Strangers In Paradise #90 — Writer/Artist: Terry Moore
Final issue, as Moore brings everything to a satisfying conclusion (now it’s clear why David had to die a few issues ago: so that everyone else could get a happy ending without it seeming too sappy). Francine’s and Katchoo’s relationship has had so many bumps, twists and delayed gratification that it’s especially nice to see them end the run together; there’s a final, “after the credits” throwaway scene that did the almost-impossible by making me choke up, a testament to Moore’s skill as a storyteller, and a reminder of why this entire series has been such a bright spot every month.
Nova #3 — Writer: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning; Penciler: Sean Chen; Inker: Scott Hanna
Surprisingly good, mostly because, as in last month’s She-Hulk, Nova says the things about the current state of Marvel America and the Initiative that most of us have been thinking (his conversation with Speedball/Penance, which boils down to “What are you — nuts?” is especially on-point). At the end, though, he flies off to outer space to take part in the next Annihilation sequel, and without the Earth interactions I’ll probably stop buying this book again.
Fables #62 — Writer: Bill Willingham; Penciller: Mark Buckingham; Inker: Andrew Pepoy
Continuing Flycatcher’s story, as he armors up, powers up, and adds a sword of at least +20 damage (i.e.: Excalibur). Meanwhile, the Fabletown crew gathers intelligence on the Adversary, and prepares for war. Things are breaking so well for the good guys right now that they’re clearly going to have to reverse course and go to hell soon, but it’s the journey that’s important, and Willingham and company continue to provide an entertaining and engrossing ride.
The New Avengers #31 — Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Artist: Leonil Yu
So, Marvel’s been touting this book for a month because, supposedly, the last page was going to change the Marvel Universe as we know it. What was on it? Let’s wait to spoil things until after the jump…
…and, on the last panel, Jessica’s baby’s eyes snap open as he’s taking his bottle, and they have a greenish tinge to them. Why’s that important? Well, a few pages earlier, Elektra’s been killed (yeah, again, and this time in a sword-through-the-body-pose that’s deliberately reminiscent of Daredevil #181), and her body turns into a Skrull. That’s it. That’s the big surprise: for some undefined amount of time now, Elektra’s been a Skrull. Ooohhh, the Marvel Universe will never be the same, huh? (The kicker was, the first time I read the story, I didn’t even realize she was a Skrull, because Yu’s art is so sketchy and murky that I just processed the image as dessicated-corpse Elektra; Eddie had to point out her Skrullishness before I could see it.)
So, anyway: what are we supposed to make of this? Who cares if Elektra, at some point, got replaced by a Skrull? It doesn’t seem to impact the Civil War stuff because (a) Elektra had nothing to do with that, and (b) blaming the Civil War on the Skrulls would be incredibly lame, even for Marvel. Instead, it seems likely to be a tie-in to all the other Bendis books, where the Illuminati pissed off the Skrulls in a retcon a few months ago, and the Avengers book has been hinting at a Vast Conspiracy ever since issue #1. Fair enough. What about the baby, now — are we to understand that it’s a Skrull? Do its eyes snap open because the Elektra-Skrull has died, and it senses this? Since when do Skrulls do that? Or, is it a Skrull because Luke’s a Skrull? Or Jessica? Hey, maybe it’s the milk: it’s from the Skrull cows from the Byrne story in FF Annual #17 and Skrull Kill Krew. Huh? Huh? Geez, now my head hurts….
I’d only really be impressed with this development if we could go back to previous issues of Alias, Avengers, etc. for the last year or two, and see evidence of some groundwork/clues preparing for it; then, at least, it wouldn’t have the we-just-pulled-this-idea-out-of-our-butts quality that it seems to right now. As a story device, it’s OK, but I don’t think it’s possible for “Skrulls did it” to be the answer to any truly interesting or innovative plot twist. The real reason to be glad for this issue, I suppose, is that it ends the exhausting ninja/Leonil Yu arc; now, maybe, we can get back to clear, straight-ahead storytelling and start rocketing forward for a change. If Skrulls can contribute to that, I’m all for it.
World War Hulk #1 (of 5) — Writer: Greg Pak; Penciler: John Romita, Jr.; Inker: Klaus Janson
There’s some talking and other setup, but most of the issue consists of a warmup match between the Hulk and Black Bolt, on the moon, and then the main event: an enraged Green Goliath vs. an extra-armor-enhanced Iron Man. Romita Jr.’s art, and Pak’s choreography, make it an epic fight, and if the essence of superhero books boils down to two characters punching the crap out of each other, this book shows why that can be a good thing: it’ll make your inner 12-year-old (the one who still wonders who’d win a Hulk/Iron Man fight) go “Wow. Cool.”
DMZ #20 — Writer: Brian Wood; Art: Kristian Donaldson
The third of a five-part arc, that turns out to be about the massacre that created the current NYC-as-DMZ standoff. Here, we start to get the civilian protesters’ angles, instead of the military ones provided earlier, and Wood continues to deliver a balanced, thoughtful examination of how tragedies happen during wartime, even when neither side sees themselves as the bad guys.
Avengers Classic #1 — Writers (new material): Dwayne McDuffie and Stan Lee; Artists (new material): Michael Avon Oeming and Kevin Maguire
Starting a series that, like Classic X-Men back in the ’80s, reprints early issues of the title in order, with new stories added to supplement the material in the originals. Here, we get two new stories: one on how the first Avengers chairperson was decided, with Oeming using a painted, exaggerated cartoony style, and a Stan Lee tale about how he really got the Avengers together (with very pretty McGuire art that makes him look like Max Lord — the funny con-man one, not the murderous dictator one). The script’s in the tongue-in-cheek style that Stan’s been using in his last few books (or, come to think of it, for the lest 15 years), but it’s nice to see him still working, and commenting on something he wrote almost 45 years ago. Altogether, this is an effective and stylish package, especially if you’ve never read the original Avengers books before.
Phil Mateer
