This week has been Wow with a capital w, as we comment on my love for boobies and reviews of the new Marvels and the most awaited finale of them all, Secret Invasion #8!
It says a lot about me when I ragged on Jungle Girl Season 2’s first issue, only to grab the second one the moment it came out. Either I’m a glutton for punishment, or I’m just too much of a Frank Cho fan…or maybe both. Damn you, Frank Cho!
In all fairness, Jungle Girl Season 2 #2 is a more exciting read, so it’s not as tedious to flip through. Jana and her guy pals are still trekking towards God Mountain for reasons unknown, and they meet a submarine captain on the way (who checks out Jana’s prodigious mammaries and asks, “Americans?” I see what you did there!). Togg learns how to fix submarine engines while Jana is still stuck trying to understand what ‘museum’ or ‘bikini’ means. Ditzy blondes are the best!
However, Cho’s story still reads like a guided tour through the different parts of a plot, and Doug Murray’s scripts don’t really help ease the cringing (but I have to say he’s improving). But we at least get Adriano Batista’s beautiful, more action-packed art. Couple that with an ominous cliffhanger, and this book gets a 7 out of 10.
My kababayan Jay Anacleto gets a legendary gig doing interiors for Marvels: Eye of the Camera, whose first issue came out this week. I l-o-v-e, LOVE Anacleto’s art here (check out his rendition of New York’s cityscape! Breathtaking!), but I sorta hoped Kurt Busiek’s writing were up to par.
Whereas the first Marvels by Busiek and Alex Ross focused on the ordinary man’s reactions to the first sightings of ‘superheroes’, and the impact these guys had on their ordinary lives, this new iteration seems to focus on Phil Sheldon’s personal life, with the extranormal beings and events happening around him only as a backdrop. It’s all good, as we get to sympathize with Sheldon and all, but the magic, the awe, the virgin eyes and ears feeling isn’t there. It’s like today’s cynical Marvel U’s mindset got transplanted to the 1960’s. The jumpy narrative timeline was also confusing to say the least. A newbie reader would find it fascinating enough, even if it got off to a staggering start. This gets a 6 out of 10.
Then there’s Secret Invasion #8.
What...the...FUCK?
I was saving up my grief for this issue, and for good reason. 7 issues, 2 big fights, with the last issue having the backs of the entire Marvel U roster against the wall so hard you can cut the tension with wire cutter…only to get the final, supposedly climactic issue, in an anti-climactic flashback?! You could so literally hear the comic-reading populace screaming ‘cop-out!’ at this point it’s ridiculous!
The Wasp’s death (and supposed threat) conveniently removed by a wave of Thor’s hammer. The heroes become conveniently pissed at a quite-alive Veranke shortly thereafter (all the casualties of the last 7 issues brushed off like it was nothing, but Wasp gets rubbed out, and all of a sudden, now they’re all like ‘oh, it’s on, bitch!’). Norman Osborn gets the kill shot, which in turn gets televised all over, thereby making the rest of the populace sympathize with the well-known mass murderer, who suddenly gets appoin…man, I can’t go on. There's just so much going wrong with this issue!
This issue was more of a set-up for Dark Reign than a satisfying ending to Secret Invasion, which it should have been. Bendis chose the easy way out, using predictable, convenient events taking place of actual plot to get to the desired ending faster, as if Dark Reign was the better story and he can't wait to unload all this crap so he can move on to the next shiny, new toy. Even the return of the replaced heroes was met with just 'Oh, welcome back! Let's go grab a beer!' I’m so insulted as a reader and as a comic book buyer right now. Congratulations on being the first (and hopefully only) book I reviewed to get a 1 out of 10.
Like I said…wow. A week full of surprises…I guess I’ll be seeing more of you, Jungle Girl. As for Marvel…yeah, thanks but no thanks. Consider this my change in status quo.
Agree? Disagree? Got something different to say about Secret Invasion? Let yourself be heard (by me, even!) by leaving a comment below. My Week in Comics is up every Friday. Thanks for reading!
It says a lot about me when I ragged on Jungle Girl Season 2’s first issue, only to grab the second one the moment it came out. Either I’m a glutton for punishment, or I’m just too much of a Frank Cho fan…or maybe both. Damn you, Frank Cho!
In all fairness, Jungle Girl Season 2 #2 is a more exciting read, so it’s not as tedious to flip through. Jana and her guy pals are still trekking towards God Mountain for reasons unknown, and they meet a submarine captain on the way (who checks out Jana’s prodigious mammaries and asks, “Americans?” I see what you did there!). Togg learns how to fix submarine engines while Jana is still stuck trying to understand what ‘museum’ or ‘bikini’ means. Ditzy blondes are the best!
However, Cho’s story still reads like a guided tour through the different parts of a plot, and Doug Murray’s scripts don’t really help ease the cringing (but I have to say he’s improving). But we at least get Adriano Batista’s beautiful, more action-packed art. Couple that with an ominous cliffhanger, and this book gets a 7 out of 10.
My kababayan Jay Anacleto gets a legendary gig doing interiors for Marvels: Eye of the Camera, whose first issue came out this week. I l-o-v-e, LOVE Anacleto’s art here (check out his rendition of New York’s cityscape! Breathtaking!), but I sorta hoped Kurt Busiek’s writing were up to par.Whereas the first Marvels by Busiek and Alex Ross focused on the ordinary man’s reactions to the first sightings of ‘superheroes’, and the impact these guys had on their ordinary lives, this new iteration seems to focus on Phil Sheldon’s personal life, with the extranormal beings and events happening around him only as a backdrop. It’s all good, as we get to sympathize with Sheldon and all, but the magic, the awe, the virgin eyes and ears feeling isn’t there. It’s like today’s cynical Marvel U’s mindset got transplanted to the 1960’s. The jumpy narrative timeline was also confusing to say the least. A newbie reader would find it fascinating enough, even if it got off to a staggering start. This gets a 6 out of 10.
Then there’s Secret Invasion #8.What...the...FUCK?
I was saving up my grief for this issue, and for good reason. 7 issues, 2 big fights, with the last issue having the backs of the entire Marvel U roster against the wall so hard you can cut the tension with wire cutter…only to get the final, supposedly climactic issue, in an anti-climactic flashback?! You could so literally hear the comic-reading populace screaming ‘cop-out!’ at this point it’s ridiculous!
The Wasp’s death (and supposed threat) conveniently removed by a wave of Thor’s hammer. The heroes become conveniently pissed at a quite-alive Veranke shortly thereafter (all the casualties of the last 7 issues brushed off like it was nothing, but Wasp gets rubbed out, and all of a sudden, now they’re all like ‘oh, it’s on, bitch!’). Norman Osborn gets the kill shot, which in turn gets televised all over, thereby making the rest of the populace sympathize with the well-known mass murderer, who suddenly gets appoin…man, I can’t go on. There's just so much going wrong with this issue!
This issue was more of a set-up for Dark Reign than a satisfying ending to Secret Invasion, which it should have been. Bendis chose the easy way out, using predictable, convenient events taking place of actual plot to get to the desired ending faster, as if Dark Reign was the better story and he can't wait to unload all this crap so he can move on to the next shiny, new toy. Even the return of the replaced heroes was met with just 'Oh, welcome back! Let's go grab a beer!' I’m so insulted as a reader and as a comic book buyer right now. Congratulations on being the first (and hopefully only) book I reviewed to get a 1 out of 10.
Like I said…wow. A week full of surprises…I guess I’ll be seeing more of you, Jungle Girl. As for Marvel…yeah, thanks but no thanks. Consider this my change in status quo.
Agree? Disagree? Got something different to say about Secret Invasion? Let yourself be heard (by me, even!) by leaving a comment below. My Week in Comics is up every Friday. Thanks for reading!
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