Doctor Teeth
Boomstick Coordinator
The Doctor will see you now.
Posts: 67
|
Post by Doctor Teeth on Nov 13, 2005 13:52:00 GMT -5
Has anyone been following current Marvel continuity at all? I know enough about it to contribute to a discussion. I collected Astonishing (first 6 great, second 6 whaaa?) and House of M (I'm a sucker), and know about Avengers through my friend. So, there appears to be 3.5 people who'd be able to contribute. What did you need to discuss? |
|
DTH
Ghostbuster
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Posts: 582
|
Post by DTH on Nov 14, 2005 2:40:52 GMT -5
Well, I've read pretty much all of House of M now (I missed out Captain America, Black Panther and the rest of the New X-Men, 'cause I thought it sucked  ), checked out New Avengers and Astonishing X-Men. There was a general complaint that there weren't any far reaching consequences from House of M but I would disagree with that! SPOILERS1. Magneto has lost his powers (as has Iceman, though I do not know how many more "known" mutants have yet). 2. Wolverine has all his memories back. 3. Professor X is missing presumed non-existent? 4. All but 198 mutants have disappeared. Now, I'm torn as to whether House of M has genuinely shaken up the Marvel U or whether it is just only a matter of time until it is all reset... Anyway, the major thing I wanted to discuss was Sentry. Again, I am torn: is the introduction of the Sentry a work of genius or crowbarring? I mean, Sentry is apparently this character that EVERYONE in the Marvel U knew but then forgot about, because Sentry himself wiped everyone's mind. I thought that was a pretty cool way of establishing a new Marvel character and slotting him straight in to continuity. You know, a couple of mini's, a few guest appearances here and there and WHAM! instant new guy. But, there's something about the way that it has been handled that the character's emergence in New Avengers just seems like Bendis stood up and hammered you over the head with a Sentry-shaped mallet (ow). And lastly: Hawkeye. Sorry, that should be HAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWKEEEEEYEEEEEE! This character is WAY too popular. I just don't get it! His death was a shock and kinda cool and suddenly, he's back? Is that what they were hinting at in House of M (at the end, I mean)? You know, I am just so sick of characters dying and then getting resurrected. When Colossus bought it, that was important. Whedon bringing him back FOR NO REAL REASON, well, I thought it was crap. And his return, well, dull. In fact, that new alien bad guy is DULLLLLLL as well. I would go so far to say that I am unimpressed with Astonishing right now (though I am torn (AGAIN) on whether or not the Danger Room becoming an archenemy is a cool idea). Best Regards Dorian (feeling grouchy: a weekend of wallpaper stripping makes DTH a dull boy) |
|
|
|
Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 14, 2005 8:23:25 GMT -5
1. Magneto has lost his powers (as has Iceman, though I do not know how many more "known" mutants have yet). Mirage (Dani Moonstar), Quicksilver, possibly the Scarlet Witch, half of the new New Mutants and new Hellions, Jubilee, possibly Chamber, the Blob, Thornn, and I think Feral. And Peter David has hinted that at least one member of the upcoming X-Factor will be powerless- smart money is on Rictor or M. As people have pointed out, the rather unbelievable element is that over 99% of mutants worldwide have lost their powers, and the X-Men lose, like, 1 member and a few affiliates. If I were a former mutant, I'd be looking at them with some mighty suspicious eyes. 2. Wolverine has all his memories back. Meh. 3. Professor X is missing presumed non-existent? Been there, done that. The Search for Xavier, anyone? The X-Men function fine without him anyway, UXM #200-280 proved that. 4. All but 198 mutants have disappeared. They've said that it's not a precise number, but more a general guideline -- like the Hell's Angels used to brag that only about 1% of cyclists were fit to be members -- but on the other hand, if it's NOT a precise number, why not just say 200? Now, I'm torn as to whether House of M has genuinely shaken up the Marvel U or whether it is just only a matter of time until it is all reset... One of the founding members of the X-Men powerless? Smells like reset to me. I'm sure they're quite serious about it now, but Joe Q was also serious about the "Dead means dead" edict about characters not coming back to life- suddenly Joss Whedon shows up and that's not so important anymore. Anyway, the major thing I wanted to discuss was Sentry. Again, I am torn: is the introduction of the Sentry a work of genius or crowbarring? I thought that was a pretty cool way of establishing a new Marvel character and slotting him straight in to continuity. You know, a couple of mini's, a few guest appearances here and there and WHAM! instant new guy. The original mini was really cool, I was leery about revisiting the concept, but the New Avengers arc was... not bad. I'll wait to see how it plays out before passing judgment. This character is WAY too popular. I just don't get it! His death was a shock and kinda cool and suddenly, he's back? Is that what they were hinting at in House of M (at the end, I mean)? He's the official Han Solo of the Marvel Universe, to Captain America's Luke Skywalker. There was no way they were going to get away with killing him permanently, any more than Lucas could have left Harrison Ford hanging on Jabba's wall for the whole third movie. I don't know that they were even planning to, they might have been meaning to just cause a stir and use House of M all along to revive him. Or else they drastically underestimated his popularity and realized their mistake in time to do something about it. It's like what Mark Waid said several months back, when asked what he thought his responsibilities as a comic writer entailed: "To tell good stories, give readers their money's worth, and not kill Hawkeye."Personally, I'm just hoping they use what the writers of New X-Men intentionally gave them to bring Cypher and Magik back as well. You know, I am just so sick of characters dying and then getting resurrected. When Colossus bought it, that was important. Whedon bringing him back FOR NO REAL REASON, well, I thought it was crap. Grant Morrison wanted to originally, and they told him no- it was right after he had died, too soon. So he just gave Emma Frost that weird diamond mutation instead. I would go so far to say that I am unimpressed with Astonishing right now You and everybody else. (though I am torn (AGAIN) on whether or not the Danger Room becoming an archenemy is a cool idea). I'm just tired of the X-Men's crap coming to life and trying to kill them. After Cerebro did it, they didn't think to run scans on everything else in their house? I'd be testing the damn coffee maker for sentience. "Mr. Coffee? If that is your real name? Hello, anybody in there?" -D |
|
|
|
Post by Spiderdancer on Nov 14, 2005 9:31:51 GMT -5
Awwww, come on. None of that is remotely new in any way. People having been gaining and losing powers, dying and coming back, vanishing and reappearing, and having their devices turn on them since the beginning of the comic way back before the dawn of Shalen. (By which I mean before 1981.) Can't really blame Joss Whedon for that.
Not that I won't still read it eventually. 'Cause I probably will.
|
|
DTH
Ghostbuster
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Posts: 582
|
Post by DTH on Nov 14, 2005 16:23:16 GMT -5
As people have pointed out, the rather unbelievable element is that over 99% of mutants worldwide have lost their powers, and the X-Men lose, like, 1 member and a few affiliates. If I were a former mutant, I'd be looking at them with some mighty suspicious eyes. Suspicious, yes, but it makes sense: basically, Doc Strange was only able to protect those who were with him, that being the core X-Men team who were off fighting Magneto at the time. I'm interested to see the fall out of this (if there is any). Surely mutants would no longer be the threat to humanity they once were? There's always been people in spandex running round and the main reason the mutants were persecuted is homo sapiens felt under threat on an evolutionary level. Now there is no chance of that, surely the remaining mutants are just a novelty? I think Xavier is surpluss to the cause. And now that there isn't any mutant crusade, he's even more of a fifth wheel. I really wish he'd turn up so we can see what he'd be like with no moral battle to fight. I'm just going by the new X-title (mini?) "198"  Too true. It is rather annoying and I am pretty much jaded on the character death. In fact, there was a funny exchange in an issue of Spider-man (paraphrasing); MJ: Sit down! You're injuredPP: Yeah, but I heal pretty fast. I'll be ok.MJ: What are your chances of healing quickly from being dead!?PP: Seriously? Pretty good actually.When I described Sentry to one of my friends, they just went "Superman-clone". At first, I tended to agree with him but after reading some of the comics, he's actually a bit more interesting than that. I guess any "powerhouse" is going to be immediately compared to the Big Blue Boy Scout and I think that is unfair. The only thing Sentry has in common with Superman is that he flies, has a few similar powers and wears blue. But then so do half the comic book characters in the world! Good analogy. I guess I am just being anti-Hawkeye because he's so popular If I spent any time actually checking out his stuff, I would probably be a bit more interested and less reactionary  I actually liked that mutation. I thought it was a bit more interesting than, say, Beast becoming more of a beast... LOL! Its a fair comment. It does seem to happen at lot. But as Shalen says, it happens to everyone. Hell, Spidey's costume came back to eat him... Best Regards Dorian |
|
|
|
Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 14, 2005 22:43:59 GMT -5
Suspicious, yes, but it makes sense: basically, Doc Strange was only able to protect those who were with him, that being the core X-Men team who were off fighting Magneto at the time. The ones who were fighting Wanda, sure. But the dozens of affiliated mutants? The former members of X-Factor, Excalibur, X-Force, the New Mutants? There needs to be some kind of explanation, even something as simple as "Dr. Strange tried to protect as many of the hero mutants as he could, knowing they'd be needed" or something. I'm interested to see the fall out of this (if there is any). Surely mutants would no longer be the threat to humanity they once were? There's always been people in spandex running round and the main reason the mutants were persecuted is homo sapiens felt under threat on an evolutionary level. Now there is no chance of that, surely the remaining mutants are just a novelty? Certainly doesn't seem like they should need too many Sentinels anymore, does it? Kind of makes Claremont's X.S.E. obsolete, too... not much point of a U.S. government-sanctioned task force to protect 192 other people worldwide. When I described Sentry to one of my friends, they just went "Superman-clone". At first, I tended to agree with him but after reading some of the comics, he's actually a bit more interesting than that. I guess any "powerhouse" is going to be immediately compared to the Big Blue Boy Scout and I think that is unfair. The only thing Sentry has in common with Superman is that he flies, has a few similar powers and wears blue. But then so do half the comic book characters in the world! Well, you're both sort of right. I mean, he IS Superman (with some Miracleman thrown in)- that was the point of his creation. People wondered why there wasn't a Marvel version of Superman, so Paul Jenkins created a "lost" Marvel character from the 60's who had been forcibly erased from everyone's minds, to keep his alter-ego -- the Void -- from wreaking havoc. Like I said, the original mini was quite enjoyable... have you read it? So your friend is right, he IS a Superman clone... but intentionally, and for the purpose of telling a larger story. -D |
|
|
|
Post by PoolMan on Nov 15, 2005 10:40:12 GMT -5
I hate to interrupt all the Mutant Talk, but I have a question.
What with my recent overexposure to Neil Gaiman and all his various and sundry works, I went out and picked up the first collection of Sandman comics on the weekend and then ripped through them pretty darn quick.
My initial impressions are: not a bad story so far (Preludes and Nocturnes ends on the story where Dream hangs out with Death for the afternoon) although I keep getting shaky visions of that godawful Sleepwalker comic that Marvel put out about the same time in the 90's. I was a little disappointed that Morpheus gets all his artifiacts so quickly, but I enjoyed the opening ride nonetheless. I think the art is terrible. Call me crazy, but the only art I really enjoyed was in the last story (again, with Death).
I guess what I'd like to know is the gang's impressions on the rest of the series. I'm very well aware that it's an eleven book cycle, and I've barely scratched the surface, but is it worth plunging (yikes) $300 to get the other ten books?
|
|
|
|
Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 15, 2005 10:50:31 GMT -5
I guess what I'd like to know is the gang's impressions on the rest of the series. I'm very well aware that it's an eleven book cycle, and I've barely scratched the surface, but is it worth plunging (yikes) $300 to get the other ten books? Excellent question. Everyone will have their own opinions, of course, but mine's pretty simple- very much so. However, having said that, I understand completely where you're coming from. Sam Keith's art is hard to get a hold on sometimes (very talented, just non-traditional), and Gaiman hadn't quite settled into his rhythm yet with the first storyline- it's good, but nothing next to what was to come. Personally, I feel that the part of the storyline set in Hell was very good (his insult to Lucifer returns later in the series, as you'd expect), the John Constantine part was meh (odd how much the character, uh, doesn't look like Keanu Reeves  ), and the diner scenes were pretty disconcerting. Again, Gaiman was still finding his feet (witness the involvement by DC superheroes and villains, which would be extremely rare in the series after the second storyline) and deciding what the book was about. In terms of your art concerns, that's a non-issue, since they changed with every arc and, once the book got popular and he had the clout, Gaiman tended to specifically select artists he thought would suit the tone of certain stories. So while you might not have enjoyed the more abstract style of Keith and Dringenberg (sp?) in the first, I don't think they did much, if any other work in the series as a whole. My advice, Poolie, for what it's worth, is twofold. One, you should definitely pick up a book called The Sandman Companion, by Hy Bender. Extremely informative book, it has tons of information about every storyline in the series, breaking down and examining the stories interspersed with interviews with Gaiman and other comics writers and artists. Fabulous book, and I think it really heightened my appreciation of the series. And second, read the next one or two collections before making a final decision. Collection 2, A Doll's House, contains one of my favorite stories (which, small world, I successfully lobbied to have included in that Postmodern Monsters course I talked about in the Alien Resurrection review), about a serial killer convention. Collection 3, Dream Country, is short and begins a Sandman staple, Gaiman taking time off from the main plotline of the book to tell single-issue stories about whatever he wanted, using Dream's status as Prince of Stories to full effect. It's 4 done-in-one stories, and if you read it (even if it's just glancing through in Barnes & Noble or Borders) and still aren't convinced, then the series may not be for you. If you love them, on the other hand, there ya go! Anyway, that's my $0.02, but I'm curious about how other people have felt about the series. Justin, didn't you say you'd read a lot of it? -D |
|
|
|
Post by Spiderdancer on Nov 16, 2005 14:27:00 GMT -5
Just for my info and related to nothing, since everyone here seems to read these more than I do, what the HECK happened to Marrow? Did she die? I'm guessing that, since I liked her, she was unpopular enough to stay that way...
|
|
|
|
Post by kylerexpop on Nov 21, 2005 23:46:33 GMT -5
p.s. if you like superman and/or you enjoyed the first superman film, you should definitely pick up "all-star superman #1" by grant morrison and frank quitely. it's in comic stores now, and should be in borders and other comics-carrying bookstores soon.
it's easily one of the top comics of the year. possibly ever. absolutely fantastic.
|
|
Doctor Teeth
Boomstick Coordinator
The Doctor will see you now.
Posts: 67
|
Post by Doctor Teeth on Nov 22, 2005 13:30:41 GMT -5
I will echo Kyle's praise of All-Star Superman. It's a great book; I used the phrase "wall-gnawingly good" in my description of it which, while confusing, is fairly accurate. In other comics-related ramblings, I am quickly falling in love with Oni Press's Polly and the Pirates. Really, how can you not like a ten-year-old heroine who attends a prep school for proper young ladies who falls into seafaring adventures with pirates? You can't, that's how. |
|
|
|
Post by Al on Nov 22, 2005 14:54:27 GMT -5
Just curious if anyone has an opinion of Brian Vaughn? I was lent two of his titles and had opposite feelings about each of them by the time I finished. The Volume 1 trade hardcover of Runaways grabbed me by the shorthairs and wouldn't let me go until I had read it cover to cover, despite the ever-encroaching daylight and necessity that I get some sleep before work. It was well drawn, well written, and kicked my ass every issue. Riding that high, I read the first two trades of Ex Machina and found myself really let down. The premise (superhero-turned-politician) is groovy, but by the end of Tag (vol 2), I felt like the book only existed to preach at it's readers about the author's political views. So, does anyone else like this guy? Hate him? Have any damning evidence that would put him on my blacklist forever?
Al
edited to pretend I can spell
|
|
|
|
Post by TheLuckyOne on Nov 22, 2005 15:31:11 GMT -5
Love BKV, but admit to never having read Ex Machina. Runaways is far and away one of the best superhero books Marvel publishes these days, really great stuff- just wait till you read some of the stuff in vol. 2. (Hint: Julie Powers from Power Pack grew up HOT!). Also, BKV is just finishing up a run on Ultimate X-Men that introduced a really bitchin' version of Longshot to the Ultimate universe, and -- in perhaps his best series of all -- he's the writer of the terrific Vertigo book Y: the Last Man. (For my thoughts on which, check here: www.mutantreviewers.com/rindie.html ) Definitely one of the more talented young writers working in comics these days, but again, can't speak to Ex Machina. -D |
|
|
|
Post by Al on Nov 29, 2005 13:08:08 GMT -5
Is anyone else reading Spiderman: The Other? I was a little apprehensive (and still am) that it was going to turn into another Maximum Cloneage, but ye gods what a beating they put on Spidey in part six! I've never seen him that rocked before! It's certainly grabbed my attention, how about yours?
Al
|
|
|
|
Post by Magill on Nov 29, 2005 18:55:04 GMT -5
I guess what I'd like to know is the gang's impressions on the rest of the series. I'm very well aware that it's an eleven book cycle, and I've barely scratched the surface, but is it worth plunging (yikes) $300 to get the other ten books? I, too, have started to become interested in comics/graphic novels. I just placed a bunch of holds at my local library (once I actually read them, I will probably jump into the conversation). Is the library an option for you? Then if you like them, you can buy. |
|
), checked out New Avengers and Astonishing X-Men.
), and the diner scenes were pretty disconcerting. Again, Gaiman was still finding his feet (witness the involvement by DC superheroes and villains, which would be extremely rare in the series after the second storyline) and deciding what the book was about.
