Welcome back to This Week in Marvel Comics; a series of articles that I try
and write once a week where I review the latest entries in Marvel comics that I
read regularly or a new Marvel comic that I decided to give a shot. This week we shall be looking at the latest
issues of Guardians of the Galaxy, Uncanny X-Men and the new Secret Wars
series Spider-Verse, Secret Wars: Battleworld, and Planet Hulk and see just how well the
writers have done their jobs this week.
So without further delay, let’s take a look.
Guardians of the Galaxy #27
Guardians
of the Galaxy has been without a doubt one of the best series to come out
of the Marvel Now! lineup, featuring great if not deep storylines, fantastic
humor, great character interaction, fantastic artwork and a number of great
temporary members, such as Iron Man, Angela, Captain Marvel and Venom who all
add a significant amount of fun chemistry to the team, all helped by fantastic
artwork that is always detailed, creative and fun. Unfortunately, like the various series’ I reviewed
last week, the shadow of Secret Wars looms over this comic and it suffers as a
result both within the actual writing of the comic and within the reader’s mind
as well as they will know the fate of several of the characters in the comic.
Taking place after the Black Mirror crossover event, Peter
Quill finds himself engaged to Kitty Pride, (if you’re ever at a con with Chris
Claremont ask him about that and you’ll be sure to get a laugh), and unexpectedly
the elected leader of his home planet, Spartax after he helped oust his father
from rule. With his fellow Guardians in
tow, he hesitantly decided to, at the very least, see what this position may
have to offer. Unfortunately, right as
he is getting settled in, Spartax is literally attacked by another planet,
(aren’t comics great?!?!), and this issue finds the Guardians fighting off said
attack and that’s about it. The whole
issue is one prolonged action sequence where all the characters fight off alien
invaders in the usual badass ways that we’ve come to expect from them with
great artwork that perfectly depicts what is going on with depth and consistent
quality. While this is satisfying in its
own right it doesn’t really do much plot wise outside of wrapping up a cliff
hanger that was brought up last issue.
Character wise, the issue fares a
lot better. One of the series’ biggest
strengths has always been its character interactions and how well they work off
one another and in this issue it’s on in full force with the characters trading
witty banter as they fight off hordes of invaders. However, the real meat of the issue comes
from Gamora, Star Lord and Kitty who all have to come to terms with what
Quill’s becoming the leader of Spartax will mean. Gamora, for example has to deal with very
real issue that she once served Thanos and that baggage will inevitably go with
her no matter where she goes as Quill and Kitty have to decide if his being in
charge of Spartax is the best thing and what it will mean for their
relationship. Unfortunately, the actual
impact of this is a bit lost as we all know the Marvel Universe ended two weeks
ago and it makes much of this feel pointless as a result.
In the end, this issue is decent but
doesn’t really seem to go anywhere outside of wrapping up a cliffhanger from
the last issue and setting up the stage for Star Lord and Kitty’s future
relationship but it’s all undercut by Secret Wars that renders much of this
feeling superfluous. Perhaps it will pay
off a bit more in the long term and will raise my opinion of this issue, but
for now it’s just kind of an okay issue in an otherwise great series.
Verdict
Browse
Uncanny X-Men #34
Uncanny
X-Men #34 is probably the first issue I’ve read in a while that manages to
escape the cloud of Secret Wars
hanging over its head as the fates of many of its characters have yet to be
determined. Like many issues released
lately, it’s a comic that features a main story that is mostly self-contained
but still draws on events that happened in previous issues as its
foundation. Earlier in the series it was
revealed that Mystique had been harvesting mutant growth hormones from Dazzler
and selling it on the black marker by keeping her in a chemically induced coma
while pretending to be her, taking up her position as a mutant liaison for
S.H.I.E.L.D. Ultimately, she was rescued
by Magneto in the events that sparked his solo series, but hasn’t really be
heard from up until now. The issue in of
itself focuses on her convincing Maria Hill to allow her to go after Mystique
and the inevitable confrontation between the two as she tries to set an example
for the mutants who had been introduced throughout the Uncanny X-Men series.
Ultimately this issue is
serviceable. Like many other issues that
have come out lately, it really isn’t doing anything all that new or innovative
and seems to be around mostly to wrap up a story arc that should have been done
months ago. I’ve never really been a big
fan of Dazzler and really didn’t care all that much when she fell off the radar
so this wasn’t really a story I was dying to read and there really wasn’t any
kind of build up to it throughout the series or any real indication that she
needed to confront Mystique in order to move on with her life. The only thing that it really seems to
contribute to the series in the long term is what she will do now that this is
over and what the younger X-Men will do now that Scott Summers has disbanded
their team.
The art department is nothing to
write home about. The art direction in
this series has never been the best but here it seems to really stick out more
than ever with the characters and backgrounds lacking any kind of depth or
details, as if the artist was short on time.
This is not helped at all by the fact that the color pallet is noticeably
dark and just seems to suck the energy out of the entire issue.
In the end, Uncanny X-Men #34 is just a serviceable issue. It’s not bad by any means but it doesn’t do
anything to make it stand out. Dazzler’s
ark with Mystique is serviceable but not all that emotionally driven or original
in the way they go about it and on the whole the issue only seems to be doing
anything interesting on the last two pages when the newer X-Men are trying to
decide where their fates lay. All
around, like many other comics to come out lately, it’s just okay.
Verdict
Browse
Spider-Verse #1
Very much like Secret Wars #2, Spider-Verse
#1 is clearly a world building issue; one that is meant to set up the world and
its apparent rules and setting up the foundation for future stories as opposed
to telling a complete story in of itself.
Unfortunately, like Secret Wars
#2, it’s not really clear why this place exists and the comic itself does very
little to explain, but I’ll try and explain as best I can with what information
I have. As mentioned in my review of Secret Wars #2, this world, known as
Battleworld is ruled over by Doctor Doom who allows various barons to rule over
various “kingdoms” that stretch all across the world but all seem to be made up
of dead characters or various universes that were apparently destroyed during
the Incursions. However the issue didn’t
go on to explain just how it was all of these characters were back or the rules
of Battleworld itself were as far as technology, time, or the characters
memories of the previous lives went and this issue is the first to address
this.
The issue opens with Gwen
Stacy/Spider-Gwen attacking a set of grave robbers but having no clear memory
as to who she is outside of scattered memories about being in an Indi-rock
band, dying on a bridge and that Norman Osborn, the apparent ruler of this
“kingdom” had something to do with it while two other Spider-Men introduced in
the Spider-Verse Crossover Event and Spider-Girl try and deal with the same amnesia
issues. Ultimately, that’s all the issue
really amounts to; establishing just how lost all of these Spiders are mentally
and who the apparent ruler of this Battleworld kingdom is. In this regard it works but there really
isn’t a whole lot to say about the issue otherwise. This is, after all, a first issue so no major
plot or character developments happen outside of the standard end of issue #1
cliffhanger ending that’s meant to get the reader to come back for more. I assume that this will be explored in future
issues and the fact that I’ve actually read the Spider-Verse crossover helps me stay invested but it’s otherwise a
hard sell for someone not already familiar with the characters.
The art department is something of a
mixed bag as well. Each individual panel
is well done and knows how to depict action well and keeps the comic going at a
brisk pace but faces don’t look right.
It’s hard to explain without an image, but it seemed as if the artist
wasn’t sure if he was drawing humans or aliens, often with inconsistent facial
shapes, sometimes making it seem as if you’re looking at a completely different
character from panel to panel.
The issue also includes a bonus
story featuring Spider-Ham but it’s not really worth noting. It doesn’t really do much to establish him
has a character, (the Spider-Verse
crossover event did a much better job of this), and just seems to be in it for
the sake of giving him a quick backstory for the sake of future stories.
In the end, Spider-Verse #1 is just an okay setup
issue. It doesn’t do anything wrong per
say but it’s very clear that the more interesting stuff is being saved for later
issues. Being a longtime fan of
Spider-Man and a big fan of the Spider-Verse
crossover event I have every intention of continuing this series but if you
weren’t a fan of the crossover or of Spider-Gwen I would suggest skipping this
issue.
Verdict
Browse
Secret Wars: Battleworld #1
Secret
Wars: Battleworld is probably the series that will click with readers the
least in the whole Secret Wars line up.
The problem with it is obvious; it’s an anthology series and because of
this it’s going to be difficult to have any investment in the various
characters that all seem to be from parallel universes and somehow made their
way to Battleworld. This particular
issue follows some version of the Punisher who was possessed by Doctor Strange
at some point, (I have no idea what that was about), and his final stand
against The Infernal Four; demonically corrupted versions of Spider-Man, Hulk,
Ghost Rider and Wolverine. The set-up
itself doesn’t really have all that much going for it in terms of story. It’s just a cool battle between the Punisher
with magical powers and these four characters and is good for what it, complemented
by great artwork that depicts the action fantastically, keeps the story moving
at a brisk pace and contains an incredible amount of depth and detail in each
panel. Definitely worth a look at if you
have some free time.
The second story again has the same
great artwork but doesn’t work nearly as well.
This one follows M.O.D.O.K. as he recruits fellow M.O.D.O.K.s from
various times and dimensions in order to usurp Doom as ruler of Battleworld and
things don’t go nearly as well as planned.
Unfortunately, the comic tries and fails to be funny. Its’ obviously joke is that different
versions of a villain wouldn’t work well together but it’s just not amusing in
any way, shape or form.
And that’s really all there is to
say here. The first half of the comic is
pretty cool and the second half just fails to do what it tries to do. Ultimately, I would say borrow this one if
you have a chance because it really isn’t worth the full retail price.
Verdict
Browse
Planet Hulk #1
Of the Secret Wars lineup, Planet Hulk is probably the first that
I’ve reviewed to actually establish a focused narrative as opposed to setting
up the foundation of future stories or being a so-so one shot story and but
only slightly benefits from it. This particular
storyline focuses on the Battleworld territory known as Greenland; a region
populated by gamma irradiated creatures that all possess powers similar to the
Incredible Hulk but its actual storyline focuses on a gladiatorial version of
Captain America and his companion T-Rex, Devil, (yes companion T-Rex) as he
attempts to find Bucky who was separated from him due to unknown circumstances. After he violates a major gladiatorial rule
he is given told that he must go to Greenland and kill one the territory’s
leaders and in the process, will find and save Bucky as well as his own life.
If there is one thing that can be
said in this issue’s favor, it’s that it actually focuses on the story and its
central protagonist as opposed to being a world building issue. From what we see we immediately know that
this particular tribe of Hulks is in conflict with Doom and his minions and why
it is he wants the issue resolved. This
version of Captain America likewise has a clear motivation in what he’s doing
and given what we know about his relationship with Bucky in other series it’s
very easy to get invested in his quest.
However the main problem the story suffers from is that it’s just too
quick. Far too much page space is spent
on this version of Captain America in this gladiator pit where not much happens
and it takes him far too long to actually get to Greenland where the book
spends very little time. It works as a
good initial issue but by the time it ends you’ll be wishing that the book
entitled Planet Hulk had a bit more
Hulk in it.
The art department is just fantastic
with every panel looking perfect, as if the artist and colorist poured their
hearts and souls into each nook and corner of it. The attention to detail is fantastic with an
incredible amount of detail put into each drawing so that even when the action
itself is a bit on the uninteresting side one can admire the sheer amount of
effort the artist put into it. The
coloring is admittedly a bit on the dark and dreary side but I think this appropriately
sets the mood for a world that is run by a supervillain and the bleak
hopelessness that that would burden a superhero in said world. Bottom line, the artist deserves every ounce
of praise that one can give and I cannot praise it enough.
In the end Planet Hulk #1 is something of a mixed animal. I admire the fact that it’s actually putting
more of a focus on a character driven narrative then world building or having
its characters aimlessly wandering about their region but the storyline never
quite delivers on the promise of having Captain America wondering around a land
populated by Hulks on top of a T-Rex within this issue. It’s brought up a few notches by some
fantastic artwork but like many of the Battleworld debut issues this one is
decent but otherwise disappointing.
Verdict
Browse
And that wraps up this edition of
This Week in Marvel Comics. All around
it was kind of a disappointing week with Guardians
failing to really go anywhere, Uncanny
X-Men not getting interesting until the last few pages, Secret Wars: Battleworld only good in
the first half and two disappointing debut issues for two promising
series. In the end nothing here was
objectively bad but it really felt as if the writers of these series were rushing
something out the door and we can only hope that these series get better in the
future.
So until next time please follow the
site, like the new Facebook page, follow me on twitter and come back next
time. Until then, I would recommend just
reading summaries of these books on the internet. They really were disappointing
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