CC2K Comics Weekly Pull List For April 6th, 2011
Written by: Gary M. Kenny, CC2K Comics Editor
Each week we build up our comic book pile. Some of us save our favorite titles for last while the others cannot wait to get their fix. Now that gas prices are at an all time high, our comic collections suffer. Let CC2K save you a few dollars, here is April 6th, 2011’s under $20 dollars week in review.
Fear Itself: Book One
Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen’s Big Event is here and it’s not too shabby. It’s a big comic, a big story and the villains are probably the funnest and promising in all of Marvel’s past events. Sin the daughter of the Red Skull finds the Hammer of Skadi (a Norse god Marvel never mentioned before) and it chooses her to be worthy. When Sin lifts the hammer she becomes Skadi and becomes as powerful as Thor. Skadi decides to resurrect her father the Serpent whom (Thor’s father) Odin locked away deep within the darkest sea on Earth.
Fraction has set up a promising start with this Marvel Event. Skadi and the Serpent are on a mission to take over Earth and to take revenge upon Odin. In the next few issues more Hammers are going to fall from the sky and heroes and villains a like will see if they are worthy to join the Serpent’s team. Fractions story telling reminds me of a J. J. Abrams movie, its well thought out, fun, and over the top.
Stuart Immonen’s is one of Marvels best Young Guns. His work on Ultimate Spider-Man and New Avengers was terrific. It seems with Fear Itself he has an attitude of go large or go home. Lots of splash pages, every page has a fight or action scene in it. Really colorful and really detailed. This is probably going to be his best work. I’m excited. Here’s to hoping this isn’t another Marvel flop.
4.0 out of 5.0
Jonah Hex # 66
Jonah Hex is dining with Cannibals in this ish. It’s a dish Hex does not care for in the least bit. Gray and Palmiotti know how to keep this series alive. Here at CC2K comics we’ve pushed more readers onto this series then any other comic review website and there is a good reason for it: It’s great! Each issue has a fun one issue story. It’s a well paced, well written western. Gray and Palmiotti can take any element from the supernatural to the just plan gritty western and when they write Hex, well it’s always great.
Fiona Staples of DV8 fame, draws what i think is some her best yet lightest work. Its not as detailed or even as colorful as DV8 but she just grasped the greys of winter and cold bitterness of a starving western cannibalistic town. Her work in this issue is very simplistic, she lets the mood take over in the book. Unlike some of Hex’s past stories, this issue, though filled with violence and cannibals isn’t as gritty or vividly detailed. But it’s actually refreshing to see her interpretation and it shows that even in a Jonah Hex comic, if the story is well written (and it always is) you don’t need to show the reader too much gore, let the story do the talking. Great work, I would love to see her do another issue.
3.5 out of 5.0
The Amazing Spider-Man: Annual #30
Wow, this a terrible idea for a story and its a three comic crossover no less! Spider-Man gets sent to another dimension where his doppelganger is “the” superhero. His uncle Ben is alive and is basically the brains of the Spider (no man at the end) operation. Peter and Ben hoodwink various Spider-Men from various dimensions into thinking Peter and Ben are good guys, when they drug the webheads and suck their life force out from them. Its basically an episode of Sliders but terrible.
It’s not that John Layman (of Chew fame) is a bad writer, i think he his inner monologue bubbles are great and his sense of Parker’s self was masterfully delivered. The plot is just so “i’ve read this before, in other comics, back in the early 90s.” For what it’s worth i think he could write a great Spider-Man issue, he just didn’t do it in this annual. Penciler Lee Garbett however, did step up and though his take on The Spider (basically Spider-Man crossed with Superman) is amateur, the rest of the comic is drawn nicely and hopefully he lands a run or his own book. Most annual’s suck now. Back in the 80s they were fun and different. Now we get dribble.
1.5 out of 5.0
Ozma of Oz #5
You’re picking this up for the fantastic Scottie Young artwork. In the 3rd series of Marvel’s OZ, Mr. Young’s work is so raw yet so polished, it’s been a downright privilege to watch this artist find himself and create this wonderful series. If you look at his past work the Human Torch, Spider-Man Manga, New X-men, you can see where his style was heading from graffiti to manga, to this wonderful unique style.
Eric Shanower’s script (taken from L.Frank Baum’s wonderful books) is well paced and is tailor made for Scotts artwork. Eric knows pace and knows his audience. Keep the story true to the book, people are picking this up for the wonderful and colorful art (so show plenty of that and don’t let the writing take away from it) and keep it simple yet smart. This series and all the Marvel OZ has been wonderful. Its great for kids and adults and the collections will be a treasured keep sake. Great work.
3.5 out of 5.0