"BOCEPHEUS" |
"These reviews are based on the Sneak
Peek titles sent out by Marvel & Image (DC no longer sends them out). It's not
everything that's shipping for the week, but it is a real good cross-section of
this weeks releases. Check the bottom of the page (after you read my reviews)
for a link to some SNEAKY PEEKIES of future titles" |
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 BOOK
OF THE WEEK:
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #1
Comic Review by:
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
Writer: Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction, Artist:
David Aja
PLOT SYNOPSIS: Many years ago, in the mystical city
of Kun' Lun, young Danny Rand stared at a suit behind glass -- the garb of "the
Immortal Iron Fist" -- and knew that he was destined to wear it. But where did
this costume come from? Why did it wait for Danny all those years like a shadow
of his future? The answer to those questions will stun both him and his readers,
as Danny Rand leaps from the pages of his breakout hit in DAREDEVIL to his own
series - a history-spanning kung-fu epic that will shatter every perception of
what it means to be the Immortal Iron Fist.
BO'S REVIEW:
Immortal Iron Fist #1
begins in 1227 and shows an earlier version of Iron Fist (the series will show
that there have been many incarnations) defending the village he lives in before
we are slam cut into the present where we see Danny Rand, the current wielder
take on an army of Hydra agents. Co-writers Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction tell
us the history of the character as he takes out agent after agent in some
amazingly well done art by David Aja. The fight sequences flow beautifully to a
crisis point before we move to Thailand where we see that one of the previous
owners of the Fist happens to be quite alive. I always thought Iron Fist was
cool back in the day but this issue makes him beyond awesome.
MSRP: $2.99,
1st DAY SALE Price: $1.79 (That's 40% OFF on this
Wednesday Only!)
Alternate Reality Price: $2.54 (That's 15% OFF, All
This Week!)
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MARVEL ROUND UP…
Avengers Next #2 (of 5) introduces Thena, daughter of Thor as the team tries to
find the kidnapped Thunderstrike. We do learn what the plan was behind
kidnapping him in between fights and the following of a meteor by Nova and Earth
Sentry that brings the young heroine to Earth. The team still doesn’t know if
they can trust Sabreclaw but they may have no choice…Friendly Neighborhood
Spider-Man #14 begins a new storyline that also reintroduces Debra Whitman to
the cast. Older fans will remember that she was a friend of Peter who kind of
went goofy trying to figure out if Peter was Spider-Man. With the reveal of
Pete’s identity she has written a tell all book about how he ruined her life.
Peter David resolves the whole Peter being a threat to the school he teaches at
here and includes guest stars both real and projected. We also get to see the
Vulture here as he gets a new outfit from a mysterious benefactor in the Scot
Eaton drawn issue…What If? Wolverine is from Bomb Queen’s Jimmie Robinson and
event artist Carmine DiGiondomaco. The story tells what may have happened if
Logan had not been freed from his Hydra reprogramming in the Mark Millar/John
Romita Jr. arc Enemy of the State. It seems that Logan would have taken out most
of not all of the Marvel Universe and here we see him coming after the few
heroes that are left. The story is coldly efficient and the art damn
good…Sensational Spider-Man #32 sports a great Clayton Crain cover and some
great interior art from guest penciller Sean Chen. The story contained within
takes place around the same time as Civil War #5 and shows the effect the event
has on Aunt May and especially Mary Jane. We see MJ go thru her daily life as we
flash back to the start of their relationship before she has lunch with Sue
Storm. The last page shows Peter in the state he was in CW #5…Stan Lee Meets
Doctor Doom contains two tongue in cheek stories that have Stan encountering
Doom at his castle and Doom talking to a trusted advisor after getting his ass
handed to him by the FF again. The first story is drawn beautifully by Salvador
Larroca and the second is from Superman/Batman creators Jeph Loeb and Ed
McGuiness. McGuiness changes his style a bit to imitate Marvel style circa 1960
and it looks as it would if John Buscema had drawn the story at times. We also
get a two page story from True Story’s Tom Belard that shows that Stan taught
him to create characters that are interesting to the audience before a reprint
of FF #87…Nextwave #10 continues the take off of the Ultimates and shows the
fight between the team and the Vestry before we marvel at the abilities of
Forbush Man. Stuart Immonen uses the opportunity to change his style as we look
at different versions of what individual team members lives could be like. Of
course there is one team member that Irving is no match for and that leads us to
the ass kicking conclusion of the arc next month…X-Men #193 concludes the first
arc from the team of Mike Carey and Chris Bachalo, Supernovas. As the story
begins the oil tanker base of the Children of the Vault hovers above the Xavier
Institute and the reaction of Rogue’s team shows us just how different her team
is going to be. There are gorgeous pages here and Carey’s dialogue sparkles. We
see that this version of the X-Men is going to be edgier than previous ones with
an attitude of take out your opponent as fast as possible and worry about hurt
feelings later…Onslaught Reborn #1 (of 5) puts some of the Heroes Reborn band
back together (Jeph Loeb and Rob Liefeld) to show the byproduct of the words
spoken by the Scarlet Witch: “No More Mutants”. Proving the theory that every
action has an equal and opposite reaction the loss of mutants frees and
recreates the merger of Professor X and Magneto, Onslaught. He still wants to
kill Franklin Richards and here he makes his way to the Baxter Building to do
the dead under a number of guises. The attempt on Franklin is done quite well
and results in him returning to the world he created to hide his parents where
we meet the narrator of the story, Bucky. Loeb tells a cool story and Liefeld is
Liefeld but his art has a nice crispness to it.
IMAGE ROUND UP…
True Story: Swear to God #2 tell of the decision of Tom’s girlfriend Lily to
shave her head after a meeting with her Buddhist group and the reaction getting
to and post shave. We see his reaction to the suggestion as well as her mothers.
The story also takes place prior to Y2K so we see the cast create a time capsule
to put things in. The issue is a great study of understanding…Sea of Red #13 (of
13) wraps up the pirate horror tale with swordfights and sex. The biggest
problem I had with the title was the poor choice to color everything in this
deep red tone that obscured the art work. The second biggest was that the book
was always late…Negative Burn #6 is more of an experiment than the previous
issues because the creators here are a bit more obscure. The lead tale is a time
travel opus that has future selves visiting a young man about to be married and
happens to be the high point of the book but as always, the remainder is damn
good.
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"See, I told you I'd be
down here. We've got a bunch of SNEAKY PEEKIES of future
MARVEL, DC and IMAGE titles right
HERE" |
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All
Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2006
by their respective owners. No rights given or implied
by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2006 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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