Volume 27: Captain America: The New Deal

Captain America: The New Deal

Author: John Ney Rieber  |  Illustrator: John Cassaday

"Blood on your hands, they say. As though it stops there. At the wrist. Like a glove."

The New Deal was John Ney Rieber's first Captain America story and the one that launched yet another reboot of the series. It wasn't a good start. It's a heavily politicised post 9/11 story.

I live in the UK. We're not patriotic. It's a generalisation but largely true. We aren't taught allegiance in schools or weaned into it by fraternities and sororities and expected to declare undying loyalty, etc. Being an outsider means I don't know if the view I have of US culture is even remotely close to the real America; it's a view based on media offerings, and we all know their truth to bullshit ratio.

The book embodies what the media tells me, so I can't know how much of it mirrors real sentiment and how much is exaggerated. Irrespective, it's not a very good story. If you strip away the self-reaffirming monologue, the calls for unity and the blatant mollycoddling then there's almost nothing left.

Most of the text is short, broken clauses; the type best reserved for action scenes. When that kind of writing takes up the bulk of a text it disrupts the narrative flow and stops being fun to read.

There's an attempt to show the 'enemy' perspective, but it's uneven. Respect to Rieber for trying, but when Capt resorts to beating down his demonised opponent with words, claiming that at least America doesn't kill children, I was ready to fling the book out the window. I'd like to say it was a clever device to show him naïvely blinded by patriotism, but I really don't think it was. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

John Cassaday's art is fantastic. His depiction of the Captain sifting through rubble, gray dust filling the frame, with a pained sense of failure on his hero's shoulders is beautifully presented, and the action scenes are dynamic. It's a shame that such great work was accompanied by such a problematic text.

The book collects together Captain America Vol 4 #1-6.

Verdict:

Volume 26: Wolverine: Origin

Wolverine: Origin

Authors: Paul Jenkins / Bill Jemas / Joe Quesada  |  Illustrator: Andy Kubert

"There's cruelty in his eyes now, make no mistake. When I catch him looking up at my window, it frightens me."

We've already had the story in which Wolverine got his adamantium skeleton (Volume 12: Wolverine: Weapon X), but this one takes place before that. Like the title says, it's the character's origin story, not his transformation story. It lifts the veil from Logan's past by following him from early childhood, through adolescence and into maturity.

I was hesitant about reading it because the mystery of the character was a large part of his allure. Filling in the blanks was a bold move by Marvel, one that could've sent ripples of derision and disappointment through the fanbase. But, in my opinion, it really paid off. The series is by far one of the best that the House of (regurgitated) Ideas ever commissioned; at least, of the ones that I've experienced to date, which is a small percentage of the publisher's output, to be fair.

Part of the reason it stands head and shoulders above many of the others is because it dares to break free from the typical comic book format. It draws from other sources, primarily classic women's literature. It's Wolvie's story but it unfolds through the eyes of a young girl, who is herself moving from adolescence into maturity.

As the girl sits atop a symbolic hill, her diary entries record her thoughts; they strip Wolverine metaphorically naked, enabling the reader to forget the assumptions and biases formed by his chronologically subsequent exploits. Her observations show him instead as a troubled youth being shaped by a world of divided social class; a world that isn't a happy one for either of them.

The art was coloured straight from Andy Kubert's pencils by Richard Isanove, leaving out the inker completely. The rich candlelit oranges and earthy browns contrasted by dark bluish nights and the cold grey of winter give the book an organic, less rigid appearance that's incredibly complementary to the historical setting. Also, the volume of textless panels versus ones of exposition is balanced expertly, allowing the story's strengths to rise to the surface early on.

The book collects together Wolverine: Origin #1–6.

Verdict:

Volume 25: Spider-Man: Blue

Spider-Man: Blue

Author: Jeph Loeb  |  Illustrator: Tim Sale

"[M]aybe by chance, or maybe God has a sense of humour and we're all part of the joke."

Blue is the story of how Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy fell in love, and of how Peter's life seems to him a pendulum that swings repeatedly from good times to bad times. He tries to rationalise the situation by seeing the bad as being a necessary precursor to the good.

It's split into two distinct time periods that work in tandem.

The first is a confessional memoir narrated by Peter in what I'm going to call the present. It mostly takes the form of text boxes (captions) that sit inside the frame and act like a v/o in a film. They're spoken by a Peter that's endured hardship - a Peter that's developed a deeper understanding of his purpose and the dangers inherent in it.

The second time period is a visual retelling of past events. The art and speech bubbles that make up the majority of the frame depict what happened or was said in the past. They show a Peter early in his career as Spider-Man; he's less mature and therefore less acutely aware of how tragedy can shape and scar an individual.

The past and the present exist as one within the same frame and together they tell the full story.

Even though the pictures fill the majority of the page, it's the captions that carry most of the weight and the reason the story works so well. If they were absent it wouldn't need to be retold. Jeph Loeb tinkers with the original very slightly but there's no major retcon happening. I'm willing to bet that, by the end, more people than not will be glad that he did what he did, particularly if you can relate emotionally.

My belief that the art is respectfully subordinate to the text doesn't mean the art is weak. On the contrary, Tim Sale's style is a perfect match for Loeb's words. His colour-blindness doesn't seem to be a handicap at all. His lines are bold and his blacks are striking.

He seems to have a filmmaker's eye. If his frames were taken verbatim to a screen they would make dynamic eye-candy; most likely even better than any of the live-action Spider-Man films that exist at time of writing.

The book collects together Spider-Man: Blue #1–6.
The events that Blue reference can be found in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #43-48 and 63.

Verdict:

Volume 24: New X-Men: Imperial

New X-Men: Imperial

Author: Grant Morrison  |  Illustrators: Frank Quitely / Ethan Van Sciver / Igor Kordey

"Hey, it's those pesky X-Men."

Now they ask the obvious questions~. I'm not sure if that redeems them or further highlights how blinkered they were before.

Imperial continues the story that began in Volume 23. It's a much bigger book, containing over twice as many issues as before. But like a guy with small feet might say, size is no indication of quality. In fact, Imperial is even less enjoyable than the previous book.

A lesson that has been well-learned countless times before is given another airing: that when you make yourself a target (or someone else makes you one) there's no shortage of people willing to take up arms and cast their stones in your general direction.

As the story grows more and more chaotic it seems as if Morrison was respectfully acknowledging an old way of plotting, but at the same time giving it a new skin to live in. The wild comic book fantasies exist alongside real world concerns, the latter functioning as occasional much-needed grounding to the former.

The Nuff Said! event that I first mentioned in the Volume 22: The Amazing Spider-Man: Revelations and Until the Stars Turn Cold post hit New X-Men at issue #121, which is included. It's interesting.

I fear my eventual scoring will overshadow the books strongest aspect; i.e. the art. I want to draw particular attention to Ethan Van Sciver's backgrounds, all of which are detailed and beautiful.

If Sturgeon's Revelation (aka Sturgeon's Law) is accepted and ninety percent of everything is crap, then statistically team-based adventures make up a sizeable potion of Marvel's ninety percent.

The book collects together New X-Men #118-126.

Verdict:

Volume 23: New X-Men: E is for Extinction

New X-Men: E is for Extinction

Author: Grant Morrison  |  Illustrator: Frank Quitely / Ethan Van Sciver

"...[G]allows humor is currently the only thing keeping us sane."

Both Morrison and Quitely are fully deserving of inclusion in the collection, together they've produced some excellent work (DC's All-Star Superman is a good example), but E for Extinction is neither man's best work; in fact, it's probably some of their worst.

The book's cover neglects to mention that artist Ethan Van Sciver also contributed; he illustrated a full one quarter of the content. I'm not familiar with his work elsewhere, but here his art is detailed and dynamic, and his version of Beast in his current form is excellent.

It's a thin volume, just four issues, but should really have been only three because it's a three-part story. The fourth issue does keep continuity but feels like it doesn't belong, like it should've been moved to the next volume in order to preserve the completeness of this one. I suspect it was added to boost the page count, which, as you'll see, is something that Volume 24 had plenty of already.

The ongoing series having the word 'New' added to its title wasn't the only new thing to happen: it was Grant Morrison's first issue; Professor X got a new sci-fi toy to play with; it was almost the beginning of a new school term; and the team got a new member, which feels rushed and is accepted all too quickly by the remainder of the team, namely Cyclops, Jean, Wolverine and Beast.

A similar criticism can be applied across the board, with many of the major events hurried and failing to make the impact they deserve.

One example is when a lot of people die; because the build-up was lacking I'd no connection to them whatsoever and didn't feel anything when they were snuffed out. It was like crossing items off a list.

I had just as many problems with the relationship side of things. Wolverine and Cyclops cooped up together in a small space had the kind of strained atmosphere you'd expect, but elsewhere a few people were doing things that felt unnatural and forced.

One of the major scenes involves such an action, but the others accepted it when in reality they should've been almost enraged. As it is, they felt false and it pushed me even further away from caring about the plight of those affected. I'm all for changing the X-Men formula because I consider them a boring bunch a lot of the time, but I just wasn't able to connect with what we got.

The book collects together New X-Men #114-117.

Verdict:

Volume 22: The Amazing Spider-Man: Revelations and Until the Stars Turn Cold

The Amazing Spider-Man: Revelations and Until the Stars Turn Cold

Author: J. Michael Straczynski  |  Illustrator: John Romita, Jr.

"You can't beat this by hitting it. It's not that easy. But that doesn't mean you don't try."

The previous Spider-Man story, collected in Volume 21: Coming Home, ended with something that Revelations addresses. It couldn't not, such was the gravity of the situation, but it does it in such a way that the telling of it is as memorable as the reveal itself.

There's a small amount of suited, web-swinging action, but the majority of it is a people story, a quiet but powerful confessional that significantly alters the life and feelings of those involved.

It's the kind of situation that J. Michael Straczynski is really good at. He uses conversational scenes as multifaceted tools, enabling his action scenes to be justifiably interpreted as tests of character as revealed in the personal moments, working as a commentary that's a much better reason for action than is action for its own sake.

Outside of that, Peter is still settling into his new job as a teacher at a high-school. He's attentive to the kids' moods even when they aren't attentive to his lectures. His teaching is more than academic.

Volume 22 also contains Spider-Man's entry in the 'Nuff Said! event that had all of Marvel's major titles for December be without dialogue or exposition. There is some written word in the Spider-Man tale, but none of it is spoken. It highlights the essential role that pacing and spacing have in a story, and it forced people who may overlook such things to sit up and take notice, hopefully in a lasting way.

The second part of the book, the ...Stars Turn Cold part, is less interesting to me than the Revelations part. It returns to the Villain vs Hero format, something that was maybe considered long overdue by some readers who had to wait four weeks between issues.

I know my own mind well-enough to conclude that I'd likely have been less receptive to the change than I actually was if not for the comparative balancing I mentioned previously. In short, the immediate situation needing a resolution meant less time was available for introspection. And while it's true that the two parts collected as they are could be perceived as giving a reader the best of both worlds, the Revelations part is the main reason I'll be keeping the book when the time comes to choose what stays and what goes.

The book collects together The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 2) #37-45.

Verdict:

Volume 21: The Amazing Spider-Man: Coming Home

The Amazing Spider-Man: Coming Home

Author: J. Michael Straczynski  |  Illustrator: John Romita, Jr.

"We tell stories, put on masks, build statues and say prayers to a memory."

Have I mentioned elsewhere that the books were released to shops out of order? I'm not sure. But they were. Volume 21 was the first issue, the one that started TUGNC and set a benchmark for the entire series. It was a hell of a good start! J. M. Straczynski nailed it.

It's about the adult Peter Parker, not the wise-cracking teen. He's separated from his wife, and living in a small apartment. It's a temporary, transitional period, but anyone who's been in that same situation knows that the weeks can become months, even years. If Peter is to bounce back then he'll need to adjust to a new routine.

When not in the suit, Peter has time on his hands to think. JMS uses the time to explore the character's origins: who Peter is, why he is, why he feels like he does, and how he fits into a world that he tries to shape. It's a scenario I can very much relate to; when your own life is shit you sometimes find situations that enable you to improve the life of others, hoping to achieve a kind of universal balance in order to reinforce the belief that the world is worth saving from itself.

In a way, it reworks the character from the ground up, turning the familiar into something new and equally wonderful. It's not a disrespectful approach. The event that changed Peter Parker is exactly the same, but we view it differently, we're given a new plateau upon which to stand and have the benefit of onlooker-hindsight.

That's all I'm willing to say about the story. It's best if you go into it without expectations; not because it won't meet them, but because the story is structured to work upon a reader that way. It's so well-written that I suspect even folks who are unwilling to accept the philosophical side of things will be unable to forget it completely.

As is often the case with J. M. Straczynski's best works, the dilemmas and resolutions have a power that lingers even after the book is closed (or the TV episode ends); the questions and concepts are revisited on a more personal level during the small hours. One such conclusion is that to progress through life it's necessary to use all our available strengths in precise, calculated ways that are tailored to meet each new challenge - but even a perceived weakness can become its own opposite in a time of crisis.

The book collects together The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #30-35.

Verdict:

Volume 20: Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility

Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility

Author: Brian Michael Bendis | Illustrator: Mark Bagley

'I was selfish. So selfish — and you paid the price.'

Marvel were in financial difficulty back in the late 90's. The ULTIMATE line was a make or break concept that saw them reboot some of their most popular franchises for a potential new audience. It was a complete wiping clean of the slate, resetting characters back to day one. They didn't abandon the existing books; the new ones ran concurrently with a separate continuity that kept the core values but left behind all the baggage.
In the case of Spider-Man they made him 15 again; he's an adolescent in an adult world, on the verge of learning real responsibility for his actions. It was the most daring, freshest thing to happen to the character in many, many years. And luckily for Marvel it was instrumental in saving their ass financially.
More titles followed, including Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and an Avengers style team-up called The Ultimates.

Click the drop-down box above for some brief information about the Ultimate line of superheroes and how they fit into the existing Marvel world. It's not essential to what follows, so you can ignore it if you’re not interested or if you already know.

There's no flaffing around in Brian Michael Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man. It introduces the teenage Peter Parker, his friends and family, sets up the relationship he has with each of them and gives a glimpse of the world in which they all exist, then BANG! The spider bite, the transformation, and the crux of the story takes hold.

Comics are often filled with narrative boxes that document what a character is feeling; it gives a reader an insight into the head-space of the hero, but an over-reliance on them can be a crutch. Bendis makes use of them, it's difficult not to, but he keeps them at a minimum in the early stages. What he does instead is revert to a 'show don’t tell' attitude that gives the story a real vibrancy and immediacy; it filled me with a desire to get to the next page as hurriedly as possible, which is the opposite of what I normally do because I like to take in all aspects of the work (construction, style, art, etc).

Artist Mark Bagley understood the approach and fills his panels with everything necessary to communicate the unspoken parts. In just a few pages writer and artist show Peter's isolation, Mary Jane's compassion, Harry Osborn's arrogance, Uncle Ben's paternal longing, and Aunt May's stern but sensitive role-play.

I know Bendis has his haters, but I would argue that when he didn't dilute himself across multiple titles he was damn good at what he did.

If you want a Spider-Man origin story that closely resembles the Sam Raimi film version, and you want a great comic that starts strong and keeps on giving, then Ultimate Spidey is highly recommended.

The book collects together Ultimate Spider-Man #1–7.

Verdict:

Volumes 18+19: Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank (Parts 1+2)

Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank (Parts 1+2)

Author: Garth Ennis  |  Illustrator: Steve Dillon

'By the time he's done, I've passed out half a dozen times, the bullet is almost bitten through, and I'm holding the forty-five so tight the barrel's dripping blood.'

Like the colours of the logo emblazoned on Frank's chest, a lot of writers tend to make their Punisher stories black and white when it comes to motivations. They see the character as either a troubled victim lashing out at the world that created him or as a hopelessly violent sociopath who enjoys what he does and cares little for anything else. Both of those perspectives are in fact true, but there's much more to Frank Castle. There's a psychological depth that can be explored, and when that happens the stories take on a second life.

With that in mind, it made sense to hire writer Garth Ennis to bring Frank back to Earth. Prior to this reboot Frank had been working for a group of angels, killing sinners with ridiculous supernatural weapons. Something had to be done before he disappeared up the ass of incredulity forever. Ennis' love of violence and black humour, and his dislike of traditional 'superhero' stories, seemed like he'd make a perfect fit, but it's not as perfect as it should've been.

It's disappointing that he ignored the potential and instead went all out to make his début on the character as explosive and as violent as possible. Not content with just one vigilante killing people, he added more and butchered dozens. It certainly helped wash away the memory of what came before, but it's far from his best work. His usual black humour is there but smothered under the brutality.

The first half of the book is filled with awful dialogue; e.g. "Well, don’t just stand there! There he is! Get him!" It’s uninspired bad-guy stuff, and henchmen are dumb cannon fodder. I struggled on and the second half of the book saved the day. It had secondary characters worth caring about and when all was said and done it delivered a decent conclusion for everyone involved. Ennis had taken baby steps (in puddles of blood) toward a more interesting Frank.

The art is something else that could've been better. Artist Steve Dillon worked with Ennis years before on the British comic 2000 AD and together they'd created the controversial long-running series Preacher (1995-2000) for Vertigo. My problem with the art isn't Dillon's pencils but Chris Sotomayer’s bland colouring. There's a good chance he was simply working to Marvel's brief, because a lot of their output around that era was similarly boring and lazy, but it doesn't change the fact that the end result is weak.

The book collects together The Punisher Vol 3 #1–12.

Verdict:

Volume 17: Daredevil: Guardian Devil

Daredevil: Guardian Devil

Author: Kevin Smith | Illustrator: Joe Quesada

"I've been blind since I was a child, and as a result,
I've never actually seen the woman who cried herself to sleep in my bed last night."

Guardian Devil isn't a direct sequel to Frank Miller's Daredevil: Born Again story (Volume 08 of TUGNC), but Kevin Smith's version of DD, his treatment of one of the more tortured heroes of the Marvel Universe, was clearly influenced by Miller's work.

It opens with a handwritten letter, a heartfelt confession exposing someone's inner feelings. Ink on paper can be a powerful modifier of a reader's emotional state; comics are ink on paper, too.

The text speaks directly to Matt's inner demons, a part of him that's never far from the surface thanks to his catholic upbringing: the unique feeling of guilt that the Catholic Church creates and nurtures in an individual, requiring them to feed it for life lest they fall from God's grace. For many of the lambs, the tether of conditioning the Church attaches stretches but rarely breaks, strengthening each time the individual is forced to confront their own mortality.

When someone is feeling lonely, lost, or underappreciated, when there's no-one around but they need acknowledgement of their feelings, who else but God can give it to them? Furthermore, just because someone wears a mask, is a symbol of hope for others, it doesn't mean they themselves aren't ever lonely and lost.

A new element is introduced and presumed to be either a form of divine salvation or its opposite, damnation. It's something that either ought to be protected or destroyed. The uncertainty, the pressure on the hero to choose one side or the other, is laid on thick.

Credit where it's due, Smith has some excellent ideas (delving beneath not just the spandex but also the character's skin, into their psyche is a solid basis for storytelling) but his heavy-handedness often undervalues the good work. When the text is being wholly subjective, such as the aforementioned letter, it's not a problem. When it's required to be objective, however, it can feel forced and melodramatic. The finale, in particular, was that way for me. It left me unfulfilled and resolute that, while I feel it was a book worthy of the score given below, I've no desire to read it again.

The book collects together Daredevil (Vol 2) #1-8.

Verdict:

Volume 16: The Mighty Thor: In Search of the Gods

The Mighty Thor: In Search of the Gods

Author: Dan Jurgens | Illustrator: John Romita Jr.

"[T]hough I be a warrior born—'tis time for this battle to end!"

The first chapter (or issue) is an Avengers episode in all but name, which means we have a team-based fight that's all pomp and bores me rigid. Things don't look good for Volume 16.

But as it goes on the focus begins to shift, or rather to divide. A number of determined paramedics, the unsung heroes, attend to civilians that are caught in the crossfire created by the superheroes' battle with villain of the week. The one we're most concerned with is Jake Olsen. Jake's struggle to help the wounded is contrasted with the Avengers' struggle to vanquish the evil, and, unsurprisingly, it's the little guy doing a big job that's the most interesting of the two events. Even though Jake plays a crucial role in the story, that's all I'm willing to say about him because I hate spoilers and to say anything further would be edging into that realm.

Thor's life isn't all roses and cake, either. Asgard lies in ruins. It's one thing to be alone on Midgard, missing the familiarity and the friends of his homeland, but to discover that your home is gone should you ever need to return is something else entirely. He feels orphaned, abandoned, and is driven to find out who caused the destruction of the once great kingdom and why.

Along the way there's plenty of the 'methinks, alas, ye and hath' language use to keep people who enjoy that kind of thing happy. The God of Thunder is even able to speak in different fonts, which is quite a talent. I'm not criticising; it is what it is and it has a purpose. What's important is that it's done well. And credit to Dan Jurgens, at the end of the day, despite the Avengers intruding, Thor's conviction really shines through and that makes it a success.

The book collects together The Mighty Thor (Vol 2) #1-7.

Verdict:

Volume 14+15: Avengers: Forever

Avengers: Forever

Author: Kurt Busiek  |  Illustrator: Carlos Pacheco

"I'm sick of all this mumbo-jumbo!"

While it's not technically a 'crossover' story, it sure as hell feels like one. The Avengers assembled are pulled from different timelines, past, present and future, different versions of the same team with different members, to stop a threat that (of course) only they can.

One of the most prominent threats is a powerful time-travelling villain who's at war with all of the good guys and a future version of himself. Time-hopping, cameo-filled shenanigans quickly get under way, because it's a Marvel team-based story and keeping things rational and simple would make too much sense.

To Kurt Busiek's credit, what could've been a convoluted clusterfuck of timelines and plot threads shitting the bed left, right and centre actually isn't, it's merely a woefully dull epic that I struggled to finish.

Things looked promising when the team was divided in order to investigate happenings that I won't go into, but instead of becoming three focused narratives unfolding concurrently it turned into three more opportunities to have people fighting and occasionally being dicks to each other. Actually, that last part was one of the more entertaining things. The team don't always get along, having brought their era-specific baggage with them when they were dragged through time. The personal relationships are the saving grace in what is otherwise a clever but ultimately soulless tread through some specific parts of Marvel history and continuity.

The text boxes are coloured blue for some weird reason, making it more difficult to read than it ought to be. But the artwork is excellent; Carlos Pacheco you have nothing to be ashamed of, sir.

Volume 14 collects together Avengers: Forever #1-6; Volume 15 collects #7-12.

Verdict:

Volume 13: Marvels

Marvels (1994)

Author: Kurt Busiek | Illustrator: Alex Ross

"I was learning a great deal about the world, and even more about the pain of a forced solitude.
I was aware of everything... understanding nothing."

The individual stories that Marvels was originally envisioned to tell would've been interesting reading, but the unified, multi-layered work that it became is something very, very special. Writer Kurt Busiek cites Tom DeFalco as the man that provided inspiration for turning many ideas into one idea, so kudos also to him.

It revisits iconic comic moments that span 35 years (1939 to 1974) by exploring those events from the perspective of the regular people that were directly affected by them. It's the Everyman story entwined with the story of a world unprepared for the threats that face it.

The eyes and voice of the work belong to Phil Sheldon, a freelance photo journalist. Phil can't climb walls or shoot fire from his fingertips, he can't even protect himself from being swept up by a changing public opinion, but when the superheroes begin to bleed into society he's there to capture it with his camera. Sheldon embodies the fear, awe and confusion that grips a person as they watch two 'Marvels' fighting for dominance, tearing up a city like it was paper.

Flipping the perspective from the heroes and villains to the common man replaced the usual metaphor device with a more overtly relatable truth. It emphasised the choices and consequences forced upon the ordinary citizens thrust into a world they'd no control over.

I wasn't familiar with all of the storylines that played out upon the city like a canvas, but it didn't matter, the book is written in such a way that a lack of knowledge doesn't exclude you from Phil's story. Even if Marvels is the first comic book you've ever read, it still astounds. It's a love song to an age of comics that can never be repeated, and a genre breaking advancement in narrative that works on many levels.

It's also notable for being artist Alex Ross' comicbook début. His fully painted art style is unmistakable. Using people as character models helped capture a sense of dynamic realism. His heroes are truth exaggerated but never twisted into impossible forms.

The book collects together Marvels #0-4.

Verdict:

Volume 12: Wolverine: Weapon X

Wolverine: Weapon X

Author + Illustrator: Barry Windsor-Smith

"When all the secrets are exposed an' all the runnin' ends. Hell… Hell is comin'."

The story of how Logan got his adamantium skeleton. You've maybe read or seen that same event elsewhere in comics or film, but in Weapon X Barry Windsor-Smith, an auteur of the comic world, does it his way. He scripted, sketched, inked and coloured the work; it seems that the only thing he didn't do was the lettering.

It uses the comic book format's strengths in every way. Sure, you could adapt it into a film, but you'd lose most of what makes it special because it's not just the story that makes it memorable. In fact, it's hardly the story at all - it's the structure.

Often when a page is broken up into patterns the positioning of dialogue is what helps us keep track of which panel to go to next. That applies here, too, but it's more complicated because the text boxes are arranged in a stylistic, unconventional manner and sometimes there's more than one voice speaking simultaneously.

A large portion of it is what I'd call background chatter that's functional but hardly revelatory, and it's repetitious. So why is it there? It has a second function: it's arranged in a circular pattern upon the page and in order to advance the story you sometimes have to read widdershins. It's like a clock face that requires you to read it backwards (it's a timer counting down and we know what's going to happen when that timer reaches zero). It's structurally complex but easy to follow in practice. There were only two or three occasions when I was unsure of which panel I was supposed to go to next.

The book collects together Marvel Comics Presents #72–84. The story is also included in The Best of Wolverine, Volume 1 (2004).


Verdict:

Volume 11: The Incredible Hulk: Silent Screams

The Incredible Hulk: Silent Screams

Author: Peter David  |  Illustrator: Dale Keown

"My whole life has been so unbalanced."

The first issue of the arc occasionally goes to some weird places (such as bizarre happenings in a closet), but author Peter David does a fine job in giving us an insight into where the long-gestating relationship between the flawed Bruce Banner and his hulking alter ego is currently at, and why it's crucial for what will follow.

The type of story that it develops into uses the comic format wonderfully, pairing feeling and imagery in such a way that they work in tandem upon the reader (a state of affairs that's equal parts thanks to illustrator Dale Keown), one supporting the other in ways that are sometimes understated and all the more powerful because of it.

At this stage in the Banner/Hulk relationship the transformations are mostly under control, coinciding with the day/night cycle; i.e. during the day the Banner persona is the dominant one, whereas at night the Gray Hulk takes over. Green Hulk is repressed by both.

The communication between the personalities of Banner and Gray allows for a number of interesting parallels in both the astral plane and physical world, separately and together. (e.g. while Banner's friends fight to stop a threat in the physical world, he's deep in his psyche fighting for control of his conflicting emotions). Quite often the dramatic use of colour during those times is excellent.

There's a number of timely light-hearted moments and even a few stupid ones, but overall it's a mature story that'll have the biggest impact upon individuals who understand that maintaining personal relationships is difficult; to take trust to a higher level it's necessary to willingly give a part of yourself, an act that weakens you while also strengthening a different but interdependent side – in short, it changes the individual. Someone with a fractured psyche, someone such as Banner who's fought to attain a kind of equilibrium (a shaky one), has every reason to need the trust but fear the change.

The book collects together The Incredible Hulk (Vol 1) #370-377.

Verdict:

Volume 10: The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

Author: J. M. DeMatteis  |  Illustrator: Mike Zeck

"Don't fear me. Love me. For I intend to bless you. With pain. And blood. And Sorrow. Tonight."

I didn't expect it to be very good because Kraven hasn't held much of an allure for me in the past, but Kraven's Last Hunt turned out to be one of the finest Spider-Man stories I've ever read. Hell, it's one of the finest comics I've ever read. J. M. DeMatteis crafted a dark tale of personal suffering, full of symbolism and primal longings that puts many of the other writers on the Marvel roster to shame.

One of the reasons it works so well is because there's very little dialogue. Often writers use dialogue to bridge the gaps between small parts or to lengthen action scenes. There's no such trickery herein. Instead, there are inner monologues to tell the story; they really get inside the head of each of the three main players: Spider-Man (obviously) and two very different antagonists.

It struck me that reading KLH feels like reading a Noir text, but not any Noir that I've ever encountered before. Neither Spade nor Marlowe could climb walls for a start.

Quite often whole pages go by with no text at all because it's not needed. The imagery from Illustrator Mike Zeck is able to deliver everything we need to follow the drama. His work oozes dynamic movement and pace. The colouring paints everything with a shadowy, other-worldly brush. The colours act like a kind of curtain or a veil that gets pushed aside just enough to let the person behind it act out their role. It's a truly collaborative effort between writer, inker and colourists, and no one part would be as powerful on its own.

With a little help from William Blake and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, DeMatteis presented us with an enduring tale of men fighting for their sanity in a world that seems destined to take it away from them piece by piece. It deserves a place on every comic fan's shelf.

The book collects together Web of Spider-Man #31-32, The Amazing Spider-Man #293-294,
and Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132.

Verdict:

Volume 09: The Amazing Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

The Amazing Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

Authors: Tom DeFalco / Louise Simonson / David Michelinie  |  Illustrators: Ron Frenz / Greg Lo Rocque / Todd McFarlane

"Sometimes I feel like I have absolutely no control over my own life!"

Peter Parker returned from Battleworld (Vols 06+07: Secret Wars) on a high, thrilled that he survived the ordeal (he only had to live it – we had to read it) and with his newly acquired black costume intact, but it doesn't take long before the reality of being Spider-Man brings him back down to Earth. He's forced to take stock of his situation and his relationship with Felicia Hardy, aka The Black Cat, a woman who understands the importance of having a secret identity.

Getting back to a more traditional one-on-one conflict after the cluster-fuck that was SW was actually welcome. Spider-Man is being hunted by a villain with an ability that can track the hero over long distances, so no matter how fast or how cunning Peter may be his avoidance of a final and decisive bout is only a matter of time.

His life continues to have its usual ups and downs for a while before the Venom character gets properly introduced. The slow build is never boring, though, because amid the usual comic-book shenanigans there's some tender times and some hard-hitting moments, the best of which comes courtesy of Mary Jane Watson. Even if you're not a fan of M.J. (I'm not) it can't be denied that Tom DeFalco used her well, splitting our sympathies between the confessor and the shoulder being cried upon. Sterling work, sir.

With that in mind, I feel it's unfair that only Michelinie and McFarlane get their names on the cover. They're responsible for only one of the included issues (The Amazing Spider-Man #300), whereas Louise Simonson scripted one and Tom DeFalco was responsible for five.

When Venom finally appears in all his blackened glory the stakes are raised even higher. He's not yet been given the sharpened teeth that he sports on the cover, meaning his toothy grin is at times almost comical, but he still manages to be menacing in all the best ways and push Spider-Man to ever greater levels of desperation.

To keep the page count to an acceptable level and get the reader to the money-shot sooner there's a lot of 'black-suited' Spider-Man issues omitted, which is a shame because there's some good stuff not included, such as the four-part The Death of Jean DeWolff. But overall, what's present is quality that should please most fans of the original friendly neighbourhood web-slinger.

The book collects together The Amazing Spider-Man #252, 256-259, 300.

Verdict:

Volume 08: Daredevil: Born Again

Daredevil: Born Again

Author: Frank Miller | Illustrator: David Mazzucchelli

'I shouldn't call him Matt. Give the man his due. He's wearing the tights. He's Daredevil. The man without fear.'

Frank Miller returned to the series that he'd worked on years before to give Daredevil a new perspective. To do that he dragged Matt Murdock through a hellish descent into paranoia and destitution, stripping the much-loved character of everything that was important to him so that he could be born anew.

If your only experience of Daredevil is the steaming turd filmed version then you won't know how deeply profound his struggles can be. Murdock exists in a world of darkness, literally. His costumed side, Daredevil, strives to combat the evil that arises from the darkness in men's hearts. The religious aspect of the light at the end of the hero's struggle plays a key role in his journey through hardship.

Even though it's mostly self-contained, the Born Again storyline isn't the best place to jump on board because it's really the ending of a larger story, a string of events that are all now meeting in one place.

Interestingly, it's more akin to a crime novel than a superhero comic. Outside of Miller's own Sin City his affectatious hard-boiled dialogue can seem awkward and ill-fitting, but not so with Daredevil, it fits beautifully (except for his usual excessive use of dashes and unnecessary ellipsis points that drive me crazy).

It's a well-crafted story with only minor flaws, the most prominent being the themes that Miller wants to comment on tend to overshadow the characters. With the exception of Matt, the story isn't happening to the characters. Instead, the characters are shuffled around within a rigid framework to advance the writer's goal, and when it comes to the crunch Miller backs down a little. Perhaps he was unsure of the answer to the problem and hoped the act of writing would clarify it for both him and us? Unfortunately, it doesn't, at least not in the way I'd hoped for.

Of course, you can view it from the other perspective and say that what he did was shift from the personal to the public. But either way it robs Daredevil of the intimate resolution that I craved. If the ending had been as gripping and as satisfying as the build-up, then I'd have scored it a perfect 5 out of 5; it misses out on that narrowly.

The book collects together Daredevil #227-231.

Verdict:

Volume 06+07: Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars

Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars

Author: Jim Shooter  |  Illustrators: Mike Zeck / Bob Layton

"You remind me of a lady bouncer I used to know."

The first arc in the series to feature a large crossover event and also the first to be split over two volumes. That's as exciting as it gets.

A powerful entity whisks a bus-load of heroes and villains away from their usual surroundings and deposits them on an alien world to do battle. Many of the good guys can be seen on the cover of the book (left), so I won't go over them all again. The bad guys are Dr Doom, Doctor Octopus, Ultron the Gobshite, and a few more B-Listers that would get paid buttons if it was a film and not a comic they were in.

By the end of Part 1 (Volume 06) I was of the opinion that maybe the Secret War should've stayed secret, like a shame, because it hadn't managed to do anything worthwhile in that time. It was originally a monthly comic, so after six issues (six months!) you'd expect at least something worth the time taken to collect and read them. Nope.

It mentions in the back on the book that it was originally conceived as a way to promote a joint Marvel and Mattel toy line (Mattel were the folks who produced Masters of the Universe). The actual story was a secondary concern. That explains a lot. It's a multi-part advert.

Rarely does anyone just speak in Marvel comics, they exclaim everything. When dialogue flows nicely it can detract from the overuse, but SW's is so awful that it heightened my awareness of it. I didn't hunt for the best example to prove a point, I simply chose one random page and this is what I got: two people in a room together, no one else around, six panels of equal size, twenty-five exclamation marks. There's a fine line between adding drama and being outright ridiculous. Jim Shooter left that line in tatters. It's fucking stupid.

When it was time to read Part 2 (Volume 07) I was close to despondency but determined to continue. And, thank the gods of turnaround, things improved. The fighting was still tedious but wasn't always just filler - there was actual consequences this time, some of which were continued into each hero's respective individual title. A few of the protagonists even had their emotional state altered or affected. Bloody hell! Secret Wars had justified it's existence. (But that doesn't exonerate it, because it's still crap and could've easily achieved the same result in 6 or 7 issues.)

Volume 06 collects together Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars #1-6; Volume 07 collects #7-12.

Verdict:

Volume 05: Thor: The Last Viking

Thor: The Last Viking

Author and Illustrator: Walt Simonson

"I live! The heat revives me. Yet I am broken inside."

The beginning of a four-year run on the series for author and illustrator Walt Simonson starts out shaky, but by the midway point has built itself a solid platform from which to scream, "I'm damn memorable, after all!"  After that point it changes focus to a less interesting situation, but overall remains stronger than its beginnings.

In Simonson's hands the hitherto unknown alien enemy that goes up against the thunder-chump eclipses the hammer-wielding hero in how remarkable he turns out to be. For me, so too did the thoughtful Balder, despite his substory being small. And, not to be outdone, the Allfather also comes across as more engaging than his son. All of which leaves Thor's star somewhat deflated by the end. But that's okay because the storytelling is what's most important, which is something that Simonson proves he's clearly good at.

He also did the art. I'm guessing he's either a wizard able to generate more hours in his day than the rest of us or he simply never sleeps.

The version of the story presented in the book is the recoloured edition. I'd prefer they didn't do that to important works, but, in all honesty, besides a few lazy gradient fills the result is fantastic, remaining respectful to the amazing art while breathing new life into the environments. The quality paper stock used by the publisher really does the restoration justice. I still believe that it was an unnecessary step, but it didn't make me twitch as much as it usually does, although that's perhaps because I'm not much of a Thor fan to begin with.

I'm sad that I might never get to read some of what's hinted at in future issues, in particular the journey undertaken by Lady Sif and her companion, and the continuation of the aforementioned Balder story.

The book collects together The Mighty Thor #337-343.

Verdict:

Volume 04: Wolverine: Wolverine

Wolverine: Wolverine

Author: Chris Claremont  |  Illustrator: Frank Miller

'I'm the best there is at what I do. But what I do best isn't very nice.'

In a remarkable and uncharacteristic feat of memory, I still recall the first time I heard the name 'Wolverine'. I was around ten-years-old. My neighbour, a year older than me, was raving about a new issue of a comic he'd picked up. It was most likely an X-Men comic, I don't recall that part, but the name 'The Wolverine' stuck in my mind even though I'd never seen the character and all I had to go on was that he was a short guy with retractable claws. The name was enough for my mind to fill in the blanks. And the fact that he was being referred to as The Wolverine, with a definite article attached, made it even cooler.

Many months passed (a long time to a kid) before I actually saw the character in action on the pages of my own comic and, even more remarkably, Wolvie lived up to the image I'd created of him.

Chris Claremont's four-issue miniseries (published Sept-Dec 1982) was Logan's first solo title and quickly became one of his most seminal adventures. In an introductory scene written in a first-person narrative he successfully establishes Logan's strong personality, animal instincts, mutant healing ability and draws attention to his struggle to balance savagery and violence with compassion.

Besides the customary catch-up monologue at the beginning of each issue for the people who missed the previous one, the author doesn't waste words on unnecessary exposition. He creates events that cause Wolverine to quickly question, conclude and act according to his nature, at a pace that keeps the drama thundering along. The result is a book that could be turned into a novel with minimal effort.

But if that happened then we'd miss out on Frank Miller's art. His seeming preference for small panels that tell a big story are a perfect fit to Claremont's precise wording. Many of the angles used are in a filmic style, guiding the reader's eye from one panel to the next like a good movie editor would do for live footage. To keep things interesting Miller throws in a few silhouette shots, double page tussles, and other things that are best experienced first-hand.

The book collects together Wolverine #1-4.

Verdict:

Volume 03: Captain Britain: A Crooked World

Captain Britain: A Crooked World

Author: Alan Moore | Illustrator: Alan Davis

"I hit one of you and ten of you get nose-bleeds! What are you people?"

Author extraordinaire Alan Moore's only work for Marvel was for their Marvel UK imprint. For too short a time he took over author duties of the unimaginatively named Captain Britain.

The bearded-one plays it safe for the first few issues, but being Moore means he can't contain himself for long. Early in his run he chucked the manual out the window, rewrote the character's origin story in a convincing manner, making the manipulative Merlyn and his daughter Roma more instrumental in decision making, and turned the Captain into a fully fledged Moore-esque character. It turned out to be just what was needed to revive the series. At times it feels like an episode of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He even slips in a vision of a dystopian England, much like his V for Vendetta (1988).

It's very British. The Captain gets deeply frustrated when things don't turn out as expected, and characters display the quirks that define the quintessential Englishman. However, rather than reinforce stereotypes it succeeds in turning them into comical strengths. More than once I found myself in hysterics at the behavioural traits of the group.

The villains are equally ridiculous, with names to match: The Omniversal Majestrix Saturnyne; the Special Executive; the Avant Guard; and Jim Jaspers (with a name like that it sounds like he should be teaching high school Chemistry, not destroying entire worlds).

As the scripts got more insane so too did artist Alan Davis' panels grow more adventurous. Some of the expressions he uses are really fantastic. It's refreshing to see someone break from a regular routine and admirably rise to meet a challenge.

A Crooked World is noteworthy for also featuring the first appearance of the Captain's twin sister, Betsy Braddock, who works for S.T.R.I.K.E, the British version of S.H.I.E.L.D. You maybe know the purple-haired Betsy better as Psylocke of the X-Men.

The book collects together stories from Marvel Super-Heroes (UK) #387-388, Daredevils #1-11,
and Mighty World of Marvel V2 #7-13.

Verdict:

Volume 02: Uncanny X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Uncanny X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Author: Chris Claremont  |  Illustrator: John Byrne

"I can pick your mind clean in the blink of an eye — "

I like the X-Men, but not to the extent that I'm unable to acknowledge the collective's many flaws. Scott Summers is a bore. Jean Grey is overpowered. Wolverine overshadows all the others. (Actually, that last point is also a strength; they'd be less interesting without him.)

It's only my second post and already I'm going against popular opinion because, as you've probably guessed, Volume 02 is mostly about Jean and while it's much-loved by fans of Jean it bores the shit out of me.

John Byrne's art is excellent and there's a potentially great storyline smothered beneath the rigid text, but it's a victim of the Marvel need to make the team seem more mature by having them be super-serious even during times of outright stupidity. That approach coupled with the usual complex-nearing-convoluted events that have come to define the X-Men series over the years make it difficult to connect to the characters. Or maybe that applies only to me? I don't know. I read the book twice to try and overcome any kind of unfair dislike that I may have unconsciously created. It didn't help. It mostly served to make me cringe even more at the overuse of self-commentary.

Some positives to end with: Prior to the book's central arc, Jean had died but hadn't, the team were killed but weren't, and the world was saved. Because together they're so powerful, a pattern develops where over time the enemies have to get bigger and stronger in order to seem threatening. For a while the primary villain in the Dark Phoenix saga instead goes smaller, attacking from afar, quietly and unnoticed. It was absolutely the correct approach to take in order to achieve the specific goal that the author was hoping to address.
I thought the design of the Black Queen was fantastic.
Wolverine is seen reading Penthouse; that's good characterisation.

The book collects together Uncanny X-Men #129-137.

Verdict:

Volume 01: Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle

Authors: David Michelinie / Bob Layton  |  Illustrators: John Romita, Jr. / Carmine Infantino

"I'd grown up in a small town that'd grown up into a big city. They called it 'progress'. I called it a shame."

If you read the books in their final numbered order, as opposed to the strange order they were released to shops and subscribers, then the collection kicks off with a 'Bronze Age' Iron Man tale exploring Tony Stark's alcoholism. Damn billionaire first world problems, eh, Stark?

Lightly incorporating real-world problems into fictional settings had proved beneficial to the stories of other Marvel heroes, but it was time to take it to another level. That goal was achieved with Iron Man.

It helped the man who could buy an island if he chose to seem a little more relatable. All it required of the reader was a putting aside of external trappings and a focus on the underlying fragility of the man beneath the impenetrable suit. In short, an understanding that the suit protects Tony from harm but in no way protects Tony from Tony.

Before it can get to the heart of the topic, however, it has to satisfy the story-telling devices and expectations of the era, which it does in exaggerated comic-book style with action that's fast-paced and at the upper end of the 'super heroics' scale (i.e. ridiculous but fun).

The spoken dialogue and thought bubbles are standard stuff for the most part, but Michelinie and Layton occasionally put more effort into what's placed in the text boxes; at times they're like something you'd expect to find in a novel, not a mass market off-the-shelf comic from 1979, which was the year it was first published.

The chapter from which the collection takes its name doesn't appear until the end, but, in hindsight, much of what happens prior to it is affected by the root cause, i.e. the 'demon' of the title, and even allows for both it and the 'bottle' to be interpreted in different ways.

The book collects together Invincible Iron Man #120-128.

Verdict: