KICK ASS 2 #1

The best comic book of 2008 is back. This sequel certainly feels strange in a lot of ways. One reason is that artist John Romita, Jr. is busy drawing The Avengers, which means that JRJr. is only providing the pencil breakdowns on this series. Another reason is that the film version came out in March and thus this feels bigger than it did when only comic book geeks knew about Dave Lizewski. A lot of people hated the first series. Movie critic Roger Ebert even wrote a scathing review about the film because it depicts a nine year old girl slaughtering people. I loved the first series, though. The film changed a bit to make it more viewer-friendly (in the film, Dave got the girl...and in the film, Nicholas Cage was actually an ex-cop and not a comic book fanboy playing make believe), but the book was hardcore in the most ridiculous sense. It was over-the-top in every category and it was funny, damn funny. It didn't have a moral or a point; that was the point. It was just a real kid becoming a superhero in the real world. This first issue is missing the carnage, but the humor is still there: Dave gets “laughed at in school” when he asks “a babe to go see Prince of Persia.” Dave meets a fellow wannabe superhero that has a “gravity pole.” “What does it do?” Dave asks him. He replies: “Just hit the button and you can make something twenty times its actual weight. Flip the reverse and you can float.” Dave asks, “Seriously?” The guy says, “Are you nuts? It's a baseball wrapped in tinfoil, man. How can anyone build a gravity pole?” This leads into the main storyline that has Dave joining the superhero team Justice Forever. Meanwhile, Red Mist is “traveling in Eastern Europe, out of his face on drugs and collecting all his little Twitter bastards for the shit that was to come.” Mindy is training Kick Ass, but she's still trying to go to school and play nice with her new family. The one problem that I have is that writer Mark Millar gives away the ending to the series; a Times Square battle against Red Mist. The rest of the book isn't as alive and thrilling as the early issues of the first series, but it's still a very entertaining book. JRJr. only did the pencil breakdowns, but it still looks terrific, although not as sharp. If you hated the movie or first series then you'll probably hate this, but so far it's pretty much in step with what's come before. Now bring on the carnage. After all, the original title of this second series was “Balls to the Wall.” ***

SUPERIOR #1

Superstar writer Mark Millar is unleashing three new creator-owned series this year, Nemesis, Kick Ass 2, and this book, his “family” title. He's definitely thrust himself into the creator-owned world which is good. It's probably even better for him that Marvel is accommodating him with their new Icon imprint. Twenty years ago if you wanted to put out your own comic and keep the rights you had to quit Marvel and join a company like Image. It didn't particularly work for writers, though, and thankfully for Millar he gets to have his own books and tap the awesome arsenal of Marvel artists. This new book is penciled by Leinil Yu, the dude that drew the Secret Invasion mini-series (or started to...they went to a different artist after Yu took too long). Leinil Yu is a phenomenal artists. He reminds me of Robert Liefeld's bigger than life superheroes but also Jim Lee's detail. The one problem is the heavy inks by Gerry Alanguilan. There is too much black in most of the panels which loses some of the crispness and ferocity of Yu's pencils. The major problem is the story. Mark Millar is infamous for profanity and violence and this is more or less his meat-and-potatoes family superhero story. It's aw-shucks cute: a kid with multiple sclerosis gets one wish from a space monkey (no, that part hasn't been explained yet). His wish is to become the famous Superior movie superhero. Over night he turns from a kid in a wheelchair into the muscled superhero. This issue is all set-up, so who knows where it goes from here. Will it turn into a regular superhero book or will Millar add some much-needed gonzo action to the mix? So far it's rather dull stuff. The art is great, but it pales in comparison to Millar's other books which have bite. **

UNCANNY X-FORCE #1

First off, is “uncanny” the only adjective that Marvel knows? Secondly, why is Wolverine in this book? Wolverine is currently a member of the X-Men, the Avengers, and the New Avengers. How the fuck can he be a member of four teams at the same time? That, plus...isn't he in hell in Wolverine and stuck in an alternate reality in Astounding Spider-Man and Wolverine? And I guess Marvel knows two adjectives, but they should have really come up with a more original title for this new book. I suppose using the “uncanny” tag will make people think this is sort of like Uncanny X-Men which is the main X-Men book (and also probably the worst). Anyway, this is the new X-Force. It features Deadpool, Archangel, Fantomex, Wolverine, and Psylocke. Basically they threw together a bunch of characters without rhyme or reason, presumably because writer Rick Remender likes them (and also because Deadpool and Wolverine are two of the most popular Marvel heroes these days). The story has this new team on a mission to stop Apocalypse...who is now just a child (this does seem to be a rip-off of Savage Dragon's Darklord as a kid storyline). I enjoyed a lot of the amusing dialogue in this issue. Rick Remender is the infamous writer that turned The Punisher into Frankenstein. So far this isn't half as ridiculous. It's a little confusing, though. The art by Jerome Opena is a little messy, but the colors are vibrant and alive. I haven't been following the X-books lately, so perhaps I'm a little lost because of that, but at least this issue has a killer ending. Otherwise it's terrific in spots but mostly a mediocre misfire. ** (out of ****)

FANTASTIC FOUR #583

Remember a few years ago when even writer Mark Millar couldn't make this book exciting? Yes, we all remember his mediocre run. So who will be the savior to finally sell some copies of this book and make it worth reading? I enjoyed this issue, although it's nothing revelatory, especially with writer Jonathan Hickman on board, the dude that's re-writing S.H.I.E.L.D pretty much from scratch. The reason I enjoyed this issue was mostly due to artist Steve Epting, who's sorely missed in the pages of Captain America. Sure, The Thing still looks silly, but Epting's pencils bring forth a maturity and a dynamic to the characters. The script is a little dark, and Epting does a terrific job making Reed's daughter look as cunning and villainous as she might actually be. Hell, Epting even makes the Silver Surfer look cool and not asinine, which is really difficult to do when you realize that the Silver Surfer is the stupidest popular character ever created. The art is top-notch, but the script has some good surprises that makes you want to read the next issue as well. Millar wrote a storyline titled “The Death of the Invisible Woman” which did not lead to the death of the Invisible Woman, but from the previews (this storyline is titled “Three”) it looks like Hickman might actually kill her off. And with Galactus back and Dr. Doom in the mix, this book is actually interesting for once. ***

THOR #615

I've never been a fan of this character, so perhaps it's not really saying anything when I admit that I didn't like this issue very much. If you've never read Thor than you probably vaguely know that he's a Norse God dude with a hammer. What you might not know is that he can change into an earthling doctor (lame) and that he speaks in a ridiculously silly Norse God dialect that gets annoying fast. Everyone will realize this when Kenneth Branagh's film version hits next summer. They will also probably realize that a character like this worked wonders in the 1960's but his very hard to make cool or entertaining now. Writer J. Michael Straczynski, who's over at DC these days, had a fantastic run last year on this book. He surprised me by making the book engrossing (it also didn't hurt that he had Marvel's best artist, Olivier Copiel, on board). It can be done, but it's rather difficult. Case in point: this issue is borderline awful. The new writer on board is Matt Fraction, one of Marvel's big boy writers. He also writes Invincible Iron Man and Uncanny X-Men. I've never been a fan of Fraction, and this issue feels like a B-version of a well-crafted, bizarre Alan Moore script. There is a blue alien race somewhere that gets attacked by a conquering army of red aliens. There's also a scientist explaining parallel worlds. And there's Thor attempting to help pick up the pieces of the fallen Asgaard. Certainly the art (Pasqual Ferry) isn't anything spectacular, but the colors by Matt Hollingsworth are wonderful. The actual plot is thin and will eventually (and hopefully) shift and shape itself into something larger and more entertaining, but so far it just falls flat. This issue is scatter shot and dull. I see no reason why anyone would bother to buy the next issue after reading this mess. *

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #642

I haven't read this book in awhile and there was a reason for that: the writers and artists change so much you never know what you're going to get. Add that to the fact that they've been putting this book out three times a month since 2007 and you can see why a lot of people probably gave it up (or played pick-and-choose with the storylines, like me). Marvel seems to have given in to reader frustration. This issue was priced at $2.99, a dollar cheaper than the usual price. And starting soon the book will go to a twice a month schedule with only one writer, the usual spot-on Dan Slott. I would still rather see it out once a month with the same artist, but at least they're changing (and if you want a the same writer/artist on a Spider-Man title every month just go read Ultimate Spider-Man. It's better, anyway). The big problem is that the changes can't come soon enough. This issue is one of the worst issues of any comic book I've ever read. It's part one of a big storyline featuring all of the major villains. Lily (aka Menace) gives birth to Norman Osbourne's baby in this issue (inside a coffee shop...and Dr. Octopus cuts the umbilical cord with a robotic arm...yes, it's awful, awful stuff). Apparently every bad guy wants to get a hold of the baby for no apparent reason (yes, it'll have evil powers...but not for another eighteen years, right?). The other semi-major occurrence is that Mary Jane is back in the fold, albeit still not with Peter, who is struggling to pay rent and hook up with girls. Writer Mark Waid is doing a terrific job writing Irredeemable, his bizarre, entertaining super-villain book, but his writing in this book is purely flat and dull. It's by-the-numbers and pedestrian, and the stale art by Paul Azaceta doesn't help. The only good thing about this piece of trash is the beautiful painted cover by Marko Djurdjevic, which is just a segment of a larger cover that will make-up all the covers for this arc. Marvel addressed the problems with this book but the changes can't come soon enough. 1/2*

WOLVERINE #1

People love money, don't they? Not only did Marvel just come out with a new Wolverine title named Weapon-X a mere 16 months ago, that book had the same writer, Jason Aaron. Basically, that book becomes this one and we get a new #1 issue for no other reason then people love money and Marvel probably would make more with a #1 than a #17. Marvel hasn't gone all out, though they did get Jae Lee to draw the awesome cover. There's a lame, utterly pointless back-up also written by Aaron (it makes no comprehensible sense and is about a samurai) and there are some rough sketches by the artist Renata Guedes (he pencils the regular, 22-page story as well). The heart, though, is “Wolverine Goes to Hell.” This is part one (we don't know yet how long it will last). Wolverine does go to hell, literally, but we're not sure yet why or how. Wolverine also has a chat with a Wraith, an old buddy and Weapon-X member who is now a pastor (comic books love to feature religious figures, don't they?). Wraith ends up being attacked by some powerful masked dude. A few other powerful masked dudes show up at the San Francisco newspaper office where Wolverine's girlfriend works. Mystique shows up on a motorcycle to save her. Huh? So far the book makes little sense. It feels like a story Aaron concocted for Ghost Rider and just changed super-heroes. Aaron's Ghost Rider was a lot more wild and fun. This book isn't fun at all, it's depressing and dark. The art by Guedes is mediocre stuff; it lacks the Gothic charm that is needed to make hell and it's environs come alive. Hell just looks silly here. The devil looks like the devil from that Tom Cruise movie Legend, albeit here he's cartoonish and not all-together scary. This storyline definitely has potential, but so far it's average at best. ** (out of ****)