Greetings from Battleworld: Secret Wars Week 7

Thors #1

Story: Jason Aaron

Art: Chris Sprouse, Karl Story and Marte Gracia

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate but equally important groups: the Thors who investigate crime, and the Sheriff of Agamotto who prosecutes the offenders. These are their stories.

CHUNG-CHUNG.

Who would’ve thought a bunch of blond guys flying around with hammers and battle armor would make for a great police procedural?

Thors has all the elements of a great cop show: Partner protagonists whom the other cops find unorthodox, a murder of the week, fellow officers who stand around making snarky comments and bragging about their records, a drunk racist cop, a rookie who barfs at the scene of his first homicide, an angry captain who wants results, dammit, a forensics (Thorensics?) nerd, primetime network TV levels of swearing, etc.

It’s also got random Ghost Rider attacks and a Groot-Thor that says only “I am Thor” and has a cape made of leaves, in perhaps my favorite bit of stunt-casting in this book. And while all the characters speak in Marvel’s Official Thor Font, their dialogue could have come right out of any episode of “Law & Order” or “NYPD Blue.”

The central Thors in this book are Thorlief Golmen, the Thor of the Ultimate Universe, whom the other Thors have derisively nicknamed “The Ultimate Thor” for his ability to get stuck with cases none of the other Thors wants, and Beta Ray Thor, the one with the horse face. True to form, the two get stuck with the latest “Allthing” – a bizarre case that must be solved immediately to avoid the wrath of God Emperor Doom. Describing the Allthing would give too much away, but suffice it to say it’s a case that could only exist on a planet in which multiple realities and times exist simultaneously.

Rounding out the cast are Odin as the lawspeaker (angry captain), Frog Thor (Throg) as the forensics guy, and Groot, Storm and the Destroyer, among others, as fellow officers. And, of course, keep your eyes peeled for cameos.

Serious kudos to writer Jason Aaron, who since 2012 has continued to find new ways to play with the god of thunder, from telling a story across time to giving the hammer to Jane Foster to turning the Worthy into a multiversal peacekeeping force. And to artist Chris Sprouse for making sure each Thor is distinguishable from the next.

Also, whether intended or not, this book makes me want to rewatch one of my favorite episodes of Community, season 3’s “Advanced Lupine Urology.”

CHUNG-CHUNG

Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars #2

Story: Cullen Bunn

Art: Matteo Lolli and Ruth Redmond

Wade Wilson’s heretofore untold adventures in the original Secret Wars continue with an explanation of why our sometimes-hero looks like the protagonist of a Hal Needham movie, a series of flashbacks told to the Lizard and the introduction of a love story.

A major part of the plot of this issue is the lenticular shields that were packaged with the action figures that were essentially the driving force of Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck’s original series. Deadpool finds a whole mess of them amid a fight with Spider-Man and takes one for himself, then brags about his cool new weapon to the other heroes until Reed Richards dismantles it to save them after the Molecule Man traps them in a mountain.

I’m enjoying the nonlinear nature of the book, as the constant flashing forward and back keeps the plot – most of which was pre-existing – from being completely predictable. It helps that this is a four-issue miniseries as opposed to the original 12, which forces tighter writing and limits the original’s major plot points to a highlight reel. It’s also always fun to revisit classic superhero fashions, such as Storm’s Mohawk or Cyclops’ plain blue spandex togs.

Speaking of which, art for next issue teases Deadpool in Spider-Man’s black costume. Maybe it’s a feint, maybe it’s not. Either way, I’m 99.9 percent certain hijinks will ensue. See ya there!

Ms. Marvel #16
Story: G. Willow Wilson
Art: Adrian Alphona

While the various Secret Wars tie-ins take place on the hodgepodge planet of Battleworld, the "Last Days" tie-ins follow heroes and villains as the last two Earths prepare to crash into each other. Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel, starts the story out still mourning the fact that her crush, fellow Pakistani Inhuman Kamran, turned out to be a villain to a hot dog vendor. But as she sees people charging out of New York City into her own native Jersey City, Kamala heads to NYC where she sees the other Earth coming. I hadn't realized that you could only see the point of incursion from New York before, and I might have missed it, but it's a nice touch. But just because things are only visible from New York, doesn't mean there isn't chaos across the river. So, Kamala starts out by getting people to head to her school, which has been reinforced to deal with robot attacks and is protected by "hipster viking magic," which credit where credit is due, is pretty cool. I love that new-Loki is being called a hipster Viking, by the way; it makes me smile. But when Kamala heads home to get her family, she finds Kamran there and her brother gone, paying off the hint from last issue that another Khan might be an Inhuman. We've seen Kamala with her friends in danger before, sure, but this is different. This is family. This is classic Marvel hero tropes, like Spider-Man having to fight the Green Goblin, who knows he's Peter Parker. It's a test, and Kamala does what she knows is right, which is make sure everything is settled and safe at the school before doing what she has to for her family. It's a testament to her strength that she doesn't give in and abandon her responsibility. The final page of the issue sets up the meeting that readers have been waiting for since issue one. Even if the world is ending it's an exciting time for Ms. Marvel fans.

Runaways #1
Story: Noelle Stevenson
Art: Sanford Greene

Only on Battleworld could you find a school more prone to get you killed than Xavier's, the Victor Von Doom Institute for Gifted Youths. Runaways is the story of The Breakfast Club of Battleworld, a bunch of kids who are part of a program to find the best and brightest who are all rebellious. It's an interesting combination of characters, from various eras of young heroes from the 90s to the past few years. I was most excited to see Amadeus Cho and the Delphyne Gorgon from The Incredible Hercules pop up, but it's also nice to see Molly Hayes from the original Runaways there as well. Readers are treated to a lot of teen bickering and fighting mixed in with the kind of things you'd expect to see at a school dedicated to Doom: end of years finals the end in expulsion if you and a team don't win at some sort of elaborate test. It's a fun comic, with these different characters playing off each other. I like that Skaar, son of Hulk, becomes Amadeus Cho's bodyguard and buddy, fitting well with Cho's usual m.o. of palling around with someone physically bigger than him. The identity and power inverted version of Cloak & Dagger are also a nice touch. And introducing a new character in the middle of it, Sanna Strand, Frostbite, makes me wonder if she's going to be a new important character after Secret Wars ends, or if she's cannon fodder. And I love that tough Jubilee has a girl gang right out of a 90s movie, the include the Gorgon and Jubilee's best friend/ex Pixie. All these characters, in detention after a fight between Frostbite and Jubilee, wind up on a team for the final exam. Noelle Stevenson is so good at inverting tropes in Lumberjanes, I'm sure there is more than the typical teen movie set up of a bunch of different people must work together and learn that they're not all that different, especially as we see the headmistress of the school and her right hand hall monitor, Bucky Barnes the Winter Soldier, have it out for the Runaways (a title never used in the comic). I don't think Molly Ringwald ever faced someone trying to kill her in a John Hughes movie, so I can only expect more action and excitement as the kids try to make it out; I hope they curvive the experience. 

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 1/21

Batman and Robin #38
Story: Peter J. Tomasi
Art: Patrick Gleason

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... Damian Wayne? Yes indeed, Damian is back from the dead, and he has superpowers. Now that Damian is back from the dead after the events of Robin Rises, it's time to establish the new status quo. Pete Tomasi and Patrick Gleason, one of the longest running teams on any book since the New 52 reboot, start to look at Damian and how he reacts to the new powers he received after his resurrection. And it starts out rough. Damian was always impetuous at best, and flat out aggressive at worst, and the new powers he demonstrates aren't helping. Flight, invulnerability, and super strength are a suite of powers that can be easily abused, and Batman clearly is concerned that Damian, who has a history of homicide, might just abuse them. We see a patrol, and Damian flings himself into danger with no concern. In all fairness, if I knew I was bulletproof, it would be hard for me to not just go for it. But Damian has once again proven he has a hard time taking orders, and so once again, Batman scolds him. But as the issue progresses, we see Damian's death and return have left more scars than he lets on. It's nice to see that Damian is suffering nightmares about the circumstances of his death; death has to be traumatic, especially at the hands of someone you loved. The trauma of death and resurrection is something rarely touched on in super hero comics. And after Damian's nightmare, he once again disobeys Batman and flies off. Tomasi then once again uses Alfred as the voice of reason to Batman, telling to have a little faith in Damian. I think Alfred might have some experience dealing with an angry, traumatized young man of exceptional abilities. Tomasi and Scott Snyder on Batman have both done tremendous work with the relationship between Batman and Alfred, really making Alfred the sage adviser who Batman listens to and is almost always right. This is not the Alfred of Gotham, this sort of gruff, angry badass uncle. I like an Alfred with a real paternal streak, something that really works when he serves as a father figure to all these young men. The issue ends with Damian going to Atlantis to tie up a thread from the "Hunt for Robin" story, and it's a scene that really shows the growth that Damian has gone through since his introduction as a spoiled brat. Seeing how Damian reacts to the deformed clones of himself is touching, witnessing that Damian has really learned to care about others. I'm hoping that Tomasi and Gleason continue their run for quite a while after Convergence to further explore the changes to a character that I've come to really love.

Lumberjanes #10
Story: Noelle Stevenson & Shannon Watters
Art: Carolyn Nowak

Somehow, I'm not surprised that the day at Lumberjanes camp where everyone can just kick back and do their own thing is not as relaxing as it sounds. The second arc of Lumberjanes begins with Mal and Molly going off to have a picnic while April, Ripley, and Jo decide to try to get some of the more mundane badges that monster hunting time preclude (they promised to not do anything exciting til Mal and Molly get back). While the trio provide the comic relief throughout the issue, with April frustrated about getting the boring badges, the issue's heart is Mal and Molly on a date in the woods before the action starts. I've rarely seen those early sparks of infatuation and love played out as well in comics as I have here. As Mal talks about her friends at home and all the fun she would have had if she hadn't been shipped off to camp, artist Carolyn Nowak paints Molly's face showing all the doubt that someone can feel when they think that the person they have feelings for doesn't have the same depth of feeling for them. After ten issues, it's really impressive how well rounded these characters are, and how much the reader has come to care about them. Of course, this is Lumberjanes, so pretty soon the craziness starts, as Mal and Molly see the Bear Woman, and follow her through the woods and fall through a time portal behind her. There's another charmingly awkward moment as the girls land in the past in one of the classic romantic adventure poses and there is some adorable blushing. And not only are there time portals, but pretty soon there are dinosaurs! And you know anything with dinosaurs gets a thumbs up from me. Lumberjanes is one of my favorite comics coming out right now, and it looks like it will be moving into even surer footing now that it's into its new life as an ongoing. Also, the issue title of "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fondant," is one of those puns that is so groanworthy that I have to laugh; I love those puns.

The Valiant #2
Story: Jeff Lemire & Matt Kindt
Art: Paolo Rivera and Jeff Lemire

The Valiant finds a way to move from its excellent first issue into an even better second issue. After the stakes and characters were established last issue, this one brings the Eternal Enemy front and center, hunting down neophyte Geomancer Kay McHenry in the form of Mr. Flay, a boogieman from a childhood story Kay loved. Co-writer Jeff Lemire draws the storybook sequences, which works perfectly. Lemire's style is slightly off the norm, not the same realistic lines as series artist Paolo Rivera, and that art works because of the fairy tale aspect of the story and because it seems of another world. Speaking of Rivera, his work on Mr. Flay/Eternal Enemy is really impressive. It's an incredibly creepy design, both in it's hideous monster form as the Enemy and as it's evil gentleman form as Flay; that sort of elderly gentleman thing hearkens back to classic vampires and The Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and is great horror trope. Aside from Kay and the Eternal Enemy, with see Eternal Warrior and Ninjak retrieve someone who will be of use in this battle, and an end of issue appearance from Bloodshot painting him as a white knight, a role he will be unaccustomed to, I am sure. There's also a last page that is so classically superhero that it made me smile. I've realized that The Valiant takes a lot of classic tropes, not just the monster, but some superhero tropes, the hero's journey for Kay, the man haunted by his past failures for Eternal Warrior, and shines them up and fits them together as if they were meant to be together all along. It's a perfect introduction to the Valiant universe, while still rewarding long time readers. Seriously, if you like superhero stories, The Valiant is a book not to be missed.


And Dan Grote bids a fond farewell to a Matt Signal favorite...

All-New X-Factor #20

Words by Peter David

Art by Carmine Di Giandomenico, Will Sliney and Lee Loughridge

Cue up the sad Boyz II Men song. Either “End of the Road” or “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” Your choice. We’ll wait.

We here at the Matt Signal have made no secret of our love for Peter David and his band of misfit mutants, so without belaboring the point, we’re sad to see another incarnation of X-Factor go after only about a year in service.

But David and artist Carmine Di Giandomenico go out the only way they possibly could: with robot sex and a cliffhanger ending that would make Alf jealous.

If the upcoming Secret Wars is intended to be a greatest-hits tour of the Marvel Universe before it ends, All-New X-Factor #20 is the Peter David version of that. In addition to the book’s main cast, we get a visit from Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, who offers a glimpse into the rewritten future. Without spoilers, it’s a future David fans have seen before.

The good news is, it looks like David wants to pack up his pets and move them to his other book. X-Factor’s final pages reveal Serval CEO Harrison Snow’s true intentions for the team, which tie in closely with the world of future Spidey. Also tying things together neatly is Spider-Man 2099 artist Will Sliney, who drew the O’Hara scenes.

Oh, and I think this bears repeating: This book has robot sex in it. Suffice it to say Cypher and Warlock are now eskimo brothers.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 9/24

Harley Quinn: Futures End
Story: Amanda Conner & Jimmy Palmiotti
Art: Chad Hardin

A year into it's publication, I realized I haven't talked about the new series starring Harley Quinn. From her first appearance in the New 52, I had a lot of problems with the new Harley, from her awful costume to her completely violently psychotic attitude. But with this ongoing being written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, I gave it a shot. And it is, far and away, the most fun comic coming out from DC. It's DC's answer to Deadpool: wacky, over the top cartoony violence, quirky protagonist. The series began by moving Harley to Brooklyn, giving her a new supporting cast, and removed it pretty much from the mainstream of the New 52, and it works beautifully. The Futures End issue is similarly removed from the downright dark and brooding event, and its a story of Harley flying on vacation to Barbados only to crash on an island that her Mr. J, The Joker, is using to hide out, and where he is worshiped as a god king by the natives. It's a great introduction to Conner and Palmiotti's take on Harley, since she spends a lot of time on her own, thinking (and talking to Bernie, the taxidermy beaver that is sort of Jiminey Cricket for her throughout the series). There are plenty of sight gags, especially once you realize what the Joker has been doing to the natives. And the writers get the way Joker and Harley are supposed to interact, with Harley growing a spine around him, only to have him say one thing that gets her to melt, and him simply having fun manipulating her (I feel the way Joker deals with his subjects is just how he feels about Harley written large, and the end would be what we wish Harley could do to the Joker. Read the issue and you'll see what I mean). The issue is drawn by regular series artist Chad Hardin, so you get the full Harley Quinn experience, and he draws the issue with the same manic verve that he does every issue. If you're looking for a comic that has that Itchy & Scratchy vibe, while still capturing the voice of both Joker and Harley, this is the comic for you to try.

Lumberjanes #6
Story: Grace Ellis & Noelle Stevenson
Artist: Brooke Allen

Ah, capture the flag. Nothing says camp like capture the flag (I think. I never went to to camp, but it's one of those things that I see every time there's story about camp, so I feel like that). Of course, since this is Lumberjanes, things have a slightly more supernatural bent. This issue we get a bit more with Diane, the somewhat standoffish camper who has been around a couple issues, and we see most of what her deal is, a lot of which has to do with Jo, the most grounded Lumberjane. After the bear woman made reference to Jo being supernatural, the other girls aren't sure what to make of it, but this issue we get answers to that and exactly what Diane is and is up to. Frankly, Diane's identity makes perfect sense, and it makes me want to go back and reread her previous appearances to see if there were clues there that I missed. But while there is mystery and the supernatural, the thing that still gives Lumberjanes it's charm and it's warmth is the relationships between the leads. Before you know exactly what's going on , the first two pages make it seem like there's dire trouble at hand, and the way the girls stick together, the way they care for the wounded Molly, the way they depend on Jo's planning, is all wonderful. I also get a kick out of a scene later, when Mal is coming up with her crazy plan to save the captured Jo and Ripley, only for them to have escaped and see Mal's disappointment that she yet again didn't get to enact one of her plans. It all reminds us that, as much as the series is about the Supernatural, it's more about these five characters, their friendship, and what a unique group of characters they are. A couple of final notes, I like how the events of earlier issues are staring to pay off in these issues. While Lumberjanes is now an ongoing, it was originally planned for an eight issue run, so I'm curious to see if everything gets answered at issue eight with a new set of mysteries appearing after that or if the creators had enough advance notice of the extension to build subplots forward. I also love the continued development of Jen, the councilor. She could have been the strict authoritarian character who was the girls' nemesis in camp, but she has grown, wondering what she brings to a camp that battle monsters and trying to help keep her girls safe by going off on their adventures. I connect a lot with Jen's mindset, being a rule follower and the kind of person who doesn't chase monsters, so I like seeing that growth in her.

Saga #23
Story: Brian K. Vaughan
Art: Fiona Staples

The end of last issue of Saga was heartbreaking, and this issue is the fallout from Alana and Marko's confrontation (SPOILERS if you're reading the series in trades). With our lead couple now on the outs, Alana goes into the treehouse while Marko makes what might be the dumbest move ever and goes to Ginny's. We see exactly what each of them are feeling, and frankly a month later I'm still torn up about whose side to take. Marko's throwing something in a fit of rage at Alana is unforgivable, but I will say that Alana being under the influence while being with Hazel is something that is utterly wrong as well. Vaughan has done a great job of fashioning a situation where everyone is as right as they are wrong. Still, as we see the two of them deal with where they are now, Alana has the breakdown that has been coming since the beginning of this arc, and Marko does something that affirms his commitment to his family. Izabel, the ghost girl babysitter, also gets some more character development. Vaughan uses her to speak about the pointlessness of war in a way that is far more effective to me than our leads usual wistful discussions of love being stronger than war, more in line with Oswald Heist's story of his son and less with the stories he wrote in flowery prose. And I absolutely love Klara, Marko's mom, once again proving she is far and away the toughest member of the cast; this is a grandma you don't want to mess with. It does seem that Alana's time with the Open Circuit is over, and the events have me unsure of how I feel about Yuma. I mean, I don't think there's been much redeeming the drug dealing costumer to begin with, and seeing her interactions with Dengo makes her seem even more despicable. But she seems to have a moment of realization, even if it seems to be one of those deathbed conversions that will only mean anything if she does survive. Vaughan ends the issue with his trademark cliffhanger, with the meeting of two characters who haven't crossed paths yet who have been in each other's orbit since the series began. There's one more issue in this arc before the next hiatus, and as ever, I don't know where this is going, but I'm along for the ride.

The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #20
Art: Various
Story: Various

In previous years, the annual Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror comic has brought in creators from all around comic to tell various comedy/horror themed stories set in Springfield. This year, the stories are from Bongo Comics stable of regular creators, but are all themed towards today's leading horror trend: zombies. The lead is a mashup of two of the biggest pop culture events with "Zombinado." Yes, it's a tornado full of zombies, and only Homer Simpson's capacious gullet can save Springfield. "The Walking Ned" casts Homer as the Governor-esque leader of a post-apocalyptic Springfield and Ned Flanders as the man who must stop him from getting everyone killed . And the special ends with a parody of zombie classic "Dawn of the Dead" and Bart and Homer unleashing nuclear zombies during a bring-your-kids-to-work day. These are all entertaining stories, perfect if you're looking for a little Halloween laugh.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 4/9

All New X-Men #25
Story: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: David Marquez & many others

Issue 25 has often felt like an artificial anniversary issue to me. "hey, look, we're a quarter of the way to issue one hundred! Good for us!" Then again, in a day where there are next to no books on the rack from the big two anywhere near issue one hundred, maybe it means more now. But All-New X-Men takes that anniversary issue and does something very cool with it. A mysterious figure confronts Hank McCoy, the Beast, in his bedroom, and spends the entire issue giving him glimpses of possible futures he has either created or destroyed by bringing the original X-Men to the present. Each of these possible futures is illustrated by a different artist, and holy cow are there some great artists! Bruce Timm does two pages of Jean Grey, one a montage of her past and one a dark future. David Mack draws the fall of Cyclops, Skottie Young a Monster Iceman, and Art Adams a feral Beast. JG Jones draws a beautiful two page spread of a much more optimistic future, and Jill Thompson gives us some X-Women in space. Two of the indy creators involved did two of my favorite pieces: Maris Wicks provides a two page history of the Colossus/Kitty Pryde relationship from its beginning to its inevitable end, and Jason Shiga draws "Scott + Logan: BFFs Forever," which is as funny as it sounds. There are far more creators involved for me to list them all, but each provide something different. Plus, despite me thinking that there's more to the end of the issue than meets the eye, it seems the cosmos is showing up at Hank McCoy's bedside to just call him a jackass, so the Marvel Universe itself agrees with my current assessment of the character, so I feel pretty good about that.

Batman: Eternal #1
Story: Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV
Art: Jason Fabok

It's been a few years since DC did one of its weekly comics (Trinity would technically be the last one, but the biweekly schedules for Brightest Day and Justice League: Generation Lost made them an ad hoc weekly following up Blackest Night), and within the next couple months we'll be getting two. The first is the one I've been excited for, Batman: Eternal, a series that looks to change the face of Gotham as we know it. If the first page is to be believed, it will. After page one, which shows a broken Batman in a ravaged Gotham, we flashback to the present, where we see Jason Bard arrive in Gotham. If you know Jason Bard,well, good for you, for the rest of you, well, he's an old school Batman supporting cast member, former boyfriend of Barbara Gordon and Batman's day man from the "One Year Later" era (this was set up but rarely used after that, which was a shame). We see that corruption in the GCPD is not exactly a thing of the past in Gordon's regime, and then we get a fun action scene with Jim Gordon and Batman fighting Professor Pyg. But things go horribly wrong pretty quickly, and by issue's end, Gordon has seemingly caused a major tragedy and has been arrested. But clearly there is far more to this than meets the eye. This issue does a great job to set up the series, and gives the reader a view of Gotham from the eyes of a newcomer.  I know a weekly series is a major investment, of time, of money, of space. But if the rest of the series keeps up the quality of the first issue, this is going to be an action packed Batman ride, and well worth fifty two weeks of my time, and yours.

Now I have a question to you, my loyal readers, one I probably should have asked last week: Who would like to see weekly, in depth analysis of Batman: Eternal? Page by page analysis with references to appearing characters and plot as the series builds? If you want that, let me know in the comments section.

Lumberjanes #1
Story: Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis
Art: Brooke Allen

Lumberjanes is one of those books that you want to describe with a cutesy little comparison to two other things, in this case Buffy the Vampire Slayer goes to summer camp. But the good thing about this book is its clearly more than just someone who took two ideas and squeezed them together. A group of girls are away at Lumberjane Camp for the summer, and by the end of the first issue have fought kitsune (three eyed Japanese fox creatures), seen a bear woman, and been yelled at by the girl in charge of their bunk. Mal, Molly, April, Ripley, and Jo each get a moment or two that helps us understand who they are, from Ripley's charging into battle hellbound for leather, or April's taking notes on the surroundings and the creatures. After Jen, their councilor, catches them coming in after hours, they get brought to the head of the camp, Rosie, who resembles a famous historical character of the same name. Clearly she knows something about the surrounding woods that the councilors don't, and she warms the girls that there's more out there than what they'd expect. It's a story about friendship, and while we don't get a lot of plot momentum, other than what seems to be set up, the set up and the characters are charming. It's another great all ages book, something I'm always looking for, and one that has  a strong female cast, which as the uncle of nine and six year old nieces is a big plus. While the mystery of what's going on in the woods and the cryptic words of the kitsune and interesting, I have a feeling it's the characters that are going to keep readers coming back for more.