This week's comics: August 3, 2005

Justice #1



Alex Ross is the artist/writer who brought us Kingdom Come and a about six mega-sized graphic novels based upon DC characters. His books are literally painted by hand, a process that makes his work above and beyond most others in the industry.

The story so far is interesting. There is a threat on the horizon that our heroes will not be able to defeat. What could possibly be more powerful than the combined might of Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Shazam? We don't know yet.

Both heroes and villains are having nightmares of the Justice League failing to save the Earth and dooming us all! The villains are ready to do something about it.

I recommend this not only based on the Alex Ross art, but the story seems interesting, especially the way they handle Aquaman. Check it out!

1602: New World #1 (minor spoiler)

1602 is a follow up to 1601. This is one of those "What if" type of series that when done well is as good as a Twilight Zone episode. What if the heroes were born in the 1600's instead of today. Having the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Spider-man set in near Shakespeare times was a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be.

Where we have science to rely on to explain the things we see, these people only have superstition and their best guesses. For example, in the 1601 series, there is a funny exchange between Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom in which doom in which Doom refuses to believe that light has speed.

New Avengers #8

Personally, I believe New Avengers is the best book on the market. Taking a page from DC's Justice League, Marvel changed the Avenger's roster to include the most popular characters instead of the most powerful. Actually, except for Shazam, all of DC's most powerful characters are in the Justice League. Ok, forget all that, let's just say that the most popular Marvel characters are now in the New Avengers.

Spider-man is written almost perfectly. His science background is downplayed, as is some of his experience, but his wise cracking awkwardness and inexperience as part of a team is done to perfection. Every time he opens his mouth, I end up on the floor laughing.

Wolverine has been done and re-done by so many writers it takes some effort to get him wrong. Except for Spider-man, he is the most popular character in the Marvel Universe. His hasn't worked with this group much so there is an incredible amount of tension and miscommunication.

Captain America and Iron Man are the veterans of team. Iron Man provides the money and day to day needs. Captain America is...well, he's Captain America.

Spider-woman and Powerman. Ok, I will say it. You have to have at least one woman and one minority in the Avengers.

Or do you? I mean, the problem with quotas is that sometimes the woman or minority IS the best person for the job. Think about it. Marvel obviously wanted a fresh team. None of these individuals have been as Avenger and with the exception of Wolverine, none of them has been on a team for any length of time.

Of all the loner characters in the Marvel universe who is more popular than Powerman and Spider-woman? Better yet, who has been around since the 1970's and retained the same kind of following? Exactly. Yes, there is the Punisher and Ghost Rider, but um... for some reason, I don't think they would fit in the Avengers.

At any rate, this issue deepens the mystery surrounding the "Superman like" character of Sentinel.

Ultimate Iron Man #3
Orson Scott Card writes a comic book. That is all I need to say.

What! You don't know who Orson Scott Card is! Pick up a copy of Ender's Game at your local used book store.