[New Avengers #1-9, Avengers #19, Nova #1-9, Infinity, Avengers Arena #1, Avengers World, She Hulk, Iron Fist]
6/7/14
-New Avengers Vol.3 #1-3
A few updates to my notes section first. I recently unified all my notes into one google doc, and now it gives me the opportunity to create unified notes on every comic I read regardless of series. I have a nagging feeling that some of the notes I wrote are lost, but I think it’d be better to just move on. I’m starting here with Matt Fraction’s run on New Avengers. The reason being that the Infinity Event was the first time I read NA (as I will call it) and never read the previous volumes. My goal is to read these issues along with the event and see if I should continue or drop the series for the future. In another note, I’m also planning on picking up Mighty Avengers regardless just to see how that goes as well. I have already read Fraction’s lead-up to Infinity in Avengers (vol.5) #17 while infinity was going on and then picked up #18 afterwards. I might (not likely) also go back to read #1-16 of that series, but NA was shorter so I decided to start there. For the record, I’m currently also trying to catch up on Young Avengers and considering reading Avengers Arena + Uncanny Avengers. I've also never read Secret Avengers, but I don’t think I’ll start now.
-The issue begins with a recap of the founding of the illuminati originally depicted in New Avengers (vol.1) #7. The actions of the illuminati were also covered in one-shots and a mini series as the buildup to Civil War.
-Black Panther meets with a group of chosen warriors in Wakanda and learns of a star map as well as a sort of micro-wormhole leading to somewhere else. Here we first meet the villainess named Black Swan, who is very mysterious and beautiful. Now that’s my type of girl :). She also has black speech bubbles, very cool.
-She speaks of destroying worlds and quickly shoots at black panther with her strike force, vaporizing the warriors with him. T’chala is able to block the lasers using some kind of hardened-light shield (thank you google for telling me all of his gadgets). I’m starting to become a fan of this guy. In the animated series (EMH) and here he has a great mix of athletics and advanced tech.
-Panther tries to escape, but Swan’s Strike Force hunts him down. He can’t teleport away due to being trapped in a space-rift. Why does the cosmic lady have a military strike team with plasma guns and laser swords again? I hope that gets explained.
-As panther hunts down the men, Swan kills Manifold (or some kind of alternate version of him since this one is white rather than black). Panther then punches Swan (oh, I just noticed she’s black swan and he’s black panther...is there a black spider around here too?) before she can activate White!Manifold’s device.
-The alternate world falls apart and the illuminati begin to arrive in Wakanda. Black Panther still feels that they do not represent the best of intentions as he broke away from them to begin with.
I give this issue a solid 8/10. The art is very good and gives a fitting tribal feel to the whole comic. Fraction’s writing, for those unaware, is fairly complex but he likes to explains things in the long run. I’m going to continue reading just to see how this Illuminati interacts with each other. Considering that I’m a fan of Namor and Panther, it should be a treat.
Picking up with issue two
-Swan, continuing to babble in her fake language, was captured by the Illuminati and she warns Reed Richards of what is coming.
-Meanwhile, in Panther-Land, the wakandans are pretty uneasy about letting namor into the city due to the recent wars with Atlantis (during avengers vs x-men when namor was possessed by phoenix). T’chala finds Namor and warns him not to act out, which is probably a challenge for such an arrogant character. Panther even threatens him violently, but I doubt he even COULD kill namor at all!
-The Illuminati gather to discuss the possible end of everything. They each confirm their identities (because in a world of shapeshifters, magic, and reality warping you can’t be too sure) and remind the reader that they possess the infinity gems (basically allowing them to control reality).
-The simplified version is that the multiverse was set off by a chain reaction caused by an unnatural event that is now causing realities to literally crash into and destroy each other. I’m not sure if the unnatural event they reference was Age of Ultron, but that would make sense (unless it is infact something else). I’m so happy there are all these diagrams presented or I might just go insane.
-Since professor X was killed in avengers vs x-men (for good, like permanently...at least for now) they have to get the Mind Gem back and re-make the infinity gauntlet (although I know the gems get destroyed, it still seems kinda strange that they needed all six to begin with...I’m still happy they got destroyed though.)
This continues to be very solid (8/10 for me). The complex techno-babble could have been a lot worse, and somehow it was actually very simple to understand. I really like the interaction between Panther and the others, since he’s not afraid to question their judgement. Also spoilers, beast joins the illuminati (thank you internet) :P.
Issue #3
-These recaps are starting to remind me of a TV show -sighs as I imagine it cut together with music-
-Beast joins the Illuminati, and he’s a great replacement for the Professor for sure.
I really like Black Swan as a character/her dialogue (at least when she speaks english), and I hope she doesn't end up just going away. She’s really sleek and black and white. It’s very cool to see a new character as well.
The gems break (no more instant fixes, at least) besides the time gem (cause marvel loves screwing with time too much to let that go). I think the worst shock of all is that they erase Cap’s memory. Overall this issue was more a 7/10 for me just cause it really seems sort of lacking in terms of art (it all seems very stock-like) and I had multiple glitches while reading it. I also really didn’t like the cover, and the variant was even worse. It looked pretty cheap.
When I’m feeling better I’ll probably cover issues #4-9 and so far they are all very decent. Probably not something I’d normally read (very serious tone), but it’s good to see some stuff I missed in the event.
7/8/14
New Avengers Vol.3 #4
Whenever you see galactus on the cover, you know something serious is going down!
I also really love the Black Swan Variant for this issue, with the whole crushed logo.
More confusing technology is our greeting to this comic, but at least I could google what a Dyson Sphere is (a machine that can be placed around the sun to capture energy). Is iron man going to build a death star? Pretty much, yeah.
Doctor Strange starts to research black magic as a solution, and the time gem is found phasing in and out of his hand. The Illuminati tried to figure out how to deal with this since the gems didn't work. They have less than 6 hours to save their universe, and then galactus shows up in the alternate universe. Reed says that the place has only a few minutes left, but since they were going to destroy this earth anyway...the Illuminati doesn't really mind.
Galactus’s newest herald (another alternate universe character) shows up to tell the illuminati that they are basically just ants in this massive universal game. The issues ends with the herald being attacked in response.
A 6.5/10 issue for me. It really is confusing, and it’s a bit of a lame set-up issue in my opinion. I really didn’t enjoy it much. Previewing that the next issue is about Black Swan, I should enjoy it more.
Issue #5
Another very cool cover here showing all the ripples of the avengers along with the lady holding the scales.
Black Swan is finally let out of her cage, proving to the group that she is much stronger than they believed.
Back in the past, Black Bolt takes out Terrax with his scream (while the others were just beat around). I feel like this whole event was made just to show how bad-ass black bolt is, and it works :D. Galactus destroys the alt-earth and the Illuminati flee.
They realize they need Swan’s help after two incursions have already taken place. We learn about how Swan grew up, and how complex her real name is. She tells the Illuminati that she knows how to avoid the deaths of these universes, as it seems to be her specialty since she can see them with her own eyes. God,she’s starting to remind me of Misa now.
Anyway, the third event is going down in doctor doom’s backyard, so we’ll see how it goes down next issue. I didn't like this issue much either, so another pretty good 7/10. The plot is still advancing, but hickman’s style of a slow build is starting to bother me. I guess I just have to get used to it.
Issue #6 (trying to make these shorter :) )
Black Swan’s anti-matter bomb is remade while another countdown starts. They find doom chilling in his castle and I seriously wish they made these AR’s public. I didn't even know Doctor Doom had a son. Wow!
A blue incursion happens and these alien mapmaker robots invade, but doom holds them back. The mapmakers are a race of universe hopping planet harvesters, great…
Doom finds a fragment of the blue earth (that the mapmakers use as marking points). I really like the sense of dread building here. The avengers are destroying planets, and they wish they had another choice.
I thought this issue was more into the 8.5/10 category, mostly due to the great atmosphere and dialogue. Seeing Doom get his hands on some inter-dimensional rock really makes me wanna keep reading. I’ll be back tomorrow with the wrap up for this little marathon reading.
7/9/14
Issue 7
I really like both covers of this issue, and the wolverine variant in particular is very colorful. Based on the cover, it seems like this will continue the violent dynamic between Panther and Namor, something I liked before.
We find out that there have been almost no incursions (after the last four) for a whole month.
It is also mentioned that beast developed a new mutation that is slowly hurting him, as mentioned in New X-men (which was running by this point).
Meanwhile, war continues to escalate between Wakanda and Atlantis, and honestly I don’t even see why panther should even be allowed around Namor since he threatened to kill him (and still continues to) in issue 2. Namor even offers to stop the war since he has a clear advantage, but T’chala knows that his queen will refuse to show him mercy.
After doing some research, it turns out the Kristoff is Doom’s adopted son and heir. That makes a bit more sense, and he seems to be much more agreeable and willing to ally with the FF than his father. I also love that Hickman is still writing Reed and Doom after wrapping up his well-known fantastic four run, and he does it brilliantly.
Panther asks Reed for advice on the war, and mr. fantastic himself is not a fan of any violence. Meanwhile, Reed is making an entire series of antimatter bombs (is that safe?) to combat future incursions. But of course, the war council in Wakanda denies the peace, and so the real war begins.
For me this is serious a 9/10 issue and probably my favorite so far. Even with the incursions curbed, a war begins. The dialogue is top-notch and really shows that Hickman knows what he’s doing. I also like the exterior to interior panel layouts, and the cover is just icing on the cake.
Issue #8
I remember seeing this cover before, but it’s not in my collection so at least I have a chance to read it now. This cover is also denoted as a Prelude to Infinity.
The main point of this issue is that Maximus builds a portal to a dimension where black bolt can speak safely. Medusa arrives to engage Black Bolt into some confusing, trippy, mental conversation before black bolt breaks away from the trance. Black Bolt is keeping secrets to himself.
Meanwhile the attack on Atlantis begins, but Panther is kind enough to spare him for the moment, allowing him to leave.The issue ends with Thanos’s generals landing on earth to begin their attack.
This was more of a mediocre issue for me, the art is still great, but the moments are all still very much just build-up for the event. I’ll settle for a 6/10 on this one, and I swear that I read it before...It must be lost in my stacks somewhere.
Issue #9
Thanos plans for his generals to invade earth and find the time gem, and iron man starts firing anti-air cannons at the approaching ships. Black Panther confronts Black Dwarf (wow, this is starting to get way less subtle, can Panther only fight other Black people?) who reminds me of Dodoria from DBZ. Ya know, this is pretty much like Thanos’s Ginyu Force...like the exact same thing. The “Cull Obsidian/Black Order” sounds stupid anyway. Proxima Midnight (seriously...she sounds like a rejected goth queen), Sees that Namor is weakened from the war and mocks him.
Meanwhile the strange mind-rapist tries to attack doctor strange in a mental battle, and also two of the other invaders attack wolverine’s turf. One uses a giant spear (that he uses to take out wolverine) and the other is a blue dude who can control minds. I feel like all these new characters have cool designs, but they are still annoying to keep track of since they are basically just a random alien mish-mash.
While Wolverine falls, it seems that Black Dwarf retreats from his beat-down. Namor has surrendered to the alien who should have gotten a better name. However, he tells the general that the time gem is in Wakanda so that she will attack Panther. He is still thinking of war in a time like this? On the bright side, Hickman includes a breakdown of the members of this order just to clear things up.
Overall, it’s not as interesting as the other issues mostly due to all the new characters. I’ll still give it an 8/10 overall, since the series is still very sharp and readable. Some of the panels seem to be designed for digital reading, like the x-men battle scene is all over the place on the page.
Next up I’ll be reading the next step in the event, Avengers #19
This was where I stopped reading the event before, and most of the time I don’t remember why I stop reading...Point is that I’m going back through it.
7/10/14
Avengers #19
The avengers are being held captive on the builder’s ship. They are examined by robots who identify the two mutants, hawkeye, and Carol Danvers. In a flashback we see that Carol’s ship crashed from last issue and she fought the builder robots in space. The aliens drag her away.
The council pretty much realizes that they are outnumbered and that they’re nothing they can do besides surrender, though many of the members argue that they go out fighting anyway. This event is really starting to get to me cause of all these races and complex space politics.
The builders, meanwhile, contemplate how exactly they will deal with the fleet when capt. marvel arrives on the bridge. The builders ask her where they got ms.universe from, since they created her to begin with. Ex-Nilho (his name is one of the only new ones I like) mentions he doesn't know much about the builders, and capt. america realizes that they are going to need a plan to even begin to escape this disaster. J’Son of Spartax decides to leave the meeting and talks to the builders himself. J’son doesn't give a crap about earth, so he tries to make an agreement to save his own empire from the cleansing. They double cross him and use the communication to find the Council’s base.
This issue is a 6.5/10 for me, I really get bored by these sorts of issues where people sit around and plan for a plan, but at least the plot is going somewhere, so it’s not that bad.
And then in new avengers #11 we find out that Thanos is on earth looking to kill his bastard son that he birthed with one of the scattered inhuman tribes. Thanos meanwhile prepares to board Attilian and is updated on what the order has been doing since last issue. Thanos kills Black Dwarf for running away from Panther, but he wasn't very interesting anyway.
Doctor Strange uses his magic to find Thanos’s son, but, as it has been hinted he is still under the control of the Ebony Maw. I’m surprised he just let the strongest wizard in the universe go after that, but whatever.
This is closer to a 7/10 for me and I’m starting to like New Avengers much more. Next up is Nova #8 and then Infinity #3.
7/13/14
Nova (2013) #1-9
I skipped out on a few issues of Nova, so I’m going to read the four issues that I missed and generally try to fill the gaps in the run. I only actually owned Issue #4, and I remember reading issues #1-2. Instead of giving these a grade, I’ll just say that I really like the whole series, and would give each a 8.5 easily.
In issue 3, Sam meets the Watcher for the first time on the moon...a relationship that will become important later. Though for some reason the Watcher is silent (I’m not sure if that’s normal, since I’m used to seeing him talking and narrating events). Gamora and Rocket try to mentor him since they worked with his mysterious father as well as currently dead former Nova (Richard Rider). The Watcher warned Nova of a Chitari (warlike race) attack on earth, and Rocket/Gamora train him to fight against the armada. I really like how powerful Nova is, even as a kid he can fire massive energy blasts/manipulate energy plus fly/breathe in space at every high or even warp speed. In issue 5, the battle between Sam and the turncoat Nova named titus continues on earth. Nova blasts back to the fleet and uses the ultimate nullifier he stole to create a black hole type thing that destroys titus and the whole fleet.
Issue #6 takes place after AvX, and Sam decides to join the avengers at Thor’s recommendation, but his mom isn't OK with the idea...but still trusts him to act as a hero.
In #8, the infinity crossover, thanos sends his generals after Sam since the Novas before (Richard Rider) have sealed him away/defeated him. Speedball, another young hero, finds Sam and tries to explain who he is...but Sam doesn't care very much...until Speedball mentions he worked with Nova before. Checking the wiki, I realized that Robbie and Vance are part of the new warriors.
In issue 9, Sam goes back to his house with Justice and Speedball, finding that thanos’s agent has taken his family. One thing that starts to bother me at this point was that Gamora never bothered to train Sam in any sort of hand to hand combat. He got into a fight with a bully before and got beat. Now this alien challenges him to a one-on-one fistfight and he clearly is screwed. I mean, he’s young and he’s no peter parker, but I think it would help him to defend himself if he loses his helmet, which he has before. Again, he gets himself horribly beaten here...it’s kinda harsh to watch a kid get knocked around like this. I mean he’s only 14! So Nova just puts the helmet on once he realizes the fight is unfair. He beats her back and returns to find that his new friends want to form a team.
7/14/14
Infinity #3
A note on tie-ins first. I tried reading Infinity: The heist, and I really couldn't get into it, a real struggle to read. I’m going to try reading The Hunt, but I make no promises.
The issue opens by recapping the Builders sudden attack on the Avengers hideaway. They are really getting beaten around by these aliens. Seriously. After forty million refugees die in the explosion, the remaining members struggle to realize that they cannot hide themselves from the enemy. Parts of the galactic council start to consider surrender to the builders, while the Kree surrender completely.
Meanwhile, the builders detect a small swarm of ships that Thor says is simply bait for a trap. Manifold teleports unto one of the builder’s ships and uses it to fire upon the other builder ships, turning the tide for cap. The captured avengers (hawkeye and crew) are also liberated. Starbrand goes supernova and wipes out the fleet while also not harming the other avengers.
Meanwhile, the heroes on earth (including the Thunderbolts, Mighty Avengers, and Illuminati) fight back Thanos. Also, the illuminati still must deal with these universe incursions.
Thanos marches into Black Bolt’s throne room with only the king himself sitting there, and thanos laughs this off as a game. Maximus evacuates the other inhumans using a portal (that apparently all takes them to separate places.) and arms one of his dangerous devices.
Thanos asks for his son, and in response, Black Bolt screams NO! creating enough energy to obliterate the entire inhuman city and ending the issue.
This was definitely my favorite issue of the main series so far and is easily a 8/10. I love the last panel with black bolt’s scream.
Next up in the reading order is Avengers #20! I’m not planning to read the Avengers Assemble tie ins, since I don’t really know what to think about that series in general.
7/17/14
After I read summaries of Infinity online, I realized I could skip the event due to the fact that I know what happens. So effectively, I’m mostly stopping the event halfway. This means I’m skipping avengers vol.5 #20-23 in terms of reviews. The next things I want to review are New Avengers (vol.3) # 10-12 [wrap up of the tie-in stuff] and Infinity: the hunt (which I might skip). I also might read Avengers Arena #1 (from my week-old stack of print comics that I need to dig into).
Small review of AA #1:
I think the art was great for this issue, and the writing/setup was of course very interesting. The idea is that there are 14 (down from 16) young heroes from the runaways, avengers academy, ect. as basically a play on a hunger games where they are put against each other. While the setup for the series is interesting, it comes down to a 7.8/10 for me since there was no clear breakdown of the cast, but everything else was very solid. Hazmat and Mettle, who were shown to be together before they died. Hazmat dies in a cold open, and Mettle dies at the end of the issue. I really like the idea of characters getting killed left and right when it is done well, and in this case it doesn't feel as cheap as something like Ultimatum. Overall, I’m interested in the series and really hoping to get more information in issue #2. Something I didn’t realize before reading the wiki is that some of the teens are actually new characters, who are also mixed with Avengers Academy and Runaways characters...rather than them all being established like I thought.
Infinity: The hunt ironically also spotlights the teenage hero academies (like avengers academy and the jean grey school). These two series make me really want to look into the avengers academy. It wasn't even on my list before now! The series also includes the FF (future foundation, not fantastic four) which I know nothing about besides the fact that it includes the FF children, other aliens, as well as she hulk and Scott Lang. Never a huge FF fan, so I never followed it. Other international schools from asia, wakanda, and latveria are also included...that’s a bit strange. This event takes place AFTER avengers arena, so there aren't as many students, interesting to note. The art is also fairly simplistic, but it works since it reminds me of Allred’s FF series, and it gets the job done without being bad. In fact, Avengers Academy (ongoing) ended in 2012, while AA and this were both published in 2013.
Each of the new heroes in this series are actually very interesting though it seems like there are just tons of new teen heroes coming from everywhere, maybe there are too many. Either way, I would complain more if I disliked any of these side-characters. Each character also has an annoying habit of an inner monologue after being introduced, but it’s not bad enough to ruin the story...it’s just an awkward way to add to it. Another interesting fact is that Bentley-23 from FF was mentioned in Superior Carnage (since the wizard is there, and Bentley is his cloned son) and I had no idea where he was until now, neat! Anyway, Hank picks up a signal from Atlantis (since it was being destroyed during infinity) and the students move out to help.
Overall, a good setup issue, but I don’t understand the point of all these side characters. The book could have easily been just the academy and jean grey school. However, we also already saw the jean grey school get attacked in Infinity...so it really doesn't fit with the continuity. That bumps it down to a 6.5 for me, but I’ll keep reading to see where the miniseries goes.
After I wrap up the next few comics, the general idea is to read inhumanity and then continue into the All New Marvel Now.
7/18/14
Avengers World #1:
The first thing I thought when I opened this book is “Why do we need six avengers ongoing series? It always confuses me.when there are so many series!” To be fair, I thought there were seven series before I figured out that Avengers Assemble (which I wasn't reading) ended.
Again, Hickman is writing this series, but the Nick Spencer art is really great! I might just read this series for the art alone! The few avengers I didn't know very much were Smasher and Nightmask (who were introduced in Hickman's other series that I haven’t finished, which is still running by the way.)
I really hate how Hickman sets up three separate plots in different places with three separate teams, it’s really annoying not to focus on one thing. The idea of the book is to show avengers operating all over the world, and I think that is sort of interesting. I don’t think the book is bad, and the huge locations are very interesting but they all seem to appear very quickly. The book needs more time to grow, like all of Hickman’s books. But for now it’s still a decent 6.5/10. It seems like issue 2 will focus in on one team, and maybe those issues will be stronger.
Note: The same kind of multi-team problem happens with original sin #1, but the art is very evocative, and the teams that are chosen are actually interesting and all pointed toward the same goal so they aren’t as divided, that one is closer to a 8.5/10 for me.
7/19/14
She Hulk (Vol.3, #1)
I seriously regret picking up this issue. I am a big fan of she-hulk, but honestly this series is starting with a terrible whimper instead of a bang. The art is terrible in my opinion, it looks like a cheap static cartoon and the way the character’s faces are drawn is downright awkward. The cover art actually isn’t bad, though. The comic tries to be a comedy, but it ends up being mostly long winded and unfunny. In some panels or certain shots the art actually looks serviceable, but every time I see the artist draw a face I just wanted to look away. This is a 4/10 for me, definitely a bad read, and I doubt I’ll pick up any more issues unless the series turns around.
Moon Knight #1 is a perfect first issue. The art is absolutely amazing by this new breakout artist named Declan Shalvey, it looks great with smooth stand-out colors. Warren Ellis does a great job introducing the character. Moon Knight is awesome because he has the technology and smarts of Batman, but he is also an insane killer himself. He’s an unstable vigilante who is known to be very dangerous, but gets the job done. The first issue has him track down a killer, and most of these issues are stand-alone, but they are amazing to read. I’ve been wanting to read Moon Knight for a long time, and while I didn’t want to jump into his old comics...this is an amazing jumping on point. 10/10. Even though Moon Knight lost his super-powers, he is still a compelling character with tons of issues to deal with both within and around him.
Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #1
Like Moon Knight, I’ve wanted to get into this character for a while. Since marvel NOW gave me a jumping on point, I decided to try it out. The panel backgrounds (gutters) are actually beige, so that’s interesting. The series starts with a flashback, so that’s good for a starting point. Danny’s dad makes his ten year old son hike an icy mountain! What the hell! I really need to read his original issues at some point.The art and panel design is more creative and interesting to read. More than the norm, I should clarify...it’s one of those that goes out of its way to have non-normal panels. This is one of the only books I read that was like this. I find it interesting that this is all about Danny basically being stoic and monologuing. Going from the more relaxed Danny from other things (like the ultimate spiderman animated version, even when it’s a kid show, that I like) to this HARD BOILED Danny is sort of intriguing.
Ya know what I just realized, this series is very similar to hawkeye or at in that same format. I wouldn’t feel guilty in saying that it’s almost a copy, except that it features a different character and is more serious. It basically is Danny reflecting on his life. The art isn't bad, it’s just very hard edged, and it fits the feeling of the series. I love how he even has a trollface in the middle of the book. It looks cool, like something out of metal gear. Iron fist runs across a building and explodes a helicopter with his ki-fist. So basically hard boiled awesomeness. The story starts to come together by the end, and it’s pretty interesting to see both techno-zombie-ninjas and danny running out of ki power, but gets it back pretty quickly. Turns out the ninjas were trying to capture a girl with Iron Fist, and the survivors tell him to return to where he trained.
This is a really hard issue to grade, I think the best grade to give it is a 8/10 since It’s good but also a bit extreme. I mean to say that it’s a very dark serious with huge splashes of colors and explosions. While that’s good and all, it’s going to need to grow on me. I’m planning on continuing the series to see where it goes.
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