So much stuff this week. I finally got in my Runaways V2 HC which is great. Now I can read what I didn’t get to which is everything before issue 8 of the current volume.

Killer was great. Batman/Mad Monk great. Daredevil great. Just a great big week. My wallet really took a pounding.

If Iron Man being a delusional fascist can be considered portraying things correctly.

The essential problem is, Millar and Bendis don’t seem to see any difference between the Ultimate versions of the characters and the regular versions. They’ve as much as said so in interviews. And that fundamental misunderstanding of the characters infects everything, so that even the writers who do a good job with the tie-ins (Brubaker, possibly Gage although I wasn’t impressed with my skim of that one-shot) are still really trying to shore up a ridiculous bit of mischaracterization. At best, they can provide reasonable retcon excuses for this weird behavior… but I couldn’t ever call it correct.

And yet… the writing and art on the new Captain America series has been so good, and some of the stuff with the Winter Soldier actually pretty intriguing as well, that I find it has melted my hatred somewhat. It’s probably worth checking out the trades and seeing what you think. If you want to skip over the Winter Soldier focus (probably a good idea) to see if it’s worth your time, I suggest reading the Red Menace Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 trades, which are probably the strongest the book has been, in my opinion.

As for Hack/Slash, my problem with it wasn’t that it was horrible. In fact, the book was far from that. What my issue with it was, was that I had sincerely enjoyed the First Cut trade, both in the well-crafted, very clever story and the nice art. With Slice Hard, I was underwhelmed by all that it offered, but it wasn’t something that I loathed or anything.

For the remainder of the week, I too was taken by Winter Soldier: Winter Kills. I have no stake in the Bucky controversy either way, and I have really liked what Brubaker has done so far with him. A few issues ago we got to see him infiltrate a S.H.I.E.L.D. base and with this one, we not only got some solid artwork turned in by Weeks, but it felt like a classic superhero team up. I miss those and this sort of fit the bill for me.

Ostrander’s Batman was a tad on the dark side but Mandrake really draws one of the best Batman’s around and it was a fine read (though I maybe in the minority on that). Daredevil was a nice summation to the overall mystery that has been plauging Murdock (though I see where Randy is coming from with the talky comment) and Connor Hawke continues to provide a solid story with energetic art by Donovan.

Oh, and though I again might be in the minority, Nextwave was again a laugh out loud, over the top bizzare action extravaganza! Yes, I say these things about this book, knowing full well that I will be mocked to no end.

Eh. I feel like the character has earned his respect, and more to the point, I’m not thrilled that Fraction came into Marvel and with what is essentially his first story offed a villain created by some of the earliest Daredevil creators. Maybe this isn’t fair of me, but I don’t feel he’d earned it.

You heard me… I don’t think he had earned the right to kill Stilt-Man. I’m well aware that Fraction will probably point and laugh at me for making this remark, if he sees it. I will bear his scorn proudly.

As to Wonder Woman, well, if I were a big WW fan perhaps I’d get more out of it, but I’m tired of the “supporting character in her own book” approach, like the weaker aspects of the Priest Black Panther run, or Rucka’s overrated run.

I think part of why I dug it at first is because I’m not a Wonder Woman fan, and I at least thought Heinberg’s run had some nice action, solid art from the Dodsons and a nifty use of some old continuity without rubbing it in your face if you don’t know it. I mean, I know almost nothing of WW’s history, but I got the Heinberg Wonder Woman.

Paul O’Brien recently pointed out that the Knaufs and Zircher haven’t done much to stop the bleeding, and the CW tie-ins aren’t helping either. Considering how the next year at Marvel seems determined to position Iron Man as the MU’s Big Bad, that’s not a good sign.

What’s weird is not that I dislike it so much, but that it’s a rare case of Marvel dropping the ball from a business/marketing point of view. I mean, I hate Iron Man as villain, just as much as I hate 90% of what’s going on in the Marvel Universe right now, but I can’t deny the sales effectiveness of it. The smart thing to do would be to reposition Iron Man as a starring book for a villain, and try to make Tony a sympathetic villain… give his point of view, so that he doesn’t just come across as the total asshole he’s being portrayed as in CIVIL WAR proper. I’d hate it, wouldn’t read it… but these days, you could splash that quote across most of the Top 10 or 20 selling comics, so maybe that’s a good thing.

I mean, if you want REALLY bitter self-irony that takes itself too seriously, you should read The Boys. Jesus!

As to Wonder Woman, well, if I were a big WW fan perhaps I’d get more out of it, but I’m tired of the “supporting character in her own book” approach, like the weaker aspects of the Priest Black Panther run, or Rucka’s overrated run. Only Heinberg’s like “Here’s my continuity reference!” over and over again it seems. It’s like Heinberg’s anxious about writing Wonder Woman as a three dimensional person, so the book mainly consists of Diana running around in the background while other people react to her. I wouldn’t say it’s horrible, but it’s certainly annoying to me.

Iron Man, for its first three issues, might have been the best IM story ever, if Ellis hadn’t obviously slacked off when he realized Granov would take forever to turn in the art (he said he completed the first DRAFT of issue #6 in JULY 2005. How long did it take to write “IM and Mallen punch each other for 20 pages and then scientist lady gets arrested?” God, I hate him so much sometimes). Paul O’Brien recently pointed out that the Knaufs and Zircher haven’t done much to stop the bleeding, and the CW tie-ins aren’t helping either. Considering how the next year at Marvel seems determined to position Iron Man as the MU’s Big Bad, that’s not a good sign.

It’s interesting, because I sort of mildly enjoyed both Iron Fist #1-2, but I’ve got some gripes with it, ironically some of which are what you enjoy about the book. Like you, I dig the notion of adding an Iron Fist legacy, but I don’t know that the character *needed* it. In fact, I think the basic concept we’ve had is plenty strong. My favorite sequence in #2 is the interaction between Power Man and Iron Fist. Call me an old school traditionalist, but I’d really rather just have a new PM/IF book instead of Cage in the Avengers and Iron Fist as a kung-fu action book. I’m also really not fond of the dialogue, which makes Danny way too quippy. I like Fraction, but it does seem like he’s got one voice, and it’s the self-aware ironic quippy style. Works for some guys, but unfortunately not the Marvel guys he’s writing. In my opinion, at least.

And if Heinberg never comes back to YA (and given how horrible Wonder Woman is, maybe that’s a blessing), perhaps Brubaker should take a whack at it.

Here’s the thing, though… is Wonder Woman actually horrible? I think it’s actually decent, solid superhero stuff, but the delayed expectations and Hollywood writer raise the bar, and so when it comes out it can’t help but disappoint. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got no sympathy for Heinberg here, because the lateness on that book is terrible. It’s kind of like how Ellis and Granov fucked up a potentially big sales relaunch of Iron Man with lateness that dropped its sales back to tepid levels. Same deal with WW, which started off looking like a potential big new launch and now, thanks to lateness, is back to third tier territory.

I’m just saying, devil’s advocate, that the book’s quality isn’t really that bad. It’s just that the lateness robs it of all-important urgency and connectedness with the readers.

I did read the Winter Kills one-shot, and I have to say, if we’re going to be stuck with a reborn Bucky (Still, I can’t help wondering if Brube’s got a Cosmic Cube “everything you know is wrong” up his sleeve), at least we get good stories like this. I don’t know if this was added as part of the stopgap for the delays, but I’m glad it was made. The scene at the end brought a bit of a tear to my eye.

And if Heinberg never comes back to YA (and given how horrible Wonder Woman is, maybe that’s a blessing), perhaps Brubaker should take a whack at it. It’s kind of a shame that book is on hiatus because Civil War has interesting implications for it.

Also quite liked Winter Soldier, found it to be more or less on par with a lot of Brubaker’s Captain America work. A nice use of the unfortunate choice to bring Bucky back with some good flashback stuff, terrific work with the guest-starring Young Avengers, Brubaker’s usual excellent handling of the crap Civil War concept, not to mention fantastic art by Lee Weeks and solid action sequences… I call it must-reading for Cap fans, and a surprising bright spot for you poor bastards spending your life savings on Marvel’s Civil War tie-ins.

Otherwise… latest issue of Daredevil finally gives us some answers, and while it reads more like a Bendis/Maleev issue than a Brubaker/Lark one (in other words, lots of talky talk), there is some action and it’s an interesting climax to the story, tying back pretty solidly into the foundation laid down by Bendis. The Killer #2 doesn’t disappoint, neither does the latest Jack of Fables (a lighter, funnier version of the Fables book itself, appropriate to a spinoff for its trickster character), the latest Batman and the Mad Monk and the latest Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, which has some great stuff between Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane. Also found some fun moments in Crossing Midnight #2 and Iron Fist #2, thought neither has quite hooked me yet, and the same is true of Hellstorm #3.

Several great reads, several good ones… pretty solid week!