marvel | the m0vie blog

X-Men: The Asgardian Wars (Review)

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Darren

With our month looking at Avengers comics officially over, we thought it might be fun to dig into that other iconic Marvel property, the X-Men. Join us for a month of X-Men related reviews and discussion.

It has been said that the X-Men rarely interact with the broader Marvel Universe. While characters like Wolverine and the Beast might have appeared on a roster or two of The Avengers, and Storm might have popped up in Fantastic Four, events within the X-Men line seemed to be self-contained, with Marvel’s mutants generally fighting their own problems in their own way. After all, Captain America was hardly a champion of civil liberties if he didn’t stand up for mutant rights, so it made sense to keep the mutants relatively self-contained.

However, despite this (somewhat deserved) reputation, it’s interesting to look back at the connections that writer Chris Claremont fostered with the wider Marvel Universe. Some of these (like the Claremont’s frequent connections to the Ka-Zar mythos) were relatively frequent within the pages of the main title (and no less strange for it), but Claremont was also a fan of making an event of a crossover between the X-Men and any other major players – things like Fantastic Four vs. X-Men. This story arc, told over four special issues, is something similar, making a big deal of the crossover between the world of Thor and the X-Men.

The Goddess of Thunder!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alpha flight, art adams, Asgard, captain america, chris claremont, fantastic four, marvel, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, marvel universe, New Mutant, new mutants, Storm, the Asgardian War, thor, walt simonson, x-men, x-men/alpha flight, X-Men: The Asgardian War | Leave a comment »

Acts of Vengeance: Fantastic Four vs. Congress (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 6, 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.”

In celebration of the release of The Avengers, this weekend we’re taking a look at the massive 1989-90 crossover “Acts of Vengeance”, which pitted various villains against some unlikely heroes. I’ll be looking at some of the most fun match-ups. This arc is collected in the companion omnibus.

The more I read of Acts of Vengeance and its related crossovers, the more I think that the collections work best as a slice of Marvel, capturing a couple of issues from a vast array of creative teams working on a huge number of titles, to give a sampling of Marvel’s output at the time. Walt Simonson’s Fantastic Four is very highly regarded by quite a few fans of the comic book series. While it arguably hasn’t become as popular as John Byrne’s Fantastic Four or even Mark Waid’s Fantastic Four, I have to admit that I’m delighted to be able to sample three issues collected in a nice oversized hardcover. Simonson seems to gently (or not-so-gently) mock the premise of the event itself, but his three issue story arc here is fascinating and decades ahead of its time.

No, Ben, we ain’t…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Act of Vengeance, Acts of Vengeance, Avenger, Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes, doctor doom, fantastic four, games, Government, joss whedon, Louise Simonson, mark millar, marvel, MarvelUniverse, Personal computer, Role-playing game, Roleplaying, SHRA, Spartacus: Vengeance, superhero registration act, Supreme Court, United States, walt simonson | 2 Comments »

Acts of Vengeance Omnibus (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Darren

As The Avengers is getting its U.S. theatrical release this weekend, I thought I’d celebrate by taking a look at a gigantic crossover. I’ll be reviewing individual tie-ins over the weekend, so check back!

Truth be told, I would have been quite disappointed if I made it all the way to the end of the month without taking a look at one of those token “big, dumb” crossovers featuring Marvel’s iconic characters. Truth be told, Acts of Vengeance just looked kinda fun. Although it spread to Marvel’s whole line, it was directed by writer and artist John Byrne, who was behind Avengers and West Coast Avengers at the time, so I’m totally counting it as an Avengers crossover. It’s one of those incredibly silly concepts that could only ever work in the context of superhero comic books. Basically, tired of being soundly defeated by their heroes, a bunch of supervillains decide to band together and exchange partners. Hilarity ensues as the line struggles to maintain editorial consistency.

Shattered heroes…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Act of Vengeance, Avenger, avengers, Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes, Avengers:Earth's Mightiest Heroes, doctor doom, iron man, John Byrne, joss whedon, loki, marvel, Marvel Comic, marvel comics, punisher, Red Skull, spider man, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Vengeance, walt simonson, West Coast Avengers | 4 Comments »

Kurt Busiek’s Avengers – Avengers Assemble! Vol. 5 (The Kang Dynasty) (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Darren

I’ll be honest. I am still not sure what to make of Kurt Busiek’s Avengers run, republished here in five lavish oversized hardcovers. The first three volumes of the set included the stellar artwork of George Perez, but the fifth and final volume contains the entire Kang Dynasty (aka Kang War) saga. For those unfamiliar with the storyline, it was a fairly massive plot told over fifteen issues and an annual, and marked the climax of Busiek’s five-year tenure on the title. For better or for worse, it’s a more than adequate conclusion to his run – complete with many of the flaws which chipped away at it, but also possessing many of the recognisable strengths.

"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos!"

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: arts, avengers, avengers assemble!, brian michael bendis, Busiek, captain america, Comics, graphic novel, iron man, joss whedon, kang, kang (marvel), kang dynasty, kang the conqueror, kang war, kurt busiek, marvel, marvel comics, retrospective, review, Rob Liefeld, stan lee, the kang dynasty, the kang war, thor | 2 Comments »

“I Want to Read Comics After Seeing the Avengers”: Post-Avengers Comic Book Recommendations…

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

The Avengers opened in a lot of major markets this weekend. It is opening in the United States this Friday. It’s set to be huge and has been quite well received by critics and audiences. Now, I know that this massive blockbuster movie won’t convert the millions of avid movie-watchers into comic book fans, if only because other comic books have failed to see that appreciable a gain from success in other media. However, on the off chance that somebody comes out of the cinema thinking “hey, I really like that and would like to check out the source material”, I’ve compiled a handy list of recommendations that should be readily available and easy to find for would-be fans looking to get a taste for the iconic characters in their original media.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Avenger, captain america, Collecting, comic book, Comics, Henry Pym, iron man, jack kirby, kurt busiek, mark millar, marvel, marvel comics, stan lee, thor, United States | Leave a comment »

Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers – Prime (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Darren

Avengers Prime feels more like an epilogue than a new chapter. It’s a very clear attempt by writer Brian Michael Bendis to draw a line under the past five years of Marvel continuity, the direction of the Avengers franchise from Avengers: Disassembled through to Siege. It’s an attempt to sum up everything that had happened thematically, and to all his characters to move forward, hopefully stronger for the experience – a genuine attempt at character development inside the relatively static genre of superhero comics. While it feels, at times, a little bit too simplistic, it does feel like Bendis is tying up all his loose ends and ready to push forward on to new ground.

From the wreckage...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Asgard, avengers, Avengers:Earth's Mightiest Heroes, bendis, brian michael bendis, captain america, Hela, iron man, joss whedon, marvel, marvel comics, marvel universe, MarvelUniverse, Mightiest Heroes, robert downey, thor | Leave a comment »

Ultimate Comics Avengers by Mark Millar Omnibus (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Darren

Read our review of The Avengers here. And because it’s release day in the rest of the world, here’s a second Avengers-related review. And it’s a long one.

They say you can’t go home again. The Ultimates was easily one of the best comics of the past decade, and perhaps the comic that really got me into the medium. A clever, timely, astute and well-considered exploration of the superhero in the twenty-first century, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch undoubtedly had a massive influence on everything that followed. Of course, all this would seem to be for nothing when Jeph Loeb took over the franchise for Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum, two stories that were very poorly received and damaged the franchise quite considerably. So Millar’s return to write four six-issue miniseries of Ultimate Comics: Avengers seemed like a breath of fresh air. Critical and fan reaction to his twenty-four issue run has been somewhat muted, and there’s no denying that a lot of the magic from that origin story was lost. That said, I’ll concede to finding it an interesting, complex and occasionally compelling examination of Millar’s views on superheroes.

Not quite the ultimate Avengers comic…

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers vs. new ultimates, captain america, gregory stark, hawkeye, hulk, iron man, jeph loeb, joss whedon, mark millar, marvel, Millar, nick fury, Red Skull, Scarlet Witch, tony stark, ultimate captain america, ultimate comics, Ultimate Comics: Avengers, ultimate comics: avengers 1, ultimate comics: avengers 2, ultimate comics: avengers 3, ultimate comics: avengers vs. new ultimates, ultimate ghost rider, ultimate iron man, ultimate red skull, ultimate thor, Ultimates, United States | 9 Comments »

Kurt Busiek’s Avengers – Avengers Assemble! Vol. 4 (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Darren

Read our review of The Avengers here.

I don’t envy the fourth collection of Avengers Assemble! On one side of this collection, you have three volumes of work featuring the collaboration between writer Kurt Busiek and artist George Perez. On the other side, you have the epic conclusion to Busiek’s run, The Kang Dynasty. Between the two, you have this collection – which features only six actual issues of The Avengers, the rest padded out with annuals or specials or miniseries. It’s something of a transitional time. A lot of the story is about the impact of what has happened so far, while foreshadowing what’s to come.

One 4 all?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers, avengers assemble!, Busiek, captain america, code green, comic books, Comics, Dan Slott, george perez, heroes, john romita, john romita jr, joss whedon, kang dynasty, kurt busiek, mark millar, marvel, maximum security, richard nixon, Steve Epting, superheroes, the ultron imperative, U.S. Agent, ultron, US Agent | Leave a comment »

Kurt Busiek’s and George Perez’s Avengers – Avengers/JLA (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Darren

Read our review of The Avengers here.

Avengers/JLA is about as nerdy as a comic book crossover can get. Really. It takes two teams of superheroes which were both formed to allow existing heroes to team up… and then teams those two teams up. It’s pure geek chic, after all. I have no shame in admitting that I enjoyed on a purely fanboyish level, my inner eight-year-old ecstatic at the idea of taking so many toys out of so many different boxes and bashing them together which such delightful cheer. It’s not an essential story, nor a brilliant one, nor a creative one – but it does exactly what it says on the tin. It gives us a gigantic crossover between two of the more recognisable Marvel and DC superhero teams.

The very definition of awesome...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Avenger, avengers, avengers jla, avengers/jla, batman, Busiek, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, crossover, dc comics, dc universe, george perez, hugo weaving, iron man, jla avengers, jla/avengers, joss whedon, justice league of america, kurt busiek, marvel, marvel comics, marvel universe, marvel/dc, Perez, retrospective, review, superman, World War Hulk | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Avengers (aka Avengers Assemble)

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Darren

The Avengers has a lot of geeky charm to it – the sort of giddy “this is so cool!” spectacle that appeals to the popcorn-munching child in each of us. That’s more than enough help it coast through a somewhat muddled first act, through a stronger second act and into a truly awesome finale. I think that the carefully choreographed large-scale action sequence that caps the film off might be worth a ticket alone. While there seem to be some very fundamental problem juggling a cast this large in a movie that technically a sequel to at least four films, Joss Whedon knows his audience well enough to ensure that most of the individual moments are satisfying, even if the overall film feels a tad uneven.