Review: Dark Avengers #1

(WARNING: If you don't want pretty much this entire issue to be spoiled for you, read the comic before you read this post.)

Wow. If I had to sit through the schlock that was Secret Invasion just to get to Dark Avengers #1 than that was a small price to pay.

I like Brian Michael Bendis, I do. But he's hot and cold with me. I either think it's really good or not good at all. I think his strengths are also his weaknesses. But when BMB is on he's really fucking on and no one can touch him.

Here- he's really fucking on.

Dark Avengers #1 deals with the aftermath of Secret Invasion. Tony Stark is no longer in power as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Avengers, replaced by Norman Osborn. S.H.I.E.L.D. is quickly dismantled in favor of H.A.M.M.E.R. Now all that's left for Norman to figure out is who should make up the new Avengers team.

Here's the new cast:

Ares (played by Ares)
Sentry (played by Sentry)
Ms. Marvel (played by Moonstone after Carol Danvers rejects Norman's offer)
Hawkeye (played by Bullseye!)
Wolverine (played by Daken- Logan's pissed off son!)
Symbiotic Spider-Man (played by Venom!)
Captain Marvel (played by Noh-Varr)
and The Iron Patriot (played by Norman Osborn himself)

It was a real joy to read through this issue and see how each encounter between Norman and his team picks plays out. I'm especially excited to see Daken here. I was reading Wolverine Origins for a while and I really felt like he could be an epic character in the right hands.

I kept hearing how Bendis had ideas for Secret Invasion a long time ago and his whole time working on the Avengers titles was building up to that point. I would like to think that Dark Reign will be his true masterpiece, but he just had to set the groundwork with Secret Invasion. I guess I might be raving a little too much for only having read one issue, but this one issue is just that good.

All in all I think this is a genius idea by Bendis and I hope he keeps bringing the awesome. I had a lot of fun reading this all the way through and when it was over I immediately wanted more. That's always a good sign.


P.S. - Mike Deodato REALLY wants Tommy Lee Jones to play Osborn in some kind of superhero movie:



- TFM

omg spoilerz, plz! to Hollywood: Please do not fuck up the Preacher movie

More tidbits about that Preacher movie has surfaced on the nets. The news comes from Newsarama via Variety that John August will be handling the screenplay.

What's on John Augusts resume? Let's take a look:

Charlie's Angels (uh oh)
Minority Report - uncredited rewrite (I don't blame him for wanting to be uncredited)
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (uh oh, pt. II)
The Rundown - uncredited rewrite (with The Rock?!)
Big Fish (ok, that's not bad)
Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (fuck guys, we might be in trouble here)

Well, at least Newsarama is keeping a positive attitude. Oh wait:

"In the "things that make you go huh?" category, the trade describes the project as: centers on the preacher of a Texas town who is struggling to get by and is driven only by his strong moral sense. When the city is decimated by an otherworldly force, he embarks on a journey across the country to take on the evil. It's unclear if that's the studio's description of the storyline, or Variety's, but in either case it's...different than what was in the comics, as the years long storyline kicked off when Jesse Custer, a small-town Texas Preacher was imbued with the Voice of God during a church service, and the members of his congregation were killed. This kicks off a cross-country and ultimatley worlds wide search for God, physical rather than metaphorical."

What the shit is going on here? Listen Hollywood- you can fuck up Superman. You can make a shitty Spider-Man sequel. You can play grab ass with Marvel characters like Daredevil and Ghost Rider all day long. But do not- DO NOT - fuck with Preacher.

Consider yourself on notice.

P.S. At least Sam Mendes is still listed as director. We can cling to that for the time being.

- TFM

Preacher Book One Hardcover set for June 24th release

Preacher is one of the great comic book stories of our time. If you haven't read it June 24th is a great time to start, as they will be releasing the first twelve issues collected for the first time in a hardcover format.

I'm sure these will look beautiful, but my bookshelf would look so much more badass if DC / Vertigo would release Absolute Editions. Maybe someday!

The deets:

PREACHER BOOK ONE HC
Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillon
Cover by Glenn Fabry

“Features more blood and blasphemy than any mainstream comic in memory. Cool.” — Entertainment Weekly

Available for the first time in hardcover, preacher Jesse Custer begins his dark journey to find God, in this volume collecting PREACHER #1-12, plus pinups from PREACHER #50 and #66. After merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Texan preacher Jesse Custer has become completely disillusioned with the beliefs to which he had dedicated his entire life. Now possessing the power of “the word,” an ability to make people do whatever he utters, Custer begins a violent and riotous journey across the country. Joined by his gun-toting girlfriend Tulip and the hard-drinking Irish vampire Cassidy, Custer loses faith in both God and man as he witnesses dark atrocities and improbable calamities during his exploration of America. This new collected edition features an all-new introduction by series writer Garth Ennis.

Advance-solicited; on sale June 24 • FC, 352 pg, $34.99 US • Mature Readers

(This was originally pointed out to me by the fine people over at CBR)

- TFM

Comic Scalpers Make Me Feel Sick

I feel like it's 1999, rather than 2009.

From Newsarama:

"As we noted on Wednesday, the Amazing Spider-Man “Obama issue” frenzy escalated quickly on that home of quick escalations: eBay. Surveying the scene today, we see that there are presently approximately 1,117 listings for Amazing Spider-Man #583.

After you get past some of the insanely inflated Buy It Now listings, which includes a $10,000 listing for a SpidermanObama domain name, you’ll see that bidding seems to be topping out at around $86 for a single, ungraded, unsigned, variant copy. One can find signed copies fetching over $125, or cleverly pre-sold packages of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd variant printings together for more. It seems that while the number of high-priced Buy It Nows have grown, they aren’t moving for, say, $500 a pop. At this point, the $80 to $90 seems to be the top end.

The top sales prices will probably cool off by next week, as people who just want any copy as a “historical document” of sorts will likely just be happy to own a 2nd or 3rd printing. The speculators have already been in, and, based on Buy It Nows, a number of them will seemingly just be holding the bag. Let’s hope they won’t need a bailout."

I urge everyone out there who wants this as a collectors item to wait for additional printings that you will be able to pick up for around $2.99.

I got nothing against First Printings. In fact I love them. Like when I found a first printing of The Killing Joke at Secret Headquarters a few weeks back. But for me it's the idea of having a copy of the original comic. One that hit the shelves the first week it was available back in the 1980's and traveled who knows where to find a cherished spot in my comic collection.

But the fact that people are actually convincing themselves that they need to spend $90 a pop for a comic that just came out this week (and for one that I hear isn't really very good, much like more or less the last decade of Spider-Man books that took place in continuity) is actually quite baffling. The fact that people looking to turn $2.99 into $90, people who NEVER set foot into a comic shop unless they know they can somehow turn a certain issue into a frenzy that will pad their pocket, people that want to take advantage of the fact that this nation (and the world) are actually excited about the political climate in America for the first time in eight years...it's just, well, fucked up.

People- channel your inner Palin and say "Thanks but no thanks" to this false hype. Save your $90 and put it under your mattress or put it towards something that you actually need during these bleak financial times.

That's all.

- TFM

christmas comes twice

today i pulled Nate Powell's swallow me whole out of the stack of graphic novels i got for christmas. swallow me whole observes a family in which three of it's members, a sister, her brother and their grandmother, are all being effected by some degree of mental illness. Powell moves from relatable to surreal easily, and presents a very unique dynamic between the two siblings and their understanding of their condition.
thanks jason! merry christmas!

stuff i paid for:

doktor sleepless 11
no hero 3
gravel 7
anna mercury 5
the sword 14
the walking dead 57
the boys 26
invincible iron man 9
cable 10
detective comics 852
the sandman: the dream hunters 3
superman/supergirl maelstrom 5
trinity 32
the haunted tank 2
solomon gundy faces of evil special
blue monday: thieves like us 1

the boys 26-REALLY liking the current arc, despite the darick roberston size whole in the art department. as much as i'm enjoy the current x-men line, few things please me more than busting their over-hyped balls.

speaking of... something cliche happens in cable 10, but i'm not holding it against them. it's still the best version of the character i've ever read, though the competition is slim. The x-men have become a nice supporting cast, fighting bishop as he wages war against cable in the distant future.

and though it isn't new this week, i need to rectify the fact that i haven't mentioned the awesomeness of madame xanadu before. for some reason i find myself forgetting about this book except for when it's in my hands, but have put down each issue feeling nothing but impressed. it's the most interesting script from wagner in a long time, coupled with an art team perfect for the early history of the character. i also never expected to read will-they-won't-they romantic tension involving the phantom stranger... the fucking phantom stranger! you've got good taste mr. woodrue.
have a good week everybody,
negative man

Found: Grip: The Strange World of Men #1 - 5

Found this at Secret Headquarters last week. It's a Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets, Sloth) Vertigo mini from 2002. No real idea what it's about but the covers are cool, the art is cool, it's from Vertigo and it's Gilbert Hernandez. So it's mine now.

I did find a Wired article about it. Here's a tidbit:

Mike Chang and his skin lead separate lives. That's the setup for Gilbert Hernandez's latest comic feat, Grip: The Strange World of Men. From there, the miniseries follows the tragic hero's travels in a classic mélange of fantasy, noir, comedy, and sci-fi. The fifth and final issue is due out in March.

Issue one drops the reader into a contemporary city full of freaks, poseurs, and trigger-happy gangsters. After a series of confusing encounters, Chang and his skin part company. How and why this happens are unclear, but the last panel foreshadows what's to come: A gap-toothed little girl with an eye patch frolics with Chang's floppy epidermis, which is drawn in a cheery style.

Sounds delightful. As far as I can tell Vertigo never collected this in trade form, so either I have happened on a hidden treasure or, well it's just not that good. Smart money is on the first option. I'll try to read it over the weekend and give you a review early next week.

- TFM

Review: No Hero #3

(Please note: This is NOT the official cover to No Hero #3. I wasn't able to find a nice sized image of it and damn it, I needed to put something up there so you can see the pretty art)

Holy hell, I think No Hero is officially my favorite comic from the last 3 - 5 years.

When we last left The Front Line Joshua had just been given FX7, the super human drug, and locked in a room by Carrick Masterson to let it run it's initial 12 hour course. The last page of issue #2 really only offered a glimpse of the horror that he had in store. Aside from the first page of #3 which has a quick glimpse of an interview with an individual comparing the practices of Carrick Masterson to Aleister Crowley, the next 8 pages are void of any dialogue. Instead we get four separate splash pages that take us along for the ride on the FX7 journey. Despite being only two comic book weeks into 2009, it equates to probably the most awe inspiring and bizarre art you will see this year. Juan Jose Ryp's pencils continue to be detailed, imaginative and disturbing.

What else happens this ish? Another key member of The Front Line bites it, Carrick tells the rest of the team a story of what happened in Chechnya when they discovered something called Disgel that can eliminate super humans with ease by essentially dissolving human tissue and they widdle down the cause of the attacks on the team to either the Russians, the Chinese, the Russians AND the Chinese or every single person they have pissed off since their inception in the 1960's. Oh- and Joshua wakes up from his post-FX7 operation and discovers his skin is falling off and his vomiting hasn't subsided.

This issue went by very fast but the story is still moving along quite nicely. Seriously guys, I can't talk this one up enough. It gives me that tingle in my stomach that I haven't felt while reading comics since I was a kid. If you are for some reason resisting picking this series up, then you really need to reevaluate why you even read comic books in the first place.

- TFM