Marvel Comics Thread

[Sven]

Uncanny Avengers 4 lost me on the final page reveal [

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mostly because I've never read a single comic having to do with Onslaught and so have no idea what it means.

] Up to then, though, the last two issues have featured some terrific writing, selling me on keeping the title.

Another recent verdict: Aaron/Ribic's Thor really is stupendous. Issues 4 and 5 had my jaw all the way down.

[number8]

Yeah, I wasn't even gonna get Thor at first, but it's now my favorite Marvel book behind Hawkeye (whose issue 8 was killer, by the way).

[Sven]

Yeah, I wasn't even gonna get Thor at first, but it's now my favorite Marvel book behind Hawkeye (whose issue 8 was killer, by the way).

Still X-Men: Legacy for me. The way Spurrier maneuvers Legion through the high concept is the most impressive NOW! character work. It's also funny and colorful. Definitely an ideal comic.

[number8]

I was gonna get on the Young Avengers bandwagon too, but forgot. I think I missed 2 issues?

[Sven]

Yeah. It's a'ight. Kinda just about teen bodies moping around rooms right now. And heresy alert: I think McKelvie is overrated. (Good! but overrated... frankly prefer Larroca for figure linework for his ability to differentiate.)

[slqrick]

Allred's art on FF is blowing my mind, and the book is a lot of fun in general. Fraction's killing it, and Hawkeye is just a given at this point. Love how that's starting to get more serialized too.

Guardians of the Galaxy 0.1 had great McNiven art and I've never had much of a stake in those characters, so I enjoyed the Bendis reboot. Definitely feels like a movie ready franchise though, adding Iron Man onto the team...I wonder if we'll get a glimpse/reference in IM3.

[ledfloyd]

Another recent verdict: Aaron/Ribic's Thor really is stupendous. Issues 4 and 5 had my jaw all the way down.

Yeah, by far my favorite title that resulted from Marvel NOW! Given that it's on a character I had never read before or had much interest in and it is outdoing Hickman's Avengers, that is no small compliment.

[sevenarts]

I was gonna get on the Young Avengers bandwagon too, but forgot. I think I missed 2 issues?

Yeah, 2nd issue just came out. It's lots of fun, don't listen to Sven - especially since he prefers Larocca (ugh) to the totally awesome McKelvie. Loved the formal hijinks in the second issue, and Gillen's humor is at its sharpest.

Marvel ranked:

Thor
Avengers/New Avengers
Hawkeye
Young Avengers
X-Men Legacy
Fury MAX
FF
All-New X-Men/Uncanny X-Men
Captain Marvel
Uncanny Avengers
Captain America
Wolverine and the X-Men

[Sven]

don't listen to Sven - especially since he prefers Larocca (ugh) to the totally awesome McKelvie

Sometimes comics groupthink is much more flagrant than that of films.

[number8]

I really don't know what you like about Larocca, though. He's like a slightly more adequate Greg Land.

[ledfloyd]

No Daredevil 7?

[sevenarts]

number8 nailed larocca. at his best he's just fine. i don't get comparing him to mckelvie at all. they could not be more different, mckelvie's art has personality and style galore, both qualities sorely lacking in larocca's stiff, static compositions.

and i knew i forgot something. slot daredevil in between Hawkeye and YA at the moment. i could easily see YA moving up once it has a few more issues under its belt, too.

[Sven]

I really don't know what you like about Larocca, though. He's like a slightly more adequate Greg Land.

I don't see it. I will further engage this discussion if anyone wants to mount a more detailed critique of Larroca. Until then, I'mma put it out there that most cannot see Larroca for D'armata. Check out Sal's black and whites. His figure rendering is just a few hairs away from McKelvie's in technique. However he's defter at bestowing expression, being as his characters are frequently engaged in some sort of straining conflict, while McKelvie specializes mostly in similarly-faced doe-eyed chatty young people.

Which is fine. McKelvie: realist linework and nice flat colors. Larroca: realist linework with design and elasticity and shitty colors. Also, better at layouts and definition than Land.

[Sven]

number8 nailed larocca. at his best he's just fine. i don't get comparing him to mckelvie at all. they could not be more different, mckelvie's art has personality and style galore, both qualities sorely lacking in larocca's stiff, static compositions.

Did you read Invincible Iron Man? That thing moves and has style in buckets. It's maybe less hip, though, I'll concede that point.

[sevenarts]

Did you read Invincible Iron Man? That thing moves and has style in buckets. It's maybe less hip, though, I'll concede that point.

I'll give you style, though it's not a style I like. But his stuff always looks so stiffed and posed, there's no real convincing sense of motion even when Iron Man's supposed to be rocketing around in battle. That and the distracting photo-referenced faces are my main beefs with him.

But I'll probably be re-reading IIM soon as part of a big 2000s Marvel read/re-read, so we'll see if I come around at all. I just recently read Ellis' NewUniversal, though, and it's great in many ways, but Larocca's art had all its usual problems there, too.

[slqrick]

Hmm, not sure about Age of Ultron #1. On one hand, the dystopian future crap has been done so much...but Hitch's post apocalyptic landscape is pretty sweet. I'm not the biggest fan of his, but I thought the bleakness of the setting was well done. What I did like about the first issue is that it doesn't have that "EVENT" feel to it, which is nice.

[number8]

Free digital #1 Marvel issues of over 700 titles on Comixology if you can get their server to not crash.

[number8]

Steve McNiven's Guardians of the Galaxy redesigns suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

[slqrick]

Bendis has been doing a surprisingly great job with Cyclops on Uncanny X-Men. It was nice seeing him take Cap down a peg in the last issue. The book would be really great if it had a different art direction...Bachalo's action is well done, but really suffers during Bendis' talky scenes. Not a fan of the character designs either, really. All the blondes look the same, and the costumes look weird.

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[sevenarts]

I do keep confusing Magik and Emma, but I like that Bachalo is giving that book its own distinct look with the flat color palette and blocky costume designs. Helps set it apart and drive home that if All New X-Men is about the past, this book is about the future.

Bendis is doing great stuff on the X books, both of his titles are really fun.

[Sven]

New Avengers is so metal.

[sevenarts]

New Avengers is so metal.

Yeah, and really good. I love how moody and depressing it is. Epting is killing it.

[number8]

What the hell? Angela (from Spawn) is now a Marvel character, with permission from Gaiman. Her first appearance in the Marvel U will be the last issue of Age of Ultron in June.

Here's Quesada talking about it:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...versial-angel/

[EyesWideOpen]

Gaiman is also co-writing Guardians of the Galaxy with Bendis.

[Sven]

Gaiman is also co-writing Guardians of the Galaxy with Bendis.

This is interesting, even if Gaiman utterly marred the cosmic angle in his Eternals mini.