This week saw the release of the highly anticipated Marvel comic book, Avengers #1, by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opeña. This book will round out the first wave of releases for Marvel Now!
I tried to read most of the new Marvel Now! releases. Some were great, some were not. Here is my report card for the new Marvel Now!
A+ Grade
Indestructible Hulk #1 and Thor God of Thunder #1-2
Out of all the Marvel Now! titles, these two are my favourite by far. Indestructible Hulk is an ideal jumping on place for a new Hulk reader. I also think the plot and story match up to what is happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. Here’s the quick rundown. Bruce Banner is one of the smartest people on the planet, but he has always been a drifter, on the run from the government and the monster that lurks inside him. Now he wants to live up to his potential. He wants S.H.I.E.L.D. to set him up in a lab, so he can do research to make the world a better place. In return S.H.I.E.L.D. get access to the Hulk.
This is a great jumping on point for any new reader. It also breathes new life into a character who has changed too many times over the character’s history. Finally the Hulk comic has a focused storyline which gives us the best of both worlds. Banner’s brains and Hulk’s brawn.
Thor God of Thunder has a Walt Simonson feel to it, and that should be enough for anybody to run out and buy this comic. God of Thunder features the Thunder God in a triple timeline story. Part of the story has Thor during his early days when he was an arrogant warrior before he was worthy to wield Mjolnir. Another part of the story has Thor in the “present day”. The final part of the story shows Thor as the ruler of Asgard, and the final living god.
Thor G.o.T. has everything a Thor fan could want. We get to see every version of Thor that has ever been put on the comic page. We get the arrogant, foolish young boy at the same time we get to see him as the gristled old warrior of Asgard.
Walt Simonson’s run on Thor is what made me a Thor fan. G.o.T. is the closest thing I’ve read that is like that original run, that made me fall in love with the character.
These two titles are must-buys. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
A (/-) Grade
All New X-Men #1-2, Uncanny Avengers #1-2, Avengers #1
All New X-Men, Uncanny Avengers and Avengers are all solid titles. I really enjoyed All New X-Men because I think it brings a new twist to the X-Universe. The only reason these titles didn’t get an A+ rating from me, is because the story is too big for one issue. There is more story to be told, and the real grade will be determined.
Having Red Skull as the villain of Uncanny Avengers is perfect. He is a truly evil character. And he will definitely put the Avengers and X-Men at the pure test of their abilities.
B (+/-) Grade
Fantastic Four #1, Iron Man #1-2, Thunderbolts #1
These titles received a B grade because I think they are good, but you can take them or leave them on the shelf. Fantastic Four is a great introduction for new readers about the Richards family. It gives a quick overview on what has happened since the release of FF#1 (back in 2011). I was a regular reader of the series, and did have issues with Jonathan Hickman’s writing. But after the storyline unfurled, it was a great series. I look forward to a new direction on the title.
Iron Man is a decent book, but it doesn’t stand out for me as a great book.
Thunderbolts #1 has everything you need in a first issue. It introduces all the characters that will be on the team. It packed in a lot of information, so it felt a bit rushed. That’s why it didn’t get a higher grade from me.
C (+/-) Grade
FF #1
I was disappointed with FF#1. I thought it wasn’t as good as Fantastic Four #1, but again, it tried to introduce too much into the one issue. I can see that they are trying to hit the newstand running, but a little less background information in this issue would have been better. I look forward to #2 which I think will be a better book.
D (+/-) Grade
X-Men Legacy #1
This book bored me. I have no emotional attachment to the Legion character at all. It will be one I pass over, and not pay attention to at all.
E (+/-) Grade
Captain America #1
Captain America is a complete disappointment for me. I love Captain America. I think he is one of the greatest characters in comics. I also think he transcends comics and is a great pop culture icon. Captain America is also an inspirational character, because of his ideals.
The character Captain America is also an important character to the Marvel Universe because he is the leader of the entire group. It doesn’t matter which team or book has Captain America on it, they will always look to Steve Rogers for leadership. So that being said… WHY WOULD YOU SEND CAPTAIN AMERICA TO ANOTHER DIMENSION?!?
If you haven’t read it yet, Captain America is in another Dimension. This idea is crazy.
How could Captain America be in another dimension, when he is also on the Uncanny Avengers and on the Avengers team? It doesn’t make sense to me. The Captain America title could be the book to tie all these other storylines together.
Plus I do not like the artwork on Captain America. This isn’t a knock against John Romita Jr. I enjoy his work on Spider-Man and Kick Ass. His art style works well with those characters and stories. His style doesn’t work for me with Captain America. I may sound boring here, but I would love to see Steve Epting or Butch Guice back on Captain America. For me, their art style is fits the character better.
F !!!! You Fail!!!!
Deadpool #1-3
This is the WORST book for Marvel Now!
We know that Deadpool is the “Merc with the Mouth”. We know that he’s funny and crazy. You’d think that having a comedian like Brian Posehn writing the book would lead to some great jokes, and an enjoyable read. WRONG!!!
The book is full of forced one-liners, horrible puns and irrelevant sight gags (jokes about the Kool-Aid Man are neither relevant or funny… unless it’s Robot Chicken).
Deadpool could have been a great book. I have only read a couple of trades of Daniel Way’s run, but they were enjoyable. I think Deadpool translates better to the video screen (be it movie, tv show or videogame). On that medium the character can interact with the viewer. It is more difficult on the printed page. In Deadpool it tries too hard to be funny. And old one-liners isn’t funny.
To be fair, there was one panel in issue #2 that I enjoyed. It showed an elephant on fire. Deadpool says “Can we talk about the elephant in the room… ’cause it’s on fire!”
I enjoyed that line. I think it’s funny, and I will most likely use it in the future.
Deadpool is horrible. You shouldn’t buy it. Don’t read it. But for some crazy reason it’s like staring at a pile of vomit on the sidewalk. I’m going to keep reading it, because I… just… can’t… look… away!!!!
So i’ll start at the top, the first 2 issues of All-New X-Men are great! Great art and i’m a sucker for these characters from the past. But Uncanny Avengers was not as great for me. I loved the first issue i love how Cap, Thor and Havok were drawn and written. The bits with Rogue and Scarlet Witch i didn’t really care about so that was probably why i didn’t like issue 2 as much. I thought Avengers #1 was awesome, i don’t know of these villains but i was instantly interested. Fantastic Four was a brilliant introduction to the series along with FF both A* quality in my book. The art in FF is phenomenal and it’s pretty great in Fantastic Four too. It starts you off in the middle of an adventure which is pretty cool. I love the panel/page in Fantastic Four where it’s just read and him saying “uh-oh” definitely makes you want to come back for more. FF was an awesome intro to the characters. I love how it starts at the end, and how the whole story is set out. Each member of the FF is being interviewed, love it! Now onto Deadpool, really shocked at want grade you gave this, the art alone gives it a B instantly. In this book i love all the jokes, i understand that there may be too many but i still love it. Especially the part in issue #3 with the old woman, that made me crack up the most. This whole series tho for me has been a barrel of laughs, and they haven’t made Deadpool stupid too!
By the way i would have given Cap that grade too even tho i haven’t read it. I only like JRJR’s art on Kick-Ass, everywhere else it sucks for me.
Deadpool – I thought the jokes were too corny, and I hated the way they portrayed Dr. Strange. That isn’t the way the character should be presented.
I have a couple of issues with the art on FF. Some of it I liked, some I didn’t. It’s a mixed emotion thing for me on that one.
Clearly my grade of these books will change, once the whole story is told. Originally I didn’t like Jonathan Hickman’s FF run last year. I even wrote an article about it. But after the main story was told, FF and Fantastic Four were my favourite comics every month. I am pretty sure that after a couple of issues Avengers and Fantastic Four/FF will be higher on my list.
Having read them all I agree with most of your assessments Ed. Hulk and Thor were big surprises and quite enjoyable, All-New X-Men has been great so far, Uncanny Avengers – I liked 1 more than 2 – but Cassaday’s art is a treat. Fantastic Four and F.F. were okay, not necessarily better than the previous versions, I prefer Fantastic Four over F.F if asked to choose. Captain America was quite disappointing, but not terrible. Thunderbolts was actually a surprise as well, in a good way. I’m enjoying Deadpool for the art, and there have been some chuckle out loud moments (such as Dr. Strange leaving Ben Franklin’s ghost behind because Clea slept with him back in an old 70’s comic). I’d go so far as to say that X-Men Legacy has to be the weakest so far — although Red She-Hulk is not far ahead of it.
The Lounge customers are really digging Hulk, Thor, All-New X-Men, Avengers and Uncanny Avengers. The jury is out on the others.
I’m not impressed with Iron Man as well. The last issue set things up for Tony to go into space, so having him earthbound for the first story arc annoyed a few people, myself included.