Marvel Comic | the m0vie blog

Secret War (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Darren

April (and a little bit of May) are “Avengers month” at the m0vie blog. In anticipation of Joss Whedon’s superhero epic, we’ll have a variety of articles and reviews published looking at various aspects of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Yesterday and today we’re taking a look at the two Brian Michael Bendis events that kick-started the writer’s work on the franchise.

In many ways, Secret War feels like a companion piece to DC’s Identity Crisis crossover. Both miniseries essentially deconstructed the relatively simplistic nature of those superhero universes – daring to question what might happen if you approached these plot devices with a bit more cynicism. Bendis’ Secret War miniseries not only sets up the status quo and suggests the themes he would develop over the course of his New Avengers run, it also darkens the entire tone of the shared Marvel Universe. You can almost plot a straight line between Secret War and Siege, considering it one gigantic and messy saga adopting a cynical approach to the mechanics of this fictional world.

The war at home…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers, bendis, brian michael bendis, iron fist, Jessica Jones, joss whedon, Killer Shrike, luke cage, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, marvel universe, new avengers, nick fury, spider man, stan lee | 4 Comments »

A Stinger in the Tale: What’s the Point in a Teaser the Audience Don’t Get?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Darren

The Avengers was released on Friday in the UK and Ireland. It’s well worth a look, and it’s quite impressive how well director Joss Whedon managed to fuse these separate mythologies into one almost-cohesive film, even if it is a bit of a muddled mess at times. However, make sure that you remain in your seats as the credits role, as there’s a special surprise waiting for fans – just like at the end of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger before it. It is a pretty big deal for comic book fans such as myself, those of us with a passing knowledge of the Marvel Comics canon. Still, I can’t help but wonder what more regular and casual movie-goers might make of it.

Running the (infinity) gauntlet...

Note: The teaser is obviously spoiled below. Also, I saw an early cut of the film, and there was no second stinger attached, as rumours have suggested might have been added late in the day. Based on those rumours, and the actors involved in the shoot, it’s more likely that scene was more accessible, but I still wonder what regular fans will make of the sequence that appears at the end of the first set of credits.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Avenger, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, hulk, iron man, iron man 2, Jim Starlin, joss whedon, Marvel Comic, marvel universe, nick fury, robert downey, samuel l. jackson | 1 Comment »

Matt Fraction’s Run on The Invincible Iron Man – Vol. 2 (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Darren

April (and a little bit of May) are “Avengers month” at the m0vie blog. In anticipation of Joss Whedon’s superhero epic, we’ll have a variety of articles and reviews published looking at various aspects of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” Today, I’m focusing on one in particular, Iron Man.

Read our review of The Avengers here.

In many ways, Matt Fractions’ Invincible Iron Man run feels like a spiritual counterpart to Ed Brubaker’s celebrated Captain America tenure. Of course, there’s similar thematic ground covered by the character arcs, with both leads dealing with the fallout from Marvel’s crossover-driven continuity, but there’s something more fundamental in the style and goals of the works. Indeed, both read better in big chunks, with each of the “acts” in Brubaker’s Captain America saga conveniently broken down and released in their own omnibus collections (his opening Captain America run, The Death of Captain America and Captain America Lives!). I can’t help up feel like perhaps Matt Fraction drew the short straw when it comes to collected editions, with the release of his material dictated by Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2 and Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, as the two hardcovers seem strangely structured, creating a second volume which seems to contain the end of one act and the start of another.

$fractionironman3$

It's got a lot of heart...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers, captain america, ed brubaker, history, iron man, joss whedon, kenneth branagh, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, matt fraction, robert downey jr, Stark, thor | Leave a comment »

Kurt Busiek’s Avengers – Avengers Forever (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Darren

Read our review of The Avengers here.

In many ways, to me, Kurt Busiek’s Avengers run represents comic book nostalgia given form. I can’t help but read it as an attempt to call back to the “good old days” of mainstream comic books, with all the illogical and insane twists and an old-school approach to dialogue and characterisation. On the best of days, I’ve found his approach giddy and enjoyable – it’s hard not to get caught up in his genuine enthusiasm for the material. However, when Marvel gave Busiek a twelve-issue Avengers miniseries, it seemed inevitable that the writer wouldn’t just seek to nostalgically emulate the past, but tie it all together as well. In this respect, as it weaves through decades of Avengers continuity, Avengers Forever feels almost like continuity porn. Hardcore continuity porn.

Avengers! Avenge!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers, Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes, avengers forever, captain america, carlos pacheco, comic book, comic book continuity, Comics, continuity, Henry Pym, iron man, joss whedon, kurt busiek, lockout, marvel, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, retrospective, review | 1 Comment »

Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers – New Avengers Vol. 5-6 (Hardcover) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Darren

You know, at this stage I’m wondering what an Avengers book might look that wasn’t plowing from one event (Secret Invasion), through another event (Dark Reign), towards yet another event (Siege). I actually quite enjoyed Bendis’ opening two arcs on New Avengers, before the book effectively became the primary tie-in to whatever big crossover event was happening in the Marvel Universe on a given month. It was Grant Morrison who once wrote that every panel in a comic book should be an event, and I agree – stand-alone series don’t gain any extra validity by tying themselves in to a big crisis crossover. Make the stories themselves compelling and worry about the “event” later.

The evil empire…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: avengers, bendis, brian michael bendis, dark reign, iron man, joss whedon, luke cage, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, matt fraction, Savage Land, secret invasion, skrull | Leave a comment »

Kurt Busiek’s (& George Perez’s) Avengers – Avengers Assemble! Vol. 1 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Darren

April (and a little bit of May) are “Avengers month” at the m0vie blog. In anticipation of Joss Whedon’s superhero epic, we’ll have a variety of articles and reviews published looking at various aspects of “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” And so we begin, one month short of the release date…

It is good to be together again.

– Thor, Once An Avenger…

A lot of life is context. In order to fully appreciate things, you need to know the history and events which drive it. Kurt Busiek’s massive almost-five-year run on The Avengers is well loved by comic book fans, but is quite hard for me to get a read on. The plots are simple, the cast is over-crowded and the dialogue is corny. However, these are perhaps the reasons why the run is held in such high esteem, because the fictional Marvel Universe of 1998 was quite different from how it looks today.

Consider them assembled... all of them...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers, avengers assemble!, comic book, comic books, george perez, iron man, joss whedon, kurt busiek, marvel, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, marvel universe, once an avenger, Rob Liefeld, Scarlet Witch, thor, villains | Leave a comment »

I’m A Marvel… or Am I A DC? I Can Never Tell…

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Darren

I’m about half-a-year behind on this, I must confess. Back in January, the wonderful Katie over at Stories That Really Mattered asked a bunch of bloggers to come out in favour of one of the two major comic book companies, with an open invitation for other members of the community to participate. I’d like to pretend that I took so long to consider my own response because I’m cool (and cool people arrive late to the hottest parties), but the truth is I’ve just been a bit run off my feet these past few months. I was never cool, but I’ve learned to accept that.

However, in this season of blockbuster comic book movies, I thought it might be interesting to reflect on whether I am a bigger fan of Marvel, or DC. Given how close both are to my heart, expect a fair bit of waffle. Okay, a bit morewaffle than usual.

Let's not cloud the issue...

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Filed under: Comics, Movies | Tagged: comic, comic book movies, comic books, dc comics, fantastic four, Gail Simone, justice league, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, Movies, Paul Cornell, robert downey jr, spider man, superhero movies, wonder woman | 11 Comments »

Thor: Ages of Thunder (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 25, 2011 by Darren

With the release of Marvel’s big-budget superhero action movie Thor this summer, we’re taking a month to celebrate the God of Thunder. Check back each Wednesday for a Thor-related review.

Matt Fraction is currently writing the main Thor title, taking over from Keiron Gillen, who stepped in at the last minute to tie up most of the loose ends from J. Michael Straczynski’s much-loved run. Fraction’s time on the main book has been somewhat divisive, however there’s a broader consensus around the early Ages of Thunder one-shots that the writer worked on, a series of three single issues taking a look at the immortal Odinson before he became the Marvel superhero we know and love.

Hammer to fall...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Ages of Thunder, Asgard, fantasy, Frost Giant, Giants (Marvel Comics), J. Michael Straczynski, jack kirby, Jötunn, kenneth branagh, loki, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, matt fraction, norse gods, odin, stan lee, thor, Thor: Ages of Thunder, Thor: Man of War, Thor: Reign of Blood | 2 Comments »

Captain America 101: An Introduction to the Star-Spangled Avenger…

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Darren

I did a post a little while back that was intended to serve as an introduction to the world of the Green Lantern, what with the movie coming out this year. The post proved so popular that I thought I’d take perhaps put a similar post together on Captain America. The first trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger premiered at the Super Bowl yesterday, so it seems to be the perfect time for a bit of an introduction to the star-spangled superhero. Check out the 30-second spot below.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: captain america, captain america 101, captain america: the first avenger, chris evans, ed brubaker, films, green lantern, Gulf War, hugo weaving, marvel, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, Movies, the first avenger, Timely Comics, Watergate Scandal, world war ii | 2 Comments »

Ultimate Spider-Man – Vol. 10-11 (Hardcover) (Review)

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Darren

This represents the final volume of Ultimate Spider-Man, the relaunch of the popular character created by marvel as a way of introducing the iconic webslinger to the those who might be understandably wary of the backstory and continuity tangles the character has found himself in (did you know the character sold his marriage to the devil?). It’s been a landmark run, and a popular one and – by any measure – a successful one. There’s a reason that this ‘reboot’, to borrow a cinematic term, was famous for outselling the mainstream titles. So, as it winds down, what do we think?