I Want My Marvel NOW: The Superior Spider-Man #1

Spoilers? Are there any such thing as spoilers by the time Thursday hits? It certainly doesn't seem that way anymore, but let's be realistic here - this is the fifth issue since Dan Slott's Big Twist was revealed in Amazing Spider-Man #698 (followed up in #699 and #700, as well as Avenging Spider-Man #13.1, oh, and one issue of Daredevil if we want to count that). So if you're unaware of what's going on with Spider-Man (and how could you be by this point?) then consider yourself warned, because we're going to talk about this issue with specifics.

The Superior Spider-Man #1 finds Otto Octavius, Spider-Man's arch-nemesis Dr. Octopus, living in Peter Parker's body (with Parker dead in Octavius's buried body). While this isn't technically the first issue in an all-new direction, it is the first time we get to see Dr. Spiderpus take on some villains - in this case a new Sinister Six made up of also-rans from the old, lesser Sinister Syndicate (like Boomerang and Speed Demon). Slott has set up a conceit where Octavius was so inspired by Peter Parker's emotional triumphs, through their shared memories, that Octavius has decided to out-Spider-Man Spider-Man with "superior" intelligence and superhero techniques.

What started as an interesting new direction is already starting to wear out its welcome somewhat after five issues of non-Spidey Spider-Man comics. There's a difference between not being a villain and being a hero, and right now, Otto is simply existing as not-a-villain. He's still a colossally arrogant, alienating asshole who spends dinner with Mary Jane ignoring her conversation to leer at her breasts and treats Parker's co-workers at Horizon Labs with open contempt. Otto may have been a villain we loved to hate, but that kind of love doesn't mean we ever wanted to see him as the star of his own book, month after month.

It's time for writer Slott to introduce a foil, and we don't mean someone from Spidey's rogues. Right now, the book is all antagonist with no protagonist, despite the hero-versus-villians visuals of Spider-Man still fighting his baddies. The fix is a quick one - Superior needs someone good, someone the readers already like, to realize that Peter isn't Peter and start putting those pieces together, to Otto's chagrin. Create some real conflict. Slott may have long-term plans for Peter/Otto, but there's a void left by the general, genuine goodness of the original Spider-Man that isn't being filled by anyone in the current title.

And, frankly, Slott is making everyone in Peter's life look kind of stupid too. Peter/Otto's behavior is so abnormal, his dialogue so different, that I'm shocked that no one in the large supporting cast hasn't really started to suspect something. Instead, Slott has introduced conflict in the weirdest possible form, through Peter Parker's ghost maintaining physical control over Otto/Spidey's actions (in a ludicrous last-page reveal). What will that mean for future issues? Will ghostly Peter be the protagonist holding Otto/Spidey at bay? Is anyone really down for a year's worth of stories (or more) about the relationship between Peter Parker's ghost and his worst enemy parading as Spider-Man?

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? I've been on board this whole time until Superior Spider-Man #1 and now I'm iffy. Now that the potential of seeing Doc Ock as a would-be hero has become a reality, I'm not sure it's such a great idea. Sure, It's a great idea to drum up interest and get people talking, but I read Spider-Man, in part, because I simply like Spider-Man. Right now, I don't like Otto/Spidey, and I don't know how many more issues I can stomach the prick as the lead. I'd guess either a huge lesson in humility is on the way, or someone in the book is going to start putting clues together very soon. Maybe both things will happen. Then again, maybe neither will, and the new status quo will be a long-term Spider-Man book starring a dickhead and his ghostly conscience.

I Want My Marvel NOW: Hawkeye #6, New Avengers #1, and Morbius #1

New Marvel NOW books! Have we been pleased enough with the comics to call this publishing initiative a success? Because I totally did in the Year-End wrap-up. I hope that's okay with you.

Hawkeye #6, like Wolverine and the X-Men #19, is part of a regular run, but the first issue to bear the Marvel NOW branding, hoping to entice new readers. Fraction has designed the book well, keeping it accessible at any time, so if anything, #6 is a litmus test for whether or not you're down for what the book is serving every month.

This issue serves up a "week in the life" story that finds archer Clint Barton struggling with setting up his home entertainment system, trying to get the cable working in his brownstone, and fending off dimwitted Russian mobsters (ones that he'd pissed off in the first issue by purchasing the apartment building they regularly used for tenant shakedowns).

I sort of still can't get over the fact that Marvel publishes a book like Hawkeye. Artist David Aja is playing around with sequential art; I'd say experimenting, but he's displaying such a mastery over how to construct panel-to-panel sequences on a page, I don't think it's an experiment. Hawkeye is not a book to read digitally - there's too much work that goes into creating each page as its own composition (#6 features a sequence that's laid out like a side-scrolling video game). Reading the book one word balloon at a time, as digital demands that you do, does an injustice to what Fraction and Aja are creating.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? Darn tootin'.

I found New Avengers #1 to be almost hilariously snooty, and it wasn't helped by four all-black splash pages used to create "TA-DAH" cinematic breathers from the action. In the first issue, Black Panther runs afoul of some mysterious new baddies (named Black Swan and Manifold) mucking about with cosmos, and is forced against his better judgment to call on the help of his old "Illuminati" buddies (Namor, Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Dr. Strange, and Black Bolt).

It may set up a team book, but it's really all T'Challa the Black Panther's show. I liked it marginally better than Jonathan Hickman's adjective-less Avengers book, because it felt a bit more dense. And I'm still trying to figure out if I like Hickman's approach to comics or not. The writer may mistake inflated importance for character stakes; I'm not quite sure just yet. New Avengers #1 is almost so pretentious that it goes beyond pretense and comes right back around to being fun.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? As harshly critical as I sound, I think the book is still of interest. I was out of comics while Marvel was pushing the Illuminati storyline, and while I think it's out of character for some of these heroes to believe that they control the fate of the Marvel U, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in seeing where this goes. Just, please, no more all-black pages.

As conflicted as I am about Hickman, I've fast become a Joe Keatinge fan (thanks to his inventive work with Ross Campbell on Image's Glory). Morbius the Living Vampire #1 is the least Earth-shattering of the Marvel NOW line-up, more in keeping with the kind of street-level Marvel Universe we used to see on a regular basis in books like Bill Mantlo's Cloak and Dagger. It's a nice change of pace to the rest of the line.

The title picks up with Michael Morbius, a brilliant doctor turned scientific vampire (a small distinction from a supernatural vampire, but an important one), trying to settle down and find his way in Brownsville, a craphole run by punk rock thugs straight out of an 80's comic. Keatinge and artist Rich Elson lay out the ground rules for the anti-hero (long a C-list member of Spidey's rogues), and infuse the book with a refreshing sense of humor that isn't going for big laughs but a sardonic tone.

Elson's art fits well for this kind of throwback, bearing some influence from early John Byrne instead of going all-out horror comic with the visuals. Morbius is the kind of low-key funky book that I typically enjoy (I think I would write comics like this if afforded the chance), and the kind that typically gets canned in less than a year. But, hey, if Hawkeye can find its audience, then maybe Morbius can too. I think if you came of age on Marvel in the 80's, there's a lot to like here. It's certainly not like any of the other Marvel NOW books, that's for sure.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? "Hell Yeah" to use a Keatinge-ism. The writer is still feeling his oats as a pro, and there's going to be great things from him down the line. I want to be the Keatinge Hipster who points to Morbius in five years and says, "I was reading him from way back." I suspect Morbius is my kinda fun. Guess I'll find out!

The Year in Comics: Biggest Winners of 2012

2012 was an incredible year for comics. There's a wave of creative energy that hasn't been felt like this since the mid-1980s, and while "regular" bookstores have been on the decline, comic shops are seeing levels of foot traffic that they haven't seen in years. 

I couldn't, in good conscience, do a "Best of" list for 2012, because I know that I miss out on a ton of great books, and I'd be inclined to fill all those slots with IDW's Popeye Classic Comics anyway. What I have here are a list of indisputable winners of 2012 - books, companies, and people who came out of this past year looking like a million bucks (or in the case of Robert Kirkman, rolling around naked in a million bucks). Welcome to Gutters and Panel's first annual "Biggest Winners" list.

Cover detail from X-O Manowar #6, art by Doug Braithwaite. Valiant Comics.

Valiant Comics

Everybody loves an underdog story, and it's been especially satisfying to see Valiant return from the dead with such a strong, yet modest, commitment to quality books. I say modest because instead of exploding with a dozen titles at once in a pop-and-fizzle cash grab, they've slowly been building their line, adding titles when the time is right, which allows new readers more opportunity to try their books (X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Shadowman, Archer & Armstrong, and Harbinger). As far as re-launches go, Valiant's has been damn near perfectly executed.

The new books are conceived with the same spirit as the original Valiant books - superheroes for people that might be a little tired of superheroes. The creative teams on the books are high-quality, and I'd also like to point some praise at the company's art director/graphic design team, who have redone Valiant's branding in a way that doesn't throw out what has come before, yet makes a very distinct impression on the racks.

Panel detail from Hawkeye #3, art by David Aja. Marvel Comics.

Hawkeye

Fabian Niceza tried a similar approach to a Hawkeye monthly about ten years ago, but he didn't have David Aja as his ace-in-the-hole. Aja, along with writer Matt Fraction, are producing the best new series at Marvel, full of action, wit, and a distinct approach to both characterization and the actual art of sequential storytelling. It's astounding, really, that they've managed to do a mainstream superhero comic that doesn't look or feel like any other superhero comic on the racks.

Interest in the character was certainly at an all-time high, post-Avengers. Unlike Fraction's recent dead-end fizzle with Defenders, with Hawkeye he was taking on a red-hot character at his red-hottest. And though the book is completely stripped of the big-panel science-fiction of the Avengers film, 2012 has certainly been a year where the intelligent readers have made their voices heard. They like Hawkeye. For a self-proclaimed Hawkeye nerd, this book (along with the inclusion of Jeremy Renner in the movie) is a validation of the character's potential, and a sigh of relief that I no longer have to defend myself for loving an arrow-slinging C-lister. He's a cult-fave B-lister now!

Cover detail from The Walking Dead #100, art by Bryan Hitch. Robert Kirkman/Image Comics.

The Walking Dead

2012 marked the year that a hit comic with a hit show became a full-fledged mania. It was excellent timing for the monthly Walking Dead book to hit its 100th issue amidst all the rage; the synergy resulted in over 380,000 copies sold. That's the most single issues sold of a single comic since 1997.

I "trade wait" the series, and I'm a book or two behind at the moment, but I'd have to be living in a cave to avoid how much The Walking Dead has permeated pop culture this year. Books like this come along once in a blue moon, and the attention it gives to comics, especially creator-owned books, is highly valuable. I have an inkling that Walking Dead might be the gateway series for many smart new readers, which is why books like the aforementioned Hawkeye and Saga can thrive despite being nothing that anyone in their right mind would peg as commercial.

Cover detail from Thor: God of Thunder #2, art by Esad Ribic. Marvel Comics.

Marvel NOW

It's just a few months in, but the creative gambles have paid off. If the whole thing was inspired by the New 52, then Marvel also seemed to learn from DC's mistakes, by trusting the all of their creatives to bring their A-game. The concern is not whether every property is exploited; it's whether every book on the shelf is compelling (case-in-point, the upcoming Superior Spider-Man, a book that's sidelined Peter Parker to tell a lengthy story about a villain trying to become a hero against their darker, more selfish nature).

There's a sense of healthy competition within Marvel, the likes of which haven't been felt since the old classic Bullpen days. When you start talking about your favorite Marvel NOW books, it devolves into a "which is better" conversation about Thor: God of Thunder or All-New X-Men. But, for real, which is better? Fantastic Four or FF? I kid. The clear answer is FF. At least for now.

The crazy thing? Marvel NOW isn't even done launching new stuff. We haven't seen Cho's Savage Wolverine, Cornell/Davis on Wolverine, Bendis/McNiven on Guardians of the Galaxy, or Bendis/Bachalo on Uncanny X-Men. Marvel's already making 2013 look pretty sweet.

Cover detail from Deathstroke #11, art by Rob Liefeld. DC Comics.

Rob Liefeld

He may not be able to draw feet, bur he can certainly draw attention. Liefeld's Twitter account has been one of the most fascinating to follow this year. Besides his very public falling-out with his editors at DC, Liefeld has revealed himself to be an enthusiastic supporter of others in his field and is remarkably cheery about working in a medium where he's routinely and savagely criticized by fans and press.

While I wasn't a fan of his output for DC's New 52, I loved what he did with his Extreme line at Image. One of my favorite books this year has been Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell's Glory - Liefeld's Wonder Woman surrogate transformed into an off-the-wall sci-fi yarn starring one of the most unique heroines in comics and punctuated with some of the most graphic violence I've seen in a comic. It's a blast. All of the books - Supreme, Prophet, Bloodstrike, and Glory - have been a welcome alternative to typical superhero fare. I wrote a bit earlier in the year about how his true calling may not be as a writer or an artist but as an editor-in-chief, encouraging creativity in others.

Panel detail from Batman #15, art by Greg Capullo. DC Comics.

The Bat-Family

Scott Snyder entered the new year as the break-out star of the New 52, with his work on the flagship Batman book (with career-best art from Greg Capullo), but the other books in the Batman family have finally found their grooves as well. John Layman has infused Detective Comics with the same tone and action as the beloved Batman: The Animated Series, while Gregg Hurwitz has given Batman: The Dark Knight a reason to live as the more horror-tinged of the Batman books. I can't say enough good things about Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's work on Batman and Robin - it's the underdog of the Batman line, due to fans' distaste for Bruce Wayne's prickly son Damien - but, damn, if Tomasi and Gleason don't show up Snyder's book on a regular basis with a focus on sharp characterization and high stakes.

Batgirl ends the new year on an odd note, with fan favorite writer Gail Simone getting the boot, then getting invited back. She'll miss two issues thanks to someone at DC making a snap judgment on a title that's been solid from the New 52's start. My opinion on Batgirl (one of the books I bought regularly at first and continue to dip into when I want something else to read when my monthly books are done) is that Gail Simone hasn't met her match on the book in the art department. While Ardian Syaf and Ed Benes have done serviceable work on the art, they've felt like somewhat of a stylistic mismatch with Simone's optimistic, action-heavy heroine. Simone has a tendency to over-write, and I think it's because she hasn't been partnered with someone she can trust to get the job done without excessive word balloons and captions. She needs an Aja to her Fraction. She's one perfect artist away from Batgirl being a must-read.

Each Bat-book has its place, from Grant Morrison's wacky Batman Inc. to Kyle Higgins' consistent work on Nightwing. Are there too many Batman books? I say no, not as long as there's a little something for everyone.

Cover detail from Saga #8, art by Fiona Staples. Brian K. Vaughn & FIona Staples/Image Comics.

Saga

No new comic dominated the conversation like Saga did. What's even more remarkable is how such a non-mainstream book has conquered the sales charts all over the world. This is the book that proves that something has happened within comic fandom. Comics don't have to cater to the guys in the too-small Lady Death shirts anymore. There's a new breed of reader, and if you don't believe that, consider the fate of a book like Saga had it come out ten years ago. It would've had all of the acclaim and none of the sales.

This is the best new series of 2012. Parents in comics are not usually portrayed as vital, sexy people, and they're also hardly seen as relatable, but Saga's Alana and Marko are all of those things. Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples have given us a pair of characters who just shouldn't be connecting with mass audiences in the way that they do, but they are. And I am so happy that they are. Probably not as happy as Vaughn and Staples, but it gives me warm fuzzies to see a quality book get all of the recognition it deserves.

Panel detail from Daredevil #12. Art by Chris Samnee. Marvel Comics.

Mark Waid

I need to go back and re-read The Flash to determine whether or not Mark Waid's Daredevil run is the best work of his career, but I know this - it's really, really great (Chris Samnee has the chops to become a definitive Daredevil artist as well). Of course, what does my tiny voice mean when Waid has already won a pile of awards for the book?

Looking past the Harveys and the Eisners that Daredevil deservedly racked up in 2012, Waid also launched his own line of digital comics at Thrillbent.com, offering regular free doses of the superhero sidekick story Insufferable and zombie yarn Luther, and forcing a conversation about comics that advocates the co-existence of print and digital. Mark Waid is a relentlessly talented comic book vet, and if he can shape Indestructible Hulk into a book as compelling as Daredevil, then we're in for a very good 2013.

Cover detail from Fatale #1, art by Sean Phillips. Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips/Image Comics.

Image Comics

Happy anniversary, Image! It's incredible to consider what Image looked like in 1992 compared to what it looks like in 2012. They became the destination publisher for creator-owned projects, and I'm not sure there was a publisher in 2012 who released a greater breadth of genres. Sure, the old stalwarts like Savage Dragon, Cyberforce, Spawn, and Youngblood are still around, but so are most of the new books your friends are pushing on you to read.

I'm hoping it wasn't just an anniversary thing; I'm hoping this is the new status quo. They're expanding the audience of comics beyond the capes and tights more than any other company, and there doesn't seem to be any letting up. Their deals are simple - creators retain the rights to the books that Image publishes - making them very attractive to veterans whose names alone can move a title and newcomers looking to stake their own claim. It may have taken 20 years for the Image experiment to work like it always should've, but it's paid off in some of the most electric books on the stand.

I Want My Marvel NOW: Thunderbolts #1, Avengers #1, Cable & X-Force #1, and Avengers Arena #1

Well, it couldn't last forever. As much as I'd been enjoying the Marvel NOW debuts overall, there's been another dud dropped into the line, to join the ranks of A+X at the bottom of the heap. While I can't see A+X really getting any better, due to it not having a direction or monthly creative team, Thunderbolts, by writer Daniel Way and artist Steve Dillon, still has the potential to climb up from the bottom of the books.

The problem is in the first issue's execution, not in the concept. General "Thunderbolt" Ross aka Red Hulk recruits a team of Marvel's most notorious killers - The Punisher, Deadpool, Elektra, Venom, and a purple-haired mystery member. And that's it. That's the first issue. Basically, it's a weak extrapolation of the cover art.

Lack of conflict equals lack of drama, and Thunderbolts #1 is conflict-free. Ross shows up, usually calmly negotiating during the middle of a firefight featuring whoever he's trying to talk into joining him (a visual gag that never works here). They join him, and the issue ends. There's almost no world-building beyond perfunctory introductions of the characters on the cover, and certainly no clue at all as to what kind of book this is going to be in the future (a violent one - but then what?).

Hopefully, it's going to be  a better book than its debut. While the first issue might stink, it stinks because it doesn't do anything. The good news there is that Thunderbolts could improve simply by doing something. I expect it to gear up over time now that the introduction is out of the way, but, really, I can't remember the last time I found the first issue of a team book so dissatisfying.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? Not unless I hear that Thunderbolts has really kicked it into overdrive. I need drama.

I've been an Avengers fan for a long time, and the Avengers comics I prefer are the ones that really allow for a lot of the team's personality to shine through. I like banter and interplay and inter-personal team soap opera stuff with these guys. One of my favorite Avengers writers of the past was Steve Englehart, who was good at finding a balance between the superhero fights and the smaller personal conflicts. I'm not as big on the book when it's threat-driven, where I feel like a lot of the team's interaction are defined by their abilities instead of their personalities, and this is where Avengers #1 lets me down.

New writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Jerome Opena are working in a "widescreen" cinematic style for the book, and tonally, it's pretty interesting. It really does feel big, in a way that most of the Marvel NOW books don't, and it sets up things that you can already tell are going to require a little patience to see through to the end. Hickman is known for his long-term planning on books, but, to me, it's also his downfall as a writer because individual issues always feel (and here comes the bad word) decompressed. I always feel like I can read them in a matter of minutes, and I rarely feel like I got any kind of a story with a beginning, middle, and an end - I just got a chunk of something.

With the promise of a massive 18-member roster of rotating sub-teams, I'm pretty much guaranteed to not see the kind of personal politics I enjoy in Avengers. There are going to be adventures, probably really good ones, on huge cosmic canvases, built around Hickman's big ideas, but little apparent room for soap opera. And that's fine, I guess; I can't ask everyone to write their books just for me.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? I will probably "trade wait" this one, and get the first arc when it's all collected. It'll probably be a more satisfying read in that form, and if I like it (and I sort of suspect I will), then I'll be back for more.

Are you a Cable fan? I'm not, though somehow I've collected a lot of stuff with Cable in it over the years. Sometimes X-Men books are like barnacles on the ship of our comic book fandom. We travel through the waters and we end up collecting this stuff, whether we really want to or not. Ah, analogies.

Anyway, Cable & X-Force #1 (Dennis Hopeless/Salvador Larocca) sees the militant mutant leading some kind of secret strike force that manages to piss off the Uncanny Avengers (does the team actually call themselves that, and, if not, how do they distinguish themselves from the "real" Avengers?) and Cable's daughter Hope (who is still dealing with the aftermath of AVX , fallout from a book I never read).

I found it completely serviceable, and your mileage may vary depending on your love of Cable. Oddly, it's another first issue in Marvel NOW (like Fantastic Four), where the lead finds out he's really, really sick and doesn't know how to deal with it. That fuels a lot of the story, along with Hope trying to figure out if there's a place for her on her father's side. I got the impression that a greater working knowledge of what's been going on with these characters would've helped a lot. In some ways, #1 felt like it could've been #19 or so of a book that wasn't bad, but was barreling along with its own story.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? This isn't a bad book, but no. If you have nostalgia for the original X-Force or a healthy love for Cable, then you'll probably like it just fine.

Also from writer Dennis Hopeless is Avengers Arena #1, an in-name-only Avengers book that sees a bunch of the more recent teen heroes of the Marvel U thrown onto an island and forced to kill each other by the mad gamer Arcade. Yes, it's a lot like The Hunger Games in concept, and if Hopeless thinks a quick verbal reference will let him off the hook for such a blatant swipe at a pop culture phenomenon, it doesn't.

Imagine for a second you're Christos Gage, and you've created a bunch of brand-new characters for Marvel. They get their own monthly, Avengers Academy, and build a small, but loyal, fanbase over time. Sales can't support the book, and the writing is on the wall, but even if the book has to be canceled, Marvel now has a half-dozen new interesting characters to play with. They thank you by handing those characters over to Dennis Hopeless to kill off one by one in Avengers Arena.

In that way, Avengers Arena is an almost brutally disrespectful book - a garbage bin for characters that Hopeless has no creative attachment to, in the service of a stab at a fraction of the Hunger Games audience. It's cynical and gleeful in its cynicism. In the press Hopeless has done for the book, he's laid out his long term plans for eventually killing all but one of the teenagers within its pages by the time he's through. I'm sure it will be a wild ride, but is this the best use for these new characters? Wouldn't it make more business sense for Marvel to cultivate them instead of cropping them?

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? Yes. Because even though I've spelled out my knee-jerk thoughts on the book, it's fascinating and too early to tell if its a fascinating trainwreck or fascinating experiment. I kind of need to find out, and, in that way, Avengers Arena #1 is a rousing success, albeit one with a repulsive core. I'm curious to know how I'll feel about this book three or four issues after this and there's only one way to find out. Gotta read it.

DC Comics and Me: Can This Relationship Be Saved?

I'm thinking of dropping my DC books.

I've started this opening paragraph a couple of times now, in an attempt to slow-build to this nagging thought I've had since writer Gail Simone's firing from Batgirl. I think David Brothers planted the seed , initially (he doesn't buy books from Marvel or DC), but boy has DC Comics really watered that seed, by giving off the stink of a negative, ruthless editorial office, churning through creatives as they're shoveled into a fiery furnace called "market share." There's a growing list of creators they've stepped on, pissed off, or pulled from books for no apparent reason, and all of it has happened in a very compressed time period. I could wag my finger when it was just Alan Moore they were crapping on, but now I feel like I should do something.

Did Karen Berger do something by stepping away from Vertigo? I wish I knew. But I'm faced with the only thing I can do, which is vote with my dollar. I'd be dropping Batman, Batman and Robin, Dial H, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, and New Guardians on a monthly basis (books that I really do enjoy), and leaving behind some I check in on infrequently, like Detective and Justice League Dark. It's not even a drop in a bucket to DC's bottom line - it's a molecule. What it would do is free up some cash for me to try some new stuff (Image is looking mighty good these days), and make me feel like I was taking some kind of a stand. But does that stand matter?

Marvel and DC are both owned by monster-sized corporations, and there's been some talk recently about how the comics themselves are seen as less of a revenue stream and more of a licensing research and development program. Single issues may not be making millions, but the toys, games, and movies that are based on those issues are making billions. That's just the way things are, and that's fine in a way because as long as the suits understand the potential value in comic book properties, then comic books, as a physical thing, get to stick around for a while longer.

But there are different vibes coming from the Big Two. DC's New52 has been a revolving door of creatives, with only a core group of titles maintaining any kind of sales stability or creative synergy. The properties come first and they keep mixing and matching people on books in the hopes of stopping the bleeding from a market that just can't support 52 monthly best-sellers from one single company. There are low rumblings of employee paranoia and constant editorial meddling, and it creates a sense of distrust between the brand and the consumer.

Marvel NOW's relaunch was built around shake-ups too, but in a way that put the creatives over the characters. The gimmick was largely "you've never seen this person do this book in this way before" and it's paying off. The company has been energized by the new books, and each one pushes its creative team and core concept over whatever character happens to have their name on the cover. Marvel's made mistakes in the past with creators, but, right now, they're placing value on creators as if they're borrowing philosophy from Vidal Sassoon - "If you don't look good, we don't look good."

Sometimes there's not a single bad guy; sometimes the wrong mix of otherwise good guys can end up just being bad alchemy. Maybe no one is really leading, leaving upstart editors to blame. Maybe everyone is out of their element under the new president, Diane Nelson (whose background, and this is telling, is in brand management, not comics). Maybe everyone is feeling pressure from Warners to make everything they touch into potential box office gold. I really have no idea, but something's up. 

I'm not a partisan fan. I love DC characters and there are runs on their books that I consider all-time favorites. I want to continue to love DC, but I can't watch anything I love go out of control, hurting others, behaving recklessly. It hurts. DC Comics and I might need to take some time off from each other - not a total break-up, but a trial separation.

Am I being reactionary or short-sighted? Is it stupid to give up books that I enjoy from a company that's going through turmoil? What's your take?

I Want My Marvel Now: Journey Into Mystery #646, Indestructible Hulk #1, Captain America #1, FF #1

There were a few titles in the Marvel NOW line-up that I was looking forward to more than most. Three of those series are now here - a new direction for Journey Into Mystery, with Sif as the lead, Mark Waid's Indestructible Hulk series and  FF, my most anticipated series since its announcement. Also released was Remender/Romita's Captain America #1, ending Ed Brubaker's lengthy run with the character. The report card so far for Marvel NOW is wholly positive, with only one real stinker in the bunch (A+X). Even the books I'm not interested in, like Red She-Hulk, have been capable action-adventure tales, and I'm rooting for weird stuff like X-Men Legacy to find its audience, even if that audience isn't me. Let's dig into the new books...

Before the Thor movie, I didn't know much about Sif, but Jamie Alexander made a big impression in the role. After the Thor movie, I dived head first into Walt Simonson's run on the book, and got to know all of the characters that inhabit Thor's world including Sif, and found it interesting that Marvel had been sitting on a female superhero with real breakout stay potential for several decades. Journey Into Mystery had been young Loki's book, but with that character moving over to Young Avengers, it freed up the title for a new star.

Sif is doing a little soul-searching and identity-hunting in the first issue, an interesting way for readers to find out more about her (as she finds out more about herself and what defines her). It feels a little more modest in scope than some of the more "widescreen" Marvel NOW titles, which might be why it didn't relaunch with a new #1 issue, Kathryn Immonen and Valerio Schiti are doing a respectable job here, but I think it might work better if you're already a big fan of Marvel's Asgardian world.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? Journey Into Mystery #646 is a solid fantasy adventure book, and I wish it all the best. Budgets, however, are limited, and it won't be making my pull list. (Side note: Marvel, please ditch the Asgardian font. Please. It's almost unreadable.)

Indestructible Hulk #1 is good but not "instant classic" good; not in the way that Mark Waid came on to Daredevil and knocked out a home run. Part of the problem is that the first issue is almost all hook - it's basically the pitch for the new direction - and if you'd read any of the press that Waid did before its release, there aren't really any surprises beyond that. Because of that, I'm not going to get into the specifics of the new direction here, but I will say that it's a clever way of making the more savage Hulk as close to an actual hero as possible without ever betraying the character. It's good, and if Hulk has never quite been your cup of tea, there might be enough of a new direction here to draw you in.

Lenil Yu is an undisputed superstar artist, and his work is typically impressive on a technical level, but there are little things about the team of Waid and Yu that feel at odds with each other. There's a long sequence in a busy diner, where the bustle of the patrons and the constant ticking of a clock are supposed to create the tension that Maria Hill feels while talking to Bruce Banner. Instead the panels feel oddly unrelated to each other. It's just a drawing of a clock; it's just a drawing of someone bumping into someone. The creative team members are both skilled, but almost seem to be playing against each others' strengths. The big Hulk action scenes do fare better than the more dramatic moments.

This might be corrected as they learn to play together better, or they may just be a mismatch, and if so, it's not so out of whack that it ruins the book.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? Yes. I've been a Hulk fan for years, and a Waid fan for a few years less than that. Besides, I have to come back, because now that the hook is established, I want to see where this thing goes.

I found myself so put off by Rick Remender and John Romita Jr.'s Captain America #1 that I actually had to read it twice just to re-evaluate what it was that had stuck in my craw. I'm all for Kirby homage, but Cap seemed to borrow some of the nonsensical nature of those 70's comics as well. 

This gets into some specifics that some might label as spoilers, so skip a couple of paragraphs if it's a concern. Captain America and Sharon Carter get dressed for a fancy birthday event, but the fancy birthday event turns out to be Carter putting Cap on a mystery subway train that SHIELD has been monitoring. Cap is immediately captured and whisked away to another dimension and experimented on by Arnim Zola. He escapes Zola (and Cap has his costume and shield - I guess it was under his clothes), steals both Zola's infant son from a test tube and a plane, that Cap then immediately crashes. Tune in next month.

Why did they get dressed up fancy just to put Cap on a train to another dimension? Why would Cap even get on that train like no big deal without any theory at all as to where it went or what it was? Was Arnim Zola just hoping that one day Captain America would get on board his special train or was it a total surprise? Why would Cap snatch a baby? Are these questions that will be answered over time, or is the book just kind of ludicrous in its plotting?

Look, sometimes comics are more than the sum of their parts, and I get that. Captain America might even be that, because my reaction was more befuddlement than anything else. Cap's staccato inner monologue captions reminded me of Frank Miller and Romita's art has more of a painterly look to it than I've seen before (though I'm not a fan of the mask's chinstrap. Chinstraps are comics' new shoulder pads), so I acknowledge that there is something worthwhile here. I guess you either buy into all of it and ride along, or you let the book's seeming lack of logic keep you at arm's length.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? I have no idea. I'm going to be gauging public reactions to future issues, because I can appreciate what Remender/Romita were going for, but I just couldn't get into it. Not in the way that I'd hoped.

Meanwhile, FF #1 was exactly what I was hoping for (FF is short for Future Foundation, Reed Richards' quasi-school for the young and brilliant). If you've been following Matt Fraction's Hawkeye series, this is in that ballpark, tonally. The first issue is all characterization and set-up, devoid of any action set pieces, and relies heavily on the talking head interviews that Brian Michael Bendis likes to use a lot, but I loved it. Fraction and artist Mike Allred are going to win over a lot of new fans if the series delivers on the promise of the debut issue.

We get to meet the kids and the new adult leaders of the FF (the Scott Lang Ant-Man, Medusa, She-Hulk, and Johnny Storm's latest squeeze - though she's not Ms. Thing yet even though she's pictured that way on the cover). Scott Lang was the star of one of the first comic books I ever remember reading (it was an issue of Marvel Premiere) and She-Hulk is one of my favorite Marvel characters of all-time. I'm also an Allred fan from way back during his very first Madman mini-series. I have tendency to like lighter, more character-driven books, so I am primed to love this. I am the target audience for this book, and love it I did.

WILL I BE BACK FOR MORE? Yes. I could very well have a new favorite book soon, folks.