is Bark, but he uses the panel construction to show you the design and shape of Swampy’s new face. It’s both effective and a great use of the page that continues to show how strong of an artist Rudy has become working alongside Snyder and Paquette. The new and improved Swamp Thing is definitely something unique and fun to look at , and Snyder writes him just on the edge of being heroic an embracing the fury and anger that the Green and Parliament of Trees have for the rest of the world.

swamp-thing-vol-5-20120330000159460 — Paquette continues to push the boundaries of conventional Page construction with each issue..page provided by IGN

While the first half of the issue focuses on setup the last half amps the action up into an all out war between Swamp Thing and Sethe’s army of the Rot . Snyder allows Paquette to do most of the storytelling drawing page after jaw dropping page of interior art as Swamp Thing tears through morbid hybrids of Flesh and animals all of the dead variety. There is a visceral sense of awe you get seeing how much detail gets put into each page and the varied amount of characters on the page. Swamp Thing has come for his love Abby and refuses to stop killing until he gets her back. Unfortunately Swamp Thing he gets his wish , only Abby herself has went through some horrific changes and isn’t herself any more leading to one last beautiful page of art. There aren’t many books made with this much love and attention to detail page after page. If you’re a fan of Horror , Superheroes or comics in general you need to be reading this book.

Mike DeVivo

Follow me on Twitter @pandasandrobots

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Review: Venom #15 – Flash Thompson, Secret Avenger

Roger Riddell

April 4, 2012

Venom #15
Writer: Rick Remender
Art: Lan Medina [Pencils], Nelson Decastro with Terry Pallot [Inks], Andres Mossa [Colors]

After saving Las Vegas from Blackheart, Venom is pardoned and made a member of the Secret Avengers by Captain America.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Flash Thompson gets to keep the symbiote 24/7. Hank Pym and Beast have worked out a sedative to keep the creature from permanently bonding to Flash when he’s using it for official Avengers business. If he needs the symbiote at a moment’s notice (like if Jack O’Lantern or one of the other enemies he’s picked up in the last 14 issues comes calling), he simply has to dial a number and the suit will be shrunken down into Pym particles and broadcast from the Secret Avengers’ space station through his earpiece.

Seems simple enough, right? It’s comic technology. Don’t think too hard about it.

Once Flash is finally teleported back to his apartment, he arrives to Peter Parker knocking on his door. Pete, a longtime friend of Flash’s recently-dumped girlfriend, Betty Brant, wants to know what’s going on with him. The two go out for coffee and Flash is ready to tell Peter everything when he’s interrupted by a call from his sister and mother–two more people he’s neglected.

With this issue establishing that his home life is in tatters, Flash appears seemingly ready to bury himself in his newfound role as a Secret Avenger.

Meanwhile, Eddie Brock, the Venom symbiote’s former host, is hunting symbiotes. As the book opens, we see him taking out Hybrid, and we later see him kill Scream. This plot thread started shortly after Brock gave up the Anti-Venom symbiote to help cure New York City during “Spider-Island” and I’m excited to see how it plays out.

There’s one continuity issue here, however, as the Hybrid symbiote has also appeared recently in Zeb Wells’ Carnage U.S.A. mini-series, no longer bonded to Scott Washington, but separated into four symbiotes for use by a special ops team. Of course, that story takes place after Venom becomes a Secret Avenger (despite being only one issue away from finishing), so it’s possible that perhaps Eddie Brock’s “killing” of the symbiotes themselves doesn’t really work and the government is still able to somehow get their hands on the Hybrid symbiote. Maybe this will all be explained eventually.

This book’s last story arc, “Circle of Four,” didn’t really do much for me on the first read through (I really need to read it again in one sitting), but Rick Remender followed it with what might be my favorite issue of this series so far. Remender sets up Venom’s status quo as a Secret Avenger, explains how Flash will use the suit if he is in an emergency situation, and plants a plot thread regarding what could happen if use of the symbiote is abused. He sets up some romantic tension between Flash and Valkyrie, teases the question of how Spider-Man will react to Venom being an Avenger if he finds out, hints at Flash potentially telling Peter (who he doesn’t know is Spider-Man) anyways, and sets up a future conflict with Eddie Brock. Plus, he keeps a certain amount of turmoil in Flash’s home life for the time being.

The art on this issue is also great, with Lan Medina packing in an extraordinary amount of detail in everything from facial expressions to backgrounds.

In short, Venom is still one of Marvel’s best kept secrets.

STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10

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Review: Wolverine and the X-Men #8 – Sabretooth joins the Hellfire Club

Roger Riddell

April 4, 2012

Wolverine and the X-Men #8
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Chris Bachalo [Pencils & Colors], Tim Townsend [Inker]

Fresh off of his return from the dead in Wolverine’s solo book, Sabretooth joins up with the new Hellfire Club to help them take out the heart of the Jean Grey School–Beast.

During his attempt to con an intergalactic casino out of space money that is somehow good on Earth, Wolverine’s unbreakable adamantium legs were broken. Beast, the school’s resident scientist and doctor, puts forth the theory that the casino’s guards were able to do this with a matter transmutation ray to weaken the adamantium, which re-hardened shortly after.

Basically, Beast needs to use the same type of ray to surgically repair Wolverine’s legs. Only problem? Beast’s matter transmutation ray seems to have gone missing, and they are outlawed around the globe.

Of course, dating the director of S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department) has its advantages, so Beast sets out to the department’s space station in Earth’s orbit to hit up Abigail Brand for the device. When he gets to the space station, however, he finds that Sabretooth has already arrived and taken out S.W.O.R.D. on his own.

Meanwhile, Angel (who still doesn’t remember who he is and thinks he’s a real angel) sets off with the school’s students to the casino where Wolverine’s legs were broken to recover the matter transmutation ray there. How he knew about this, I have no clue–but we’ll get to that in a moment.

The story here jumps around a bit, and it’s often fairly confusing–especially with Chris Bachalo’s artwork. Bachalo’s work tends to be fast-paced and frenetic, and I’ve really enjoyed it on a lot of stories. Unfortunately, it made it a little difficult to tell what was going on here–especially in some of the more monochromatic panels. This could possibly all be a problem on the scripting level. The story does tend to jump around a lot, and we never really get details for how Angel knew about the matter transmutation ray. On the other hand, I also considered that maybe my book was missing pages (that did happen to me with a recent issue of Secret Avengers and I’ve been paranoid ever since).

On the other hand, this story does a good job of setting up a relationship between Angel and Genesis (the clone of Apocalypse), who agree to help each other figure out who they really are. It also shows a more vicious side of Beast than we usually get to see and does more to establish the Hellfire Club (what do those kids not have their hands in?).

This isn’t a perfect issue, but it’s still fun if you can avoid the aforementioned confusion. Now to go find out if my copy is missing pages…

STORY: 6.5/10
ART: 6.5/10

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Review: Amazing Spider-Man #683 – Spider-Man punches Al Gore!

Roger Riddell

April 4, 2012

Amazing Spider-Man #683
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Stefano Caselli, Frank Martin Jr. [Colors]

[SPOILER ALERT: Reading this review might spoil certain plot points for you, oh noble Chicago Comic Vault reader.]

Close to death, Doctor Octopus has–with the help of the latest incarnation of the Sinister Six–set his final master plan in motion, developing technology that can destroy the ozone layer. Ock, however, has convinced the world’s leaders and greatest scientific minds that his intentions are altruistic and that he simply wishes to preserve the Earth with an artificial ozone layer.

Spider-Man, who has spent the last several months developing all-new spider armor specifically for taking on the Sinister Six, rallies the Avengers and they travel to an emergency G8 summit in Rome to try to talk some sense into the world at large. Among those shown debating Octavius’ intentions are Stephen Hawking, Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Al Gore–who Spider-Man punches squarely in the jaw for voicing his support of Doc Ock.

That’s right. Spider-Man gets a Cap-punching-Hitler moment.

Gore Vs. Spider-Man — Take that, Global Warming!

Or does he?

As it turns out, “Al Gore” is really just the Chameleon in disguise. His hand played, Doc Ock is forced to reveal the full potential of his “Octavian Lens”…to stop global warming.

Convinced even more of Doc Ock’s Grinch-like altruistic turn, the world leaders let the Chameleon go–but the Avengers aren’t fooled so easily. With the aid of a spider tracer, they follow him to a remote beach where he is met by the Sinister Six.

Spider-Man hasn’t been the only one preparing for this battle, though. Doc Ock has had Electro, Rhino, Sandman, and Chameleon steal StarkTech, the fang of Jörmungandr, and Hulk-busting technology developed by the Leader. Making quick work of the Avengers (but not without losing Mysterio and Electro), Doc Ock now has Spider-Man right where he wants him.

Overall, this issue continues what is sure to become (until he outdoes himself again) Dan Slott’s magnum opus on Amazing Spider-Man. Not only is this fun, but the story feels like it has weight to it. At the heart of this story is a battle of figurative chess between two of the Marvel Universe’s greatest minds. That it takes place on the world stage instead of just New York adds that much more to this.

Stefano Caselli produces more of the best work of his career here, as well. When you see Doc Ock in these pages, it’s believable that he’s really dying. Characters pop off of the pages. The facial expressions are spot on. And the detail!

It’s another perfect issue, and a damn good time to be a Spider-Fan.

STORY: 10/10
ART: 10/10

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Nightmare Fuel: 7-Foot-Tall Darth Malgus Action Figure Guarantees You Never Get Sex Again

Matthew Sardo

April 4, 2012

Ok, that might not be guaranteed for you, but I can imagine how the conversation would go if I broached the idea of buying this ornate $6,000 (that’s right, it costs more than a reliable used car) action figure (I say action figure because you can move the arms and legs):

“Um, sweetie, since I got my work bonus and I was able to sell some stuff on eBay, um, I was thinking I would like to get this” /shows picture of Darth Malgus
“Oh, wow that’s cool, how big is it?”
“Um, 7-feet-tall”
/looks at me like I have completely lost my mind
“Ohhhhhkayyyyy, how much is it?”
“Just $6000 but you can finance it for $750 a month!”
“So basically, you want to buy a $6,000 action figure, which the pictures of are already scaring the dog?”
“Um, maybe?”
“I am moving out.”

On second thought maybe, I will just steal the costume idea for Halloween. But, if you’re interested you can purchase your very own from Side Show Toys. Here’s the product description and pics:

Sideshow Collectibles is proud to present the Darth Malgus Life Size figure. Capturing the vicious Sith Lord of The Old Republic in startlingly realistic 1:1 scale, the looming figure measures over 7 feet tall and more than 3 feet wide. Each piece is individually hand painted and finished to exacting standards, the trademark of a handcrafted Sideshow Collectibles product. Featuring a light up saber, LED light up components in the chest, collar, and wrist gauntlets, highly detailed armor, and a real fabric hooded cape; the Darth Malgus Life Size figure makes a spectacular addition to any collection.

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Review: Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 – ‘Nuff Said

Roger Riddell

April 3, 2012

Avengers Vs. X-Men #1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: John Romita Jr. [Pencils], Scott Hanna [Inks], Laura Martin [Colors]

After what has felt like an eternity of build-up (but was really more like just over six months), the event to end all Marvel events has finally arrived on shelves–but was all of the hype worth it?

So far, it’s a toss-up.

The premise, in case you’ve been living under a rock or reading some other company’s books, is that the Phoenix is coming to Earth and has chosen the would-be-mutant-messiah Hope Summers as its host. Hey, she looks like Jean Grey, so who else is it gonna pick, right? Anyhow, the Phoenix is a cosmic firebird that leaves devastation in its wake on a planetary scale wherever it goes in the Universe. It chose Jean Grey as its host once and she almost destroyed Earth, but that’s “The Dark Phoenix” saga and you can read about that elsewhere.

Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 opens with the Avengers hanging around Avengers Tower doing the sorts of things you’d expect powerful people in tights to do (but not those things, sicko!) when all of a sudden, the intergalactic superhero Nova conveniently crashlands in New York City after falling from space. He warns the Avengers that “it’s coming,” and Iron Man deduces that he’s referring to the Phoenix. He and Captain America then brief the President on the danger.

Meanwhile, Cyclops–who has known all along that the Phoenix was on its way back–is training Hope and trying to prepare her in the hope that she’ll be able to control its power when it does return. This entire conflict centers around the Avengers’ belief that the Phoenix will use Hope Summers as its vessel to try to destroy the world again versus Scott’s belief that if Hope can somehow control the Phoenix’s power, then she can undo the “no more mutants” spell that Scarlet Witch decimated the mutant population with.

Scott believes that Hope is the savior of the mutant race, and he’ll stop at nothing to see her fulfill that destiny–perhaps to the point of taking things too far during his particularly ruthless training sessions. During the time that has passed since he joined the X-Men, Magneto has pointed out that Scott is growing more and more like him than his mentor, Charles Xavier. This trend continues here, as Magneto–watching the training from a distance–comments to Emma Frost regarding the difference between “taking it seriously” and “compulsion,” perhaps foreshadowing things to come.

Anyhow, Hope is finally pushed far enough and releases a flare of Phoenix-like energy strong enough that the Avengers notice it. Traveling to Utopia to see about taking Hope into Avengers custody until the Phoenix situation is figured out, Captain America is greeted by a particularly hostile Cyclops.

Thus, the first shots in the battle are fired, so to speak.

Over all, this is a solid start to the event, but it is by no means perfect. Despite being packed with action, the dialogue pulled me out of the story on a few occasions, most notably during the conversation Captain America has with Wolverine regarding the Phoenix. Given Wolverine’s history with Jean Grey and how he felt about her, I have a hard time believing that he wouldn’t just refer to her by her first name. Using her entire name felt a little unnatural, especially after the previous scene already established her history.

Aside from that, though, anything else I noticed here would just be nitpicking. Bendis’ first chapter draws you in and gives new readers a primer on what’s going on, and the art here is phenomenal. The facial expressions of everyone standing in the vicinity when the first blow of this battle is landed were perhaps the highlight of the entire issue. Desperate times call for desperate measures, especially when your bluff is being called, and that panel alone sells that idea absolutely.

After event fatigue had fully set in following last year’s Fear Itself (which, no offense to Matt Fraction, fell short of expectations), I swore I’d never drop $3.99 an issue on another “event” book again. Despite being highly skeptical of the idea of Avengers Vs. X-Men, I have to say I’m impressed so far and actually looking forward to where this goes from here.

STORY: 8/10
ART: 9.5/10

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Trilogy Review: The Adventures of Han Solo

Matthew Sardo

April 3, 2012

This cool 70s cover is really the only reason to check this one out.

The Adventures of Han Solo trilogy was written in the late 70s and early 80s by Brian Daley and really is an outlier for those of us interested in the full Star Wars universe. Written as standalone adventure stories the three books, Han Solo at Stars End, Han Solo’s Revenge and Han Solo and the Lost Legacy share some supporting characters but largely are complete, unique stories with flavor-of-the-week love interests and fairly simple narratives.

Because Daley lacked the overall story arc and complement of supporting materials that other writers such as Timothy Zahn, James Luceno and Karen Traviss had, the trilogy as a whole suffers from a lack of common species and events that make the universe consistent no matter the author. This isn’t Daley’s fault but as a result, the species and characters he introduces (my own favorite was a pirate named ‘Zlarb’) appear to be more two-dimensional and make the stories seem like just more late-70s pulp (which, to be fair is kind of what they are.)

To anyone not determined to read all of the stories in the canon, I would say skip these books in favor of the later Han Solo Trilogy by A.C. Crispin which was written much later and tries to tie in the Adventures of Han Solo and The Adventures of Lando Calrissian books into something a little more relevant to the Star Wars fan. Sure, you may not get to see Solo and Chewie disguise themselves as circus performers to break into a prison (seriously, this happens) but the later trilogy has appearances from Jabba and even the big man himself, Vader, that aren’t forced and puts Solo and Chewie in the right context. Crispin’s books also tell the story of Han’s origins and how he came to win the Millenium Falcon.

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