Join Infinite Speech, Decapitated Dan, and the Southern Sensation each week as they gather around the water cooler of stories to talk about comics.
The gang is all here this week so make sure to listen in to some WWISD’s and of course stick around for this weeks picks Aquaman #11, Axe Cop: President of the World #1 and Debris #1.
All that and more can be found here, each week on Tales From the Water Cooler!
This week Matt chats about Marvel Comics Avengers vs. X-Men #9 and Image Comics Harvest #1. Jason Aaron does a great job writing Spider-Man, he deserves to write a Spider-Man book. Bring back Web of Spider-Man!
Avengers Vs. X-Men #9
Written by Jason Aaron. Illustrated by Adam Kubert.
• Their numbers dwindling, the Avengers stage a daring raid on the X-Men’s prison to rescue their captive members-and you won’t believe where it is!
• Alliances begin to change as the nature of the Phoenix becomes apparent!
• And in the end, it all comes down to Spider-Man!
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Mature Readers
Human traffickers. Rogue medical teams. Yakuza run organ mills and a six year-old drug fiend. Welcome to Dr. Benjamin Dane’s nightmare. His only way out? Bring down the man who set him up by reclaiming organs already placed in some very powerful people. If Dexter, ER and 100 Bullets had a three-way and that mind-blowing tryst somehow resulted in a kid, that kid would read HARVEST. Medical Grade Revenge. TAG: New from the author of Cowboy Ninja Viking and Term Life!
Story: 9.5/10 • Artwork: 9.5/10 • Overall 9.5/10
What is better than awesome? Harvest #1 is a close as you get to a perfect ten! A.J. Lieberman interweaves three stories to a climax that makes the reader scream in anticipation for issue two. The main character is a drugged-out ex-surgeon, when you find yourself liking him you know Lieberman’s writing is good. The pace of the book is very solid with five pages that jump out at the reader and stir emotions straight to your core.
If Lieberman wrote a great book, Colin Lorimer took his vision to the next level. Three pages in Lorimer gives the reader a bone chilling splash page that will give me nightmares tonight. Harvest lends itself to blood and gore but Lorimer puts emotion behind each scene. He creates this emotion by the detail that he puts into every page. These little details are what make a great comic book artist. I read Harvest #1 three times and each time there was something new that I didn’t notice before.
Harvest #1 is guide to new writers on how to write a first issue. Smack the reader in the face three or four times and then give them a mind-blowing last page. Terrifyingly awesome!
Join Infinite Speech, Decapitated Dan, and the Southern Sensation each week as they gather around the water cooler of stories to talk about comics.
This week the Southern Sensation is back and the guys are ready to talk comics! Listen in as they discuss this weeks picks Mars Attacks #2, Saga #5 and Red Hood and the Outlaws #11.
All that and more can be found here, each week on Tales From the Water Cooler!
With the 700th issue of Amazing Spider-Man coming up this December, it’s only right that I, the Comic Vault’s resident diehard Spider-Man fan, weigh in on what may or may not happen in this momentous issue. There are a lot of crazy theories floating around right now, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
Current scribe (and the best writer on the book since Roger Stern or David Michelinie in my opinion) Dan Slott stated via cell phone at Comic Con a few weeks ago that this is going to be the biggest thing he’s ever done in comics, which is saying a lot coming from the guy who penned the phenomenal Amazing Spider-Man #600 just three years ago. It’s even been said that what he’s doing in #700 will be so controversial among fans that he’ll have to go into hiding after the issue hits stands, or that this might possibly be his final arc on the book. (Damn you, “Marvel NOW!”)
With the ’90s Clone Saga and J. Michael Straczynski’s “Sins Past” and “One More Day” story arcs, Spider-Man fans have a high threshold for controversy. At this point, what could possibly be more controversial at this point than Peter Parker’s clone Ben Reilly being revealed as the real Peter Parker and taking his place, Norman Osborn knocking up Gwen Stacy prior to her death, or Peter and Mary Jane trading their marriage to Mephisto (the “devil”) in exchange for Aunt May’s life?
Really, Marvel? What were you thinking? That “o” face in the bottom left corner is the stuff of nightmares. And Gwen… You desecrated poor, sweet Gwen!
Maybe resurrecting Gwen Stacy could top the scenarios above, but Slott has already said he (thankfully) has no interest in doing that, as Gwen is much more meaningful dead.
Over at the CBR boards, members have been posting a plethora of crackpot theories regarding what will happen in the issue. Some have taken a statement that Slott made at Comic Con regarding the future not looking good for Madame Web as a hint that the new Madame Web, Julia Carpenter, will be kicking the bucket soon. Personally, I think they’re reading a bit much into this and Slott was just being Slott. Madame Web is a clairvoyant and only has visions when something terrible is about to happen–of course the future doesn’t look good for her.
“The future…always…looks…TERRIBLE…to MEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
Regardless, below is a list of my favorite theories from that thread:
Black Cat shows up with a baby.
Norman Osborn is Peter’s father.
Peter pulls the plug on Doctor Octopus and then goes crazy.
Peter gets flung back in time, is stuck, and in a nod to his clone brother, names himself Ben Parker. He then meets a lovely girl named May Reilly.
Peter gives up being Spider-Man to be with Mary Jane or Peter ends up getting killed, with either scenario leading to new sidekick Alpha taking his place.
Peter moves to Japan and gets a giant robot.
Peter goes crazy and becomes the new Green Goblin.
Kaine is the real Peter Parker.
Batman subcontracts Peter to become his new gadget man in Batman, Inc. as part of a cross-promotional deal between Marvel and DC.
J. Jonah Jameson is actually a 1940s reporter covering the war in Europe. He is wounded by a grenade blast, which kills his soldier body guard Steve Rogers. For two months, Jameson has been in a coma, and it’s revealed that the whole Marvel Universe is taking place in his mind.
Black Widow becomes Spider-Man’s new crime-fighting partner and Spider-Man has a clone baby from an alternate reality with Mystique.
That’s a lot of outlandishness to digest, huh? As promised in the first paragraph, though, I also have my own predictions as to what might happen in #700.
The cover for Amazing Spider-Man #700 is a preexisting collage by a French artist named Pascal Garcin. You could say that this makes the presence of certain characters on the cover arbitrary, but I like to think that Marvel chose to use this cover for that issue for specific reasons. If you look closely near the bottom, to the left of the center, there’s a Carnage hidden among all of the Spider-Mans.
Hey, look…It’s a schooner!
This leads me to believe that Carnage has some involvement in this issue, perhaps killing a beloved character like Mary Jane Watson. Despite wreaking havoc in Spider-Man’s world in two mini-series over the last two years and continuing to do so in an upcoming Venom/Scarlet Spider crossover, it’s been years since Carnage has committed mass murder in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man. This site’s owner, Matt Sardo, even claimed to me in an e-mail that during Comic Con’s Spider-Man panel, “[The panelists] were asked what character they wanted to work with or draw. [Humberto Ramos] mentioned Carnage and then said, ‘Oh, wait. I’ve drawn Carnage,’ and then he got dirty looks.” What better time for Carnage to show up and do something chaotic than the book’s 700th issue, 24 years after the character’s “father,” Venom, debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #300?
Speaking of Venom, the border of the eyes on that collage is composed of the character. I’m going to go ahead and also predict that if Peter doesn’t find out by then that Flash is the guy wearing the Venom symbiote by #700, he’ll probably find out there.
If I’m wrong about Carnage, then the next likely scenario is that the Roderick Kingsley Hobgoblin, rumored to return in the upcoming “Danger Zone” arc, shows up and kills someone. Either way, I think someone is dying in #700. Mary Jane is a likely choice, though I’d rather not see that happen. Sardo wants Aunt May to die, and I have yet to figure out what he has against sweet, little old ladies. Her husband, J. Jonah Jameson, Sr. may be a more likely candidate for the grave, or possibly other characters that have grown on fans in recent years–like NYPD forensic detective/most recent Peter Parker ex Carlie Cooper or Daily Bugle reporter Norah Winters.
Or maybe in their infinite wisdom, Marvel, seeing that it worked so well in Ultimate Spider-Man, actually do decide to kill off mainstream (Earth-616 for you nerds out there) Peter and replace him with his new sidekick Alpha, at which point they’ll lose me as a reader. Just because something worked in one universe doesn’t mean it should be spread to the others.
But seriously… Keep any sweet, elderly women you hold dear away from this man.
The Comic Vault is using the technology of Google+ and their Hangout feature to create a weekly hangout for the Comic Vault and its fans. If you like comic books hangout with us. We will also use this feature for round table discussions with the writers of the Comic Vault and one-on-one interviews. Follow us @comicvault on Twitter for dates and times of hangouts.
This week Matthew Sardo talks about Amazing Spider-Man #700, “Dark Knight Rises,” Image Comics’ Debris #1, Marvel Comics’ Hit Girl #2, FF #20 and DC Comics’ Green Lantern #11. Sardo talks about politics and how mainstream comics need to take care of their customers.
Amazing Spider-Man #690
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli [Pencils]; Klaus Janson, Daniel Green, and Giuseppe Camuncoli [Inks]; Frank D’Armata [Colors]
Curt Connors, seemingly been cured of the Lizard thanks to a formula developed by Morbius, is actually just the Lizard in Curt Connors’ body. To top it all off, in an attempt to transform himself back into the Lizard, he’s even regrown the arm that Curt Connors’ original formula was meant to regrow.
Having distracted Spider-Man by taking advantage of Morbius’ thirst for blood, Connors begins using Horizon Labs’ top minds to try to develop a formula that can turn him back to his Lizard form–progressively transforming each into another monstrous lizard as their formulas fail. Further complicating things is that damn regrown arm, which he continually has to lazer off to keep up appearances as it keeps regrowing.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man is battling a Morbius overcome by thirst 12 blocks away when Madame Web appears to tell him she’s had another vision (and that Silver Sable isn’t dead), and that he’ll regret it if he doesn’t return to Horizon Labs at that moment. He still takes his time finishing off Morbius, however, and the issue closes on a cliffhanger regarding the fates of a few supporting cast members after one of them notices Connors is missing the wrong arm.
Dan Slott’s writing remains strong here, with Lizard-in-the-body-of-Curt-Connors discovering humor (and making terrible puns about his severed arms), music, and junk food while everyone remains oblivious that he’s only Curt Connors on the outside. I also enjoyed the back-and-forth between Spider-Man and Morbius, with Morbius trying to explain to a hero who doesn’t particularly trust him that he couldn’t control what he was doing. The characterization of Spider-Man was a bit more stubborn and angry than we’ve seen from Slott, but it’s not totally out of character in the context of darker periods in the character’s history–and given the subplot in this issue involving Kingpin, Hobgoblin, and Tiberius Stone, things are going to get a lot darker before they start looking up again.
The art remains pretty spot on, although a lot of Camuncoli’s faces of anger/despair look like the psychotic face Romita Sr.’s Jonah Jameson would make when he was sure he was finally going to destroy Spider-Man’s reputation in early issues of the book. Not a bad thing, but it catches me off guard every time.
It will be interesting to see how Slott wraps up this arc, especially as it pertains to Morbius going forward, and the fates of Curt Connors and everyone at Horizon Labs.
Issue: Debris #1 Writer: Kurtis J. Wiebe Pencils: Riley Rossmo Publisher: Image Comics Release Date: 7/25/2012
Mature Readers
In the far future, humanity has doomed planet earth to rot and decay, covering her surface with garbage. Now, ancient spirits called the Colossals rise from the debris and attack the remaining survivors, forcing the human race to the brink of extinction. One warrior woman, Maya, sets out to find the last source of pure water to save the world before the monsters bring it all to an end.
Story: 8/10 • Artwork: 8/10 • Overall 8/10
[singlepic id=1020 w=320 h=240 float=right]The first thing that stands out about Debris #1 is the contrast in styles between the cover and the inside of the book. The cover is really intense with this meta, spiritual, robotic feel to it with dark colors. Then you open the book and get to the first page and it has these rich blue colors. Owen Gieni colors a gorgeous book but I’m not sure these colors scream post-apocalyptic garbage planet. With that said I love Gieni’s use of rich bright colors at night and dark reds during the battle scene.
This issue is the setup for the rest of the series; you discover your hero and her cause. Writing for comic books is tough because you want to hook your reader with the first issue but you don’t want to give too story much away. With Debris #1 Kurtis J. Wiebe could have given the reader more substance about the main character to help the reader bond with the story, or he should have ended the book with a cliffhanger to make the reader need to read the second issue. I left the issue needing another issue to decide whether I liked it or not. You can tell Wiebe has a story to tell because there is an attention to detail. Every monster has a specific name and roll. I’m sure Wiebe knows how to fix the plumbing in Maya’s town as well.
The artist Riley Rossmo works well with Wiebe, the story and action flow well together. Rossmo has a slight anime style that lends well to the emotion and action scenes. Rossmo does have a rough style that could use some cleanup in the inking stage but that is more of a personal preference.
What is most impressive is all the science fiction books coming from Image Comics. Comic book fans need to give Image credit for taking chances with new creative content. If you like the post-apocalyptic genre pick up Debris #1 and enjoy Wiebe and Rossmo’s interpretation of the future.
After an introductory issue that created the set up for 616 Peter Parker arriving in the Ultimate Universe we finally learn that 616 Mysterio is behind everything. Issue 3 starts with Mysterio on the attack as his Avatar convince bot Peter and Miles that every Spider Villain has come t destroy them. Its a fun and intense battle that continues to show case both Spidermen extremely well. Brian Michael Bendis also continues to do a great job separating Miles and Peter from one another giving them their own voice as the fight everyone from Carnage to Miles Uncle this issue.
Peter has seen Mysterio do this type of thing before and distracts Mysterio long enough for Miles to put the hurt on Mysterio’s Avatar which backfires and knocks our 2 heroes out long enough for Mysterio to make his escape.
Sara Pichelli’s art continues to be one of the biggest selling points. She is just as important to the story. Giving both Miles and Peter their own signature moves. The action never feels choppy or out-of-place and it never once feels odd seeing Villains from Marvel’s 616 world next to their Ultimate counterparts. Their were several moments where I just stared at her pages in awe at the level of detail she packs into each panel. Sara’s always been able to draw a great action scene but its the closing pages that really surprised me. Pichelli captures emotion is such a great way that you cant help but match the same look she gives to Peter at the end of this issue.
Miles and Peter battle Mysterio in the earlier pages of Spidermen #3
Miles is woken up by The Ultimates after the fight but Peter is no where to be found. All of this leads up to the final pages I spoke of earlier. I must say that any Spidey fan is going to be shocked at the ending of this issue. I know I was legitimately saddened. I also cant wait to read the next issue to see how this all plays out for Peter.
Event books are a necessary evil in the comic world. I have to say I’m extremely impressed at the high level of quality being brought to this series. It does exactly what an event book is supposed to do. After reading this series I’m genuinely interested more now in both characters then i was prior to reading Spidermen. Also this Event Book seems to have implications that will last for both Peter and Miles in futures issues of their respective books. If you haven’t picked up this book yet give it a try its only five issues long and has done a great job so far convincing me that the Marvel world is big enough for two Spidermen.
