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Is
that a neuro-whip or your tongue?
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Jason
Schachat's
Occasional Breakdown
11/21/02 Part Two
part 1 here
Not
content with simply introducing heroes and villains one
at time any more, Ultimate Spider-Man #86
serves up a few helpings of Omega Red and Wrecking Crew
before getting to the namesake of the new arc, Silver Sable.
Where this differs from Geoff Johns' Flash and
Green Lantern is that Bendis has has us so firmly
entrenched in Peter's head, he can afford to devote numerous
pages to mindless violence and villain POV.
It all
starts when Omega Red destroys a Roxxon cargo ship for reasons
no one can guess (aside from the fact that he likes to blow
stuff up, that is). Spidey manages to whip the be-tentacled
baddie in short order, and we find ourselves following the
Wrecking Crew as they clean up the damage and then Silver
Sable as she pursues Spider-man for reasons most likely
connected to bank accounts.
As beginnings
of stories go, this one sets up a nice shadowy benefactor,
some playful not-so-covert ops guys, and, of course, big
fiery explosions. It also gives us a clean break from the
last arc, so, outside of the openeing blurb, we have no
mention of Peter's moping over Mary Jane, the manipulation
by the Kingpin, or his rather undigested break with Black
Cat. In other words, it makes for the best jumping-on point
in a long time.
The
actual issue is pretty simple, delivering a nice fight scene
and a lot of setup, but it promises a more interesting arc
than one might usually expect of a story called "Silver
Sable". As usual, Bendis, Bagley, and Co. continue
to deliver one of Marvel's most solid books.
A bit...
well, a MUCH more disjointed read is the follow-up Ultimate
Vision #1 which comes at the end of the issue.
All it really does is remind us that the Vision robot from
Ultimate Nightmare is still being reconstructed
in the S.H.I.E.L.D. labs, then the chunks of metallic rubble
suddenly reassemble themselves into a robo-babe body.
Logic?
Don't look for it here.
The
basic problem with this tie-in to Ultimate Galactus
is that John Romita Jr.'s art is NOTHING like the styles
seen in the other books in that series. It can fit with
Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-man, and Ultimate
Fantastic Four, but connecting it to the less (and
I hate to use the word) "cartoony" stories is
quite jarring.
Then
there's the flaw with Ultimate Vision herself. I looked
at the design for a while and tried to figure out what bothered
me so much. To put it plainly, it's because she's a woman.
The notion of a robot having breasts is pretty laughable,
and, due to the way they're "mounted" on her,
these ones somehow seem beyond ridiculous. Usually, this
issue with robot designs has led us to more androgynous
looks for feminine androids, but that ground has been trodden
quite a bit...
Which
brings me back to the problem with Ultimate Vision being
a woman: the way it's been done before. Typically, "male"
robots fall into leadership positions on superhero teams
because they demonstrate all the assertiveness of a man
without the emotional weakness. But look at how female robots
are done. They always end up being robo-maids, mindless
slaves, support units, or the team member you have hacking
into a mainframe so the men can then do all the fighting.
Just because the robot (a being which should be characterized
as genderless) has a feminine shape, it's suddenly a passive
female.
The
decision to make Ultimate Vision a robo-babe is already
setting her up for a fall, since, traditionally, that means
there's no way she can rise to be the center of the team
like the old Vision was. Is that how it will happen? I can't
honestly say. They may go against type and make her more
than just another Void or Indigo, but comics history says
otherwise.
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The
Marvel Universe gets a Haunted Mansion!
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In another
display of fine comic traditions, X-Men: Deadly
Genesis #1 hits the racks in hopes of wrapping
up one of the big questions unanswered in House of M:
What the hell happened to all the mutant energy?
Sure,
it may have been one of the greatest perversions of the
Laws of Conservation in recent times, but it still makes
for a good excuse to create new heroes and villains.
Scribe
Ed Brubaker starts the issue much like a new story arc in
Astonishing X-Men, and makes good use of references
to Giant-Size X-Men #1 to establish the history
of the team before delving into the horrors that await them.
Aside
from the Sentinel robot (no breasts on that one, of course)
which is waiting outside the school, they've discovered
a new mutant power source that is way off the charts and
happens to be rocketing into their neighborhood. Then various
members of the team begin reliving memories, seeing ghosts,
and digging up very convenient audio recordings. Oh, and
Professor X is still missing. Again.
This
all adds up to... actually, I have no idea (evil mutant
star-baby?), but it's safe to say the X-Men are in for some
pain.
Trevor
Hairsine's pencils seem just a little less grand than his
work on the Ultimate books, but most of that can be chalked
up to plain backgrounds and a somewhat restrained colorist.
Brubaker gives him a nice, meaty fight scene, but, when
the gold standard is Cassaday's work on Astonishing
X-Men, anything but perfection is going to reduce your
mileage.
While
this mini-series has some promise and sets out to answer
some important questions, the first issue just leaves you
hungry for more. In a way, that's a good thing, but, if
you want answers NOW, you may be disappointed.
Last
year, I barely managed to review Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan's
Demo before it ran its course, but it wasn't even
two weeks later before I caught up on all 12 issues and
put it on my list of the best comics of 2004. Almost a year
later, Wood has started into another year-long indie project,
and I gotta say Local #1 promises
more of the same brilliance.
While
Demo twisted the notion of superpowers into a true
storytelling device with much more life and possiblity than
you find in mainstream comics, Local takes the
approach of building an atmosphere out of different locales,
taking snippets from the life of a girl named Megan as she
ages from 17 to 30 (12 part story, different issue = different
year, etc.) and then delving into well-plotted short stories.
The
first episode of this book finds the young runaway dealing
with a druggie boyfriend who is using her to fake prescriptions
for him. Following a format similar to Run Lola Run,
the story takes us through Megan's mind as she guesses at
the different outcomes of their latest scam.
The
concept is simple, but the storytelling is clear and strong.
Artist Ryan Kelly puts the first issue together in a black
and white style that combines angsty teenage cool with a
welcoming warnth. Wood immediately connects us to Megan
with this one issue, and at no point does the story feel
tired or worn-out.
All
in all, this is what a comic should be. Style and substance.
No childish posturing, useless details, or endless quasi-conflicts.
Beginning, middle, end-- perfect.
If you
pick up just one comic this week, it should be Local
#1.
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