Giant-Size Little Marvel: AvX #4 - Marvel Comics

GIANT-SIZE LITTLE MARVEL: AVX No. 4, November 2015

Despite documenting the twins’ exploits with both the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Inhumans, as well as the series’ diminutively-sized titular characters, Skottie Young’s all-too familiar storyline for Issue Four of “Giant-Size Little Marvel: AvX” doubtless disheartened many of the book’s 28,025 buyers with its worrying repetitiveness and over-reliance upon endless panels simply portraying Iron Man, Cyclops and their respective team-mates furiously yelling at one another. Indeed, this seemingly incessant conveyor-belt of shouting, threatening, arguing and gesticulating even appears to get too much for the Inkwell Award-winner himself, who towards the end of the eighteen-page periodical goes so far as to have an extremely agitated Zachary and Zoe scream at everyone to “Shuuuuutttt Up!” as they’ve “had just about enough of all of you!”

Admittedly such reservations about essentially reading the same plot repeatedly over the course of a couple of comics doesn’t necessarily apply to the entirety of this publication’s narrative, with the American author’s decision to incorporate the wide-ranging physical enhancements of the Attilans’ mutagenic Terrigen Mist arguably producing some of the series’ biggest laughs yet; “Ha Ha Ha! Hey we’re the Inhumans! Join us and you’ll get hit with a green fart cloud, wrapped in to a rotten egg and turned into one of these! Ha Ha Ha!” But even this sequence ultimately results in yet another round of everyone just squawking at one another after Black Bolt flattens the X-Men’s sarcastic leader with a single sound, and Zoe matter-of-factly hints she is “thinking of jumping over the zombie wall and calling it a day.”

Potentially of far more interest is Young’s ‘last gasp’ suggestion that perhaps the twins would actually prefer to join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants rather than one of the superhero teams. Swiftly attired in black capes and cowls, courtesy of the speedster Quicksilver, and surrounded by the villainous ‘cutesy’ likes of Magneto, Loki, Doctor Octopus, Ultron and Venom, this plot development seems a far more likely source of inspiration and levity than the Fairbury-born writer’s mundane re-treading of old ideas. Sadly however, such a diabolically intriguing opportunity is infuriatingly never actually explored on account of the mini-series ending without warning or resolution on that very splash page…

Words and Art: Skottie Young, Colors: Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Letters: Jeff Eckleberry

Giant-Size Little Marvel: AvX #3 - Marvel Comics

GIANT-SIZE LITTLE MARVEL: AVX No. 3, October 2015

Containing an astonishing number of cutesy cameos including Devil Dinosaur, Red Hulk, She-Hulk, Fin Fang Foom and Lockheed the Dragon, Skottie Young’s humour-filled narrative for Issue Three of “Giant-Size Little Marvel: AvX” must have absolutely delighted its steadfast 32,003 followers in August 2015. Certainly, the twenty-page periodical’s script would have pleased fans of both “The X-Men” and “The Avengers” alike with its inclusion of the “Beast’s Science Lab”, “The Danger Room”, “Asgard”, Captain America’s “Boot Camp U.S.A.” and Jarvis’ reimagining of the Hulk-Buster into “The Iron Twinz!”

Somewhat disappointingly however, so very many ‘guest star appearances’ and swift location changes, aren’t particularly conducive to constructing a terribly elaborate storyline. Thus, whilst the Fairbury-born writer manages to keep things moving along swiftly enough, courtesy of giving the reader a tour of “The X-Tree Mansion” and The Avenger’s not-so secret Headquarters, it probably isn’t until the twins encounter both Galactus and his equally cosmic-powered companion, Thanos, that the former “Marvel Mangaverse” illustrator’s script finally gets interesting. In fact, apart from “the blue X-doggie-cat-thing” transforming Zachary and Zoe into a humanoid mouse and hulking brute respectively, both tours of the two super-teams’ clubhouses and their accompanying “all-out brawls” are actually pretty clichéd.

Fortunately, once the “giant kid with a very impractical headpiece” and “the flying kid sitting in a flying recliner” do make an appearance, Young’s ‘Little Marvel’ (Battle)world suddenly becomes an infinitely more intriguing place to visit on account of its most recently-arrived inhabitants discovering that the place is ‘protected’ by an all-encompassing unbreakable force barrier. This potential hint at just where the cartoon series tangibly sits within Emperor Doom's multi-title Battleworld is just the sort of ‘hook’ the Inkwell Award-winner’s storyline arguably needed, and of course, the magazine’s cliff-hanger panel featuring Star-Lord offering the twins a place alongside “the Guardians of the Galaxy” rather helps ramp up the publication’s pleasure factor too.

So crazy a comic book will always rely upon colourful, well-articulated visuals in order to help carry its audience along with the zany antics on show, and Skottie Young’s incredibly dynamic breakdowns, portraying a fast-moving ice-made roller coaster one moment and then a Sentinel-invading Savage Land double splash the next, more than succeed with just such a task. Indeed the America illustrator’s drawings of Nick Fury being ‘splatted’ by Hawkeye, and Thor subsequently ‘smashing’ an ice giant in the head with Mjolnir are arguably worth this publication’s cover price alone.

Words and Art: Skottie Young, Colors: Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Letters: Jeff Eckleberry

Giant-Size Little Marvel: AvX #2 - Marvel Comics

GIANT-SIZE LITTLE MARVEL: AVX No. 2, September 2015

Absolutely crammed full of some genuine, belly-laugh inducing quick-fire gags and comical set-pieces, Issue Two of “Giant-Size Little Marvel: AvX” doubtless had its 36,019 readers heartily chuckling to themselves with each and every turn of the page. Indeed, considering this publication’s opening groan-inducing “Dodgeball” sequence, which starts by depicting team captain Cyclops boldly declaring “Eye pick [those on my side] first” and ends with Spider-Man asking the blind super-hero Daredevil “Did you see who won?”, it is hard to recall “Marvel Worldwide” printing a more pun-filled publication this side of their Late Sixties title “Not Brand Echh”.

Somewhat fortunately however, Skottie Young doesn’t just rely upon a seemingly endless series of unrelated corny gags with which to fill this twenty-page periodical’s script, and soon introduces two new students to Marville Elementary in the shape of the dour-looking Zachary and Zoe. Not being mutants, “lost in a time not of your own”, “bitten by any insect or animal”, or interested in visiting a homicidal Arcade’s “house after school to play my own indie game Murderworld”, the twins soon become the subject of a secret clubhouse tug-of-war between “the astonishing, amazing, uncanny, super-dope X-Men” and “the mighty, ultimate, super-fresh Avengers.”

Perhaps predictably, such a titanic tussle provides the Inkwell Award-winner with plenty more opportunities with which to demonstrate his witty waggishness, and Black Widow’s needling of Scott Summers, after the X-Men’s leader has had a “Welcome” (to our not-so secret headquarters) banner made from macaroni and glue, is a good example of this. Although even the subsequent mass-battle involving a cutesy Sentinel blasting the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier doesn’t compare to the belly-laugh caused by Namor feeding a pet goldfish which is simply waiting for ‘the World to soon be covered in water once again’ so he can have his “cousin Toothy” eat the Sub-Mariner; “Heh heh.”

Featuring a somewhat more sedentary storyline than its previous edition, Skottie Young’s ultra-cartoony and brightly-coloured breakdowns still manage to instil this comic’s narrative with plenty of pace and energy. In fact, the children’s book illustrator somehow even succeeds in imbuing Professor Xavier’s “few minutes to get to know each other” classroom question & answer session with some much-needed dynamism, simply by over-exaggerating the facial features of each character concerned.

Words and Art: Skottie Young, Colors: Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Letters: Jeff Eckleberry

Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies #4 - Marvel Comics

AGE OF ULTRON VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES No. 4, November 2015

When at the start of this comic James Robinson writes about “the end of the world… terrors” which await those foolish enough to oppose “the iron will of... [Battleworld’s] god and master, Victor Von Doom” he probably never considered one of them, besides the Deadland’s living dead and Ultron’s automaton utopia Perfection, to actually be his script for Issue Four of “Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies”. In fact the Manchester-born author probably felt he had done a thoroughly competent job of cramming this twenty-page periodical full of ‘brain-eating’ battle as the technologically enhanced zombie-cyborgs of Magneto finally break through Salvation’s Ionic Energy Shield and start hungrily eating its inhabitants.

Sadly however it is extremely doubtful whether any of this concluding instalment’s 31,220 readers garnered too much enjoyment out of a storyline woefully bogged down by the sort of technical gobbledegook that sees the Human Torch, Wonderman and the Vision merge themselves together into “a greater mind… that needs to be conducive to Ionic Energy” so as to ‘absorb the consciousness of both Ultron and the zombies'. Indeed Hank Pym’s straight-faced and supposedly tense explanation that Simon Williams’ “pixie dust” is at the heart of the problem, as well as the solution, is not only astoundingly surreal but heartbreakingly cringeworthy for a mini-series which initially sounded so very full of promise.

Equally as poorly handled is Robinson’s penmanship surrounding the fall of Salvation to “Ultrons-zombie-whatever –they-are’s”. Magneto’s excitement “about all the people I’m going to eat” disappointingly never fully manifests itself within the narrative despite the “combined meat ‘n’ metal… monstrosities” eventually breaking through the settlement's protective barrier and consuming any living flesh which they can get their grisly clawing hands on. For every time it seemingly appears that the plot is finally about to focus upon the carnage being caused by the living dead, such as a zombified Abomination chomping into a Hydra operative, the action is frustratingly replaced by close-ups of Ultron’s creator feverishly tinkering in his lab.

True Steve Pugh desperately tries to inject the proceedings with plenty of (un)life with his dynamic depictions of gruesome terror as the robotic ghouls munch their way through the human community’s population. But even these wonderfully animated double-splash offerings by the British artist are interspersed with tedious flashback sequences drawn by Paul Rivoche and John Rauch, or worse pitiful panels portraying the likes of Jim Hammond and the Vision sentimentally saying goodbye to their loved ones before they sacrifice themselves.

Writer: James Robinson, Artist: Steve Pugh, and Colors: Jim Charalampidis

Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies #3 - Marvel Comics

AGE OF ULTRON VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES No. 3, October 2015

It would be interesting to know whether Editor “Magnanimous Mark” Paniccia had any hand in the fact that Issue Three of “Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies” starts rather unpromisingly with the desperately scrawled sentence “It’s worse than we thought”. For despite all of James Robinson’s assurances that “the battle lines will force everyone into two camps -- zombies verses robots” and that “they’re definitely at war” this bitterly disappointing publication's narrative not only depicts a unified Ultron-Zombie host threatening Jim Hammond, the Vision and Wonderman. But one which actually consists of “the worst of both” forces following the adamantium-alloyed automaton’s experiments to combine “the inorganic and the dead”.

To make matters even worse for this twenty-page periodical’s dramatically declining 36,388 readers however, the former “Superman” writer doesn’t even provide this ‘possible intriguing merger’ with much ‘screen time’ and instead decides to regale any bibliophiles foolish enough to have bought this “Secret Wars” tie-in title with uninspiring insights into Hank Pym’s desperate attempts to understand how “the Pym of this domain done built hisself a compoota rowbot man”, Simon William’s love for a female Iron Cross incarnation, Agatha Harkness’ adoration of the green and gold-garbed “creation of order” and a thirteen-panel discussion between Ryoko and “the original Human Torch” as to their understandable concerns surrounding her “synthetic” pregnancy.

Unfortunately, all of this disinteresting exposition is actually the highlight of Robinson’s storyline when compared to the British writer’s inclusion of a lengthy flashback to “the Town o’ Timely” from whence this mini-series’ gun-slinging Wasp originated from. Just why Starman’s co-creator felt it necessary to subject his audience to six shockingly dire pages deliberating over a dancing girl’s rise to infamy as one of the “people with a stupid plan ta overthrow ol’ man Roxxon ‘n’ his whole darn outfit” defies logic and clearly suggests that the author’s much lauded “really cool twist” for a mini-series probably wasn’t all that great in the first place.

Likewise, Steve Pugh’s strength clearly lies in illustrating “reanimated hordes [who] crave live flesh”, as opposed to depicting people enjoying a 'sedentary' existence, as the former “Strontium Dog” sketcher provides some terrifically disturbing pictures of a zombified Magneto, Super Skrull and Sabretooth throughout this comic. Sadly, such ‘eye candy’ is though shamefully scarce as the majority of this magazine’s script instead concerns itself with events transpiring within the Deadlands sanctuary of Salvation; sequences which clearly failed to inspire its artist to deliver nothing but the most mediocre of visualisations.

The variant cover art of "AGE OF ULTRON VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES" No. 3 by Francesco Francavilla

Planet Hulk #5 - Marvel Comics

PLANET HULK No. 5, November 2015

As concluding instalments go, “The Chronicle” must surely have proved a bitter disappointment to the 39,277 collectors who bought the comic in September 2015. For whilst the “Marvel Worldwide” pre-publication advertising for Issue Five of “Planet Hulk” promised a cataclysmic conclusion where its heroes Steve Rogers and Devil Dinosaur are “branded by battle” and “absolved by blood”, Sam Humphries' dialogue-heavily narrative instead probably had the vast majority of its audience hoping that “the claws of death [would actually] reach your throat” and prevent them from having to finish a woefully disheartening read.

Admittedly the twenty-page periodical does contain a little action as Captain America declines an offer to “strike back against God Doom” and instead dispatches “the vicious Red King” by repeatedly bludgeoning Greenland’s leader with his famous star-spangled shield. But this confrontation between the “Secret Wars” tie-in’s two main antagonists is so shockingly short-lived, lasting just seven pitiful panels, that it is over and done with before the reader realises it has even started… So much for the heavily feared ruler of “one of the most dangerous of the Battleworld dominions, a forbidden zone full of rampaging Hulks.”

Lamentably the final showdown concerning Bucky Barnes’ “brother-in-arms” and Doc Green is equally as direly penned, with the Annapolis-born writer somehow managing to imbue the green-skinned behemoth with an even more thoroughly annoying holier-than-thou attitude than the guide had when he first appeared to chaperon Devil Dinosaur and his warbound to the patchwork planet's Mud Kingdom; "Captain, if Hulk is not within us, then we are as hollow as the void in the sky."

However, just why the ‘embracer of his inner Hulk” decides to goad a clearly distraught and emotional gladiator for the 'umpteenth' time is inexplicable, especially when the obnoxiously ambitious gamma-irradiated experiment has deliberately transformed himself back into an (all-too vulnerable) alternate version of Steve Rogers and admitted that he knew “the domain’s despot” had already murdered the man Captain America was desperately trying to rescue. Such utter insanity on behalf of the manipulative deceiver clearly borders on the suicidal and it therefore comes as no great surprise that Humphries’ story ends with Doc Green stone dead on the castle’s cobbled floor having almost been cleaved in two by an enormous double-headed axe.

Writer: Sam Humphries, Artist: Marc Laming, and Colors: Jordan Boyd

Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies #2 - Marvel Comics

AGE OF ULTRON VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES No. 2, September 2015

It is entirely plausible that James Robinson didn’t read the “Marvel Worldwide” pre-publication advertisement for this “Secret Wars” tie-in mini-series, as the plot to Issue Two of “Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies” disconcertingly differs quite substantially from the claim that “in the southern wastes of Battleworld, two unholy factions wage never-ending war” with one another. Indeed the Eisner-award winner’s narrative actually goes so far as to depict “the genocidal robotic armies of Ultron” agreeing a peaceful alliance with the “rotting, flesh-eating corpses that lies just to the East” and even ends with a splash page of the adamantium armoured automaton shaking hands with a zombified Magneto; “In that case, I think I speak for all of us when I say… You have a deal.”

Such a stupefying cessation of the “unending war” inevitably means that the vast majority of this twenty-page periodical instead focuses upon Hank Pym’s arrival at the nirvana Salvation, and an incredibly lengthy exposition by Wonderman, Jim Hammond and the Vision as to how they built the settlement using the “ionic energy that we extract from Simon Williams and then synthesize”. The Manchester-born writer even finds the time to rather clumsily script a rather uncomfortable scene which unsubtly portrays the prejudiced attitude of America’s Old West by having the Human Torch’s oriental partner Ryoko challenge Ultron's three-piece suited inventor when he refers to her a Celestial…

So tedious a storyline doubtless distressed many of this comic’s 40,483 readers, especially when the first dozen or so promising panels of “Strange Bedfellows” depicts a puritan Punisher dancing “a merry jig” against a horde of “flesh-eating, super-powered living dead” whilst lopping off their heads and limbs indiscriminately. This marvellous sequence, full of bloody carnage, biblical rhetoric, and plenty of swordplay is as adventurously action-packed as any “Marvel Zombies” devotee could wish for, and it truly comes as an almighty blow that the black-garbed Protestant swashbuckler is sizzlingly silenced mid-sentence by “Ultron Unit 432.622A, designated communicator conduit for Lord Ultron.”

This comic’s artwork is also somewhat agitating in its composition. For whilst “critically-acclaimed artist Steve Pugh” competently draws the bulk of its content, Tom Grummett, Drew Hennessy and Jesus Aburtov provide all of the artificially-aged flashback illustrations, and arguably demonstrate just how lifeless and rather monotone the British penciller’s work appears when coloured using modern-day techniques.

The variant cover art of "AGE OF ULTRON VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES" No. 2 by Alex Maleev

Captain Britain And The Mighty Defenders #2 - Marvel Comics

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND THE MIGHTY DEFENDERS No. 2, October 2015

Doubtless disappointingly for Al Ewing, this concluding issue of “Captain Britain And The Mighty Defenders” is arguably a far cry from the “really fun, warm, beautiful book that hopefully Avengers’ fans - - as well as fans of everyone else involved - - will love.” In fact it is hard to see even the most dedicated of the British writer’s supporters taking much positivity from a nauseating narrative that twists former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill into a mismatched gestalt of Thor, the Punisher and Mega-City One’s Chief Judge, and re-imagines “War Machine” as a giant tank which both looks and sounds remarkably similar to the “2000 A.D.” A.B.C. Robot Mek-Quak; “Yeah! ‘Cuz I’ll squoosh ya! An’ I will, too! Look at all my guns!”

Certainly it comes as no surprise that the twenty-page “Secret Wars" periodical sold a deflating seven thousand less copies than its predecessor when first published. Although quite how it still managed to outsell the likes of “Omega Men” (“DC Comics”) and “Fade Out” (“Image Comics”) by shifting 20,453 issues during August 2015 doubtless has more to do with Alan Davis' excellent artwork than its calamitous storyline.

Admittedly the "second ‘Mighty’ Marvel series from Ewing” does "spotlight" the 'popular' wielder of the sword Excalibur, Faiza Hussain; a version of Merlyn’s champion who was introduced by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk in “Captain Britain And MI:13”, and eventually donned the hero’s mantle during the "Pax Britannia" novelist's tenure on “Avengers Assemble”. But even the book's titular character isn’t actually given that many opportunities with which to demonstrate her extraordinary “control over living organisms” with and is instead limited to inexplicably reconfiguring Boss Dan [Luke] Cage’s “sentient torture chair” and an astonishingly short single-panel showdown with the “Baron and Thor of Mondo City”, Big Boss Hill.

What “…And Mine Is A Faith In My Fellow Man” does offer however is plenty of opportunity for Davis to demonstrate just why the English artist has remained a mainstay of American comic books since he was first hired by “DC Comics” to pencil their “Batman And The Outsiders” title in 1985. For whilst the Goodreads Choice Award-nominee’s source material is atrocious, and his design of Mondo City’s law enforcers questionably unoriginal, the illustrator’s rendering of the Defenders action-packed escape from Yinsen’s temporary detention zone is both splendidly detailed and dynamically drawn.

Writer: Al Ewing, Penciler: Alan Moore, and Inker: Mark Farmer

Future Imperfect #5 - Marvel Comics

FUTURE IMPERFECT No. 5, November 2015

It is relatively easy to see why according to “Diamond Comic Distributors” this fifth and final issue of Peter David’s “Secret Wars” tie-in didn’t manage to make the Top Fifty selling titles of September 2015, and actually saw itself being significantly outsold by the likes of “Invader Zim” by independent publisher “Oni Press”. For whilst this twenty-page periodical’s narrative does (eventually) focus upon a titanic confrontation between the “version of the Hulk from a distant future who has become corrupted by power” and Battleworld’s God Emperor, its eventual conclusion doubtless had the vast majority of the book’s 32,926 strong audience feeling the American author’s plot had disappointingly badly cheated them.

Indeed it is hard to fathom just precisely what the Huxtur Award-winner must have been thinking when he decided to pen an elderly chair-bound Rick Jones as “the ‘Ancient One’ guarding the Destroyer” and have the Maestro easily defeat Victor von Doom courtesy of the additional energy George Perez’s co-creation attained by donning the enchanted armour. Presumably the Maryland-born writer later felt likewise, as having had Dystopia’s Baron obliterate his opponent with “a rather powerful disintegration beam” in order to become “the new ruler of the world” and “god”, the magazine’s final few panels dwell upon the fact the entire battle had actually been nothing more than an illusion and that a suddenly human-sized Bruce Banner will now simply stand before the Asgardian super-weapon “until he dies.”

Admittedly David’s ‘punch-up’ between two of the Marvel Universe’s greatest villains genuinely provides some memorable moments as the two megalomaniacs exchange a series of breathtakingly punishing blows. But whilst this brawl is as impressively paced as cheering on Doctor Doom is disconcerting, there is a palpable sense of betrayal when the comic reveals the events to all be nothing more than a grand deception; “He wished to defeat Doom. It gave him that wish.”

Mercifully however, Greg Land’s awesome artwork does make good on his cover illustration’s promise that the Maestro’s highly anticipated conflict with his “true overlord” will be sensationally drawn. In fact it is hard to find fault with any of the “Uncanny X-Men” penciller’s drawings within this comic book, especially once battle commences and both combatants set upon one another with all the fury which they can muster.

Writer: Peter David, Artist: Greg Land, and Inker Jay Leisten 

Future Imperfect #4 - Marvel Comics

FUTURE IMPERFECT No. 4, October 2015

Although Peter David’s rather simplistic storyline of the Maestro “wandering around… Norseheim” in order to discover the secret location of the Destroyer may not be award-winning material, and doubtless contributed to this particular edition of the “Secret Wars” tie-in title regrettably selling some three thousand less copies than its predecessor, Issue Four of “Future Imperfect” does contain enough bone-crunching punches to sate even the most blood thirsty of its 35,661 readers. In fact from the moment the blind Hoder directs the green-skinned Baron’s party into “the residence of Ulik” little else actually takes place within the narrative but fighting as the alternate future Hulk, Ruby Summers, Dystopia’s incarnation of the Thing and Layla Miller become embroiled in a true toe-to-toe slugfest with the troll who has “the strength of a Thor” and his numerous savage-looking minions.

Happily however, this non-stop action is interspersed with the Maryland-born writer’s inclusion of some rather humorous sarcastic interplay between the Maestro and his ‘friend’ Major Thaddeus Ross, and then later by Bruce Banner’s malevolent alter-ego and an increasingly battered Asgardian powerhouse. Such entertainingly pithy dialogue really is one of this twenty-page periodical’s highlights, and even additionally demonstrates just how dangerously unpleasant, disliked and determined the orange mutate’s long-time foe really is; “…If Ulik has you on the brink of death, I’m just gonna stand there and applaud.”

Far less successful is the Wizard Fan Award-winner’s attempt to craft the constant worrisome doubts of ‘companion’ Skooter into anything more than an increasingly annoying bore. The Rebel’s brutal death at the hands of one of Ulik’s “flarking creep[s]” later in the story actually appears to be a bibliophile’s blessing as opposed to the viciously abrupt murder of a beloved member of this title’s supporting cast and it’s arguably doubtful that few wouldn’t have actually cheered Ruby if she had ‘blown his head off’ earlier in the book when the Dystopian’s incessant whining, and suggestion that perhaps they no longer follow the orders of Ross, causes her to finally lose patience with his infuriating mutterings.

David’s script does though seemingly play to all of artist Greg Land’s strengths, with the penciller’s wonderfully dynamic energy-charged panels depicting the Maestro and Ulik literally punching one another for all their worth proving to be tremendously well-drawn. Indeed despite the lack of actual plot progression taking place during the lengthy sequence, the super-strong troll’s inevitable defeat at the Baron’s hands genuinely comes to fruition all too soon…

Writer: Peter David, Artist: Greg Land, and Inker Jay Leisten 

Secret Wars #9 - Marvel Comics

SECRET WARS No. 9, March 2016

Supposedly delayed in order to accommodate a “story [which] got bigger, the revelations more shocking, [and] the scale of the action grander than any of us anticipated” this final edition of the “Secret Wars” event was arguably still not the “Marvel Worldwide” magnum opus which Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso undoubtedly hoped his creative team of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic had achieved. In fact the thirty-four page periodical didn’t even manage to become the best-selling comic of January 2016, on account of selling seven thousand less copies than Issue One Hundred and Fifty of “The Walking Dead” by “Image Comics”.

“Beyond” does however succeed in containing an incredibly impressive beginning, and one which must have initially thrilled the vast majority of the book’s 149,028 readers, with its depiction of Victor Von Doom finally fighting the Infinity Gauntlet wearing T’Challa “on the earth. In the sky. And the heavens above.” Sadly such a cataclysmic confrontation, and one which sees both combatants collide at the helm of giant robots as well as in spirit forms, is over as quickly as Namor the Sub-Mariner is disposed of ignominiously, and what initially promised to be an all-out battle-fest of a publication is rather disappointingly (and abruptly) replaced by Reed Richards and his alternative self ‘waxing lyrical’ with one another whilst the royal consort Susan Storm finally sees her beloved for the cold, calculating killer this mini-series’ audience has always known him to be…

Admittedly the subsequent wrestling match between Mister Fantastic and an impoverished God Emperor Doom provides plenty of entertainment, especially as it seems like an eternity since the founding member of the Fantastic Four has used his elasticity in so aggressive an attack. But even this brutal sequence is brought to a somewhat hasty conclusion, as Victor foolishly verbally acknowledges his belief that his pliable adversary could “have solved it all” and “done so… much… better…” than himself as Ruler of Battleworld; an admission which causes the omnipotent Owen Reese to suddenly strip the Latverian of his great power and somewhat capriciously bestow it upon Richards instead.

Surprisingly Ribic’s pencilling for this over-sized finale is also rather substandard in places. A frustrating facet considering Alonso attributed much of this magazine’s postponement upon the artist requiring “extra time and space”. The Croatian illustrator’s panels are certainly well-drawn at the start of the comic. But seemingly soon start to lose their ‘wow’ factor as the South Carolina-born writer’s script requires Esad to depict events “eight months later” and presumably forced the graphic designer to utilise bare all-white backgrounds and the occasional splash page just to ‘pad out’ proceedings.

The regular cover art of "SECRET WARS" No. 9 by Alex Ross

Age Of Ultron Vs. Marvel Zombies #1 - Marvel Comics

AGE OF ULTRON VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES No. 1, August 2015

Whilst on paper the idea to produce a “Secret Wars” mini-series based upon an amalgamation of two of the most successful “Marvel Worldwide” franchises published during the Modern Age of Comics may well have seemed like a good idea, James Robinson’s script for Issue One of “Age Of Ultron Verses Marvel Zombies” inevitably runs out of steam once the adamantium robots and undead initially come together. Indeed, considering just how easily the mechanical monsters plough through the putrid walking zombified remains of the Vulture, Bullseye, Stilt-Man, Sabretooth and Mole Man, it is momentarily hard to imagine just where the British writer’s narrative can go next?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the disappointing answer is backwards. For having demonstrated just how easily Ultron’s brethren can dispatch the super-villainous living cadavers, this twenty-one page periodical’s plot suddenly transforms itself into a storyline which would not look out of place within a “What If ?“ magazine by having Hank Pym’s creation “muse how things might have differed” if, having gained cognizance as Ultron-1, “he hadn’t immediately killed his ‘father’...”

Admittedly the subsequent series of flashback sequences drawn by Ron Garnett and Matt Milla, and predominantly consisting of double splashes, doubtless proved diverting distractions to this comic’s 78,646 readers in June 2015. The battle sequences explaining how a combined army of Ultron-5 and Ultron-6 versions” of the mad robot sent “the other heroes of Earth… screaming to their graves” are well worth the magazine's cover price alone, especially as this 'turn of events' is additionally influenced by the idea that “a young Dane Whitman” never “infiltrated Ultron-5’s Masters Of Evil to warn” the Avengers and “turn the tide of his first attack…”

Ultimately though “A Stranger Came To Town” is meant to be about events taking place on Battleworld, yet sadly when Robinson’s script finally does return to the ‘present day’, and Steve Pugh takes back ownership of the artwork, it is clear that this comic book’s implied promise of ghouls verses automatons has disappointingly been replaced with a rather uninspiring story about a ‘Wild West’ version of Pym being banished to “the robot domain” for creating a “clockwork mechanical man”; “Got no mind why I went ta the trouble, neither… ‘cause where I’m goin’, they aint got much use fer snake oil.”

The regular cover art of "AGE OF ULTRON VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES" No. 1 by Carlos Pacheco

Captain Britain And The Mighty Defenders #1 - Marvel Comics

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND THE MIGHTY DEFENDERS No. 1, September 2015

Based upon the premise that “years ago” it was actually Doctor Ho Yinsen who donned Iron Man’s first suit of armour rather than the playboy industrialist Tony Stark, this theatrically titled “Secret Wars” tie-in comic unconvincingly bands together some of the lesser known heroes of the “Marvel Universe” into “a very small [super] team” and then, simply upon the whim of the “omnipotent ruler of Battleworld”, forcibly pits them against the formidable military power of their principality’s neighbour, “the fascist futuropolis of Mondo City”. Somewhat perturbingly however, any of this book’s 27,618 readers in July 2015 who thought so ludicrously contrived a narrative couldn’t become any more bizarre were in for a serious shock when towards the comic’s end Al Ewing introduces the blatant Judge Dredd and Cassandra Anderson wannabes Boss [Luke] Cage and Boss [Emma] Frost; “Wake up, Creep. We’ve got you down for resisting arrest, illegal border crossing, and extremist ideology.”

In fact the “shop thy neighbour” lawmen are so similar in look and dialogue to John Wagner’s “2000 A.D.” co-creation that any potential buyer simply flicking through the back pages of this publication must doubtless have quickly double-checked the cover to make sure they hadn’t inadvertently picked up an issue about the Mega-City One street judge. Certainly it is clear, what with their over-sized shoulder-pads, bullet-shaped helmets and reference to perps, just why “Marvel Worldwide” Editor Tom Brevoort chose a British comics writer with a proven track record of writing "Future Shocks" to pen so blatantly unoriginal a script.

Admittedly this cheesy concoction does still somehow manage to provide some modicum of entertainment, especially when it quite cleverly connects to former major story-arcs such as the Spider-Verse by having Hobie Brown replace his world’s dead spider-man as Spider Hero, or a dying Brian Braddock handing the mantle of Captain Britain over to Doctor Faiza Hussain during the Age of Ultron. But sadly Ewing’s reimagining of She-Hulk as “the Thor for this domain”, a green giantess who walks around with the decidedly tiny “Gavel of Thor” strapped to her hip, is infinitely less successful an idea... 

Fortunately all of this magazine’s disconcerting nonsense is wonderfully illustrated by “Excalibur” artist Alan Davis. Indeed for many, “Theirs Is A Land With A Wall Around It…” may well be worth the price simply for its dramatically dynamic cover depicting the “London-based Muslim medical doctor” stoically leading the Defenders against an unknown foe. Whilst for others the Englishman’s pacey panelling provides Mondo City’s invasion of Yinsen’s barony, and otherwise dialogue-heavy storyline, with some much needed spectacle and tension.

The variant cover art of "CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND THE MIGHTY DEFENDERS" No. 1 by Frazer Irving

Civil War #1 - Marvel Comics

CIVIL WAR No. 1, September 2015

Based upon the premise that “the events of the 2006-2007 Civil War series never ended” this rather perplexing ‘alternate-universe’ portrayal of a “Marvel Universe” firmly divided between supporters of Captain America and Iron Man makes for a tense if not entirely enthralling read, and somewhat justifies its 'shifting' of 170,546 copies in order to become the third best-selling comic book of July 2015. Indeed, for all its absurdities, such as the United States of America being “shattered… down the middle” into the territories of Steve Rogers’ The Blue and Tony Stark’s The Iron, Charles Soule’s narrative swiftly acquires a tense edginess to it as the plot moves towards the two former Avengers meeting one another to ‘talk’ after years of hostility and “bloody conflict”.

Admittedly the Brooklyn-born writer’s attempt to make neither side the ‘baddie’ of this book isn’t particularly successful, nor does such a concept willingly lend itself to the New Yorker plotting a credible chronicle of events which caused a need for the heroes' ‘historic gathering’ in the first place. It’s certainly hard to believe that “Iron Man rigged the entire [Project 42] prison with a self-destruct” and then activated it so as to destroy “Cap and the rest”. Especially when during the fighting a battered Commander Hill informs Stark that T’Challa had actually “hacked into the prison’s security systems” and “activated the self-destruct… on Captain America’s orders.” Why would the Sentinel of Liberty, billionaire inventor or Black Panther willingly consign “fifteen million other people” to so ghastly a fate..?

Perhaps inevitably Soule’s writing does ultimately lean towards favouring one side of the dispute with his depiction of life within The Iron appearing far more militaristic, unforgiving and aggressive than Shield-slinger’s more compassionate Western America, where “most lived in peace and happiness.” In fact the “shock and awe” approach of Stark’s “asserted order” agents when they discover “a kid” flying for the first time, coupled with the playboy’s antagonistic demands for a portion of The Blue’s land because “The Iron’s population is growing...” and Miriam Sharpe's assassin actually having been aiming at Steve Rogers, makes it very hard to sympathise with Shellhead's side.

Sadly Leinil Francis Yu’s artwork for so serious a mini-series’ script is something of a major disappointment. The Filipino comic book artist, “who began working for the American market through Wildstorm Productions”, clearly has a very distinctive style which can imbue his figures with impressive life and vitality. But whilst such an ability arguably works on the full-page illustration of Captain America, Spider-Man, Storm and Daredevil battling Iron Man, Doc Samson and others, the technique's evident sketchiness regrettably makes the pencilling appear rushed and hurried when used to depict the story’s more sedentary panels. An arguable flaw which is particularly pronounced and noticeable when the characters are drawn against a blank one-dimensional background.

The regular cover art of "CIVIL WAR" No. 1 by Lenil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho

Secret Wars #8 - Marvel Comics

SECRET WARS No. 8, February 2016

Advertised as “the final battle against God Doom” Issue Eight of “Secret Wars” was somewhat criticised at the time of its delayed publication in December 2015 due to “the main line of Marvel titles” having “passed it by”; thereby making the “Who lives? Who dies?” major comic book event suddenly seem rather superfluous. Such a viewpoint however genuinely denigrates designer Jonathan Hickman’s sweeping storyline and belittles a magazine absolutely jam-packed full of the most destructive and cataclysmic action seen since the “the final collision of Earth-616 and Earth-1610”, as a gigantic Ben Grimm goes toe-to-toe with the equally formidable Galactus and Victor Von Doom confronts the once all-powerful Thanos…

Indeed just because the New York-based publishing company had already apparently “shifted its focus to its ‘All-New, All-Different’ titles” when this twenty-two page periodical saw print doesn’t detract from the surprises found within the storyline of “Under Siege”. Certainly few of this edition’s 169,667 readers could have anticipated The Thing’s noble defeat at the hands of an adolescent Franklin, nor just how large an enraged Groot could become given the right 'soil conditions'… And who could have predicted so final a fate for Jim Starlin’s creation, a titan who once courted Death herself and wore the Infinity Gauntlet?

The American author also manages to somehow incorporate a few genuinely ‘laugh out loud’ moments during what is otherwise an extremely tense, sometimes heart-rending, large-scale conflict. The Maestro’s short-lived triumph having “brought the entire Green North to" Doom's lands, Star-Lord’s ill-advised promise of flying Reed Richards safely into the heart of the fight and the Hulk munching on the arm of a Mister Sinister clone is only surpassed in humour by Terrax the Tamer’s brief spell as “a Herald of Galactus!”; “Hey, Dummy. I hope you like getting your butt kicked.”

Slightly disappointing, but predominantly because the majority of his panels focus upon individuals as opposed to the fracas which “is raging as far as the eye can see”, is Esad Ribic’s pencilling. The Croatian’s illustrations of Ben Grimm’s destruction of the Maestro’s Hellcarrier and subsequent slugfest with Franklin/Galactus are extremely well-drawn and genuinely suggest the sheer size of the behemoths involved. Far less satisfactory though is the comic book artist’s pages depicting the God Emperor Doom’s altercation with Thanos, and the army of Annihilus. Somewhat dialogue-heavy in parts, the two super-villains’ conversation is predominantly squeezed within the confines of a single second-rate sheet. Whilst the unimpressive arrival of the Black Panther and Namor through a trans-dimensional doorway is perhaps disproportionately allocated an entire splash page…

The regular cover art of "SECRET WARS" No. 8 by Alex Ross

Secret Wars #7 - Marvel Comics

SECRET WARS No. 7, January 2016

Responsible for this mini-series’ expansion from eight to nine issues simply because the comic’s narrative was “too big”, at least according to Editor Tom Brevoort, “King Of The Dead” proves an incredibly exciting reading experience, which must have delighted its 177,019 fans and shows no sign of the strain its creative team were under due to “the whole piece… [having] to be restructured.” Indeed despite the fact that Jonathan Hickman’s script required something far more than just “taking the issue and breaking it in half” as “scenes were moved around so the two issues worked as issues themselves”, this twenty-page periodical undoubtedly delivers the “massive chaos” of a planet-wide battle which its mid-Eighties forerunner could only hint at.

Admittedly the South Carolina-born author’s storyline still predominantly concentrates upon the actions of a select few members of the Marvel Universe, such as the duplicitous Mister Sinister, the Goblin Queen, the scheming Maestro and the Black Panther. But now they’re at the head of vast armies of hapless clones, wretched creatures of the night, green-skinned Hulks, and the living dead; and all of them, along with God Emperor’s Doom’s own super-heroic Thors and Maximus’ impotent peasants, are shown tirelessly hurling themselves against one another in the name of the ruler of Battleworld.

Incredibly, despite the sheer grandeur and splendour of his biblical-sized plot, Hickman also still somehow manages to provide his audience with some comprehension as to an individual character’s motivations. Baroness Madelyne Pryor’s astonishment at “the Army of “Sinister” switching sides, Apocalypse’s fury at the injustice of his having to “bow before God Doom” and T’Challa’s ominous farewell to his friend Reed Richards, are all insightful well-written moments framed within an infinitely larger context.

Equally as good a decision as to extend “Secret Wars” run, has to be Brevoort’s determination to stick with just Esad Ribic as the series’ sole illustrator and not succumb to external pressures to “bring in other artists.” Whilst the delays incurred as “the better part of a week or two” were spent “reshuffling stuff” for this publication were “not by any stretch of the imagination an ideal situation”, the Croatian’s pencilled panels are mouth-wateringly sublime and genuinely manage to convey a sense of raw power, savagery and scale to the battle scenes.

The regular cover art of "SECRET WARS" No. 7 by Alex Ross

Future Imperfect #3 - Marvel Comics

FUTURE IMPERFECT No. 3, September 2015

Despite this twenty-page periodical containing both some palpable tension as Ruby Summers leads a “band of rebels” into Baron Maestro’s stronghold on a desperate rescue mission, as well as plenty of action when the heroes’ subsequent stealthy shenanigans go somewhat awry, Issue Three of “Future Imperfect” arguably proves to be a rather unremarkable reading experience. Indeed for some indescribable reason Peter David’s narrative somehow feels as if the Maryland-born writer was simply going through the motions and essentially ‘padded out’ the comic until its ‘climatic’ conclusion when the Thing’s allies joins forces with the despot of Dystopia in order “to defeat [the God Emperor] Doom and take his place.”; “Do I look like I’m joking?”

Quite possibly much of this sense of dissatisfaction stems from the fact that the vast majority of the Wizard Fan Award-winner’s storyline focus’ upon the exploits of Janis Jones, Layla Miller, and Skooter; three rather forgettable ‘C-list’ characters who seem to spend a disagreeable amount of time arguing with one another as to whether their assault on “Baron Maestro’s Keep” is a good idea or not. Only the resistance fighter Ruby manages to hold any lasting interest and that is probably due to the quartz-skinned adventurer’s earnestness in finding Major Thaddeus Ross. Something which many of this book’s 38,269 followers presumably echoed, hoping that the appearance of “the leader of the anti-Maestro revolt” might actually inject this “Secret Wars” tie-in title with some much needed pizzazz.

Just as disappointing is the lack of ‘screen time’ enjoyed by this comic’s principal villain, Robert Bruce Banner. A formidable force to be reckoned with and undoubtedly this magazine’s biggest draw, the enthralling presence of the Castle of Green’s “lord and master” is much missed during this particular publication. Though admittedly David’s decision to have the bearded maniac replaced by the baron’s impotent Gravity Police makes perfect sense from a plot perspective. For Summers and her friends understandably required an opponent which their powers could best if the American author’s tale was going to proceed much further…

Equally as lack-lustre as the writing is Greg Land’s competent yet unremarkable pencilling. “Best known for his work on books such as Uncanny X-Men, Birds Of Prey and Fantastic Four”, the artist’s rather bold style gives his panels a rather cartoony-feel which can prove somewhat distracting during the book’s more action-packed sequences. Indeed it isn’t until the Thing’s companions stumble upon the Maestro and Thaddeus’ “repast” that the illustrator seemingly finally starts to provide his figures with a little more detail, especially around their faces.

The variant cover art of "FUTURE IMPERFECT" No. 3 by Mike Deodato

Planet Hulk #4 - Marvel Comics

PLANET HULK No. 4, October 2015

Despite some very dramatic action sequences, most notably that of Devil Dinosaur tearing through the ramshackle settlement of the Tribal Hulks and scattering its super-strong barbaric inhabitants in every conceivable direction, it is hard not to imagine that many of this comic’s 44,608 readers probably felt “The Kingdom” was something of a ‘filler’ issue. Admittedly Sam Humphries’ script does see the “gladiator Steve Rogers” finally penetrate the Mud Kingdom and come face-to-face with Greenland’s ruler, the Red King. But with six of this periodical’s twenty-pages essentially comprising of single-panel splashes and much of the magazine’s dialogue limited to “Puny Human” and simply “Smash”, it genuinely doesn’t appear that there was enough content to the Maryland-born writer’s storyline to quite go around for this publication.

Sadly such a disappointing situation also leads to the American author once again ‘padding out’ some of this mini-series’ scenes with more of his “we are all hulk, Captain. The Gamma scrubs the mirror clean of pretension” theological nonsense. Irritating as these “There is no grace here. No absolution” diatribes by Doc Green were in the previous edition, they are especially unwelcome in this particular instalment as they bizarrely occur mid-way through the green-skinned adventurer’s brutally bloody rescue of Captain America. A somewhat surprising interruption considering that the pair are being pursued by all manner of heavily-tattooed spear-waving Hulks; “Who are you? Get back in line” In the name of the Red King--!”

Fortunately towards the end of this comic Humphries’ penmanship does make something of a return to form, enabling Issue Four of “Planet Hulk” to conclude with a satisfying cliff-hanger as Jack Kirby's Tyrannosaurus Rex overcomes a formidable array of oafish-looking opponents and an exhausted Rogers, full of desperate bravado for his ‘brother’ Bucky’, comes face-to-face with the foe of “God Doom” in the despot’s Orthanc-like tower.

This grisly audience is admittedly somewhat ‘drawn out’ on account of the blond-haired battler’s rather pretentious repeated threats to kill his enthroned prey unless he is told where his “warbound” friend is being kept prisoner. But such poorly worded dialogue is soon forgotten when the one-eye heavily-muscled monarch reveals one of his trophies to be that of Barnes’ severed bionic arm…

The regular cover art of "PLANET HULK" No. 4 by Michael Del Mundo