Doctor Strange #393 - Review

I was surprised to see the Infinity Wars tie-in image on the title. I guess I just didn't realize Marvel would use these existing series to tie-in to the overarching event. I have to say this is probably the best instance of an event tie-in that I have ever seen. It weaves seamlessly into the existing story. It also plays a pivotal part of the main story as it changes the owner of the time gem, so it will be interesting to see how this is referenced in the main series.

I am typically not a fan of the airbrush art look. I like the lines on the face to come from pencils and not coloring. It makes the line work look bare, but I think it is growing on me. It is probably done to keep up with a monthly schedule, so I can let it slide as long as it is consistent.

I think Kanna is a great addition to the series and I think the concept of Doctor Strange in space is interesting and original. I am really, really enjoying these new directions for each series that has come out of the Marvel Fresh Start. I recently saw that Marvel has been taking back dollar and market share from DC and I can see these books as part of that narrative.

The one thing I still don't understand though is Doctor Strange existentially. His fingers have nerve damage and yet he performs complex finger placements as part of being Sorcerer Supreme. Did he get them fixed? Does it matter? 

Incredible Hulk #719 (Immortal Hulk) - Review

Let's be honest, Hulk comics have not been the greatest comics on average. Sure, there have been legendary runs from Peter David and Greg Pak, but in between there have been some pretty mediocre comics.

Of all the films that star the Hulk, my favorite is The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton. The reason this one is my favorite is because they totally nailed how scary the Hulk would be in real life. This new series by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett feels like a further extension of that. What I really like about this new series is that it takes the idea even further and goes full-on horror.

I was really surprised by the art by Bennett in the first issue. It reminds me of the legendary Brian Bolland and I loved the double 2-page spread of the Hulk's face. Something about it felt so original.

This issue is a self-contained story that harkens back to the original idea that Banner's discoveries fall into the wrong hands. There are scenes in a graveyard, scenes steeped in darkness. It has a reanimator feel.

I was looking at the opening credits and realized the cover was by Alex Ross....how did I miss that. Compare this cover to the one for Captain America and this one feels like outside his comfort zone. I really like these covers.

I hope this team stays on the book a long time. If it remains consistent, it could be become one of the great Hulk runs which has me excited already.

X-Men: Gold #31 - Review

How about that marriage, huh? Yeah, well at least the fans got the long pined-for wedding of Gambit and Rogue. That is a hell of a consolation prize. We get just a bit of the fallout from the wedding before we are whisked away to the future, seeing that despite all their turmoil Shadowcat and Colossus still love each other and may still get together down the road - just not today.

God, it was good seeing Scott Summers again wasn't it???!!!

I was confused that we were seeing a glimpse into Extermination, but then the ending revealed it was just a hallucination and not real time travel - so erase from your memory all that bullshit I said before.

Poor Prestige was mind controlled - where the hell was Old Man Logan? Why isn't he on this team? That would have been perfect character work since he knows all about mind control. Oh well, none of that. Instead it looks like we might be blending with X-Men: Blue as Prestige laid waste to some of the originals.

This was a serviceable issue. Art was decent, story moved along. Your average X-Men comic.

Avengers #694 - Review

First of all, I will always use the legacy number when available. I absolutely hate relaunches and if I can reference a series while ignoring the constant relaunches the Big 2 are complicit in, I will. This is and will always be Avengers #694.

With that out of the way, how is the issue? Very good, actually. McGuinness gets top billing, but I see very little of his work here - only if I look really hard. Paco Medina does an amazing job and their styles are so similar, that it all blended together for me. I love the cartoon style at play here. It reminds me of the late great Mike Wieringo, who I still miss very much. I am so glad this style is alive and well after so many dark and gritty renditions of these characters.

One feature of comic books that I think is often overlooked in review is pacing. How does it read? If the most breezy Daniel Way comic is one end of the spectrum and Alan Moore is on the other, I would say this one is pretty solidly in the middle. I realized about three quarters of the way through that the issue wasn't finished yet and I found that comforting. It had just enough to make it feel like a full meal.

The plot has been a bit confusing in this story arc. For instance, why in the hell do they keep referencing the "Final Host", but not showing a single Dark Celestial. Is it multiple? I've never heard host referred to in the plural and I find it confusing every time they do it. I am sure there will be a good explanation for it eventually. Thankfully, we get more clarity on what is going on with the Celestials. Though whomever thought this arc would lead to the return of the Eternals was dead wrong (pun intended).

To be honest though, I am getting tired of these stories that reveal the truth about the past and bring something that is impossible to beat - only to be eventually defeated anyway. Like, can't we just move forward and introduce new characters without them having a reason to be away and dormant for long periods of time? There are only so many times you can go to that well before it runs dry - I am looking at you Bendis!

Anyway, I enjoyed it. Great art and pacing, some great moments for She-Hulk who I find compellingly sexy. Hey, what can I say....I like 'em thick.

My Comic Book Origins

Mighty Mutanimals was the first comic book I ever bought.

Felpausch, a regional grocery store, had a comic book section that I would eagerly browse when my parents would shop there.

The first issue of Bucky O'Hare by Continuity Comics was another comic book I purchased from the same store.

When my grandfather was in the hospital for cancer of the larynx and was having a laryngectomy, I had a lot of time on my hands while my parents were dealing with all that. It was in that hospital that I began drawing my own comic books. I recently learned that if I folded computer paper sideways and I planned out the pages, I could make my own comics. The one thing dad had a lot of was computer paper - he was always printing things.

Just like riding a bike. I drew this in less than a minute. Unfortunately, none of the original comics survived, but I can draw him exactly as he looked back then.

What I created that day was the Adventures of Stick Figure Man, but that wasn't my first comic book character. It was my second. In the fourth grade, we had an art assignment and I wanted to create an original super hero. I thought about all the various characters and their powers and realized the one hero they hadn't yet created had plant-based powers (I wasn't aware of Swamp Thing at the time). I created my own super hero I called Plant Man.

It was on this very assignment that I first met who would become my best friend, Andrew. I paid attention to everyone's submissions, comparing them to mine. Then I saw something that really took my breath away - someone had drawn almost perfect replications of the Simpsons. Then I felt something that I had never felt before or since - an impulsive desire to meet this person. I had never before or since wanted to meet anyone in my life. Even meeting my future wife on a blind date filled me with anxiety. Most of the time I just want to avoid people and observe them and learn from them afar. For whatever reason, I said to myself - I want to meet this person and I had absolutely no anxiety whatsoever. Whether he wanted to be my friend or not, over the years, I willed it to happen.

Andrew grew up to be quite a dapper fellow. I realize now that there are very few pictures of us together even though I was his best man at his wedding :/. Ironically, he turned out to be a much better writer than an artist. Ah, maybe a co-writer or editor instead? :D.

My lack of drawing ability always nagged at me and being an impatient kid, I never really had the discipline or time to practice. So over the years, I made friends with people who I thought could draw well. There were outliers of course, but unconsciously, I was always recruiting an artist to draw my comic books. Of course in almost 30 years, that still hasn't happened. I promised myself that if I couldn't convince anyone to be my artist, than I would take back up the pencil and do it myself. Here I am at 37 and I think finally ready to get started.