The Week In Geek 10/22/14

So, this week, the trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron got leaked which seemed inevitable considering the buzz Marvel generated by stealth bombing San Diego Comic Con with a "special sneak peek" that nobody outside of that sound stage has seen to this day. I have to say that Marvel is really taking the whole thing in stride which does nothing but help their image at this point. To the surprise of nobody, what we saw in the teaser is very impressive. In particular, the shot of Hulk fighting the Hulkbuster armor looks absolutely incredible. Marvel gets better and better at capturing the essence of the mostly CGI monster every single time.

The trailer was supposed to make its debut on the upcoming episode of Agents of SHIELD (by the way, Tuesday's episode with "Mockingbird" was fucking awesome) and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Marvel showed the SDCC trailer instead just to keep fans happy. Also, given the bizarre ratings drop of the season so far, they could use the viewers, so my suggestion would be to watch this week's episode anyway.

My comic reviews for the week are available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing enjoyment. This week, I took a look at:

Batman Eternal: Okay, there's been some complaints about the book's tendency to divert from the main plotline to tell some side stories and tie off hanging plotlines, but honestly, that's no different from shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. After al, the purpose for Eternal is to build a universe out of Gotham opposed to Scott Snyder's Batman, which is a more focused book that only has Batman himself to center on. With that in mind, I think it's a solid book despite some of it's issues in the art department at times.

Avengers/X-Men- Axis: Decent but sloppy. I have to appreciate the step up in the art department, but still. The resolution felt so circular. Avengers Vs. X-Men was supposed to jump start the resolution of the rift between the mutant community and the Avengers. Then, we got Uncanny Avengers as a result which was supposed to be the solution. Almost three years later, we're back to this "mutants and the government will never get along" shit. The whole thread seems to have chased its own tail.

The Week In Geek 8/20/14

My comic reviews for the week are available on Black Nerd Problems for your viewing pleasure. As always, feel free to comment, share or fling feces at anything you like or don't like. This week, I took a look at.....

Batman Eternal: I loved this issue but after writing the review, I went back and read it again and it occurred to me that Batman has the weakest material of all the principal characters....in a Batman book. I'm sort of in the middle about because on one hand, structurally speaking, Batman shouldn't have the weakest material in a Bat-book. On the other hand, if the cost of downplaying Batman (I mean, let's face...dude has had 75 years of character development) is giving Jim Gordon The GAWD all of The Glory, so be it. Because holy shit....watching him give Carmine Falcone's goons the Ice Challenge was fucking epic.

All New Ghost Rider: Okay, it's official- I fucking love this book. But I sort of want them to get away from this Bane venom steroid pills plotline and get a little more supernatural with the threats. So far, we've only seen the Rider in regular old fist fights. I'm not exactly shitting on the new guy, but the Ghost Riders of old have gone up against people like the HULK. The "Worldbreaker" Hulk....the "OhMyGodTheHulkIsAboutToRainOldTestamentArmageddonOnUsAll" Hulk. I'm just saying....I need a fight that's going to set the neighborhood on fire. But it's early, so I'll be patient. For Now.

Can we PLEASE have
Self Destruction as their theme song?

Multiversity: This is a book that really only has problems depending on how you feel about Grant Morrison books. I mean, come on, let's face it. Most Morrison books are pretty much based on whatever he's smoking that week. I'm STILL trying to figure out what the fuck Final Crisis was about. But for all its psuedo scientology babble, I actually really enjoyed this book. How could you not? A black POTUS who is actually Superman? In what world is that not awesome? And the DC spoof version of the Hulk in a diaper? I cried laughing. There were enough easter eggs and Morrison trademark to keep me entertained in a bizarre way, so yeah....I'll be back for the next issue.

Stuff I Read This Week 4/30/14

Avengers #28: Avengers came off of having a really good run during and after Infinity. Jonathan Hickman's penchant for world building gave rise to some goddamn good superheroing in the past year. The latest story from the past few issues involving alternate universe Avengers coming into the 616 dimension has had some potential, but has also some weird pacing, making for a strange read. 

Fortunately, business starts to pick up again in this issue that mainly centers on Bruce Banner in an awkward sitdown with Tony Stark. This leads to some hard truths about the manner of the Avengers' new format as well as some of the threats the Illuminati has kept at bay from the shadows in Hickman's New Avengers series (which, by the way, has gotten so slow, I'm not sure it's actually moving anymore). This is awesome because a). it gets back to displaying the world building elements that Hickman does so well and b). because we get to see more of the cunning Bruce Banner that fans have really wanted to see over the years from Hulk lore. It's nice to see that his place in the Marvel Cineverse has inspired a more fleshed out presence from Green Goliath's more enlightened side. Salvador Larroca's pencils are as strong as they've ever been. He gives off a very clean, almost cinematic storyboard style that pulls off some truly engaging scenes. The look of Banner keeping his anger in check, holding back "the other guy" is compelling and ominous.

Bottom Line: Delightful art, coherent, nicely paced tie in to New Avengers....it's nice to see Hickman getting back on track. 8.5 out of 10

Silver Surfer #2: Dan Slott and Michael Allred got the new Silver Surfer off to a strong start. Slott borrows a lot from Doctor Who, but as any Whovian can tell you, there are certainly worse places to draw inspiration from. After all, while comics have the capacity to act as gospel and lead in parts of pop culture, they also have a history of, to their benefit, being very derivative as well. 

This issue picks up with the Surfer flying off under duress to combat the mysterious Never Queen that threatens the people of the Impericon. We gain some insight into exactly what makes our hero's foe such a threatening one. Meanwhile, Slott also gives us ample time with his accidental partner, Dawn Greenwood, displaying what makes her such an appropriate companion (see what I did there, Whovians?) for the Surfer. In many ways, she's reminiscent of Clara, the Doctor's latest traveling buddy. It's great to see a female character take herself out of the damsel in distress box for a change (looking at you, Laurel Lance from Arrow) and take charge of a situation. There's a page in particular where Slott teases readers with a few possibilities of things to come for this unconventional team-up of sorts. There is simply NOTHING complain about art-wise in this book. Some fans have complained about the more visually lighthearted it takes, but honestly, Marvel could use a little more of that. Dawn is portrayed in a way that's stylish but isn't oversexualized and the Surfer has very dynamic poses that jumps right out at you. 

Bottom Line: Another great installment that makes future adventures out to be very promising. Thus far, this is one of the best relaunches of the Marvel NOW initiative. 9.5 out of 10.