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Marvel Now! Reviews and Trends So Far (spoilers)
David_D
Posts: 3,881
I have been meaning to get some more individual, spoiler-filled discussions going on more of the Marvel Now! #1s, as the individual reviews of the New 52 launch made for some fun discussion. But, until then, I thought enough of the books have launched now that there is a chance to talk about the trends we are seeing so far.
For me, a trend that has surprised me so far is that the books seem to be taking a turn away from grim and gritty. This is not to say that there is not still plenty of violence and melodrama, but so far things feel a little more hopeful and aspirational, and even where there are things like exposed brains, the tone to me is more pulpy than edgy. You know what I mean?
I wasn't reading all of these titles before the Marvel Now! launch, so I can't speak to all the specifics (though I would welcome others to do so and fill in those blanks). But coming off of an age of story after story of heroes fighting heroes, lots of character deaths, and ripped from the headlines stories about terrorism or conflicts over nationalism, I have so far found these issues to be more escapist, speculative, and even hopeful fare. Some cases in point (and here is where we will get into some story spoilers, or at least, premise spoilers, though these are only current to the #1 issue)
Uncanny Avengers- Sure, they are still playing out the fallout of the hero on hero Avengers/X-Men war, and the new round of anti-mutant sentiment it caused. In that way, it is still an X-book. But they also Bring Back a Bad Guy. In fact, one of the most uncomplicated, clearly capital E Evil of bad guys, The Red Skull. And he is stealing mutant brains. BRAINS! Pure mad scientist pulp. To me, that is a much lighter story to tell, fighting back against a baddie, than the many prior stories of X-Men fighting the Avengers, or two ideological camps of X-Men fighting each other.
All New X-Men- This one takes the let's-pull-back-from-the-darkness trend to the meta level. The very premise of the book is that Beast, ashamed of who Scott has become, actually goes back in time to get the old him to come talk some sense into the current him.
Captain America- As I mentioned in another thread, following the nearly 10 year Brubaker era was going to be a hard act to follow for anyone. I think it was smart to start this book off in such a different way. At a point where Cap is faced with a big life decision, he gets all Secret Wars space-napped to Zolandia. ZOLANDIA. Come on, now. More pulpy fun in a story that, I would guess, will not be some complicated rumination around American identity. It will be a fight against baddies on a distant baddie planet.
Iron Man- This one is harder to judge, as the Fraction/Larroca era of this book would often start a story the same way that this book started: with an aspirational Tony Stark and shiny, celebrity culture art. They guy who has it all and does it all and he may be flawed but you want to BE him. The Richie Rich of the Marvel line. Now, likely this will all get torn down (maybe not as far down as what they did to him in "Tony Stark Disassembled") but likely he will go from having a great time to not having so great of time. And both eras kicked off with a rogue bit of Stark tech out in the world and threatening civilians. So I would say this book so far is going for more of the same, though maybe with an edge of Stark being more up front about what he DOESN'T believe in. We'll see how brave Gillen gets with that angle. If things go further in that direction this book might actually go in a more serious, less escapist direction and be contrary to the trend I am tracking. We'll see.
That is a start. More thoughts on other books later. Anyone else seeing this trend? Or others? Any other general observations on the Marvel Now! you are reading so far?
I WILL ASK THIS FAVOR- I am not looking to have this be another conversation about Marvel's pricing or double-shipping, or the reasons why you don't read Marvel. Those are all valid subjects, and have been widely and often discussed on the forums. So if you are not reading Marvel Now!, then I respect that choice, but I would ask that you not use this particular discussion to tell us why. I am hoping to have a discussion of the work with the other people that are reading it. Thanks.
For me, a trend that has surprised me so far is that the books seem to be taking a turn away from grim and gritty. This is not to say that there is not still plenty of violence and melodrama, but so far things feel a little more hopeful and aspirational, and even where there are things like exposed brains, the tone to me is more pulpy than edgy. You know what I mean?
I wasn't reading all of these titles before the Marvel Now! launch, so I can't speak to all the specifics (though I would welcome others to do so and fill in those blanks). But coming off of an age of story after story of heroes fighting heroes, lots of character deaths, and ripped from the headlines stories about terrorism or conflicts over nationalism, I have so far found these issues to be more escapist, speculative, and even hopeful fare. Some cases in point (and here is where we will get into some story spoilers, or at least, premise spoilers, though these are only current to the #1 issue)
Uncanny Avengers- Sure, they are still playing out the fallout of the hero on hero Avengers/X-Men war, and the new round of anti-mutant sentiment it caused. In that way, it is still an X-book. But they also Bring Back a Bad Guy. In fact, one of the most uncomplicated, clearly capital E Evil of bad guys, The Red Skull. And he is stealing mutant brains. BRAINS! Pure mad scientist pulp. To me, that is a much lighter story to tell, fighting back against a baddie, than the many prior stories of X-Men fighting the Avengers, or two ideological camps of X-Men fighting each other.
All New X-Men- This one takes the let's-pull-back-from-the-darkness trend to the meta level. The very premise of the book is that Beast, ashamed of who Scott has become, actually goes back in time to get the old him to come talk some sense into the current him.
Captain America- As I mentioned in another thread, following the nearly 10 year Brubaker era was going to be a hard act to follow for anyone. I think it was smart to start this book off in such a different way. At a point where Cap is faced with a big life decision, he gets all Secret Wars space-napped to Zolandia. ZOLANDIA. Come on, now. More pulpy fun in a story that, I would guess, will not be some complicated rumination around American identity. It will be a fight against baddies on a distant baddie planet.
Iron Man- This one is harder to judge, as the Fraction/Larroca era of this book would often start a story the same way that this book started: with an aspirational Tony Stark and shiny, celebrity culture art. They guy who has it all and does it all and he may be flawed but you want to BE him. The Richie Rich of the Marvel line. Now, likely this will all get torn down (maybe not as far down as what they did to him in "Tony Stark Disassembled") but likely he will go from having a great time to not having so great of time. And both eras kicked off with a rogue bit of Stark tech out in the world and threatening civilians. So I would say this book so far is going for more of the same, though maybe with an edge of Stark being more up front about what he DOESN'T believe in. We'll see how brave Gillen gets with that angle. If things go further in that direction this book might actually go in a more serious, less escapist direction and be contrary to the trend I am tracking. We'll see.
That is a start. More thoughts on other books later. Anyone else seeing this trend? Or others? Any other general observations on the Marvel Now! you are reading so far?
I WILL ASK THIS FAVOR- I am not looking to have this be another conversation about Marvel's pricing or double-shipping, or the reasons why you don't read Marvel. Those are all valid subjects, and have been widely and often discussed on the forums. So if you are not reading Marvel Now!, then I respect that choice, but I would ask that you not use this particular discussion to tell us why. I am hoping to have a discussion of the work with the other people that are reading it. Thanks.
Comments
Thor God of Thunder- In some ways an opposite pole to Iron Man, as instead of the story being partly about Tony not believing in God, this book gives us the idea that the cosmos is full of pantheons, and Thor is owning the idea that he is a god to be believed in more than the last time I regularly read Thor (a few years back).
In some ways this is an interesting mix of the movie idea of Asgardians as technological spacemen mistaken for gods mixed with the idea of Thor actually believing he is someone a believer should pray to, which they definitely don't get into in the movies. And while one of the three timelines presented in the book is a kind of doomy Thor: The End, overall the book so far is another trip to space far from the problems of the real world. And the painted (or is it "painted", I don't know) art makes it all seem like a sort of fantasy/heavy metal/airbrushed on the side panel of the van thing to be enjoyed and not taken too seriously. JMS and Copiel grounded Asgard in the Midwest and challenged his character to make sense in that proximity to regular people. By contrast, Aaron and Ribic are surrounding Thor with more Thor, and Thor-ish things. And leaving the real world far behind. I don't think this is a book that will be visiting a small town or New York City anytime soon.
Incredible Hulk has been my favorite book so far, I've never really read a hulk comic except for a few with the red hulk in it, but Waid really put forth a great story and the art was very nice.
Thor is my second favorite, the art is just incredible in it. Aaron has become one of my favorite writers over time and he just nailed it with this concept of present, past, and future Thor.
Deadpool I'll be reading till issue 3, I enjoyed it to an extent, but my budget can't hold another ongoing.
All New X-Men I have, but haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I'm just sticking with it till issue 5 because of Uncanny coming out which sounds like a lot more interesting.
Uncanny Avengers, I really liked the Issue one and thought it set up the story nicely and the art was great.
I liked Captain America's story in Dimension Z, but I'm not a huge fan of JRJR art, so I'm just getting the next issue, but could hop on at a later point.
Fantastic Four, A+X, X-Men Legacy really didn't interest me too much so I didn't pick them up.
My most anticipated books haven't come out yet, Hickman on Avengers and New Avengers, the preview pages just look amazing and the solicits have me really excited.
On the other hand, if I win the Lottery tonight, I promise to order the entire Marvel line in my next order. Yea, and a few other lines I spied on my way in!
I grabbed the first issue of Legacy. Thought it would be an interesting corner of the X-universe to explore. Don't think I will bother with issue #2.
Although... All New X-Men got me to pick up an A-list X-book for the first time in about 5 years. Loved it. Can't wait to see how it all plays out, although I am skeptical how this can sustain for more than 12 issues.
Iron Man already has one strike against it, as I am not a fan of Land's artwork. I'll give it a couple of more issues, but there is some intriguing series coming down the pipe which might deserve my money more.
The stand outs for me (so far) were Fantastic Four and FF #1. They are both going to be pure comic book adventurous fun.
Really looking forward to Avengers next week, and the upcoming New Avengers.
FF # - It was sold out at my LCS. After hearing damn near everybody there bad mouth Allred's art, it still sold out. Have to wait for the restock next week to read it.
Deadpool #1 & 2 - I need to give both of these another read, tore through them pretty quickly. Tony Moore fits this book. I hope to see him stick around on it.
I'm going to give Fearless Defenders a trial run and Dan Slott is making it awfully hard to drop Spider-Man and Hickman writing Avengers is hard to resist.
All New X-Men #1 - Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would, but I think a lot of that is because Beast is front-and-center in this. If this book stays Hank-centric, I may stick with it, at least in trade (X-Men has always read best for me in chunks).
Fantastic Four #1 - I liked it, but it didn't feel "new" enough to excite me in the way I hoped it would. Though my interest waned in Hickman's run after a while, it got off to a very exciting start. Something going on with the team's powers, Reed keeping secrets from them for (what he perceives as) their own good, something's up with Franklin... I've seen all that before. Gonna give it another issue (and FF, which I picked up but haven't read yet) to see if it gets going, though.
Captain America #1 - I loved me some 70s weirdness Cap and 80s superheroics Cap, so this should be right in my wheelhouse, but something felt off about it. The art inconsistencies were definitely part of it, but I think the story overall felt a little too compressed, or maybe even jumpy. Thing A happens, then B, then C, but without much in the way of discussion or even clear transition. Almost feels like a 30 page story cut down to 22. And the beginning with his parents certainly shows the foundations of Cap's character, but it doesn't really pertain to much of anything in the rest of the issue. Leave that out and give me the *actual* story beats that I felt were missed!
Avengers Assemble #9 - One of the two big surprises for me. Loved this. I like how Kelly Sue DeConnick wrote a story that starts lighthearted, even a little silly, and then turns on a dime into something serious at the end. She has a great ear for dialog and character moments. Not everything has to be Big and Serious. These people spend a lot of time together. Hell, they spend a lot of the issue in the Stark Tower kitchen... the atmosphere is probably going to be a lot more relaxed there than in the meeting room.
Indestructible Hulk - The other big surprise. Managed to read it for free and liked it so much I went out and bought a copy. I love it when the do something new and clever with the Hulk, and the idea of Banner managing his "symptoms" rather than trying and, inevitably, failing to cure himself is one whose time has long since come. Genuinely excited to see where this goes.
This could be a long-established part of Steve Rogers' life, I forget, but regardless, I don't think he needs it. There are enough formative things going on for him without having to throw that in, too. And it especially felt out of place in an issue that otherwise felt like a fun escape hatch from having to decide whether or not to settle down.
On the other hand, I have decided to take a chance and went ahead to order the first HC collection of the All-New X-Men by Bendis. The preview I saw was just too good.
I read the first issue of Captain America, and I'll continue with it (I really like JR JR's art), but I'm not yet certain about the writing. I'll see how it develops, but it is a bit jarring after Brubaker's stint, which was brought me back to the book. I don't have any problem with the sci-fi approach in general though, so I'll see where it goes.
*ahem*
IT'S GOOD!!!
I liked the first issue but #2 was fantastic. We find out a little bit more as to why she is acting so strange. Plus we get a battle with the Acengers. I have a feeling this title will be short lived and that's too bad.
Regardless, though, I agree that child abuse (like sexual assault) is an overused comic book trope these past couple of decades. If it legitimately serves the story, that's one thing, but a lot of times it's just used as shorthand for "this hero has endured trauma that has toughened them" or "look how evil this villain is to do such a thing." If I can draw another comics/wrestling connection, it's just cheap heat to get the quick, desired reaction from the crowd.
I'm not saying these sorts of events can't or shouldn't happen in comic book stories, just that there's a big difference between writing Serious Events with Serious Consequences and trying to get us to root for the victim (and maybe admire how they overcome such adversity) or boo the villain in the quickest, easiest way possible.
2 issues out, i think i liked the X-Men much better. this doesn't feel Bendis-y to me, in terms of dialogue, unlike when i tried to get into the main Avengers books during the last relaunch. his characters tend to be too quippy for my taste (and i let it pass in this book only because that's Iceman's character). i liked the fact that Beast appears to headline this book and will provide much of the voice for it, but i also hope Iceman really gets to shine (i thought that was gonna happen in Wolverine and the X-Men, after a promising start, but 20 issues in, not quite yet)
as for Uncanny Avengers, what i like is Havok for the same reason i'll be getting the Avegners book (it features long-time favorite X-characters of mine, such as Havok, Sunspot and Cannonball. plus Hickman writing, of course). the art was great, classic Cassaday. it was a bit off-putting and didn't sit well with me what the REd Skull did to Xavier, but hey! he's a real EVIL guy!! nothing he does should sit well with me!
a minor gripe between reading both, though. i did a double take in-between reading the books, with a question concerning Cyclops. he's one one book, in prison. in the other, he's out with the Uncanny X-men core. much so that i had to tweet bendis, who was kind enough to reply that he escaped during Consequences.
anyway... i'll be back in a few. off to read thor.
oh. did anybody read Legacy? i wonder about that Legion kid... last time he did something in response to Xavier being (nearly) dead, we got AoA. intrigued, is all, but not enough to get the book (my wallet screamed "stop!!")
But I have to say, all in all I have been digging a LOT of what I have been reading from Marvel NOW. Not everything is great. And I am not reading everything. But I have been reading a pretty good chunk of it so far (thanks in part to our Digital Swap Meet discussion and swaps) and there is a lot I am really enjoying. Also, the rate of return on my enjoyment so far makes me intrigued to try more of the various NOWs that are coming.
I get that not everyone has dug it, and I understand why some people wanted a full reboot (though I didn't).
Sure, at the end of the day, it is a highly publicized reshuffle of creative teams and slew of new #1s. And, of course, they are trying to dominate the conversation the way DC did last year, and in that way are following their lead (even if not rebooting, or doing all the restarts in the same month).
But, whoever got their first, whatever it isn't, I can tell you what it is, for me, so far: More Marvel books that I am excited to read than has been the case in a long time. More specifics on that soon, but in the short term, I say keep 'em coming.
Am I alone? Anyone else more than usually enjoying Marvel NOW so far?
So yes. Marvel's earning my money again.
I do not think the name Avengers Arena is that bad a name, but the premise seems like such an obvious cash-in that it really hurts what could be a really great book. You could keep almost everything the same about this book, but get rid of the "battle to death" premise and this book would work just as well if not better.
I also liked that the story began with Kate Bishop, a character I have come to enjoy thanks to Fraction's Hawkeye book, and seeing her philosophy of superheroics come into play in a fun, visually well-designed manner was a great hook. Also, it's cool that Noh-Varr likes 60s girl groups. That's the sort of detail I'd expect from the team that gave us the excellently music-oriented Phonogram.
Don't know yet if this is a monthly buy or not, but I'll be back for #2.
Follow-up question - was that the same young Loki who appeared in Journey Into Mystery prior to the current Sif story, or was that just Loki when he was a kid the first time around?