What is a Short Pants Review? While we’d love to give full reviews to everything, there just isn’t enough time in the day. So we’ve come up with Short Pants as a way of providing capsule reviews from our varied review writers, giving quick hits and short capsule thoughts about various comics we’ve read recently.
This time out, Nick and D3 cover Nextwave: Agents of Hate #11, The Boys #6, Connor Hawke Dragon’s Blood #2 of 6, Ultimate Power #3 of 9, Union Jack #4 of 4, The New Avengers #26 and Annihilation #5 of 6.
D3 (David Martindale) Read and Thought:
The New Avengers #26 (Marvel Comics): I’ve never been a big fan of Bendis’ of Maleev’s superhero work, but it hits a new low in this issue. The art is overly sketchy even for Maleev, and the color palette is incredibly boring for a superhero comic. The writing is also quite subpar, but the real weakness is the plot concept. Hawkeye wakes up in the snow and decides not to tell any of the Avengers that he’s alive. Instead of looking for an Avenger, he spends six pages talking to Doctor Strange and actively avoids contacting the Avengers. He then proceeds to track down the Scarlet Witch, who is obviously mentally ill and has lost her memory. Of course the next logical step for a hero of Hawkeye’s caliber in an all ages rated book, would be for him to take advantage of her sexually. At least DC had villains doing the raping.
Annihilation #5 of 6 (Marvel Comics): The Super-Skrull, Drax, Ronan, and Show ▼
Galactus
unleash an impressive level of badassery on the Annihilation Wave in this issue. I felt that the Ronan lead-in mini-series was the weakest of the Annihilation minis, but half of this issue focuses on him retaking the conquered Kree homeworld, and it is definitely the stronger half of the issue. That isn’t to say the other half is weak. Actually, there’s a great splash page where Show ▼
Galactus
gets a wee bit upset and starts trashing Annihilus’ flagship. Great stuff, go buy it.
Nick Budd Read and Thought:
Nextwave: Agents of Hate #11 (Marvel Comics): There are many praises that I can bestow upon this issue (the whole series in fact), but I feel that I have already complimented Stuart Immonen’s brilliant and engaging artwork and Ellis’ competent, Looney Tunes-esque take on the superhero comic. For issue #11, I have only two words for you that perfectly sum up the cocaine like addiction and utter Bozo the Clown hilarity that can be uncovered within: Elvis M.O.D.O.K.s. Need I say more?
Connor Hawke Dragon’s Blood #2 of 6 (DC): Archery contests more often than not seem to make for exciting story lines, but is that all that Connor Hawke Dragon’s Blood has to offer? Nope, not by a long shot. Strong characters, both of the new and old varieties, are next on this book’s menu, followed closely by some energetic, Bruce Timm meets Phil Hester, artwork. This time out, Chuck Dixon delves into the mysterious character Shado, offers up some old fashioned ninja based action and still manages to incorporate some honest to god comedy into the mix without it feeling out of place. All in all, a series that people should take note of and seek out.
The Boys #6 (Wildstorm): Despite being the same “I hate superheroes, so I’ll beat the unholy hell out of them” riff, maybe if Garth Ennis had not decided to drag things out for so long and had gotten to the meat of his story, as he did with this issue of The Boys, I might have been more apt to maybe keep reading. As it is, this issue speaks to both Ennis’ and Robertson’s strengths: Ample mayhem and lots and lots of blood as Butcher’s gang knocks heads with the Teen Titans’ twisted mirror image, Teenage Kix. I will admit that it all looks first-rate and for a change, Ennis reveals some actual character development that’s been hidden beneath all of the testosterone and evil, bastard type heroes. It may be a small glimmer of hope, but it’s too little and way too late in the game to erase all the horrible drivel that’s come before.
Ultimate Power #3 of 9 (Marvel): Brian Bendis = Lots of talky-talk. Greg Land = Pretty, shiny people. That’s a bit of an over simplification on my part, but with Ultimate Power, it’s not too far off the mark. A bit ho-hum overall, as the plot of a parallel world’s semi-destruction is blamed on the young and brilliant Reed Richards. The book’s one saving grace? Land’s bang-up job with the portrayal of a sentient blob monster attacking Washington D.C. It’s sounds corny, I know, but the photo realistic backgrounds and monster are so detailed and well-plotted that the images simply draw you in. If there only didn’t happen to be a few dozen word balloons and narrative captions blocking large chunks of the pages, the book might have read better. If you’re a fan of the Ultimate Universe at all and don’t mind wading through a bale of corny dialogue and some mediocre action, you might want to give it a shot. If that’s not you’re thing, then I’d skip it.
Union Jack #4 of 4 (Marvel): Well, first and foremost, I’ll give anyone who uses a Dreadnought in their story some much deserved credit. That credit should actually be multiplied by the on the mark usage of Batroc the Leaper, Crossfire, the Death Throws and Zaran. But to say the usage of odd-ball characters is everything that Christos Gage bestows upon his readers as this fantastic, four issue mini from across the pond comes to an action packed conclusion, would be folly. What there is, are some nice twists and turns and an ending that perfectly fits the tone of the story but doesn’t feel out of place for a superhero book. Mike Perkins’ art doesn’t hurt either, and his action sequences, especially this time as Union Jack takes on the aformentioned giant robot, just keeps getting better. My only problem, and I know I’ve said it before, is that I can’t understand how this isn’t an ongoing. Pick up the entire series if you can. If not, then the trade will be on its way directly
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I thought the Ultimate Power story would’ve been better served if the content of this issue had been moved to the first issue. It would have been a nice surprise ending if we found out that the person apparently responsible for causing such devastation was Reed Richards.
Instead, we get another issue of virtually no story development that could’ve been condensed down to a 3 page flashback because we already learned generally what happened at the end of issue 2.
01 Jan 2007 at 9:14 am
QuoteThe greuling misogyny in Bendis’ work has made him, to me, the worst creator of the year, and that’s a year with Jeph Loeb. The icing on the cake was the remarkably thin skinned Stan Lee/Impossible Man story where he had the man snarl “CHANGE IS GOOD” over and over again to IM and a bunch of fanboy fatties.
I must really be the only one who thought the Furman/Lucas Ronan miniseries was teh AWESOME. Yes, the second half was weaker than the first, but Furman had the unenviable task of making interesting a character that was essentially a sweet Kirby design grafted onto a plot device and did a very good job. It wasn’t the best written Annihilation series- that award goes to Super-Skrull- but K’Lrt was saddled with bad Ramos clone art, which elevates Ronan. Well, it was better than Furman’s Transformers: Infiltration, which, well, it was REALLY bad.
01 Jan 2007 at 12:53 pm
QuoteDan, I’m beginning to suspect you are my bizarro opposite.
I really enjoyed Transformers: Infiltration, at least early on, and found Ronan to be just boring and almost nonsensical.
Btw, is misogyny really the word you’re looking for in regards to Bendis? I haven’t been reading Bendis’ work for a couple years now, but I never picked up any women-hating vibes off his work, and given that the dude has a wife and daughter, I think it’s highly unlikely. I suspect you’re instead aiming for misanthropy, but I don’t think that really applies either, because Bendis *loves* his fans, his friends (hell, he gets most of them work), his co-workers, all that stuff. The only folks he seems to have a mad-on for are the former fans and those who bash his stuff online, and really, can you blame him?
Don’t get me wrong, I think that Bendis has gone horribly wrong as a writer, as he used to be one of my favorites and now I can’t even stand to read his stuff, but I think you’re going a bit far in your demonizing of the dude. If you want to demonize someone, aim for John Byrne… you could make a court case for that guy being a dick.
01 Jan 2007 at 1:32 pm
QuoteJust curious Randy, this is the second time I’ve “heard” you say something negative about John Byrne in the last few weeks. Is there a story behind this?
01 Jan 2007 at 3:05 pm
QuoteOh, man. I gotta get some popcorn for this.
01 Jan 2007 at 5:43 pm
QuoteIt’s not a really big feud or anything. In fact, I’ve never even exchanged two words with the man, online or otherwise.
But I do think Byrne is a dick, which is easily borne out by listening to just about anyone who’s ever interacted with him, or spending a couple of days on his boards and watching how he treats his sycophants (let alone anyone who might actually disagree with him). So he makes a good target for (usually tongue-in-cheek) cheap shots, and I don’t hold any guilt considering how freely he’ll blast away at anyone who disagrees with him in any way. If I were a bigger person, I wouldn’t do it… but I have a weakness when it comes to petty blowhards.
01 Jan 2007 at 6:52 pm
QuotePlus he called Dave Farabee an asshole for even considering reading Lost Girls. So, I can’t say I think much of him either.
01 Jan 2007 at 9:41 pm
QuoteAnd me…the guy he called “asshole”…I still kinda like him. I’m pretty forgiving of asshole-ishness in creative types, and it doesn’t matter much to me that his glory days may be behind him. I owe him too many happy childhood memories to keep a grudge, and I’ve never been much for grudges anyway.
I do have a pretty healthy distaste for his hardcore sycophants, though. The level of ass-kissery they reach, and the pack mentality it fosters…it’s a good argument for minimizing interraction between fans and pros. Decent folks can become real schmucks around creators they’re trying to buddy-up with, and worst of all, the last thing a talented creator needs to be surrounded with is a bunch of yes-men.
In other news, I think the latest New Avengers was a painfully egotistical indulgence on the writing front, but I liked Maleev’s Klimt-inspired art quite a bit. Apparently the colors printed much more washed out than the originals, which I saw Maleev had posted at Bendis’ board:
http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?t=97025
But the book I’d most recommend this week is the hardcover printing of the Dabel Brothers’ adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Hedge Knight. It’s a rare beast: an excellent fantasy story in comics.
02 Jan 2007 at 2:54 am
QuoteRandy: I dunno, that Stan Lee story just pushed it over the line for me. All I seem to see these days is Bendis complaining about the fans in interviews, yet his books are still selling through the roof so somebody’s enjoying them. And New Avengers overall has been almost unforgivably bad this year. I’m sick to death of every story being a vague cliffhanger to nowhere, which will be a crossover that will end in a vague cliffhanger to something else. When Joe Quesada has to take two paragraphs explaining the story you wrote, something is wrong.
The misogyny comes from the way he writes women; with the exception of the most recent issue of New Avengers, Maria Hill has been played as almost ridiculously nasty when Bendis is writing her. Issue #16 seemed to serve more of a purpose to “humiliate the bitch in charge” more than show the threat of the Collective. It gets under my skin when every artist tries to draw her in a highly sexualized manner, thus making the connection between attractive woman- position of authority- someone not worth trusting (Bendis usually ignoring the fact that she has good REASON not to trust the Avengers). Granted, he has a sudden reversal where he takes a well rounded look at her in issue #25 and gives her the characterization she deserves, so there’s that.
And there was something seriously creepy about issue #26, dontcha think? And Spider-Woman: Origin and the subsequent NA issue might as well have been retitled Jessica Drew’s Torture Time Funnies, for the way the abuse of her is fetishized. Wife and daughter or no, those stories flipped my triggers.
Am I demonizing him? I guess so. But given how bitter he comes off publicly these days… I’m just tired of the abuse creators heap on fans, yet keep writing comics. I wish he’d just write good stories again, you know?
Then again, I look at something like The Boys, and…
Farabee: Wow, you’re THE Dave Farabee that Byrne called an asshole? Neato! And I’m on a Storm of Swords, so I’m considering getting The Hedge Knight.
02 Jan 2007 at 9:01 am
QuoteHere’s an article (a pretty interesting one) that looks at Bendis’ Alias from a feminist perspective - http://girl-wonder.org/papers/healey.html
Obviously this doesn’t mean that Bendis can never write a misogynistic tale, but I do believe there are far many other authors who are more deserving of the label.
Personally, I liked Avengers #26. I don’t really understand why it’s that surprising that Clint didn’t seek out the Avengers. He has been through a heck of a lot.
Some of the issue didn’t sit entirely well with me…I didn’t like the rushed transition to suddenly finding Wanda. And I’m still uncertain about how I feel about the way Wanda rather quickly throws herself upon him. It seemed…odd.
But then there was much about the tale that seemed odd. Obviously there is still much wrong with Wanda. I liked the atmosphere of the writing and Maleev’s art complemented it perfectly. While not a perfect issue my any stretch of the imagination, it was well done - and it was different than most superhero comics. I liked the changed of pace.
I will say this - at least the review above didn’t complain about Bendis’ quippy overly-hip dialogue.
02 Jan 2007 at 12:14 pm
QuoteI like Karen Healey’s writing a lot; I should also stress that Bendis’ weird streak towards women didn’t really start until Avengers. I thought he created a terrific character in Jessica Jones.
02 Jan 2007 at 12:20 pm
QuoteYou may have already read this, but here is Healey’s take on Bendis’ presentation of Maria Hill - see #6 - http://www.girl-wonder.org/girlsreadcomics/index.php?m=12&y=06&entry=entry061231-150613
02 Jan 2007 at 12:30 pm
QuoteYeah, I have to agree with her on that, though we’ve disagreed on how she’s been portrayed prior to that. I had to double check issue #25 that it wasn’t written by Bendis.
02 Jan 2007 at 2:33 pm
QuoteYou guys sure make me glad I dropped New Avengers after issue #2.
02 Jan 2007 at 3:02 pm
QuoteAnd Dave, that really sucks (regarding Byrne calling you names). I am a huge fan of much of his work but his Board does put me off a bit. It would be quite a downer if someone who was so influential in turning me into a comics fan treated me like that.
Funny thing is, I’ve seen this guy at shows treat fans really nicely, but I can totally see how his “online personality” turns people off. It’s like Jekyll & Hyde. As a fan we want these guys to be cool people but its just a reminder that the work and the artist are two different entities.
02 Jan 2007 at 3:16 pm
QuoteEric: Without a doubt, “The Sentry” and “the Collective” rank as two of the worst stories in Avengers history. I mean, they’re jaw droppingly bad, and are essentially about NOTHING. They resolve NOTHING. They drip with contempt for audience intelligence.
It’s not I think Bendis is incapable of doing a good Avengers story. I just don’t think he cares.
02 Jan 2007 at 3:23 pm
Quote“It’s not I think Bendis is incapable of doing a good Avengers story. I just don’t think he cares.”
I think he does, but… to me, his sensibilities don’t really seem cut out for the Avengers. He has gotten better at it, but I think his talky style and gradual stories suit solo characters (or duos, like in Powers) better than a big superhero team that goes up against big threats a lot.
Of course, given how many copies New Avengers has sold, I could be the one with the wrong sensibilities
03 Jan 2007 at 4:25 pm
QuoteByrne’s work is just as fresh and new as the hairstyles he draws on his characters. Oops, by expressing that sentiment, I’ve now been banned from his boards.
03 Jan 2007 at 4:44 pm
QuoteSo, the rodent on the cover of “The Boys”.. I’ve been curious since I saw it in the solicits.. knowing the content of the book (tho i don’t read it), I thot that the gerbil(?) was indicating a bit of ass play. Guess not.. unless you just didn’t feel that to be germane to the review?
03 Jan 2007 at 6:03 pm
QuoteAfter reading The Boys #6, I wonder if someone needs to tell Garth Ennis that, uh, superheroes aren’t real. Really, Garth, 60 issues of this? Why don’t you, I dunno, do something other than comics?
04 Jan 2007 at 9:12 am
QuoteDan, comics != superheroes. His Punisher stories are usually quite good. Punisher Tyger was one of the best things I read last year. I was also reading his Avatar book “303″, but when it got delayed (of course, it’s Avatar), I just waited for trade (of course, it’s Avatar). But I like the first issue of that. War Stories was another great series penned by Ennis.. and of course, Preacher. All comics, no superheroes.
04 Jan 2007 at 10:05 am
QuoteWell… exactly. the more energy Garth pisses away on a 1300 page remake of Brat Pack Meets Bravo Two Zero the less energy he has to make stuff like 303 and Preacher. It’s rather depressing, I think.
04 Jan 2007 at 10:55 am
QuoteIn all fairness, it probably doesn’t take too much energy to write something like The Boys. It lacks substance and a quicker pace that a book like this needs. Ennis is still one of my favorite writers though - Preacher, War Stories, Hellblazer, Hitman (which I haven’t finished…I wish DC would reprint those trades!), are some of my favorites, and Punisher MAX continues to be a good read. Not only is The Boys some of the worst stuff he’s done, though - it also is a waste of Robertson’s artistic chops.
07 Jan 2007 at 4:05 pm
Quote