Posts Tagged ‘ Sub-Mariner ’

Let me get this out of the way: The Marvels Project is one good-looking trade. Steve Epting and colorist Dave Stewart do a beautiful job on the art, perfectly capturing the war-time settings that most of the book takes place in. I’ve always been a fan of Epting’s work since his Avengers run almost twenty years ago (urk) and he’s at the top of his game here.

Unfortunately, Ed Brubaker’s story lets the art down. Borrowing heavily from the far superior Marvels, The Marvels Project tells the story of the then-Timely Comics heroes as they gather for the first time against the backdrop of World War II, as narrated by Dr Thomas Holloway, the Angel.

The problem is, that’s all it does. There’s no true ‘story’ here, no overarching theme besides ‘ordinary men become heroes, and so do an android, a super-soldier, and an Atlantean’. The big draw for the series is the formation of the Invaders, but we see little of the team in action. Instead, we’re treated to things we’ve seen before; the Human Torch’s unveiling, Namor’s attack on New York and first battle with the Torch, Steve Roger’s transformation into a super-soldier.

There are some original touches – the Angel’s hunt for Nazi spies that has him crossing paths with the new Captain America, a cameo from an aging gunfighter, Nick Fury’s pre-Howling Commandos wartime exploits tying him to Professor Erskine and Captain America’s origin, and the teasing that a new generation may take over the Angel identity – but none of them really take center stage, and the scattergun approach to storytelling is undermined by the fact that too many storylines stay separated or even unresolved at the conclusion.

Brubaker also uses the series to reintroduce John Steele, a soldier from World War I with superhuman powers revived in World War II. Steele had been pretty much unheard of since 1940 (in real time), and Brubaker clearly revived him to use him in Secret Avengers.

Overall, though, this feels like a greatest hits collection that hits all the right scenes but never comes together coherently. Sure, it’s great to look at but it lacks any real heart. This feels like a real missed opportunity.

The Marvels Project is available from Amazon and loads of other places.

Oh, you bastard, Fraction. Just when I’m harping on about how terrible you are on X-Men you gives us this page:

If there’s one page last week that got me choked up (well, not really; it’s only a comic) it’s this one. Of course, it would have had even more impact if anyone involved had been able to tell the difference between the Mariana Trench and the character Marrina, but whatever.

It’s still one hell of a page.

There are two other great bits in the comic too – the Stepford Cuckoos’ reaction to scanning Marrina as she approaches (and Namor’s subsequent reaction) -

- although it would have been nice if someone remembered that the Cuckoos can’t feel any emotions any more following that godawful Phoenix Warsong mini a while back.

Finally, of course there was Namor’s final confrontation with Osborn -

- which desperately makes me hope that Namor is involved in finally taking Osborn down, even if I’m almost certain he won’t be.

Of course, this wouldn’t have had any impact at all without the fact that Alan Davis and Mark Farmer are still one of the best artistic teams in comics. I just wish they worked more often.

Actually, you know what? I still don’t like Fraction on the X-Men – but I’d love him to take on a Namor series.

Over at IGN, there’s a preview of this week’s Dark Reign The List X-Men; apparently something big likes delicious blue sushi, and is eating Atlanteans.

The X-Men, these days being led by Master StrategistTM Cyclops, naturally have a plan now that Namor’s wearing a big ‘X’ on his belt.

Anyway, there’s a bit of luring the big sushi-eater to come get some -

- and then the preview ends.

To me, that approaching beast sure looks familiar; in fact back when the Avengers were being run by Dr Druid (heady days indeed), Namor slew a very similar looking beast himself -

- a beast which was actually his mutated bride, Marrina. Marrina, a former Alpha Flight member, was actually a member of the alien Plodex and mutated when she became pregnant. Subsequently, she laid some eggs – which hatched, leaving little Namor-Plodex hybrids to go swimming into the sea – and then was put out of her misery by Namor, using the Black Knight’s Ebony Blade.

She returned to normal and was buried at sea, but the pretty-lame-as-masterminds-go Master of the World (bet he didn’t get invited to the villains brain-trust meetings) later, during the Kang War apparently used her body for science experiments some time later, although this was never found out by Namor or the Avengers.

Over at Newsarama, an early review of Dark Reign The List X-Men has this to say-

I expect that there will be some discontent from some quarters about what’s done to a particular, possibly obscure, character, but it fits the profile of Norman having gone very much around the bend.

- so I’m left to wonder; has Osborn re-mutated Marrina and sent her out to snack on Atlanteans to get back at Namor?

And if not, shouldn’t I really be writing for Marvel to come up with a cockamamie theory like this?

Images from the always excellent Comic Vine

…and he’s going to give it to him hard.

I know that the cover is pretty much a homage of sorts to a lot of 1940s covers like this one:

- but still, could the missile be a little less phallic? Please?

Hat tip to Gordon Dym

Marvel’s released a preview image of Dark X-Men – presumably what X-Men Legacy turns into in a few issues.

I’m not sure about all these ‘Dark’ books cropping up, mainly because I don’t think they all can sustain a long run, but this has one thing going for it:

Dagger!

And another:

Namor! (He is Marvel’s First Mutant, you know).

The rest of the team looks to me like Xavier, Exodus (unless Cloak’s really changed his look), Daken Dark Wolverine (sigh), Mimic, and two other members. That looks like Emma Frost in the black outfit, but I’m wondering if it might not be Lady Mastermind.

And that guy at the back with the big ‘Omega’ sign on his suit? My bet’s on this guy…

EDIT I have been corrected on the id of two members above. On one, my back up guess was right, and on the other I’m apparently way off base…but I’ll leave the post as it stands for now, at least…

IGN has a preview of Dark Reign, and it doesn’t look good.

I normally like Alex Maleev’s work, but he’s clearly best suited for street-level stuff. His Namor, here, is quite simply ugly. And I don’t mean that he doesn’t look handsome, I mean that he doesn’t look anything like he’s looked in the past seventy-odd years.

Oh, and he doesn’t look handsome. Or regal.

It doesn’t help that Bendis, who I liked on the character before, writes him like a lecherous drunk in this scene, hitting on anything with a double-X chromosome. (Thanks for the catch, Jace!)

“Hello, ladies…”
There is one redeeming feature, though. I quite like Bendis’ Doom in these pages (although I still don’t see Doom going anywhere at Norman Osborn’s invitation, no matter what)…

…of course, he’s probably about to call her fat or something.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still picking up the book but I wish it looked – and read – better.

In the same spirit as yesterday’s Gotham MiniDude post…

little love for Marvel by ~duss005 on deviantART
I think Dustin Nguyen may have just jumped up my favorite artist list!

Via AICN, a screencap (or more likely, photo of a screen) apparently showing a certain Captain’s shield buried in the arctic ice from the deleted scene on the Incredible Hulk DVD…

Closer in – yep, that looks like a shield alright.

Cap frozen in the ice – can’t we get a Namor cameo for the Avengers movie as he throws frozen Cap at some Eskimo villagers?

The fools!

In conjunction with me wanting a Namor series, it would appear that the gods smiled upon me this week – by supplying me with Avengers/Invaders #3.

Okay, the odd mini-series, a few Illuminati appearances and the occasional guest shot isn’t enough. I want an ongoing Namor series.

I like it, anyway….

The final issue of Sub-Mariner‘s latest mini series closed with Subby renewing an old acquaintance…

…which can only mean a return to glory for Super-Villain Team-Up!!

A man can dream, can’t he??

Popcultureshock have a preview of this week’s New Avengers: Illuminati #4 up here, in which:

2) Tony realises that nobody outside the Avengers have even heard of Madame Masque:

3) Namor proves that he actually knows a thing or two about keeping a family together, much to Reed’s disdain…

4) …and that he knows the solution to almost any problem:

My snarking about #3 aside, this has been a pretty entertaining series – and to be honest, if Bendis wants to write a Namor ongoing, he has my vote!

I got in on the interview meme over at Pretty Fizzy Paradise, and got these questions courtesy of Kalinara:

1. What tv-show/movie/book would you like to see most adapted to comic book form?

Ooh…tough one. I think it’d be something unexpected, not a big name property. A Daughters of the Dragon film would be great, as would Challengers of the Unknown (the original, not the crazy Chaykin take). Yep, that’d be good.

EDITED: I’m an idiot for reading this the wrong way round! For adapting to comics, I’d have to choose Veronica Mars or a Winchester-boys starring Supernatural. The Origins thing is okay, but demon hunting with the kids is much more fun!

2. Namor or Black Adam?

Even though they’re very, very similar in some respects this is a no-brainer. At the end of the day, the simply awesome Namor wins out – he has all the arrogance, regality and chutzpah of Adam but he’s less of a whiner.

Plus he’s a genuine bad-ass: best thing to do with a nigh-omnipotent godlike being with the power to destroy you with a blink? Read him the riot act, of course!

3. What supervillain would you like to see again soonest?

DOOM. I would like the Lord DOOM to be taking a more active role in Marvel. Limiting him to guest shots in the FF and loaning out damaged DOOM-bots to Heroes for Hire does not satisfy the craving for DOOM.

Of course, he’s going to be showing up in an Avengers book before long so I may regret wanting to see more of him depending on how he’s handled…

4. Evil clones or skrulls?

Skrulls. Clones are so 90s…

5. What fictional comic book locale would you like to move to?

I would say New York, but I’m already there so….Ivy Town. It’s the closest to Sunnydale you can get without a Hellmouth!

Thanks, Kalinara!

And here’s the meme!
————–
If you want in, just comment!
————–
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”

2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions. (They probably won’t be the same ones you see above!)

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Newsarama has a great in-depth interview with Mark Millar right now. At the end, he teases his and Bryan Hitch’s next project:

An established title. Household name. One of these characters was created in the sixties and another in the forties. Three sexy girls. The opening line in the first issue is “Once Upon A Time”. The villain in the third and fourth issues has been known as Cap. Bruce Banner has some involvement in this series.
Likewise, two of Marvel’s most popular and famous villains. Hitchy prefers it to Ultimates. Oh, and we’re out in September.

So…running down the clues:

1) An established title – but note that he doesn’t say a current title. So it’s possible that this is a book with a history that isn’t being published right now.

2) Household name – well, again, there’s a household name in comics and a household name outside of that segregated microcosm. Outside world, Spidey, Hulk, Cap, X-Men, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four and perhaps Thor are the closest to household names I can think of.

3) One of these characters was created in the sixties and another in the forties – While the sixties covers pretty much half of Marvel, there aren’t too many characters that were created in the forties that are still around. Off the top of my head, Captain America, Namor, Namora the original Human Torch and Spitfire are the only ones I can think of that are still active right now.

4) Three sexy girls - Again, not much help.

5) Bruce Banner has some involvement in this series – Odd that he’d say Bruce Banner, and not the Hulk, no?

I think this is pretty clearly a team book – but I can’t see Bendis handing over either Avengers title (which could star Cap).

So how about the Defenders?

Put in Namor (forties) and the Silver Surfer (sixties), throw in Hellcat, Valkyrie and some other woman (three sexy ladies). Dr Strange is off with the Avengers right now, but maybe a post World War Hulk Bruce Banner might be repentant (and I have the funny feeling he could be separated from the Hulk for a while again, but that might just be me) and be able to offer some brains to the outfit.

Yeah…I think that until someone comes up with a better idea, I’m sticking with the Defenders. After all, its about the only name with any history not being used right now!

Looks like I flunked my plan to post every week day – although in my defense, yesterday was a holiday and I posted twice at one point last week so the average worked out…

Anyway, some interesting things and thoughts…

Marvel’s Omega Flight has been reduced to a five-issue mini. I actually don’t think that this is necessarily a bad idea – too many books get launched as full ongoings only to have the plug pulled 6 or 12 issues in. At least this way there’s a defined end-point, and – according to writer Mike Oeming – a shot at an ongoing.

DC has pulled the plug on Firestorm as of #35. I have to admit that I haven’t followed the book since OYL, mainly because it irked me that they spent all this time bringing back Professor Stein then had him missing after the one year jump. Even so, I’m sorry to see this go – I think that it suffered unfairly from a lack of support after the original Firestorm’s death in Identity Crisis, and it face an uphill battle because of that. Add to that that Jason Rusch is one of the few lead non-caucasian characters published by the big two, and I think it’s doubly sad that the title is going.

I understand that Blue Beetle and Atom - also featuring non-white leads – are also on shaky ground sales-wise. Is this a sign that there’s not a big enough readership to support minority characters, despite the clamour for them?

Sean McKeever has signed with DC – this is especially surprising as he was just announced as the writer on the new ongoing Spider-Man Family and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is a critical darling. Rumors abound that he will be working on a New Gods title, despite his denial. Personally I’d love to see him take on a Lois Lane book, but that may just be me…

There’s even more stuff spinning out of Civil War. Now I’m as big a Marvel fan as anyone but this is getting a bit much even for me.

The first issue of Warren Ellis’ take on Thunderbolts was really good – not a surprise as I’m a big Ellis fan – and I’m looking forward to seeing Songbird and Penance getting more facetime. Speaking of Penance…I’ve still not fully processed what has happened here to my one of my favorite under-appreciated characters. When I have, I’ll have something to say.

I should say that I succumbed to the T-bolts variant cover. I’m weak, dammit, weak!

Agents of Atlas ended with a bang. A great mini with great art – now can we please see a reunion between Namora and Namor in his upcoming mini? Please? Pretty please?

Manhunter has been confirmed as bowing out as of #30. Here’s hoping that Kate sticks around in Birds of Prey for a while.

JOHN OSTRANDER IS BACK ON SUICIDE SQUAD!!!

JSA is going from strength to strength. Looks like the new Starman is indeed the Starman of Kingdom Come – and as such, I think that he’s Thom Kallor of the Legion. Which Legion, I have no idea…

Of all the DC books I’m picking up right now, I’m enjoyin Superman the most. Seriously, it’s all kind of good.

Happy New Year, everybody!

I hope everyone – like me – had a great Christmas and New Year and are now over the inevitable illnesses and hangovers.

Just a few random thoughts:

Namor looks to be getting his own series – something I’ve been advocating for a while now.

Black Panther hasn’t been as bad as I feared over the last few issues – I too was a little put out by the way Goliath was buried and I’m glad it’s a point that showed up here although I’m a little mystified by the grave still being open. That whole Panther-having-Black Knight’s Ebony Sword-thing is beyond annoying, though.

Teen Titans tied nicely into 52 with the story of how Kid Devil got his new powers. I also enjoyed the nods back to Underworld Unleashed – wow, was that really 10 years ago? Also nice to see former Starman artist Peter Snejberg again.

I’m still buying Supergirl, though I really don’t know why.

The first trailer for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer has hit and I like it a lot. Nay-sayers be damned! Click here to watch!

Walking Dead Vol 5 shows that Robert Kirkman is one sick puppy. Maybe there aren’t many women reading it and that’s why I didn’t notice a huge outcry about what happens to one of the main characters here, but…well, let’s just say it’s really not for the faint of heart. And I’m not even talking about what happens to Rick…pretty gutsy move, Aquaman-ing the lead in a book like this. Roll on Vol 6.

Indiana Jones IV goes into production in June this year!

Pride of Baghdad is beautiful and touching but – and I know I’m sailing against the tide here – I’m not entirely sure that it deserves all the praise heaped on it. It’s a pretty simple tale and there’s such a thing as too much message. I’m a pretty sharp guy and I don’t need to be hit over the head with a brick to get what the writer is getting at.

Same goes for Happy Feet – perhaps the scariest film I’ve seen in a long, long time. Seriously.

I am beyond happy that Veronica Mars was Herc’s number one scripted drama in 2006 over on AICN. And let’s use this as an excuse to have a picture of our eponymous heroine cheerfully cribbed from EOnline:

I switched to trades for an X-book, picking up the most recent volume of New X-Men. It read well and cost me less than the regular titles would and the world did not end. This may not be the last book I do this for…

Ed Benes’ fantastic art will only cover up the cracks in Brad Meltzer’s JLA for so long.

I fear for Mary Jane…

You may (or may not) know me.

If you do know me – even just a little – chances are that you’ll know I write. Not professionally, outside of reports for my job, but because I enjoy it and because I keep telling myself one day I’ll do something with it.

Recently I sat down and drew up a list of characters that I’d like to take a crack at if the opportunity presented itself. Not surprisingly, many proved to be Marvel, and many proved to be B and C listers. And a couple of Ds. In lieu of a real post, thought I’d share just a couple of ideas…

Hank Pym – Pym’s a polarizing character; a lot of people (including some writers) can’t get past the backhander he gave Jan years ago and it’s basically become his defining attribute over the past ten years, even moreso than when it actually happened.

But here’s the thing – this is a guy who’s made mistake after mistake after mistake – Ultron, Yellowjacket, Egghead…he’s almost self-destructive in the path he takes. Now take that and add in his identity issues, his genius, the sci-fi aspects to the character (his origin is essentially a twist on The Incredible Shrinking Man), his powers, his communication with insects, Kosmos – and you’ve got a character that’s got legs if handled properly.

Have him separated from the MU for a while. Give him a purpose, a direction, a goal and keep him out of the way of too many of his regular support characters. Have him take a starring role in his own 4-issue mini-series, instead of a back-up role in The Irredeemable Ant-Man (excellent book, by the way), or being the character that’s brought in when an unstable scientific type is needed. Define the character without relying on other character’s reaction to him; that’s the ticket.

Hey, you can even go darker with him. Let him explore the anger inside if needs be, as long as he comes to terms with it – preferably without the aid of a magic crystal…

Sub-Mariner - I love Namor as a character. He’s regal, he’s an ass, and he has dominion over 70% of the Earth. Forget Black Panther, this is a monarch I want to read about. He has a pretty good support cast and villains and ties – in one way or another – to almost every character in the MU that you can think of through either the FF, the Avengers, the Defenders or the Invaders. Once again, what’s needed is a hook.

He’s been played as a monarch and he’s been played as an exile – but he hasn’t been played as an icon. Have him be worshipped by his people, have them be the family that he’s lost (Dorma, Namorita – who knows what will happen to Namora now she’s back?) – and then put him in an impossible situation.

Have him discover that if he continues down the road he’s on, he’ll be the end of his people’s way of life. Have him get comfortable – finally – with who and what he is, then yank the carpet out from under him. Give the man a prophecy to fulfill that puts him at odds with the rest of the MU. Let him be facing the destruction of his people within his lifetime – and it’s all his fault.

Just some thoughts for openers.