As
I think I’ve mentioned previously, I’m pretty sure that Jonathan Hickman’s
writing style is to write a script and then delete 25 percent of the
words. This issue continues his pattern
of never having the characters discuss something directly. We have no idea what Black Bolt said to make
Medusa so angry nor do we know about whom Reed and Tony are speaking when they
return from their trip (wherever it is that they went). It’s left unclear how
Namor could benefit from a partnership with Black Swan and we don’t really know
who actually leads the invasion that we see at the end of the issue. In other words, I continue to have no idea
what’s actually happening in this series.
I realized in reading this issue that Hickman’s writing is the narrative
equivalent of high-school friends knowing a secret but purposefully talking
about it in coded language around you to make you jealous.
The good news is that I’m not in high school anymore so I don’t have to
tolerate it. Ciao, “New Avengers.”
Showing posts with label New Avengers (2013). Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Avengers (2013). Show all posts
Monday, September 16, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
New Avengers #7 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
I'm not sure why I'm still collecting this title, as I've previously mentioned. I get that Hickman views this series as a sort of "game of kings," but he seems to confuse regalness with coldness. I've never gotten a sense that any of these characters particularly care about the outcome. Although the dialogue may sound like them, the characters here -- some of the oldest ones that Marvel has -- are virtually unrecognizable, from a combative Dr. Strange to a conciliatory Namor. In a way, this issue was supposed to be a pause in the ongoing story of multiple Earths colliding into one another, a chance for us to catch our breath and see how the events of these past few issues have affected these men with the weight of multiple worlds on their shoulders. What we learn is that, given such a break, they return to their petty squabbles and ongoing feuds. Only Namor seems to be able to put aside differences, but that depiction shouldn't be celebrated, since he's the one least likely to do so. In other words, it's a mess and I'm done. (This issue is also a great example of pet peeve #2, given that Namor and T'Challa do the exact opposite of what's depicted on the cover -- they make peace, not war.)
Friday, June 7, 2013
New Avengers #6 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
This issue is one of the issues that I accidentally got when I picked up three weeks' worth of comics, having intended to drop the title. I'm glad that I got it, though, because Hickman does make the story a little more interesting here. The addition of the threat of the Mapmakers means that the Illuminati aren't just standing around Necropolis wringing their hands over having to destroy worlds. But, I still don't find it enjoyable. Something about Hickman's writing is remarkably cold, leaving the characters as little more than chess pieces to advance, and I'd rather spend my money elsewhere. But, it's a good issue on which to end.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
New Avengers #5 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Honestly, I think I'm done here. Hickman tries to advance the story, but I'm still not really sure what he wants me to think. Some god was born and, as such, the multiverse started to die? Something like that? I honestly can't say I care all that much, so this one is gone, unfortunately.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
New Avengers #4 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
Ugh. I'm trying to hang in there with "New Avengers," but, honestly, Hickman is not making it easy.
I mean, I get where he's going for most of this issue. The Illuminati go to their respective corners and try to develop ways to destroy worlds that could incur into our dimension. Sure. But, when they travel to the most recent world to make an incursion, they discover that Galactus (or Galaktus, as he's known in that universe) is in the process of destroying it. So, why in God's name would they stop him? They need that world destroyed. If Galaktus doesn't destroy it, they will. So, why shoot one of your arrows if you don't have to do so? It makes no sense and Hickman does nothing to try to explain it.
Ugh. I'm not sure how much more of this series I can take.
I mean, I get where he's going for most of this issue. The Illuminati go to their respective corners and try to develop ways to destroy worlds that could incur into our dimension. Sure. But, when they travel to the most recent world to make an incursion, they discover that Galactus (or Galaktus, as he's known in that universe) is in the process of destroying it. So, why in God's name would they stop him? They need that world destroyed. If Galaktus doesn't destroy it, they will. So, why shoot one of your arrows if you don't have to do so? It makes no sense and Hickman does nothing to try to explain it.
Ugh. I'm not sure how much more of this series I can take.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
New Avengers #3 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
All right, I definitely dislike this series less than I dislike "Avengers." But, I'm not sure where it leaves me.
As I did with my review of last issue, let's start with the good first. Hickman answers my question of how two Earths can occupy the same space without immediately destroying each other by explaining that the normal laws of physics don't apply during an incursion. I mean, sure, it sounds overly convenient, but, to be honest, it sort of works in context of the plot. We are talking about two universes smashing into one another, so I'll buy the fact that another universe's physics could be different than ours or just simply the process of two universes colliding can cause the normal laws of physics to be suspended.
Moreover, Hickman does do some interesting stuff with the characters here, particularly by adding Beast into the mix. I do feel like Hickman somewhat rushed that storyline, since I feel like Henry would've be a little more outraged by learning about the presence of the Illuminati than he is here; in the span of a few pages he goes from expressing stunned disbelief to supporting them unconditionally. Cap is also interesting here, particularly his point that the geniuses of the Illuminati are going to build some sort of doomsday machine without asking themselves the ethical questions that they should be asking.
The problem, though, is that Steve may have a point, but he doesn't have a counterargument. I mean, what does he want them to do? Does he really believe that they'll be able to pull something together in eight hours? After all, we see here that, by the time they find the incursion point, they only have 6.5 hours left before annihilation. It seems pretty clear that the only alternative to building the doomsday machine is guaranteed death. Is that really an option? As Reed Richards says (more or less), is Steve really so pure that he's willing to destroy Earth simply so that he can sleep better at night? I'm just not sure that Cap would be so blinded by his principles that he would be making this argument. Hickman takes the "boring" approach to Cap that writers who've never written him often take, ignoring the fact that he frequently makes difficult decisions in compromised situations and pretending that he somehow manages to remain morally upstanding all the time. In a Lobdellian sign that Hickman has trouble coordinating with himself, Hickman has Cap order Manifold to teleport one alien cruiser into another one. I mean, sure, destroying a world is a little different, but this example shows Cap capable of making a difficult decision when lives are on the line and may need to be sacrificed.
Finally, I just don't see where the drama in this story is supposed to come. OK, we get some moments of it in seeing the interaction between the characters here. But, unless Marvel is going to go "Flashpoint!" on us with no notification and blend the two universes, it seems pretty clear that the Illuminati are going to solve this problem. As I said last issue, these sorts of stories are only interesting if characters are forced to make decisions that they wouldn't normally make as a result of the dire circumstances. Look at "Operation: Galactic Storm,' where the Avengers split on killing the Supreme Intelligence. (But, also, Marvel did unexpectedly destroy a galaxy there, something that upped the drama in a way impossible to imagine here.) It wasn't black and white, as Hickman is portraying it here by showing Cap as morally uncompromising. Some people wrestled with the decision and it has significant consequences down the line. However, here, no one makes a call that you wouldn't expect them to make. Even though Hank might come to support the Illuminati quicker than I expected, his argument that he has essentially already done terrible things to try to prevent the extermination of the mutant race rings true. Cap makes a decision I wouldn't expect, but not because of the dire circumstances, but because of bad characterization.
In other words? It's all still boring. It might have a grand sweeping scope, but it's still pretty predictable. Even if we don't know the exact way that this story is going to end, we still know how it's going to end and Hickman isn't really doing anything here to inject some excitement into the proceedings.
As I did with my review of last issue, let's start with the good first. Hickman answers my question of how two Earths can occupy the same space without immediately destroying each other by explaining that the normal laws of physics don't apply during an incursion. I mean, sure, it sounds overly convenient, but, to be honest, it sort of works in context of the plot. We are talking about two universes smashing into one another, so I'll buy the fact that another universe's physics could be different than ours or just simply the process of two universes colliding can cause the normal laws of physics to be suspended.
Moreover, Hickman does do some interesting stuff with the characters here, particularly by adding Beast into the mix. I do feel like Hickman somewhat rushed that storyline, since I feel like Henry would've be a little more outraged by learning about the presence of the Illuminati than he is here; in the span of a few pages he goes from expressing stunned disbelief to supporting them unconditionally. Cap is also interesting here, particularly his point that the geniuses of the Illuminati are going to build some sort of doomsday machine without asking themselves the ethical questions that they should be asking.
The problem, though, is that Steve may have a point, but he doesn't have a counterargument. I mean, what does he want them to do? Does he really believe that they'll be able to pull something together in eight hours? After all, we see here that, by the time they find the incursion point, they only have 6.5 hours left before annihilation. It seems pretty clear that the only alternative to building the doomsday machine is guaranteed death. Is that really an option? As Reed Richards says (more or less), is Steve really so pure that he's willing to destroy Earth simply so that he can sleep better at night? I'm just not sure that Cap would be so blinded by his principles that he would be making this argument. Hickman takes the "boring" approach to Cap that writers who've never written him often take, ignoring the fact that he frequently makes difficult decisions in compromised situations and pretending that he somehow manages to remain morally upstanding all the time. In a Lobdellian sign that Hickman has trouble coordinating with himself, Hickman has Cap order Manifold to teleport one alien cruiser into another one. I mean, sure, destroying a world is a little different, but this example shows Cap capable of making a difficult decision when lives are on the line and may need to be sacrificed.
Finally, I just don't see where the drama in this story is supposed to come. OK, we get some moments of it in seeing the interaction between the characters here. But, unless Marvel is going to go "Flashpoint!" on us with no notification and blend the two universes, it seems pretty clear that the Illuminati are going to solve this problem. As I said last issue, these sorts of stories are only interesting if characters are forced to make decisions that they wouldn't normally make as a result of the dire circumstances. Look at "Operation: Galactic Storm,' where the Avengers split on killing the Supreme Intelligence. (But, also, Marvel did unexpectedly destroy a galaxy there, something that upped the drama in a way impossible to imagine here.) It wasn't black and white, as Hickman is portraying it here by showing Cap as morally uncompromising. Some people wrestled with the decision and it has significant consequences down the line. However, here, no one makes a call that you wouldn't expect them to make. Even though Hank might come to support the Illuminati quicker than I expected, his argument that he has essentially already done terrible things to try to prevent the extermination of the mutant race rings true. Cap makes a decision I wouldn't expect, but not because of the dire circumstances, but because of bad characterization.
In other words? It's all still boring. It might have a grand sweeping scope, but it's still pretty predictable. Even if we don't know the exact way that this story is going to end, we still know how it's going to end and Hickman isn't really doing anything here to inject some excitement into the proceedings.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
New Avengers #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
I am really, really trying to give Hickman the benefit of the doubt, but, man, he does not make it easy.
OK, I'll start with the good. He does at least explain the events that occurred last issue and are driving this first arc. The mysterious woman who seemed to destroy a planet actually destroyed it because it was occupying the same time-space as our Earth. She reveals to Reed that Earth is the focal point of a series of ongoing collisions between universes. The premature destruction of one universe has resulted in a chain reaction, pushing one universe after another into one another. In each collision, if one Earth isn't destroyed, both universes die, exacerbating the ongoing chain reactions and shortening the life of the multiverse all the more. I actually sort of get that part. I also get the question that Reed and T'Challa pose at the end, whether this process is an inevitable function of the multiverse's eventual destruction or is someone specifically trying to bring about the end of the multiverse early.
Moreover, I applaud Hickman having the Illuminati decide to use the Infinity Gauntlet. The possibility of doing so during "Avengers vs. X-Men" was mentioned, I believe, only once and it seems absurd to believe that the Illuminati would allow Scott to destroy the world rather than using all the power that they had at their disposal to stop him. Here, Hickman is at least intellectually honest about the Infinity Gauntlet and actually has Cap make the case that they need to use it to avoid having to choose between destroying their Earth or another one. Although it's a little surprising that it's Cap arguing for it (since he was against the Illuminati in the first place), his argument that these sorts of decisions always leave the decision-makers more compromised that they expect to be.
But, I do have problems with this series so far and they are two-fold. The first problem is fairly mundane. Although we learn all about the upcoming "incursion" and how we'll occupy the same space as other Earth for eight hours, Hickman never actually describes how we'll both actually occupy the same space. Why can the two planets be in the same space for either hours without combusting? Why the window? Wouldn't they just immediately combust? If not, wouldn't our universe merge with their universe to create some sort of third universe? But, that didn't happen last issue, when we did actually go through an incursion with another universe.
But, more importantly, I feel like this whole story has a certain eye-roll factor. I mean, it's not even that the possibility that the Illuminati could fail and the multiverse winds up destroyed could be on the table. (Of course, that, in and of itself, would have a high eye-roll factor.) It's more that I'm not sure if we're going to get an interesting story from it. As it stands now, we've just gotten a lot of male posturing and it seems like we're just going to continue to get male posturing. I anticipate a lot of 'But, Steve!" and "But, Tony!" arguments while they race to save the multiverse that we all now that they're going to save. These stories only work if the threat that everyone knows isn't going to be realized at least inspires some interesting moments among the characters, moments that you probably wouldn't see if the heroes weren't facing such a tremendous threat (Although I disapproved of it greatly, I am thinking of Fraction having Spider-Man leave the battle in "Fear Itself" to go find Aunt May.) Here, when you're dealing with such morally compromised characters from the start, characters that pride themselves on making the hard decisions, then it's unclear what new ground you're going to be able to cover. Do we really think Namor is going to lament destroying some other Earth to save our Earth? It seems unlikely.
In other words, I'm bored. I used a lot of words here, but I'm bored. I'm at least not confused, as I am in "Avengers," but it's not exactly an improvement to applaud.
OK, I'll start with the good. He does at least explain the events that occurred last issue and are driving this first arc. The mysterious woman who seemed to destroy a planet actually destroyed it because it was occupying the same time-space as our Earth. She reveals to Reed that Earth is the focal point of a series of ongoing collisions between universes. The premature destruction of one universe has resulted in a chain reaction, pushing one universe after another into one another. In each collision, if one Earth isn't destroyed, both universes die, exacerbating the ongoing chain reactions and shortening the life of the multiverse all the more. I actually sort of get that part. I also get the question that Reed and T'Challa pose at the end, whether this process is an inevitable function of the multiverse's eventual destruction or is someone specifically trying to bring about the end of the multiverse early.
Moreover, I applaud Hickman having the Illuminati decide to use the Infinity Gauntlet. The possibility of doing so during "Avengers vs. X-Men" was mentioned, I believe, only once and it seems absurd to believe that the Illuminati would allow Scott to destroy the world rather than using all the power that they had at their disposal to stop him. Here, Hickman is at least intellectually honest about the Infinity Gauntlet and actually has Cap make the case that they need to use it to avoid having to choose between destroying their Earth or another one. Although it's a little surprising that it's Cap arguing for it (since he was against the Illuminati in the first place), his argument that these sorts of decisions always leave the decision-makers more compromised that they expect to be.
But, I do have problems with this series so far and they are two-fold. The first problem is fairly mundane. Although we learn all about the upcoming "incursion" and how we'll occupy the same space as other Earth for eight hours, Hickman never actually describes how we'll both actually occupy the same space. Why can the two planets be in the same space for either hours without combusting? Why the window? Wouldn't they just immediately combust? If not, wouldn't our universe merge with their universe to create some sort of third universe? But, that didn't happen last issue, when we did actually go through an incursion with another universe.
But, more importantly, I feel like this whole story has a certain eye-roll factor. I mean, it's not even that the possibility that the Illuminati could fail and the multiverse winds up destroyed could be on the table. (Of course, that, in and of itself, would have a high eye-roll factor.) It's more that I'm not sure if we're going to get an interesting story from it. As it stands now, we've just gotten a lot of male posturing and it seems like we're just going to continue to get male posturing. I anticipate a lot of 'But, Steve!" and "But, Tony!" arguments while they race to save the multiverse that we all now that they're going to save. These stories only work if the threat that everyone knows isn't going to be realized at least inspires some interesting moments among the characters, moments that you probably wouldn't see if the heroes weren't facing such a tremendous threat (Although I disapproved of it greatly, I am thinking of Fraction having Spider-Man leave the battle in "Fear Itself" to go find Aunt May.) Here, when you're dealing with such morally compromised characters from the start, characters that pride themselves on making the hard decisions, then it's unclear what new ground you're going to be able to cover. Do we really think Namor is going to lament destroying some other Earth to save our Earth? It seems unlikely.
In other words, I'm bored. I used a lot of words here, but I'm bored. I'm at least not confused, as I am in "Avengers," but it's not exactly an improvement to applaud.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
New Avengers #1 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)
I...am not optimistic about this title. Maybe I'm rushing to judgment, but after two somewhat nonsensical issues of "Avengers" and then this issue, I'm beginning to think that Jonathan Hickman writes a full script and then cuts 30 percent of the words to try to make it interesting.
This issue starts with some Wakandan kids apparently winning some sort of contest and getting congratulated for it by the Black Panther, but then suddenly shifts...somewhere. I'm not sure if Blank Panther and the kids get warped to another world or if the villains get warped to our world, but some bad-ass villain appears sounding a lot like one of Galactus' heralds, except she's not working for Galactus. I don't know. It's pretty confusing. All I know is that it apparently necessitates the calling of the Illuminati. I had really wished that the Illuminati would've gone with Bendis, but here we are. Hence, not optimistic.
This issue starts with some Wakandan kids apparently winning some sort of contest and getting congratulated for it by the Black Panther, but then suddenly shifts...somewhere. I'm not sure if Blank Panther and the kids get warped to another world or if the villains get warped to our world, but some bad-ass villain appears sounding a lot like one of Galactus' heralds, except she's not working for Galactus. I don't know. It's pretty confusing. All I know is that it apparently necessitates the calling of the Illuminati. I had really wished that the Illuminati would've gone with Bendis, but here we are. Hence, not optimistic.
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