Calm the nerves after the 39th wave and the horde of dust settles on the covers of a couple of Marvel comics from Free Comic Book Day. Film at eleven, with the coat thin, but enough to mop up the minute sweat on fingertips. Then comes the reading.
Forcing excitement and the pains of moving things into higher gear, "The Way Things Are..." turns over the front cover to speed, "And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth's Mightiest Heroes found themselves united against a common threat!" Cutting the brake line and head long into the ravine, Spider-Man is all things ADHD and annoying. Valley girl of the superhero set and reminding everyone of just how far out and over the top things are as they play right in the panel. Everything is a shiny object to the webslinger and the oohing and aahing of the sparkles is the entirety of the dialogue.
There are the New Avengers and the Dark Avengers. No clue who is on what side or how the teams even divide. Long is the absence of knowing the machinations and power plays of the Marvel Universe. Wolverine has a son? The Green Goblin is leading the Avengers? Spider-Man is a teenager with mechanical webshooters again? So many things, so many titles to not follow.
The Mighty Avengers don't appear, or at least the team name doesn't make a mention. With enough costumes to rack a new franchise, two marauding teams is plenty.
Expository introduction splashing away in the snow storm does the job of running up the information at the cost of flow and entertainment. Who's who and what on which side is cursory by half, the Dark Avengers getting all the caption box time. Thor has a bulldog face, with scars and constant grimacing. On par with Captain America (Bucky Barnes) with the standoffish attitude thanks to boss man Osborn throwing his weight around.
No peel on motivation as to why the frost giant, Ymir appears. With all the yammering and running commentary on hyperbole from Spidey thanks to the typewriter melting Brian Michael Bendis, not a thing as to why the teams mash up the snowballs and just how that magic sword is the answer to all things.
So where to next, after this and to carry on the adventures of the avenging avengers now under governmental control while the other mob are working under the table? No hint to follow on or what best comic to pick the breadcrumbs of. Dead ended.
Do nothing cover from Ed McGuinness. Instilling boredom, the white background leaves plenty of room for imagination and time to actually draw something that Wolvie might be lunging from.
"Kingdom of No" is a clean entry, another introduction, but an earlier start on things. Well before the popularity of being in as many books as Bendis writes. At a time just before hitting up the claws against the Hulk and Wendigo all those decades ago.
Fred Van Lente handles writing duties with Gurihiru on art. All ages friendly, the kind of book you give to a kid. Or an adult who isn't jaded by so many retcons.
Quick overall, reading isn't as long as the back feeling the cold of winter through a spinal column in need of new cover. Set up, explanation, confrontation and resolution. Neatly walking the glowing track laid into the ground.
Captions spoken by characters are like any other thought bubbles. Just boxier. Flying over the town of destruction, Wolverine makes sure to note what's going on. Much in a soft and cautious tone of, "Oh, okay, what else is happening then?"
It's action, reaction and then stop by the blackboard for a bit of education on the hippocampus. Thems learnings in the comic. Most of which now reads with the preceding pages wanting to jump over the rest and get right into the class education.
So where then now at the jump of the final page as Wolverine in continuity faces the events spilling from Incredible Hulk #180? No comment from the editor, no page showing what's the best comic to step to fox. Another dead run into the forest.
Friday, 5 June 2009
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