Uncanny X-Force #20 Writer: Rick Remender Art: Greg Tocchini and Dean White [Colors]
The Captain Britain Corps have abducted Fantomex and Psylocke in the middle of the night, taking them to the dimension-outside-of-dimensions of Otherworld.
The Corps, who are led by Psylocke’s brothers, intend to convince Psylocke to rejoin them and to make Fantomex stand trial for killing the reincarnated child form of En Sabah Nur, aka Apocalypse. Their assertion is that while he may have been brainwashed by the genocidal cult of Akkaba, En Sabah Nur could have still become a good being with the right nurturing.
Essentially, this aspect of the storyline is a nice allegory of the nature vs. nurture argument, as well as the morality of killing someone or something as a means of preventing what they could one day potentially do. From that, you can draw whatever conclusions to the argument you wish, as I suppose Rick Remender’s intention with the moral question here is most likely to make you do just that.
Elsewhere in this issue, Remender sets up the dynamic between the team and the newly-arrived Age of Apocalypse incarnation of Nightcrawler. Unlike his deceased Earth-616 (that’s the mainstream Marvel Universe, kids!) counterpart, he’s not happy-go-lucky, he hates the uniform, he’s seen to much to have any sort of faith, and he hates being called “elf.”
Oh, and he’s extremely rude.
As Wolverine and Deadpool acclimate themselves to AoA Kurt (which is likely a challenge for Wolverine, due to his history with the mainstream Nightcrawler), they’re informed by Ultimaton (Cavern-X’s security robot) that the cavern was compromised by the Captain Britain Corps.
As usual, Remender does a great job making interactions between characters feel like they really mean something. There’s a certain weight you can feel between Wolverine and Deadpool and the AoA Nightcrawler. There’s a palpable tension in the panels with Psylocke and her brothers, and when Fantomex is standing trial.
Tocchini’s art furthers these interactions, and even varies between locations. In the magic realm of Otherworld, which houses the gateways to all realities and planes of existence, the art feels more washed out and almost like watercolor, while the Earth scenes remain standard and finely detailed.
Throw all of this in with the moral issue mentioned above and it’s not hard to understand why this is the most consistently enjoyable X-book in Marvel’s line.
Venom #8 Writer: Rick Remender
Art: Lan Medina [Pencils], Nelson Decastro [Inks] and Marte Gracia with John Rauch [Colors]
The road trip that Rick Remender has had Flash Thompson on with his arch-nemesis Jack O’Lantern for the past few months has come to an end as the two reach Las Vegas. Thompson (aka Venom) is about to intercept the item that he was blackmailed by Crime Master and Jack O’Lantern into retrieving.
Only, the item isn’t just any weapon — it’s the symbiote Toxin.
Toxin is the “offspring” of the Carnage symbiote, which bonded to a New York police officer, Patrick Mulligan, who became a superhero crime fighter — drawing the ire of both the Venom and Carnage symbiotes. That’s not to say the Toxin symbiote didn’t still have murderous rages. It just suppressed them.
As to how the symbiote ended up detached from Mulligan and stored in Vegas, I missed that story somewhere along the line.
The important thing to know here is that its presence sends the Venom symbiote into a rage, causing it to take full control of Flash and go on a rampage through Sin City trying to kill it and Jack O’Lantern — who grabs it from Venom. Lantern eventually breaks through to Flash by telling him how he’ll find his girlfriend and cut out her brains if he doesn’t get the symbiote under control, and then leaves Flash alone in Vegas to fall into his old habits.
Little does Flash know, the Red Hulk is still on his trail and the two are about to collide with X-23 and Ghost Rider in next month’s ‘Circle of Four.’
Overall, this story has been a nice lead-in to ‘Circle of Four’ without feeling like a lead-in story at all. Well, until this issue, anyways. After seeing what Rick Remender has done with Jack O’Lantern as far as making him an interesting villain, I’m excited to see what he can do with a D-List symbiote character like Toxin.
The art remains solid, especially the panels with glimpses of Jack O’Lantern’s charred, disfigured face. At one point, Venom even has two additional mouths on each side of his neck — which was weird and something I’ve never seen before, but I’ll take it.
STORY: 8/10
ART: 8/10
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Amazing Spider-Man #678 Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Humberto Ramos [Pencils], Victor Olazaba [Inks] and Edgar Delgado [Color]
New York City will be destroyed in 24 hours, and Spider-Man only has until 3:10 P.M. to stop it!
Following a dark vision of the future seen with an invention of one of Horizon Labs’ brain trust members, Grady Scraps, Peter Parker sets out to prevent catastrophe and change the invention’s “Bad Tuesday” back into a “Good Tuesday.”
Oh, and, per Madame Web, he can’t seek help from the Avengers or Fantastic Four, or try to evacuate the city.
That shouldn’t be too hard, right?
Dan Slott begins his latest story arc with a classic premise: Presenting the hero with a seemingly insurmountable challenge that, ideally, shows them they are capable of overcoming greater obstacles than they imagined. This is a common premise in Spider-Man stories, especially, because it fits the basic tenets of the character, and it makes a great filler story when you’ve got a big event coming up like the much-anticipated “Ends of the Earth” Sinister Six storyline that begins in a few months.
Even with all of the familiarity in the basic premise, Slott adds in details that set the story apart — namely opening pages where Peter decides to walk to work because web-swinging tends to have him missing the “big picture” of the melting pot that is New York City. Pete’s interactions on the two-page spread at the beginning of the story not only add little details while including New York City as a “character” in the book, they underscore just what’s at stake if he fails later on in the story.
Humberto Ramos continues to impress, and his style of art has really grown on me. It’s cartoonish, but not too exaggerated — and looking back, I kind of wish the Spider-Man animated series from the ’90s had looked like this. Of course, he’s also one of the nicest guys in the industry, so he’d get bonus points on that even if his art was terrible.
Nice start to this two-parter. The only thing I’m left wondering, which I thought of when I started reading this, is that with the Marvel version of New York City seemingly destroyed about 4 or 5 times a year, how are most of the citizens still alive for Spider-Man to save, anyways?
Daredevil #8 Writer: Mark Waid
Art: Kano and Javier Rodriquez [colors]
Mark Waid’s two-part Spider-Man/Daredevil team-up/crossover story wraps up in issue #8 of his acclaimed Daredevil series.
If you missed part one in Amazing Spider-Man #677, here’s what happened: Spider-Man, looking to rebound from his recent break-up with Carlie Cooper, tried to sleep with former friend-with-benefits and known thief Black Cat again. Black Cat rejected him and was arrested shortly after returning home, with evidence planted to make it look as though Spider-Man was behind the arrest. Meanwhile, an advanced hologram projector was stolen from Horizon Labs with security footage altered to make it look as though Black Cat stole the device. Spider-Man, knowing that the Black Cat was with him at the time stamped on the security vid, sought the help of Daredevil (aka attorney Matt Murdock) to help him get to the bottom of things and clear the Cat’s name. Black Cat, however, escaped custody and, at the end of the issue, looked to have gone totally bad as she attacked Spider-Man and Daredevil.
See what happens when you miss part of a story? Shame on you.
Anyways, Waid shifts seemlessly from Spidey’s perspective to Daredevil’s for part two of “Devil and the Details,” which really adds an extra layer of depth. Stories with multiple main characters are a dime a dozen, but stories told through multiple character’s perspectives are few and far between — and always welcome, as far as I’m concerned.
As Daredevil #8 begins, Spidey and Daredevil work out their differences with the Black Cat which leads to all three teaming up to solve the mystery of who’s behind the frame-up job, as well as the creation of Marvel’s latest love triangle. This being my first issue of Daredevil, I can see why Waid’s work on the book has been so highly praised. There’s not one action sequence where something doesn’t happen to remind you that Matt Murdock is, in fact, a blind man. Waid plays off of that characteristic extremely well in the dialogue between Daredevil and Black Cat, as well as the scene’s involving Spider-Man. Remember, Daredevil “sees” through his enhanced senses like hearing, and Spidey talks constantly.
The art by Kano (who I was surprised to learn has a career outside of shooting laser beams out of a metal plate over his eye in death matches) is beautiful and strikes a nice balance between traditional comic art and modern fine details.
“Devil in the Details” is a solid story overall, leaving me highly tempted to add Daredevil to my already-overloaded pull list.
STORY: 9/10
ART: 9/10
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Who will die in Avengers vs. X-Men? Is this Cyclops’ swan song? Will Marvel Comics make an epic book out of a hype machine only intended to sell more books? If Marvel does whack someone, who do you think it will be?
Vote below for which Avenger and X-Man you think will die!
The Phoenix Force is headed towards Earth and Captain America is determined to prevent the destruction of the whole world by stopping it. But when word gets to the X-Men that the Phoenix is returning, Cyclops will do anything he can to save it…including going up against Earth’s Mightiest! But who is right? Will mutantkind be saved or will the world be annihilated?
While this is a bit late I still wanted t be able to run down what I thought were my favorite Comic Book covers of 2011 . These are in no particular order . Let’s begin shall we..
X Factor #228
Cover By : David Yardin
This cover is equally parts haunting and Beautiful . Showing Madrox is clearly not in the best of shape on the cover you immediately want to pick this up and read it to figure out whats going on in the issue and the fate of its hero on the cover.
X-23 #17
Cover By: Danni Luo
Danni Luo’s take on issue #17 on X23 is a direct homage to The 80’s film Adventures in Babysitting . I need not say anything else . This image is fun and shows The youngest members of the Richards family along with X23 .
Daredevil #1
Cover By: Paolo Rivera
Quite honestly any of Paolo Rivera’s covers for Daredevil could make it on here . I’m going to go with his first cover that shows a new direction for Matt Murdock who is smiling as he navigates Hell’s Kitchen. Paolo packs this cover full of amazing detail using grey scale for the background while also inserting the description to every item he draws giving the reader a sense of what it would feel like to have Daredevils ability.
Batwoman #3
Cover By: J.H. Williams III
The cover to issue #3 of Batwoman manages to tie every plot thread from her earlier series in 2010 up to the present on one page . J.H. Wiliams is a master at creating a work of art out of everything he does . He even creates a narrative on the cover using the bubbles on the page . There isn’t a wasted thought on the page.
Monocyte #1
MENTON 3
Menton’s painterly style has graced the covers of IDW books for quite sometime but its his creator owned series Monocyte that I want to bring attention to. Showing the title Character in all of his glory Menton uses black and Negative space to his advantage and introduces one evil-looking monster while he’s at it.
Infinite Vacation #1
Cover By : Christian Ward
Most of the Editors at Comic Vault would agree that Infinite Vacation was one of the best surprises of 2011. Half of the Accolades go to Christian Ward and his amazing art work. This cover combines all of the elements in the story to create a very dynamic and colorful cover.
Thunderbolts #166
Cover By: Mike Del Mundo
Thunderbolts #166 centers around Mr. Hyde’s character and the cover that Mike puts together works on 2 different levels. Having Mr. Hyde rip through the cover is cool , making sure that the rip is in the shape of Dr. Jekyll is a nice added touch telling the story of our flawed villian with one image.
Detective Comics #880
Cover By: Jock
Jock uses bats to create a truly jarring and terrifying image of joker looking right back at you . Nice touches like his eyes being the Bat Symbol as well as the minimalistic approach to use just a pop of red for his murderous smile make this a cover to remember.
Batman and Robin #26
Cover By: Chris Burnham
Chris Burnham shows that yes people will by an issue of a comic just based on the cover. Every single element on this cover is gorgeous and insane . Well done sir ..well done
Dead Man #2
Cover By : Ryan Sook
Ryan Sook sets up this cover of Deadman desperately leaping out of his own mouth is set up perfectly against the back ground that details moments of Boston Brand’s own history before he became Deadman . Quite Simply amazing artwork by Ryan Sook.
Well those are just my top 10 in no particular order from 2011. Tell me what you think of my choices and if you have another few to add sound off below!
Written by: Scott Snyder, Scott Tuft. Art by: Attila Futaki Cover by: Attila Futaki Publisher: Image
“Fish seemed like a nice old man and people believed his lies, But Albert was a child eating shark in disguise. Albert was worse than any fish in the sea. He killed and ate young children and enjoyed it immensely. Albert, a child eating Fish was he Who devoured the flesh of kids because he thought it was tasty.” – Macabre from “Albert Fish Was Worse Than Any Fish In The Sea” off of their Sinister Slaughter LP.
Severed #6 “Permanent Teeth”Chicago-based murder metal merchants, Macabre, hit the nail on the head with this nursery-rhyme thrasher about cannibal Albert Fish. The main villain in Severed happens to be named Alan Fisher and bears a striking resemblance to real-life horror Albert Fish. This is either a homage to Fish, a child rapist and cannibal, or a character composite of him and Peter Kudzinowski, a kid-killing railroad worker from the same 1920’s era. Hamilton Howard “Albert” Fish, also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac and the Boogey Man, bragged that he “had children” in every state, putting the victim count at around 100. Whether that was true or part of his web of lies is unknown, however he was a suspect in at least five murders in his lifetime (1870-1936). He was tried and convicted for the murder of Grace Budd and executed by electric chair.
Now most of the time you get a “horror” comic it’s filled with zombies, vampires, demons, monsters and gore. Those are supposed to be the hallmarks of horror books. There might be a scene or two of something disturbing or weird, but mostly it’s just blood, gore and the supernatural that sells you on the idea that it’s a horror comic. It’s stuff of fantasy and could never happen in real-life. For the most part it never really frightens you or gives the creeps. Severed is one of those rare horror comics that actually scare you. The fact that the main villain is based on a real and terrifying person just lends credibility to the story, making it all the more interesting and frightening. Snyder and Tuft know how to build tension and suspense with foreshadowing and dramatic reveals that take you for a roller coaster ride of emotional thrills and terror. In a very subtle and sophisticated way, Severed taps into your primal fears: the fear of betrayal, the fear of being alone, and ultimately the fear of being eaten alive.
For those that haven’t been following Severed let me give you a quick rundown. The set-up is a one-armed old man telling his story about how he lost his arm. The year is 1916. Jack “Brakeman” Garron, a young fiddle player, runs away from his adopted home in search of his father. He teams up with a fellow young drifter named Sam, whom he quickly befriends while hopping the rails. Jack is a bit green behind the ears, and Sam seems to know the ropes of surviving on the road. It turns out that Sam is a young girl that dresses like a man for her own safety. She’s a street-smart little spitfire that’s as crafty as she is gutsy. It’s a familiar trope, but don’t let that phase you as she’s not an obvious character. Anyway, Sam helps Jake busk for spare change with his fiddle and figures out a way to reach his father’s home in Mississippi. There is a slight romantic B story that springs up from this, but all that comes screeching to a halt when they stumble into salesman Alan Fischer. He sells phonograph machines on the road and seems to be a real character. Jack sees an opportunity with the charming Fisher to get home a lot quicker and perhaps cut a record on the way. But Al Fisher turns out to be a real creep. There’s a huge red herring scare in a dinner scene involving a bad joke. It’s kind of like a trust-fall between Jack and Sam, but with a bear-trap. This is where you think, “Oh shit, this is it. This is where he loses his arm,” and then WHAMMO!!! I’m not giving it away, but Snyder and Tuft really know how to work up the tension and pull your strings because this scene really got me. It’s one of the shining moments of the series.
You get the gist of what Severed is about. Issue #6 is the big reveal. The jig is up. The reader already knows that Alan Fisher is a flesh-hungry maniac with filed-down razor sharp teeth, but Jack is clueless to it. Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. Imagine you are trapped. You are alone with old man on the road that promises to record you playing your violin and deliver you to your estranged father. This man has previously beaten up a pimp to protect you. He’s a capable of savage brutality. Your best friend on the road, Sam, is strangely missing. You slowly piece together that Fisher is not the man he claims to be. What do you do when you discover the ultimate truth while rummaging through his luggage? Will you attack him from behind? Will you escape when he lets down his guard? Do you have what it takes to confront him head-on like a man? That’s what this issue is all about: nervous, violent confrontation, testing your mettle and the naked truth. Jack has to face reality and see the world for what it is as his hopes and dreams are crushed under the foot of a homicidal maniac. A moment of triumph and quick thinking ultimately leads to disappointment and tragedy. Jack is trapped again and the only way out is to fight for his life. I don’t do spoilers, so I will have to leave this on the vague side, but man, this issue is heavy. You find out all the dirt and just tear through it page by page. At one point I was yelling at Jack, “dude, get out of the house,” like it was a horror film in a cheap theater. The last few panels are almost too much to bear; it’s so damn good. Rarely am I so engaged by the writing in a comic.
The artwork is not too shabby either. Attila Futaki’s work is dusty and blurry and everything seems to be coated with some sort of grime. It’s intricate and subtle, but at times a little on the muddy side. Futaki paints the atmosphere of this 1920’s era with combination of soft watercolor and airbrush techniques. His pencils and brushed inks contrast with the coloring in a style similar to Mirko Colak’s work on Red Skull: Incarnate, but with more chiaroscuro. There is a strong push-pull of detail and mystery. I’ve heard comparisons to Norman Rockwell and Bernie Wrightson, however I think that reviewer was being generous. Futaki’s characters are expressive but his line and color work are not as controlled or stylized as either. The anatomy is spot-on, backgrounds and props are well researched, and the panel work is top-notch and tells a very dynamic and tense story…but the coloring is too soft for my tastes. Soft coloring is a turn-off and slightly distracting. If you are intending to give that vintage kind of vibe, coloring with streaky and defined brushwork like the kind you see in old horror movie posters could have worked just as well if not better. Or at least have balance of soft coloring and more defined work. It’s my only complaint and overall I think he nailed the tone and mood of the story.
Fukati’s cover to Severed #6 is like a postcard scene from the past that has been torn through, allowing you to see the evil lurking on the other side. Here’s the thing, you do that for one issue and it can work. However Futaki continues the theme of a rip-through for each issue, exposing more of the monster. He’s flogging a dead horse and it comes off as though he ran out of ideas. Attila could have done something really clever and cool here such as an animated freeze frame ala’ Rob Roskopp’s “Target” decks for Santa Cruz Skateboards by Jim Phillips. See here: Roskopp 1 and here: Roskopp 2 . Unfortunately it’s a missed opportunity. The rips don’t really line-up or look planned in that manner, ditto for the man-shark monster on the other side. I keep thinking about how cool those covers would have looked lined up like that in the Roskopp style. You could have even put them on a spinner rack, in hopes of achieving some sort of zoetrope effect and the monster would really have come alive. But alas, they went for classy conceptualization over the tacky sensationalism. Dammit. These Severed covers have also taken some hard criticism from 100 Bullets cover artist Dave Johnson, especially on issue #4 where he kind of famously trashed it on twitter (and then started a blog about cover design critiques called Johnson Cover Hi-lo).
The covers could have been a lot cooler, but honestly I don’t think they are that bad. Yes, they show a more conservative approach and rely on mood and eerie coloring to convey the subject matter within, but that’s better than the obvious cliché blood and gore of most horror comics. This is part of what makes Severed stand out on the rack, and that’s what cover design is all about.
So what are you waiting for? Get Severed! It’s probably one of the most original takes on a rite-of-passage story mixed with a monster-in-the-house/ boogey-man tale. It’s heart-pounding story filled with suspense and intrigue. It will disturb you. It will scare you. Most importantly, it will entertain you and keep you guessing. There’s a remarkable level of restraint and sophistication that makes this comic a realistic read. It doesn’t go over the top with gore and shock, and when it delivers scares they are genuinely bloodcurdling. I can’t recommend this series enough. Story: 10/10 Art: 7.5/10
Jerry Nelson
Follow me on twitter and tell me what you think @the_hellhounds
One of the best books consistently has been Christos Gage’s Avengers Academy. He has taken a group of new characters that he created, and has made it one of my can’t miss reads. If you aren’t reading this book get on it, immediately not sooner. I had the chance to sit down and chat with him recently, and here is what transpired. (Note: This interview contains spoilers so if you haven’t read these issues yet, NUFF SAID!)
CV NICK: I love Avengers Academy, it has been one of the most consistently well done books at Marvel for the past year, and I’ve really enjoyed the plots and the growth of the students and teachers at the Academy. With the events of Fear Itself ending, and the new team members and staff joining the team, what can you tell us about what you have planned?
GAGE: Thanks so much! #21 was intended to be a good jumping on point for new readers, as the team moved out to the West Coast and added new members. As you’ve seen in recent issues, we have a lot of intrigue going on with the death of Jocasta, and some hidden threats at the Academy, such as future Reptil possessing his younger body, as well as the monster called Hybrid – an old Rom villain I’ve always loved. Following that, in #27, we see the Runaways show up for a meeting fans have been requesting for a long, long time. And beginning with #29, we jump feet-first into the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover! It’s a great time to jump on board!
CV NICK: With the death of Jocasta at the end of AA21, it is implied with the reveal of Reptil being possessed by his future self? that he maybe has something to do with her death? That maybe in the future some of his team members go “bad”? Intriguing as well that the page is labeled as “Somewhere in Time”.
GAGE: There are indeed a lot of questions being raised by those pages. Some have been answered in #23 – for instance, that is indeed Reptil’s future self inhabiting his younger body. As for his involvement with Jocasta, stay tuned…I promise answers are coming soon! And “bad” is relative depending on your perspective. Our story is, in large part, about how far a man is willing to go to protect those he loves, even at the expense of others.
CV NICK: What can we expect the new students to bring to the team? Who is your favorite of the new students to write?
GAGE: I hope they’ll bring unique personalities that evoke interesting emotions in our existing characters. Another thing they’ll bring is ties to the overall Marvel Universe that have been absent so far since all our characters were rookies: Lightspeed has years of experience as a hero, X-23 has been active for a long time and indeed, in many ways, lived out the fear these kids have of going bad (though it wasn’t really her fault), and White Tiger is carrying on the legacy of her brother Hector, so she is the Academy’s first legacy character. I can’t really say I have a favorite…I like them all. I am developing fondness for Julie Power, since she’s the only one of them I actually read when I was a kid myself.
CV NICK: What about the addition of Hawkeye to the staff? Besides his tumultuous past, what can we expect him to bring and how will it affect Hank and the other instructors?
GAGE: Hawkeye knows what it’s like to have a troubled childhood and be tempted down the wrong path. He also knows what it’s like to be redeemed and become a true hero. He feels like it’s his karmic duty to give these kids the opportunity he had. Of course, Hawkeye’s never been the type of guy to run his plans past others, so Hank and the other teaches might find that problematic!
CV NICK: Recently, online rumors have lead to certain Comic News sites suggesting that Avengers Academy potentially being on the chopping block, and you took to Twitter to vehemently deny and defend the book to the naysayers. What can you tell us about that, and how does having something like social media help or hinder you to get the news out about your book, and other projects?
GAGE: Well, the numbers speak for themselves. AVENGERS ACADEMY is not a huge seller as Marvel titles go, but what’s been positive is that it’s still profitable and our numbers have held very steady for quite a long time now. There are books that have been around for years selling consistently at this level…two that come to mind are X-FACTOR and THUNDERBOLTS. So AVENGERS ACADEMY is making money for Marvel and as long as it holds its numbers it will continue to stick around. The danger is that, when your sales are at this level, losing just a few hundred or a couple thousand orders – in essence, only one less copy at every comic shop in America – can push you into the danger zone. And rumors of a book being canceled can most definitely get readers to drop that book, because they feel it no longer “matters,” or they don’t want to continue to be invested in a storyline that might end prematurely. I’ve spoken to many, many retailers about this phenomenon, and they say they see it all the time – perception becoming reality when rumors of a book being canceled start to spread, readers drop it, and sales go down to the point where it does indeed get canceled. So I wanted to strongly and vocally make it clear that we are fine, as long as sales hold up at their current level. If you like the book, keep buying it. Pre-order if you don’t already. Tell your friends to check it out. I just heard that issue #21 is sold out at Diamond, and #22 might have been as well, I don’t recall…which is great, because it means readers are interested and retailers are re-ordering. We’ve had many wonderful retailers supporting us and recommending the book to their customers. So I just wanted to be proactive about getting the word out and hopefully preventing the rumor from going too far. As for social media, I love being able to communicate directly to readers and retailers. It can be a double-edged sword, in that it allows rumors to spread quickly as well, but that’s the world we live in. I definitely prefer it to not being able to communicate with the buying public at all, or in a delayed fashion.
CV NICK: With AA being in the news lately, it has also leaked that Striker will be revealed as a gay character, how long has this been planned, and how did you decide to make such a culturally significant decision?
GAGE: It’s been planned as far back as issue #5. If you look back at that issue there are hints, such as the flashback scene where Striker is surrounded by female groupies provided by Norman Osborn and he has no interest in them whatsoever. What made me want to go in this direction is that, while we have come a long way in having positive depictions of gay youth in popular culture, we have seen fewer examples of kids who are struggling with their sexual identity, and I wanted to explore that. I think there are still a lot of gay youths, especially in more rural areas where they might not personally know any out gay people, who feel conflicted and isolated, and I wanted to say, hey, you’re not alone in this.
CV NICK: How can we expect to see AA used in this summers big Avengers event, which rumor has it they are to feature prominently?
GAGE: You will definitely see Avengers Academy tie in to Avengers Vs. X-Men. Probably in such a way that the kids will come up against X-Men kids. I think it’ll be interesting to see how the kids on both sides react to this conflict that essentially their elders got them into.
CV NICK: Are there any future plans or projects you can let us know about?
GAGE: I’m taking over X-MEN: LEGACY with issue #260.1, which is out very soon! I also write ANGEL & FAITH monthly for Dark Horse, and I have a secret miniseries in the works from Marvel. My original graphic novel SUNSET comes out in the spring from Top Cow, and my wife Ruth and I are working on an original graphic novel for Oni called THE LION OF RORA, which is the true story of her ancestors, a historical epic in the vein of BRAVEHEART.
Thanks again to Christos Gage for his time. Visit him at his website Christosgage.com and follow him on Twitter @Christosgage
Scarlet Spider #1 Writer: Chris Yost
Art: Ryan Stegman, Marte Gracia [Colors] and Michael Babinski [Inks]
The Scarlet Spider was one of the only aspects of the 1990s Spider-Man “Clone Saga” story arc that any fans remembered with much fondness. Originally a clone of Peter Parker named Ben Reilly, Scarlet Spider was basically Spidey’s sidekick through much of the saga and eventually went on to briefly replace Pete as Spider-Man at the story’s conclusion.
Eventually, he was killed by Norman Osborn.
In recent years, another Spider-Man clone, Kaine, returned to comics. A villain and assassin during the clone saga, Kaine was a more powerful, but horridly scarred, clone of Peter who also had precognitive abilities. He was killed a few years ago by Kraven the Hunter during the “Grim Hunt” storyline in Amazing Spider-Man, but revived by the Jackal and the Spider Queen during last year’s “Spider-Island” event. During that same arc, he was healed and essentially became a more exact clone of Peter Parker — with all spider powers except for spider sense, apparently.
He left New York City shortly after, and this book picks up several weeks later as he’s passing through Houston. Though he plans on making it to Mexico, he feels the Avengers — or someone else — are likely on his trail and he constantly doubles back to cover his tracks.
As the book opens, he’s breaking up a Port of Houston smuggling deal that he overheard talk of at a bar he just happened to be at. Kaine isn’t in this to be a hero, though. He just wants the money.
The scene plays out more like a scene from Batman than anything else, with Kaine (sans costume) taking out a few of the smugglers from the shadows before taking out the entire group. From the get-go, it’s made clear that Kaine isn’t a standard issue, friendly neighborhood type.
Overall, the thrust of this issue (and likely this opening story arc) is to establish that Kaine has a new lease on life and to give him a reason to be a hero instead of just a man on the run from his past. Right now, as the book’s cover says, he’s got all of the power and none of the responsibility.
Writer Chris Yost, who has hit previous home runs on books like X-Force, does a solid job of building Kaine’s new status quo throughout this first issue, as well as making readers wonder when they’ll finally see Kaine in the spider suit he’s carrying in his backpack. The art here doesn’t differ too much from what you might see in Amazing Spider-Man, which really helps further the feeling that this is an addition to that “family” of titles.
A little familiarity can’t hurt on a new title, right? I’m onboard for now.
Deadpool #49 Writer: Daniel Way
Art: Salva Espin with Scott Koblish, Colors by Guru eFX
After several months, Daniel Way’s “Evil Deadpool” storyline concludes, revealing even more about the Merc With a Mouth’s character and setting the stage for Deadpool #50‘s “Dead” story arc.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
I’m sure you’ve all been asking yourselves, “How can there be an ‘Evil Deadpool’ if the original Deadpool is an assassin who was originally a villain?” [They totally weren’t asking themselves that at all, dude.]
The explanation, of course, is that the real Deadpool doesn’t like killing people and never really did. He wanted to be a hero. The Evil Deadpool, however, had no remorse when it came to flying a plane into a New York City bridge or blowing up a New Jersey taco shack. [Eh…It’s Jersey. That one’s forgivable.]
SHUT UP, BLOG MANIFESTATION OF INTERNAL MONOLOGUE VOICE!
Anyways, the Evil Deadpool’s intention, it turns out, was to show Wade that no matter what he does or how many people he saves, the public will always see him for his actions as an assassin and fear him. Wade already knows that, though, and informs his evil clone that the only thing he sees when he looks at him are all of the parts of himself that he wanted to kill everytime he’s tried to kill himself (Which, remember, is impossible because Deadpool is cursed with immortality and has a healing factor like Wolverine’s).
The previous paragraph is basically the motive behind this entire story arc. Does it work? Sure. It’s a serious plot point baked into a cake of slapstick and irreverence. That’s how this book works, and it’s how the character works best. It’s also why Daniel Way has successfully done 50 issues of this book.
Let’s hope Deadpool (the book and the character) are still around after “Dead.” This is still one of the most consistently enjoyable books on the market.
STORY: 8/10
ART: 8/10
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The Captain Britain Corps have abducted Fantomex and Psylocke in the middle of the night, taking them to the dimension-outside-of-dimensions of Otherworld.
Severed #6 “Permanent Teeth”Chicago-based murder metal merchants, Macabre, hit the nail on the head with this nursery-rhyme thrasher about cannibal Albert Fish. The main villain in Severed happens to be named Alan Fisher and bears a striking resemblance to real-life horror Albert Fish. This is either a homage to Fish, a child rapist and cannibal, or a character composite of him and Peter Kudzinowski, a kid-killing railroad worker from the same 1920’s era. Hamilton Howard “Albert” Fish, also known as the Gray Man, the Werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac and the Boogey Man, bragged that he “had children” in every state, putting the victim count at around 100. Whether that was true or part of his web of lies is unknown, however he was a suspect in at least five murders in his lifetime (1870-1936). He was tried and convicted for the murder of Grace Budd and executed by electric chair.
