Avengers Prime #3
Marvel
Brian Michael Bendis has left me hot and cold over the years. Sometimes I have found his writing to feel rushed and not structured enough for my taste. Last week’s Avengers, for example, seemed to take the characters everywhere but, ultimately, nowhere.
But then I pick up Avengers Prime and I am reminded how good Bendis can be at telling a story. Avengers Prime is a bi-monthly mini in which Steve Rogers, Iron Man and Thor are stuck in one of the nine realms of Asgard. They have been separated for most of the story but are back together again by the end of the tale and it is evident that Bendis is having a good time with these characters.
Hela, a classic Thor baddie, has super-amped powers and is doing a number on the God of Thunder. A de-powered Tony Stark uses his million dollar charm, to great humor, as a means of escaping from the dragon Fafnir. I love this scene because it demonstrates, like in last weeks Steve Rogers: Super Soldier, that the cbest heroes do not rely on their powers alone to get out of the tightest of binds.
Because snappy bantering is an art form at which Bendis excels, Tony and Steve are given several opportunities for a little back and forth in this issue as they attempt tracking down Thor. These two have been at odds for years, culminating in Marvel’s 2006 crossover event Civil War. For the past few years things continued to grow darker, until Norman Osborn was brought down in Siege. Now we are in the midst of Marvel’s Heroic Age, a much brighter 616.
This book is supposed to act as a catalyst, bringing these three classic Avengers back to the tight bond that once held Earth’s mightiest super team together. Bendis is achieving this with ease. The story does not feel rushed, he’s not throwing too much into the mix, he has got the voices of these characters down. With each issue I have grown more impressed.
But Bendis is not alone here in the storytelling. Alan Davis makes a rare appearance on this book and brings an old school appeal as story like this requires. Davis’s work has not lost any charm. His panels are exciting, especially as Tony barely escapes fiery doom from Fafnir. There is pin-up worthy opening splash page of Thor facing off against Hela and the undead that is really powerful—get Davis on another Thor project.
Marvel, led by Bendis, seems dead set on delivering an army of Avengers books to readers (I believe I count four ongoing titles and two minis). They are not all up to the quality of Avengers Prime, but I am enjoying enough of what is being published to say there’s something for everyone.
IDW
This is the kind of book that reminds me immediately of the power of comic books as a means to tell a story. First, many casual readers passing by the comic racks would see the title and keep walking. Big mistake.
G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds has been a wonderful series with the same two-story set up each month. The first half is a sparsely narrated tale of a classic Cobra baddie and a second similar story featuring a Joe. But writer Max Brooks’ approach is minimalist. Artists Howard Chaykin (Cobra features) and Antonio Fusso (Joe features) are as integral to bringing to life Brooks’ dialogue.
How does Cobra add to their ranks and how are they manipulated to join? Brooks demonstrates the ease in which people can be exploited when they have either lost their way or never had direction in the first place. The second story focuses on Blowtorch (guess what he does), as he ruminates over the power of fire and its discovery by the Cro-Magnon man. Fusso’s work here is powerful. He evokes first fear, then epiphany, at the realization of fire’s power by its discoverers.
Do not be turned of by the classic G.I. Joe Banner. Hearts and Minds continues to pack a wallop each month.
Image
Get into Chew. The Eisner Award-winner deserves all of the praises bestowed upon it. If you haven’t picked it up yet, this is the only book in memory that seems to be a good jumping on point at just about any issue, regardless of where it is in its story arc.
This happens to be part four of the “Just Desserts” arc in which Tony Chu is inching ever closer to bringing down his former partner, the hulking Mason Savoy. The story opens, as usual, with a flash back (or forward) that may tie back to the story in some way. Tony’s bipolar ex Mindy is introduced and we learn she goes to extremes in picking out personal gifts; this ties into the cliffhanger ending which is unusual for this series so far.
Much of the issue is set-up for the final issue of this arc as Tony battles to keep Amelia, his newest lady love, happy in their burgeoning relationship and tries to finally track down Savoy. Layman is writing what must be the most original book being published right now. The craziness of Layman’s world is complimented perfectly by the cartoonish artwork of Rob Guillory. Guillory creates the liveliest of panels each month, and this issue offers more of the same.
DC
Once Paul Cornell finishes this year long Lex Luthor tale, he should just go onto writing an ongoing Luthor title. How can this book continue to be one of the best Superman books in recent memory?
This issue features Gorilla Grodd, as Luthor, Robot Lois (don’t ask, it works), and his shrinking group of yes-people continue to search for the spatial anomaly discovered in the last issue. I forget what this has to do with Lex’s search for an Orange Lantern ring, but you’ll realize by the final page that rings and anomalies are the least of his worries.
Kudos go to Cornell who maintains an exciting and fun ride using a 70-some year old villain with no powers to carry the story. Sean Chen pencils this issue, instead of Pete Woods, and he fills in just fine. I loved his Grodd. Especially when he confronts Lex in the jungle with an enormously fearsome silver spoon (don’t ask, it works).
DC
J. Michael Straczynski has written a compelling Wonder Woman issue, as the Amazon princess searches desperately for her reality, accompanied by the Amazonian sisters she saved in last month’s issue.
Diana finds herself trapped in Hell after her soul is stolen by demons. The artwork by Don Kramer, Eduardo Pansica, and Allan Goldman is phenomenal in this issue. When Diana is lost in the underworld it looks like… well it looks a lot like Hell. But I have to nitpick. The book establishes the difficulty in getting out of Hell, so when she does it, it’s kind of lame. After I finished the book I thought, well what was the point of that?
Other than this flawed plot point, I am completely invested in Wonder Woman’s odyssey to regain her full powers and identity. Straczynski is writing one of the most interesting Wonder Woman stories that I can recall ever reading.
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