With the new addition of the marvelous blue-furred mutant Beast - the heir to the mind gem after Charles Xavier's death - the Illuminati decide to assemble the Infinity Gauntlet in hopes that its power can prevent universes from colliding and collapsing, or, to be specific, in order to save the Earth. Their prisoner, the universe-hopping woman named Black Swan, is not quite so optimistic.
While I was interested in the characterization of the Beast and Captain America, I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed that Black Panther was pushed to the background in this issue. Just when I thought New Avengers would be a Black Panther book, Jonathan Hickman has decided to prove me wrong. Initially, this is not all that disconcerting. This is a team book, after all, and Black Panther has been the single most prevalent character if we total up all the page-time in the first three issues. My problem is that once a character like Black Panther has been pushed behind one or two other characters, it is not always so easy to pull him back out to the front. Panther was once the dissenting voice in a room full of powerful mega-minds who could re-write reality, and as of this issue he has been replaced by Captain America in this office. Certainly, it is interesting that he is willing to turn utilitarian as soon as he believes that the people of Wakanda in Earth-616 might benefit, but once this move is made, what is there to distinguish Black Panther from the rest of this council? As a publisher, Marvel can either bench Black Panther because he doesn't sell comics, or they can double down on him and convince the people that they should be reading Black Panther books. I am a fan of the latter, because I'm tired of businesses pointing to the consumers when they're accused of not caring for minorities and saying, "My hands are tied. The people don't like black heroes." It is too easy of a cop-out for an industry that has a surprising amount of power in changing public perception about social issues. (Did you forget how much of a hubbub Brian Michael Bendis brought about when he created a multi-racial Spider-man?)
Aside from this issue, which I don't think should just be placed aside easily, I really liked this issue. Beast is a great character, and I'm interested to see how he deals with the Illuminati as Xavier's proxy. It was really interesting to see Xavier deliver the mind gem to Beast via a psionic implant and trigger. Perhaps he took a page from the Weapon X handbook on that one.
Without spoiling the entire issue like I usually do, the conclusion of New Avengers #3 is troubling for the Illuminati, both because of the threats that it implies and because the voice of morality is likely to be ignored. I'm not excited to see what horrors might happen in the process of saving Earth, but I am excited to keep reading. New Avengers continues to be one of the better books that Marvel has released during the Marvel Now! movement.
I've syndicated this review at Examiner. You can read it here. If you click on it a few times, spend some time there, or navigate to a new page, I might get some money. But I'm only asking that of you if you liked reading the article here and want to show your appreciation.
Showing posts with label jonathan hickman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jonathan hickman. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
New Avengers #2
New Avengers #2 continues to follow Black Panther in his struggle to save the Earth(s) from complete and utter destruction while working with the Illuminati, a group of puppet-masters whose decisions the Panther does not agree with. In this issue we find out just how serious the problem introduced in issue one is, a chain reaction of planetary destruction that not only threatens our planet - it threatens our universe and every other universe.
When I read the first issues I was incredibly happy that this story is being told from Black Panther's standpoint. My fear for the second issue was that we would see things from the standpoint of one of the other Illuminati, perhaps Mister Fantastic. Luckily, the book is still a Black Panther story with the Illuminati as his backup band. I'd be happier to find that Marvel was changing the title of the book to Black Panther, that they have no fear that a black lead character will hurt sales, and that they want to make this change retroactive for the first two issues, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll settle for Marvel telling an important Black Panther story from beginning to end.
While this is certainly a book centered around Black Panther, I was happy to see that Jonathan Hickman was able to incorporate his homeboy Mister Fantastic into a really interesting explanation of the planetary collapse theory that the Illuminati are now facing. It was exactly what Hickman does best - explaining comic book science in a way that is accessible and not heavy handed. This is not the author explaining the plot. It is Reed Richards being Reed Richards, borrowing the spotlight from Black Panther only momentarily in order to get the Illuminati (and the readers) on the same page.
Hickman gives his Illuminati a couple of quests for the next couple of issues, but more interesting is a theme that was introduced in this issue. In response to the first issue, many readers were wondering why Black Panther was able to work with Namor despite the destruction of Wakanda at his hands during Avengers vs. X-Men and the current war between Wakanda and Atlantis. In the second issue, this issue is addressed and not lightly. When this is all over, Black Panther wants to kill Namor. Plain and simple.
New Avengers is extremely accessible for a heady story that references a long history of conflict in the Marvel Universe. Slowly, Hickman is bringing the new reader up to date with explanations of who the Illuminati are, what they have done, and what their continuing motives are. If there is anything negative I have to say, it is that I wish Hickman's sister title Avengers were nearly as good as New Avengers. Here's to hoping that the quality of Avengers catches up to New Avengers, because if they're going to have consistent crossovers like Fantastic Four and FF, I don't want to be annoyed.
Buy this book. Do it because it's a great story. Also, buy it in order to invest in Marvel's black comic book characters. They need help that the editors, writers and artists won't give on their own. They need the help that only money can buy.
I've syndicated this review at Examiner. You can read it here. If you click on it a few times, spend some time there, or navigate to a new page, I might get some money. But I'm only asking that of you if you liked reading the article here and want to show your appreciation.
When I read the first issues I was incredibly happy that this story is being told from Black Panther's standpoint. My fear for the second issue was that we would see things from the standpoint of one of the other Illuminati, perhaps Mister Fantastic. Luckily, the book is still a Black Panther story with the Illuminati as his backup band. I'd be happier to find that Marvel was changing the title of the book to Black Panther, that they have no fear that a black lead character will hurt sales, and that they want to make this change retroactive for the first two issues, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll settle for Marvel telling an important Black Panther story from beginning to end.
While this is certainly a book centered around Black Panther, I was happy to see that Jonathan Hickman was able to incorporate his homeboy Mister Fantastic into a really interesting explanation of the planetary collapse theory that the Illuminati are now facing. It was exactly what Hickman does best - explaining comic book science in a way that is accessible and not heavy handed. This is not the author explaining the plot. It is Reed Richards being Reed Richards, borrowing the spotlight from Black Panther only momentarily in order to get the Illuminati (and the readers) on the same page.
Hickman gives his Illuminati a couple of quests for the next couple of issues, but more interesting is a theme that was introduced in this issue. In response to the first issue, many readers were wondering why Black Panther was able to work with Namor despite the destruction of Wakanda at his hands during Avengers vs. X-Men and the current war between Wakanda and Atlantis. In the second issue, this issue is addressed and not lightly. When this is all over, Black Panther wants to kill Namor. Plain and simple.
New Avengers is extremely accessible for a heady story that references a long history of conflict in the Marvel Universe. Slowly, Hickman is bringing the new reader up to date with explanations of who the Illuminati are, what they have done, and what their continuing motives are. If there is anything negative I have to say, it is that I wish Hickman's sister title Avengers were nearly as good as New Avengers. Here's to hoping that the quality of Avengers catches up to New Avengers, because if they're going to have consistent crossovers like Fantastic Four and FF, I don't want to be annoyed.
Buy this book. Do it because it's a great story. Also, buy it in order to invest in Marvel's black comic book characters. They need help that the editors, writers and artists won't give on their own. They need the help that only money can buy.
I've syndicated this review at Examiner. You can read it here. If you click on it a few times, spend some time there, or navigate to a new page, I might get some money. But I'm only asking that of you if you liked reading the article here and want to show your appreciation.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
New Avengers #1
New Avengers promises to deal with the repercussions of the Illuminati, a group consisting of Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Mister Fantastic, and Namor, among others, and brought together in order to control world events. One issue into Hickman's 2013 volume, we see the world from the perspective of Black Panther, who was invited to join the New Avengers but had moral issues with their existence. Black Panther is no longer the king of Wakanda. He is now the creepy king of the Wakandan crypts, and he encounters a team of universe-hopping beings who are interested in a particular relic of power.
Already, New Avengers is stronger than Hickman's sister title Avengers, which deals with Iron Man/Tony Stark's plans to create a response team in order to defend the universe from the greatest evils. Much of this has to do with the fact that Black Panther appears to be at the center of this book and we have a chance to deal with some of the interesting twists the character has experienced since the events of Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF and the summer Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event.
Hickman is an amazing story-teller. Some of his books can be difficult to access, as it seems that he does not think in the same linear way that you or I usually do, but New Avengers has already begun to stand out in that sense. New Avengers, with Brian Michael Bendis's All-New X-Men, has a chance of being one of the most interesting titles of the new wave of comic books called Marvel Now.
The one thing that is problematic about New Avengers is a chronic problem in the Marvel Universe. (And trust me, the DC Universe is no better.) Black characters can be on teams, and they can even lead teams, but neither of the big two publishers trust black characters to have their own title. In much the same way that Captain America is a title that features characters like Falcon and Dum Dum Dugan, New Avengers could easily be titled Black Panther and feature stories connecting to Iron Man, Doctor Strange and the others. I am really bothered by the fact that black characters must either be buried in a team or used as sidekicks, but you'll probably also notice that I rated this first issue at four stars, which means that outside of my moral concerns it is a really good book.
I'd recommend this comic for purchase. I'd recommend that you add it to your pull list. It doesn't look like this book is going to go the way of Aquaman, Action Comics, and the like, comics that lose their amazing creative teams before they even hit issue #20. It looks like Hickman is here to stay and you'd be well-served by having these issues in that box in your closet with all your other favorites.
I've syndicated this review at Examiner. You can read it here. If you click on it a few times, spend some time there, or navigate to a new page, I might get some money. But I'm only asking that of you if you liked reading the article here and want to show your appreciation.
Already, New Avengers is stronger than Hickman's sister title Avengers, which deals with Iron Man/Tony Stark's plans to create a response team in order to defend the universe from the greatest evils. Much of this has to do with the fact that Black Panther appears to be at the center of this book and we have a chance to deal with some of the interesting twists the character has experienced since the events of Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF and the summer Avengers vs. X-Men crossover event.
Hickman is an amazing story-teller. Some of his books can be difficult to access, as it seems that he does not think in the same linear way that you or I usually do, but New Avengers has already begun to stand out in that sense. New Avengers, with Brian Michael Bendis's All-New X-Men, has a chance of being one of the most interesting titles of the new wave of comic books called Marvel Now.
The one thing that is problematic about New Avengers is a chronic problem in the Marvel Universe. (And trust me, the DC Universe is no better.) Black characters can be on teams, and they can even lead teams, but neither of the big two publishers trust black characters to have their own title. In much the same way that Captain America is a title that features characters like Falcon and Dum Dum Dugan, New Avengers could easily be titled Black Panther and feature stories connecting to Iron Man, Doctor Strange and the others. I am really bothered by the fact that black characters must either be buried in a team or used as sidekicks, but you'll probably also notice that I rated this first issue at four stars, which means that outside of my moral concerns it is a really good book.
I'd recommend this comic for purchase. I'd recommend that you add it to your pull list. It doesn't look like this book is going to go the way of Aquaman, Action Comics, and the like, comics that lose their amazing creative teams before they even hit issue #20. It looks like Hickman is here to stay and you'd be well-served by having these issues in that box in your closet with all your other favorites.
I've syndicated this review at Examiner. You can read it here. If you click on it a few times, spend some time there, or navigate to a new page, I might get some money. But I'm only asking that of you if you liked reading the article here and want to show your appreciation.
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