Siege: The Cabal One-Shot Review
Marvel has been advertising that Seige has been seven years in the making. As Dark Reign is coming to a close and Norman Osborn’s day of reckoning is close at hand, Siege: The Cabal gets these events rolling. Osborn calls a meeting of his Cabal, a tentative assembly of the world’s most powerful villains. The group met at the end of Secret Invasion and set the stage for Osborn’s reign. Much has changed since they last met. Emma Frost and Namor have broken their alliance with Osborn over the recent mutant events. Against Doom’s council, Norman has given Taskmaster, who he placed in charge of his Initiative program, a vacant seat at the table of evil geniuses. Doctor Doom and Osborn faceoff, pledging to destroy each other.
Obviously, a victor is not determined in this issue. That would be a little too thrifty for Marvel. This is an enjoyable round one and serves its purpose as appetizer for the four part mini-series, Siege. Brian Michael Bendis amusingly conveys the Norman and Goblin conversation that begins to rip him apart. I think his goofy corn rowed hair will soon be covered up by the goblin mask. I personally can’t wait. I did felt cheated that Doom and Osborn fought so early in this issue, knowing that its too soon for the confrontation. It was a cheap ploy.
Artists Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano team up for some beautiful pages. Their emotion laden, brooding approach to the characters works extremely well in the midst of the issue’s conflicts. The portrayal of Osborn’s descent into Goblin madness is spot on.
Many one-shots are throw aways that hook comic readers into forking over a few more bucks. This issue is worth the money. It effectively sets the stage for the upcoming mini-series and clearly establishes direction. It this is any indication of Siege, I like.
3.5 out of 5
The God of Thunder in Hiding?!?
Before I get into the Annual, I want to say that the Thor monthly title is one of the best Marvel books currently being published. If you are not reading it, I highly recommend that you do! It has been constantly entertaining, with great stories and art to match. Now with that in mind, I was highly looking forward to Thor Annual #1 coming out so that I could get some extra Thor action this month. Now that that’s out of the way, what do I think about the Annual? To put it nicely, it is a pale shadow of the current monthly title.
First up, I don’t try to think I could do a better job than the writer could. I might write reviews, but I don’t harbor any ideas that I could be a comic book writer. I try to keep a fairly open mind when I’m reading books. This is especially true of ones that I plan to review. If I read a book and I find that I don’t care for it, I just set it aside for awhile. I don’t just jump on the computer and trash it. Then sometime in the future, I take the time to read it at least another time to see if something had biased my opinion of the work. Maybe I just had a bad day. Or, maybe I had something else on my mind and I only half read the story. Or, maybe I was more in the mood to read a different type of story than the one I read.
To be honest, I always hope that it was me and not the creative team that caused the problems with the issue. In this case, I read it three times. I’m sorry to say that this was not a good issue.
This is a book with some good ideas, but with very poor execution. The story itself has some serious pacing issues and seems at times as if there are some pages missing from the script. It almost comes across as a several issue story arc that is jammed into the annual format. The villains could be truly threatening for Thor, but you never feel that way. They come off, especially Seth and Grog, as very two-dimensional. You never feel that Thor was ever really in trouble. It does nothing to positively effect the monthly book or even add to the history of Thor as a good stand alone story.
There are two other things that stick out in my mind that I didn’t care for. One is Thor being referred to by Blake as a coward. Thor has never been and will never be one. Blake would never call him that either! That is poor characterization. Secondly, when you’re drawing characters, especially major ones, please pay attention. Seth is shown at the beginning as missing his right hand (which is correct - it was cut-off by Odin). Now take a look at page 36,38, and 40 and you will see Seth has both of his hands! That is sloppy work folks! It sums up my review of this sloppy book!
1 out of 5
From the pages of the Immortal Iron Fist, the six other Immortal Weapons of the mystical cities finally get a chance to shine in their own spotlight. This first issue chronicles the life and times of Fat Cobra.
Jason Aaron writes one hell of a good read. Its narrative is smartly framed; a young man he commissioned to find out about his past reads Fat Cobra his recently completed official biography. Cobra’s a fun character: he’s fat, but can move like a cheetah; eats like a cow, but gets all the girls. Aaron shows his skill, combining hilarious and heartbreaking moments throughout this issue. From tragedy to so-called triumph, Fat Cobra’s tale is interesting and just a blast to read.
With a gallery of artists lending their talents, the different styles seamlessly blend together into one gorgeous book. Fat Cobra is fleshed with more detail than before and given a wide range of emotions and expressions, bringing him to life.
The last few pages begin an ongoing story starring the Immortal Iron Fist. It looks promising, but all we get right now is setup.
I hope the other Immortal Weapons stories are this good, because Fat Cobra rocks!
4.5 out of 5
Ed Brubaker’s Daredevil run continues to rock! The pacing of this book makes it a joy to read. Brubaker knows the story he wants to tell and executes it without filler and fluff. He continues to hide pleasant surprises in a storyline I think I have figured out. Without revealing anything, Daredevil takes it on the chin from a dear friend. On top of that, Kingpin continues to reclaim the Hell Kitchen’s underworld. Brubaker has successfully given the Kingpin a heart and soul. He’s still a ruthless psychopath, but you almost start to feel for him. Almost. Meanwhile, Matt Murdock is dealing with his ever-muddied personal life as he plans to take down Lady Bullseye and the Hand.
Brubaker skillfully makes Matt Muddock and the other DD cast real people. Their lives are messy and difficult. The DD universe is very real and the people seem to breathe the same air we do. This is a tribute to Ed Brubaker’s ability to write real characters.
DD’s multiple artists create a unique atmosphere that is making this title iconic. I am now referring to some other books as “Daredevilish” in style. Rivaling Brukaer’s writing skill is the work of colorist Matt Hollingsworth. Daredevil has a classic, crisp, noir art and Hollingsworth’s skill vaults these pages close to perfection. The panels have a muted, dark quality with burst of appropriate colors. The finished product is a stunning book that is worthy of a few extra reads, just to admire the pages.
While Daredevil is a consistently great read, this arc is particularly fantastic. While I am enjoying Marvel’s Dark Reign mega-event, it sure is nice to read a book without Norman Osborn. Matt Murdock has enough to deal with.
4 out of 5
I was leery when I saw the latest story arc for Daredevil titled “Lady Bullseye.” I was sad that DD’s world, hidden in the Hells’ Kitchen dark alleys and mostly shielded from Marvel Universe’s mainstream, succumbed to an alarming current trend, the gender reassignment of well-known male villains.
I hung in there and was glad I did. Lady Bullseye worked. It did more than just work, the story reignited a great title that had recently lost its spark.
Lady Bullseye’s origin was well-written and fits into Daredevils’ world without being forced. This story blends into an organic whole between previous DD arcs and the current events of the Marvel Universe at large. From the first issue, the plot builds as we try to figure out Lady Bullseye’s motives for messing with poor Matt Murdock. We meet another great character, Master Izo, along the way. He’s a boozing, joke-cracking Kung-Fu Master who provides some much-needed laughs without being trite. DD is a dark book with Murdock getting one if not both balls pounded issue after issue.
4 out of 5
