Tim Supports His Scene
July 17, 2008 – 2:25 pm by TimI was pretty obnoxious in my pronouncement earlier this year that I was buying summer blockbusters Final Crisis and Secret Invasion, and that was it. No tie-ins, no reprint “catch-up” books, nothing extra.
That was stupid. I’m still buying at least 2 or 3 comics a week, but now I almost feel like I need to sneak in and out of my LCS in a disguise, immediately put the comics in a different bag, go home and hide them under the bed, so I can read them at 2 a.m. in the bathroom.
Here’s what I read at 2 this morning:
Captain America #40. How is that Ed Brubaker is still keeping his story on a slow burn, yet each month still leaves me satisfied and fufilled? It could be all the punching and defenestrating going on between Captain America 2.0 and Captain America 1.5 this issue and last. And… girl-fighting! And girl-stabbing!
MIghty Avengers #16. I’ve never been a supporter of holding Marvel to the statistical filler that litters their Handbooks. (”You showed the Hulk straining and gritting his teeth while lifting that school bus! It clearly states in the Handbook that the Hulk can lift 100 tons, about ten school buses! I demand a No-Prize!”) But, a little consistency among different comics, when the same writer’s involved, would be appreciated. This issue, we find out the hows, whys, and whens of the Skrullswap that started it all: Elektra. And while I enjoyed her appearance and salute her death-dealing valor, the length of time she holds her own against four of the Super Skrulls currently laying waste to a dozen Young Avengers, New Avengers and Mighty Avengers is a little hard to swallow. And why is next issue touted as “The Truth About Hank Pym”? Wasn’t that last issue?
Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge #1. I get annoyed when I ask someone their opinion on a comic or a CD or a movie and they respond, “If you like their other stuff, you’ll like this. If you don’t, then you won’t.” Ugh.
That’s why it pains me to write this: if you enjoyed Johns’ and Kolins’ take on the Flashes and their Rogues (I did), you’ll no doubt enjoy this. However, if you’re not digging Final Crisis so far, you might still enjoy Rogues’ Revenge despite its tie-in status, as it only brushes on that series’ Libra and his plot as it affects the Rogues.
Hey Kettle; Pot here. Did you know you’re black?
Incredible Hercules #119. Jeph Loeb can keep his Hulk of Many Colors right where he is, if it means we get to keep this sleeper title. It’d be really easy to fill in the plot blanks of a Secret Invasion crossover with a one-note Hercules and his Gift, but Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are obviously not settling for that. Each issue’s opening recap page is itself worth three bucks, and the full story has been consistently taut and surprisingly inventive. And structurally, they leave the door open to new readers each issue, with more self-contained plot points and skillful retellings even outside the aforementioned recap pages.
If you’re not reading this book, but are slogging through the rest of Secret Invasion, I suspect you just don’t like good times.
