So I Read Today… Avengers Assemble #1 - #3

Sometimes I really need to get into a book to pass proper judgement, since comics is a primary source of entertainment for me I get joy out of them really easy, this of course doesn’t mean that all the books I read are good. Avengers Assemble needed time to grown on me. Sure the book is set on regular Marvel continuity and it features the core group of characters shown in the movie, but I had a few questions, the most important of all being “How are they gonna make the Hulk work on the team?”. In the movie it was a no-brainier, Banner was shown to have control over the beast at some point, but in current Marvel continuity that’s not the case.

Is not until find yourself reading issue #3 that you realize that the concepts works and all my worries where for naught. Yes there is a core team of Avengers in the regular tittles, but this is the “All-Stars” book with a pared down roster and telling a story epic in scope without resorting to the much hated crossover event. 12 z-grade villains are empowered beyond their wildest dreams to retrieve a batch of objects needed by a superior and unseen force. They are called The Zodiac and they bear the power and looks of each zodiacal sing. Their might is so great that most of them can go toe to toe with Hulk and Thor.

It’s not until Iron Man resorts to logic instead of raw force that he’s able to find the source of power of these magical beings. This of course means that it’s time for the mastermind to reveal his hand and boy… You’ll get a kick out of it if you are a fan and have already seen the movie. Avengers Assemble is a great book by one of the most prolific and solid teams in comic book for almost 15 years now. Brian Michael Bendis provides words, Mark Bagley, Danny Miki and Paul Mounts provide stunning and beautiful visuals. This one is for everyone, a book not to be missed! 

So I Read Today… Earth 2 #1

So! If you’ve kept with the news you may already know that the new 52 it’s about to go through the first batch of cancellations, not to worry though a few wild concepts are in the way to keep telling amazing stories in this brand new world. One of those tales is “Earth 2” what this name implies is the existence of a multiverse in the DC Universe. This is nothing new, since this has been a signature of the company for years, but since their continuity has been revamped (softly as themselves would say) It makes sense that the multiverse shows some new angles on his composition.

The story begins with the last big battle on earth where the trinity (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) are fighting a losing battle against Steppenwolf and The Parademons, in a last effort Batman means to redirects the signal of the invading forces transmission towers to infiltrate their system with a virus meant to wipe them out, the attack is successful but it takes the life out the heroes and the protegees of Batman and Superman are sent to a new dimension (not telling you who they are, sorry!). A God called Mercury delivers the final message of Olympus to Diana before being vanished to the same place.

On the new earth an young man called Jay Garrick is being dumped pretty hard by his girlfriend who thinks he’s a dead end with no future. When the man finds himself alone with his thoughts a shining star drops from heaven, Jay has just found the God of Speed dying at his feet, requiring a suitable heir to his power and the stage is set for a new Flash to be born.

Earth-2 was a surprise for me, this book feels good, I’m always delighted with the group books in DC more than the solo ones. this one however feels like an anthology a book you’ll require to understand along the line of a much bigger story. With the pencils of Nicola and Trevor Scott the book has some of the most beautiful art I’ve seen in DC in a long time, Alex Sinclair does the honors on colors and the whole team pays a great compliment to the solid script of James Robinson. Go and grab a copy! you’ll enjoy it a lot!.

So I Read Today… Aquaman #7 (Vol.5)

Back when the new 52 started I told you all to keep an eye for this book. Sales-wise I don’t know how it’s been doing, but I have to say that not even a single number has let me down so far, in this issue we get to see again for the first time, Aquaman’s Nemesis: Black Manta. This guy is bad ass and he means business, he’s not fucking around. While gathering the relics of Atlantis, he defeats Kahina The Seer a girl with the ability to see the immediate future. Before taking her life away he tells her exactly what it’s going to happen to every living being she holds dear.

Meanwhile Aquaman is still doing his best to help out his fellow man and trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of “The Others”. He goes for the help of Dr. Shin a man obsessed with Atlantis and willing to make a pact with the devil if it means finding the secret location of a place he’s been devoted for most of his working life. As the discussion between Arthur and the Doctor goes on, an assassin named Ya’Wara appears before them to kill Dr. Shin since she’s pretty sure he’s the one selling “The Others” to Black Manta. Who is this group?, What does Aquaman and Black Manta has to do with them? To be revealed in future editions!

Aquaman is one of the most solid books coming out of the DCnU right now and if you are not reading it, you are losing some of the best stories out there, a solid script, amazing artwork and overall, one of the single greatest comic books published right now. Go for it and thanks me later!

So I Read Today… Avengers Vs X-Men #1

Well this is it, the comics event that it’s been building up almost 8 years (according to Marvel) it’s finally here. If you pay close attention to the events in the past years of Marvel continuity you’ll see the seeds for this one (or you can read this Comic’s Alliance article which explains it very nicely). Both teams where created in 1963 and they have clashed before, mainly because of misdirection, confusion or manipulations by a villain, but this time it’s very different, there’s no deep philosophical differences here. No, Cap’s team and Cyclops squad go to war over  a cataclysm-level event that threaten all the planet: The Phoenix is coming back to earth and both men believes they have the solution to deal with the problem.

Scott thinks that with the proper guidance The Phoenix can be a force of good and restore the past glory of mutants, since his new vessel is Hope Summers, The mutant messiah and Cable’s daughter, a character that has been a royal pain in the ass of the X-Men since her introduction in 2007’s “Messiah Complex” storyline. On the other hand The Avengers have a battered and broken Nova who just returned to earth to give the heads up to the team that The Phoenix is coming and it’s tearing apart everything in his path, after a presidential meeting, Cap receives the order to bring the new vessel under USA Government custody by any means necessary.

Both men interchange words in a simple meeting that goes really wrong in a matter of minutes, and it’s very clear that none of them is willing to back down. How is this gonna work out? I guess well have to read the rest of the series to find out. AvX reads really well, is a comic that make past encounters by both teams seem very dated because of the modern ways of storytelling, the bold words of Brian Bendis and the exquisite art of John Romita Jr. grace this very first issue and I really can’t wait to see what this monster event brings to us in the next 6 months. Go check it out! It’s really good!

So I Read Today… Irredeemable #1 - #4

What an underrated gem. Holy fuck, a book didn’t surprise me this much since The Authority’s first volume. I’ve know Mark Waid’s writing since his Flash days, but I didn’t think he had it in him to write grim and gritty characters. Irredeemable is one of the greatest comic books of our times done by seasoned talents who prove that they still have a lot to say in this medium. For the average guy the premise on this book is very simple: What if Superman goes bad?.

Back in the day The Plutoniam was this world’s greatest superhero, the guy had the ultimate set of superpowers, a good life with allies and a woman he loves. The day he decides to give up his secret identity to her, everything goes bleak for the hero. But it goes even worse to those close to him who learn the secret. In present day The Plutoniam is no longer a hero but a rogue enemy to the world, he had used his powers to kill, maim and destroy however dares to confront him, be it a former ally or a longtime enemy. Surviving factions try to gather information to turn the situation at his convenience, but not a single one of them realizes  that they all live simply because The Plutoniam allows them to.

The world’s powers gather at the United Nations to discuss the situation and learn what they can do about it, but the discussion quickly turns into an argument over who can offer the best to the rogue hero, since no one knows how to fight somebody with the powers of a god. The Plutoniam arrives to the site and asks the representative of Singapore why would they want him as his sovereign. The politician can just utter the words “Because we are grateful to you” when the former hero leaves the building and in a matter of minutes destroys and sinks the island. An incredible cliffhanger that will have you coming back for more and asking yourself what made this guy go rogue this way. Irredeemable is published by BOOM Comics, written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Peter Krause, right now #35 is the shelfs. Go check it out!.

So I Read Today… Action Comics #755 (vol.1)

“What’s so Funny About Truth Justice and The American Way?”. That’s the title of  this stand alone tale. Believe me when I tell you that this is probably one of the single most amazing stories starring Superman in the last ten years. I would go as far and put in next to classics like “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” and “For the Man Who Has Everything”. Like most of the greatest Superman stories, this one it’s not a mutlipart story or a crossover, It’s a tale that consolidate the character and explain what he truly is all about.

Published in a time when the best selling comic was Wildstorm’s The Authority, Action Comics #755 brought a new breath of life into Superman by the mighty pen of writer Joe Kelly and the powerful visuals of Dough Mankhe and Lee Bermejo. The story begins with our hero flying through the planet to help resolve a terrorist situation in Lybia, only to find the country’s capital demolished and his power base eradicated by a team of Authority-like heroes called “The Elite”. These four super-powered humans have taken it upon themselves to  defend the earth of what they perceive to be the “real” threats: power hunger despots, terrorist groups or everything that pisses them off the wrong way.

Superman comes forward and speak his mind to them, explaining them how heroes are supposed to be better, the ultimate solution to a problem cannot be death or execution. His never ending battle has a purpose: to teach his adversaries that no matter how much they try to keep going on with their wrongdoings, he will always be there to stop them until they change their ways. The Elite will have none of this “old ways” non-sense and when Superman stops them from executing a team of invading aliens by smacking one of them, the gauntlet drops.

Superman faces The Elite in neutral territory, to avoid damage to the planet he loves so much. In a matter of seconds The Elite has Superman subdued and beaten, when they are about to finish him off, The Man of Steel catches his second breath and using his abilities in the most clever ways ever seen, he kills the four members of The Elite… or does he?.

Superman is the first and greatest superhero in my mind, he may seem stale and dated to a lot of the young readers of today, but stories like this show us why this character is relevant and iconic even in these days, when so much values has been lost in families and as a society in general. Superman, the outsider, the strange visitor from another planet is here to remind humanity that we can always be better if we just choose to be. That no matter the difficulties and the obstacles, we can overcome them without having to reach an ultimate solution. One of the greatest reads you can have starring The Man of Steel.

So I Read Today: The Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #9

Now this took a long time to be done with. The Avengers: The Children’s Crusade is the next chapter in the ongoing story of the Young Avengers, written and penciled by the creative team who brought them together in the first place: Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. It’s a nice closure to a story that started almost 7 years ago and it serves as a prelude to Marvel’s big event of 2012: Avengers Vs X-Men.

The kids just retrieved Wanda Maximoff from Latveria, helped her to get rid of the dimensional entity that allowed her to make M-Day happen and defeated Dr.Doom. But the price they paid was too high. In the end Stature is dead and her dad Scott Lang, the current Ant-Man is back in the land of the living. The X-Men and The Avengers declare their hostilities over and wait for The Scarlet Witch to find redemption on her own. Story-wise the series has a good ending, but the last few pages are the ones who will give a shock to more conservative minds. I on the other hand, consider this a more than welcome opening from Marvel Comics and the perfect handle of a longstanding relationship.

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade was a good story, it linked with many events of current Marvel continuity and teased about the future. Maybe the big letdown for me was the almost resolution of the mutant wipeout made in House of M, but hey! maybe Marvel will come to their senses about it sooner than later. Some of the most solid reading from Marvel I’ve had in a long time, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

So I Read Today: Stormwatch - The Dark Side

From the ashes of what used to be the premier team of Wildstorm (The Authority) rises a new Stormwatch for the DCnU. As you might expect this team is composed of some serious powerhouses of the former Wildstorm universe now doing their thing in the new main DC Universe, we have a round up of characters willing to go to the very extreme to protect the earth from alien invasions, each with a set of powers that allows them to deal with the kind of interplanetary conflicts that only they can deal with.

We get some familiar faces like Jenny Quantum with the power to make whatever science is up to in the 21ht century; Jack Hawksmoor, the God of Cities; The Engineer, who can talk to any machine courtesy of nine pints of nano-machines for blood; The Projectionist who can control every single form of media in the world and make it do her will. The Martian Manhunter a former mainstay of the Justice League, his secrets seems to be a big part of the direction where the book is going. Then there is Harry Tanner, The Swordsman, a master strategist and a really big liar. In the way to recruitment we have The Midnighter who is basically Batman sans the cape and a very loose set of morals; Apollo, who have almost all of Superman’s powers enhanced by tenfold by his exposure to sunlight. And last but not least is team leader Adam-1 whose job is to raise Jenny Quantum and is doing a terrible job at both charges by having some very heavy memory drifts by years and years of doing the same.

Like the previous incarnation of the team, this is not a club of nice people, they don’t see themselves as superheroes in the sense of the word, they are an independent agency that deal with problems that even the Justice League can’t cope with. In this first storyline they go at war against a very sentient Moon. the natural satellite is set on teaching humanity to defend itself against an upcoming really big threat by unleashing life draining monsters on the surface of the planet, The Swordsman tries to prevent the attack by making the Moon share her knowledge instead, which she refuses to do. When the smoke clears the moon is defeated, a team member dies, another turns traitor and the earth is still at stake. Stormwacht at first might seem like a pale copy of a previous glorious book, but six numbers in, I think it has picked up quite a nice pace, the writing by Paul Cornell and the artwork by Miguel Sepulveda sure helps make the book feel pretty solid. I strongly recommend it!

So I Read Today… Action Comics #5 (vol.2)

Holy Shit this book is AWESOME!, Grant Morrison is going all out with his retelling of Superman origin in the new 52 universe with the best possible talent he could be pared with. So far in what it was their first encounter Lex Luthor managed to give a beating to a very green and inexperienced Superman, only to have his ass handed to him in retribution. In this new number whoever, Grant makes an interlude and goes back to the moment when Jor-El managed to save his son. The story is very familiar: The house of El a scientist family in Krypton have managed to discover that the shifting on the planet magnetosphere is going to destroy it.

With his warnings falling on deaf hears, Jor-El does what he can to save his family attempting to transport them to the phantom zone, only to find that all the Kryptonian criminals sent there are biding their time and waiting for an opportunity to make a break for it. Seeing how his family is being threatened despise the unavoidable fate of Krypton, Jor-El decides to save his only son sending him in a prototype of the Escape Ark to the only planet that will ensure his survival: Earth.

The boy arrives on the planet to be found by the loving and caring couple of John and Martha Kent who are both distraught for the recent loss of an unborn child. Believing the baby to be an experimental being rather than an alien, they take him home and deliver the body of a dead lamb to the army securing the site. A tale told an untold number of times feels like new again at the very capable hand of Morrison with the masterful pencils of Andy Kubert. In the new DC Universe everything old is new again. Enjoy it while it last!

So I Read Today… Ultimate Comics: X-Men #6

I have say that the Ultimate line of books received a whole new breath of fresh air after the relaunch lead by Hickman, Spencer and Bendis. The books reads the same way when they where first launched, with fresh takes on existing characters, Ultimates and Spider-Man have been the best so far for me, but it wasn’t until this issue that X-Men got my attention. Since the relaunch, the characters on X-Men have been direction-less, is more like a group of whiners lamenting about having their world turn upside down by the fact that the mutant gene was man-made thus rendering the race card useless and making every mutant a regular superhero. the fact that Johnny Storm is now a part of the team reflects on this new reality for mutants in the ultimate universe.

The X-Men are no more, they ceased to exist the moment Charles, Cyclops and Wolverine died in Ultimatum, there’s only a band of brats running around saving their fellow mutants. The numbers of the race has been diminished, but there are still enough out there to warrant prevention. That’s the role that accommodates two sides of the same coin, at one side Quicksilver is acting as advisor for the white house offering tecnology to gather mutants for an unknow porpuse. at the other side there is William Striker, a mutant with the ability to talk to machines, complete control over sentinel technology and a penchant for killing other mutants in a zealot religious crusade.

The twist is revealed in this chapter. A figure from the past comes again to establish the X-Men as a force to be reckoned. But is he willing to live with the humans that have almost wiped out his race or he’ll change his ways to ensure the survival of mutant kind? guess we’ll have to read to find out. And I’ll keep doing so as long as Nick Spencer Writes, Paco Medina Illustrates and Rex Locus colors this tale of intrigue.