Mike Sims – Marvel Noise

Review: Secret Invasion: War of Kings #1

Black Bolt is one ticked off king. After being held prisoner and replaced by the shape shifting Skrulls, the Inhuman’s silent ruler is out for a little revenge. And he isn’t about to let anybody stand in his way to get it. Get ready for some high octane space action in this hot new one shot that kicks off Marvel’s next big galactic event, War of Kings!

Secret Invasion: War of Kings was a very cool start to this new event. Penned by Marvel’s go to space guys, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, this issue has me really fired up to see the rest of the story. It seems Abnet and Lanning are unbeatable when it comes to space tales, and this issue just helps prove that. There is no huge build up to the story, it just takes off from the first page and gets us right into the action. The pacing of the story was really well handled, with the writers giving us just the right amount of action mixed with scenes of dialog. I never felt as if the story hit any slow points or areas that lost my interest, as I often times tend to do with space tales. I thought the dialog was really well written, especially with the character of Maximus. This was the first time I’ve ever read anything with this character, but I could really get a sense of who he was just from his dialog.

The art from pencilers Paul Pelletier and Bong Dazo and inkers Rick Magyar and Joe Pimentel was truly top notch! The two artist seem to be a great match together as I never felt a sudden jolt in art change when the other artist took over a scene. The pages were beautifully rendered with great detail and I love Pelletier’s space ship and machine designs.

I only have one complaint about the issue and that is with the font used at the beginning to represent Skrull speech. At first I thought there was something wrong with the way the issue was printed, but quickly realized it was the font itself. It looks as if flakes of ink came of the letters leaving the pieces broken looking. There were several times it was hard to tell what the letters even were. I appreciate the effort to make the Skrull speak look more dramatic, but felt the effect came up short.

In all, this was a really great issue. From start to finish the book had me hooked, and kept my interest even through a second read through. I have no doubt that Abnett and Lanning are going to deliver another grade A space epic with this event! Definitely give this book a shot, and be sure to pick up the free copy of War of Kings Saga to go along with it. Not knowing much Inhuman history, I found it to be invaluable!

COVER BY: BRANDON PETERSON
WRITER: DAN ABNETT & ANDY LANNING
PENCILS: PAUL PELLETIER & BONG DAZO
INKS: RICK MAGYAR & JOE PIMENTEL
COLORED BY: WIL QUINTANA & MIKE KELLEHER
LETTERED BY: JOE CARAMAGNA
EDITOR: BILL ROSEMAN
One-Shot/Rated T+ …$3.99

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Review: Mighty Avengers #20

Since returning to Earth after being held captive by the Skrulls, Hank Pym has found the his world completely changed. The superhero Civil War has divided many of his old teammates and allies. Captain America is dead. The Skrulls failed an attempted invasion of Earth which resulted in the death of the woman he loved, Janet Van Dyne, and has left his reputation in question. Now, facing life in a world he no longer recognizes and dealing with the anquish of having to bury his wife, who can Hank place the blame for all of these events on?

Mighty Avengers #20 draws to a close the Secret Invasion event for this seris and sets the stage for Dark Reign. Writer Brian Michael Bendis and artists Lee Weeks, Jim Cheung and Carlo Pagulayan deliver a heartbreaking story that, in my opinion, was Bendis’ best tie-in to this event. The story opens up in the past with Hank and the Wasp when they were on the first Avengers team discussing the discovery of the frozen Captain America and how much the world has changed since he was last seen. We also get a glimpse at how much the two were in love with each other at that time. Flash forward to the present and we find a distraught Hank Pym, along with Ms. Marvel and Wonderman, making Janet’s funeral arrangements. Upon leaving the meeting, Carol fills Hank in on all the events, including Civil War, World War Hulk and Secret Invasion, that have occurred since his abduction. At Janet’s funeral, Hank makes it very clear who he blames for these events.

I thought Bendis did an excellent job bringing out the emotion in this issue. Jan’s death in Secret Invasion #8 didn’t sit that well with me. For a character with her history, I thought she deserved a little bit more of an emotional response from the other heroes. I feel this issue gave us that emotion, especially with Hank. His response at the funeral felt very real and I thought it was well written. I loved the way Bendis compared Hank’s return with Captain America’s in Avengers #4, being a man out of his time. It really helped build on the emotional side of the story and helped me pick up on what Hank must be going through. My one complaint with this issue would have to be the events flashback pages. The art from Jim Cheung was very well done, but they just felt a little out of place with the story.

Speaking of the art, all three artist delevered solid work here. I especially liked Carlo Pagulayan’s pages for the funeral scene. Each panel was wonderfully detailed and, I may be sounding like a broken record here, really had great emotion coming from each of the characters involved. Lee Weeks opened up the story beautifully with the flashback sequence featuring Hank and Janet in their original costumes. Jim Cheung had the smallest part of the story, but as I said above, drew some really nice pages giving us a quick look back at Civil War, World War Hulk and Secret Invasion.

Bendis ends his run on this series in style and sets up for Dan Slott to take over with issue #21. I wasn’t too crazy with the other Mighty Avenger Secret Invasion issues, but this issue really made up for those in my opinion. As a whole though, I have really enjoyed this series so far and look forward to seeing were Slott and artist Khoi Pham take the book!

COVER BY: MARKO DJURDJEVIC
WRITER: BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
PENCILS: LEE WEEKS, JIM CHEUNG & CARLO PAGULAYAN
INKS: LEE WEEKS, JIM CHEUNG & JEFFERY HUET
COLORED BY: DEAN WHITE AND JASON KEITH
LETTERED BY: DAVE LANPHEAR
EDITOR: TOM BREVOORT
Rated A…. $2.99

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Review: Punisher: War Zone #1

The team that ushered in a new era of Frank Castle goodness is back! Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon return for Punisher: War Zone, a six part weekly mini. This mini ties into Ennis and Dillon’s “Welcome Back Frank” arc, which I’m very sad to say I have yet to read (but hope to soon remedy). The story starts off with Frank saving the life of a small time mafia thug named Charlie Schitti. Charlie was a driver and body guard for crime boss Pete Alceno’s son, Joey, until an unfortunate run in with a monkey left Joey unable to contribute to the family tree and poor Charlie with a mark on his head. Now Frank wants Charlie to go undercover back into the mob to fish out some info on a reported Italian branch of the Gnucci family that Frank took out in “Welcome Back Frank” and their connection to Pete Alceno. Plus, a second generation Punisher villain looks to make his debut!

In my comic reading, I have only had a small exposure to Garth Ennis’ work, but I kinda knew what to expect when going into this. Let me say, Ennis definitely delivers the goods here! I really liked his development of the character of Charlie. I loved the way that Charlie is so matter-of-fact about the fact that he did something wrong and knows he must pay the price for it. Even after the Punisher saves him, he knows Frank is probably going to kill him and just seems to wonder what is taking him so long to do it. Ennis makes Charlie an extremely likable character, and left me truly feeling concerned about the state he’s going to be in by the time this story is finished. The story itself moves along at a decent pace setting up for the next few issues. There wasn’t very much action in this issue, but the story set up really has me looking forward to what happens next. This issue is a Marvel Knights tale and it doesn’t get too graphic with the violence but the scene with the fore mentioned monkey was excellent classic Ennis material!

I don’t really know how to describe Steve Dillon’s art other than it’s a perfect fit for this book. Going back to the scene with the monkey again, he shows you just enough to get the scene across and then leaves the rest to the imagination. I think he does an excellent job with facial expressions, which really conveys what the characters are saying without having to read the dialog.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this first issue. This issue has really set up what looks like is going to be a very good mini. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Charlie makes it out ok, but from what I know about Ennis, anything can happen! Luckily, with it’s weekly format, I won’t have to wait long to find out.

COVER BY: STEVE DILLON
WRITER: GARTH ENNIS
PENCILS: STEVE DILLON
INKS: STEVE DILLON
COLORED BY: MATT HOLLINGSWORTH
LETTERED BY: VC – RUS WOOTON
Parental Advisory …$3.99

Review: Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #35

Wanted by the Russians for violating Russian airspace. Strapped to a dissecting table, getting ready to be filleted open by a very nasty looking scapal and an even nastier looking Skrull. Plus, the whole world’s quickly falling into chaos. Things are starting to look kinda bleak for ol’ James “Rhodey” Rhodes! Get ready for some all out Skrull blasting action in the conclusion to War Machine: Weapon of S.H.I.E.L.D!

Awesome, awesome issue! Writer Christos Gage and artist Sean Chen have delivered a solid winner with this book! From the opening page, the story takes off and doesn’t let up until the last panel! Gage’s script features some absolutely fantastic dialog, especially with the character of Crimson Dynamo. There is one scene in particular with Dynamo receiving orders from his superiors and he’s trying to decide whether to follow the orders or go with what he believes is the right thing to do that I really thought was terrific. The whole moment just felt very real and believable. As far as I can remember, this is the first time I have ever read anything with Crimson Dynamo before, but I definitely want to see some more of him! As far as Rhodey goes, I loved his portrayal in this book. From giving a Skrull a laser labotomy to using himself as a human missle to take down Skrull battle cruisers, I was really digging his pull no punches, full throttle attitude!

The art from Chen, inker Sandu Florea, and colorist Jay David Ramos was absolutely top notch. There were some wonderful splash pages scattered throughout and all the battle sequences were wonderfully detailed. Plus, the cover from Adi Granov of War Machine diving into battle with guns blazing is just spectacular!

In all, this was just a really fantastic issue all around. From the writer to all the artists involved, everyone delivered a top notch read. This issue has really got me fired up to check out the upcoming War Machine series coming this December!

COVER BY: ADI GRANOV
WRITER: CHRISTOS GAGE
PENCILS: SEAN CHEN
INKS: SANDU FLOREA
COLORED BY: JAY DAVID RAMOS
LETTERED BY: VC – JOE CARAMAGNA
EDITOR: BILL ROSEMANN
Rated T+ …$2.99

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Review: Punisher War Journal #24

After his tango with Jigsaw and capture by S.H.I.E.L.D., Frank has been living the dream at a S.H.I.E.L.D. maximum security prison. Thanks to the
Skrulls knocking out all Stark Industries technology worldwide during their invasion of Earth, Frank finds himself back on the streets and doing what he does best: killing. Luckily for Frank, and not so lucky for the Skrulls, there are plenty of targets to take out and get his kill numbers back up to where they were preincarceration. It’s all out Skrull busting (or bursting) fun as the Punisher brings his one man army to the frontlines in this Secret Invasion crossover.

Matt Fraction and Rick Reminder seem to really be having a good time with this book. I definitely know I have! I’ve starting picking this book up a little late in Fractions and Reminders run, but what I’ve read I have thoroughly enjoyed. This issue was no exception. It was a blast seeing Frank charge into battle with a bazooka in one hand, driving a big pickup decked out with Skrull skulls (try saying that three times fast) while blasting AM Gold on the radio. There was lots of action mixed with some good moments of humor. It was a little weird, and maybe just a little out of character, seeing Frank having a good time taking out the Skrulls, but it still made for an enjoyable story. I particularly enjoy the moments between Frank and Bridge. I like the banter back and forth between the two, and even though Bridge keeps trying to capture him, Frank is always there saving his butt.

I’m really starting to warm up to Howard Chaykin’s art, though it has taken me several issues to get used to his style of drawing. I really appreciate the amount of detail he puts into each page. Where as before I was a little distracted by the way he drew his characters, I found myself able to really get into this story both story and art wise.

If I had one complaint about this issue, it would be the white suited Hammerhead/Kingpin Skrull. I know they are putting the super Skrulls in outfits similar to their supervillan/hero counterparts so we will know who they are getting their powers from, but sometimes it just turns out all kinds of goofy looking. That being said, this issue was still a blast to read! Matt Fraction and Rick Reminder are doing a fantastic job, and I’m really gaining an appreciation for Howard Chaykin’s art. If your looking for a something a little different from what your used to with the Punisher, I highly recommend giving this issue a shot!

COVER BY: ALEX MALEEV
WRITER: MATT FRACTION and RICK REMENDER
PENCILS: HOWARD CHAYKIN
INKS: HOWARD CHAYKIN
COLORED BY: STUDIO F – EDGAR DELGADO
LETTERED BY: VC’S JOE CARAMAGNA
EDITOR: AXEL ALONSO
Parental Advisory …$2.99

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Review: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The Laughing Corpse #1

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter: The Laughing Corpse is my first introduction to Laurell K. Hamilton’s world of vampires, werewolves and monsters. This issue definitely has piqued my interest in the series. My first impression of the character of Anita Blake is that she seems to be your typical hard-as-nails female cop (even though she’s not a cop) that you would see on tv except for a few small quirks, such as getting queasy at the sight of blood, that I found kinda funny considering her profession. This issue doesn’t give us much of a look at what her career exactly is, and since this is the first time I’ve read anything from this series, that is something I would have liked to have seen just a little bit more of. However, what we do learn from the story has me really interested to check out the rest of this series. From this first issue, I’m kinda getting a Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets CSI vibe, which is certainly not a bad thing.

Series creator Laurell K. Hamilton and adapter Jess Ruffner deliver a fairly solid story. I enjoyed the interaction between each of the characters and thought the dialog was well written. I would have liked to at least gotten a little glimpse of a vampire, werewolf or zombie since that is what got me interested in this book in the first place, but that is just a personal preference and didn’t take away any from the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the art form the team of Ron Lim and June Chung. I thought each page was beautifully rendered and the great colors from June Chung were really impressive.

In conclusion, I’m looking forward to checking out the rest of this story. These are the type of stories I usually really enjoy, so I’m hoping this one doesn’t let me down. I’m going to have to check out the first Anita Blake trade to learn a little bit more about this character.

COVER BY: RON LIM
WRITERS: JESSICA RUFFNER and LAURELL K. HAMILTON
PENCILS: RON LIM
COLORED BY: JUNE CHUNG
LETTERED BY: BILL TORTOLINI
EDITOR: MARK PANICCIA
Mature …$3.99

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Review: Daredevil #111

Daredevil #111 features the new story arc from writer Ed Brubaker and the new art team Clay Mann and Stefano Guadiano. After the events in the last arc, this issue opens up with Matt helping Dakota North find some relief for her injured shoulder through the healing hands of the Iron Fist himself, Danny Rand. Unbeknownst to the pair, they are being watched from above by a mysterious new villain who has taken a special affinity to one of Daredevils oldest and deadliest foes. Meanwhile, Matt finds some new trouble to throw onto his ever increasing pile of worry in a shocking surprise that really threw me for a loop!

I thought Ed Brubaker delivered a home run with this issue! The issue doesn’t feature much action, but I thought there were some fantastic moments between the players. The dialog was terrific and very believable. The surprise I mentioned above, and I’m not going to reveal it here, felt very real and didn’t feel forced and I loved Matt’s reaction to it all. I’m really looking forward to seeing the new villain, Lady Bullseye, in action. We get a brief glimpse into her origin and I can’t wait to see how Brubaker uses her in this story!

The art from the team of penciler Clay Mann and inker Stefano Guadiano was absolutely fantastic! I thought it fit in very well with what Michael Lark has been doing, and at times I found myself liking it even more. This is the first time I can remember reading a Daredevil issue and thinking Dakota North looks hot! Clay Mann is an artist I’m definately going to start keeping an eye on!

In all, this was a excellent start to this new arc! I’m absolutely loving what Ed Brubaker has been doing with this book, and can’t wait to see where he takes Matt next. Plus, if this issue is any indication, we may be getting a very cool teamup in the coming months. I highly recommend checking Daredevil #111 out if you haven’t been reading this series!

COVERS BY: MARKO DJURDJEVIC, TERRY DODSON, and DAVID AJA
WRITER: ED BRUBAKER
PENCILS: CLAY MANN
INKS: STEFANO GAUDIANO
COLORED BY: MATT HOLLINGSWORTH
LETTERED BY: CHRIS ELIOPOULOS
EDITOR: WARREN SIMONS
Rated T+ …$2.99

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Review: X-Force #7

X-Force #7 kicks off the new story arc from series creators Greg Kyle and Christopher Yost. The story focuses on the team as they try and regroup from their battle with Bastion and the Pacifiers. The revived X-men baddies that were revieled in the first arc are starting to make their reappearances around the world and are beginning their mission of spreading mutant hate. The team knows they are soon going to be going after those targets soon, but first they are going to have to deal with an even more dangerous threat!

If your looking for the super bloody, extreme violence and action you got from the last 6 issues, then you might be a little let down with this issue. However, what this story lacked in action I thought it did a great job of putting some more pieces in place that’s looking like will set up for quite a few stories to come for a while. We get some more insight into Angel’s recent change back into Archangel, as well as finding out if Rahne’s able to control herself whenever she see’s Warren. I thought there were some really great moments with Cyclops and Wolverine as Scott tries to figure out what to do with new X-Man Elixir who knows about the secret team after being called in to help heal Rahne in one of the earlier issues. Plus, we get the reappearance of one of the X-Men’s oldest foes. I’m really excited to see where this story goes. It builds upon what has been going on in the last arc, but then takes you in a new direction that I think will be very cool!

New series artist Mike Choi really delivers some solid work with this issue! I’m a fan of Mike Choi to begin with, so when I heard he was going to be doing this book I was pretty fired up. He definitely didn’t let me down! I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does with some big X-Force style action scenes! He draws a very cool Archangel, and since it now appears that he is a permanent member of the team, I can’t wait to see what he does with him in action.

In conclusion, this continues to be a book I’m really enjoying! I’m loving the new art team, and I’m excited to see what the new story arc has in store. If you haven’t checked out X-Force yet, I recommend giving it a shot. This is a great jumping on point!

COVER BY: MIKE CHOI
WRITER: CHRISTOPHER YOST & CRAIG KYLE
PENCILS: MIKE CHOI
COLORED BY: SONIA OBACK
LETTERED BY: VC – CORY PETIT
EDITOR: JOHN BARBER
Parental Advisory …$2.99

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Review: The Incredible Hercules #121

I’m going to be honest. After the Incredible Hulk became the Incredible Hercules, I dropped the title before I really even gave the book a chance. I have never been a huge Hercules fan. I always enjoyed him when he was with the Avengers, but as a solo character he was just never one who particularly interested me. Thus, the reason for dropping the book when the title changed. Over the last few months I have been hearing many people talking about how good the new book is. Well, curiosity finally got the best of me and I can totally see what everybody was talking about! This book was just pure comic book fun! The writing team of Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak deliver an off-the-wall fun ride that was a blast from beginning to end. I love the bits with Amadeus Cho here! World War Hulk kinda left me with a sour taste in my mouth for the character with the whole seventh smartest person in the world line thrown in our face every other panel. But here, he was was a great supporting character with some really funny dialog. The story as a whole, I just really had a good time with. There were great moments of action, a funny historic flashback, a few lessons in speaking ancient Greek and some hot, hormonally charged Amazons with guns! What more could you ask for?

How about some absolutely gorgeous art from Clayton Henry (Wolverine: First Class)! I absolutely loved the art in this book! Henry has a very clean line style that I thought was an excellent fit for this book. There was one scene in particular involving the Titan Atlas that I thought was just amazing! I think Guru-Efx should also get mentioned for their coloring work that helped make that scene so impressive.

In my opinion, this was a really great issue all around! I may have to go do a little back issue bin diving (oh, darn) and try and pull out some of the issues I’ve missed. I give this book two big thumbs up!

COVER BY:ARTHUR SUDYAM
WRITER: FRED VAN LENTE & GREG PAK
PENCILS: CLAYTON HENRY
INKS: CLAYTON HENRY
COLORED BY: GURU-EFX
LETTERED BY: VC – JOE CARAMAGNA
EDITOR: MARK PANICCIA
Rated A …$2.99

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Review: Invincible Iron Man #4

Ezekiel Stane has a grudge. Li’l Zeke blames Tony Stark for the death of his dear old dad, former Iron Man villain Obadiah Stane, aka the Iron Monger. Zeke is making it his life’s mission to bring down Tony Stark as well as the company he has built, and all the while using Tony’s own Iron Man technology to do it. Can Tony stop Ezekiel in time before he destroys Stark Enterprises, as well as bringing down the Iron Man himself?

The hunt for Ezekiel Stane continues in issue four of this explosive new series from writer Matt Fraction and artist Salvador Larroca. Fraction continues to deliver a pretty solid story. I wasn’t as thrilled with this issue as I was the previous issues, but I still very much enjoyed it. The only problem I had story wise with this issue was that it seemed to slow down considerably compared to the other three. I was looking for more of the explosions, chases and action that made the first three issues a blast. Don’t get me wrong though, there are some really great moments in this issue. I loved the interaction of Tony and Maria Hill. I think Fraction has a really great grasp of both of these characters, especially Maria. And, being a big fan of chess, I loved the opening with Tony and Reed Richards playing chess on five boards simultaneously. Really, really good stuff there!

I would have to say my biggest problem with the book comes from the art. I don’t want to sound like I’m bashing Larroca’s work. I have always enjoyed his stuff in the past, especially when he was on Extreme X-Men. But his stuff in this issue just didn’t really hit with me. I thought his first three issues were much, much stronger. There were some moments with the some of the characters that I thought just didn’t look right to me, especially the scenes with Reed. Overall, it was still a good read. I would have liked a little bit more action, but their were some really great character moments that made up for it. If you haven’t checked this series out yet, it’s definitely worth giving a shot!

WRITER: MATT FRACTION
ARTIST: SALVADOR LARROCA
COLORS: FRANK D’ARMATA
LETTERS: CHRIS ELIOPOULOS
EDITOR: WARREN SIMONS
Rated A …$2.99

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