The final month of Marvel.1 releases begins very promisingly with Uncanny X-Men #534.1, I’m always a little worried by such a large issue number, and with a team as wide and varied as the X-Men, I am concerned I will spend most of this issue on wikipedia searching every other characters back-story. But no, writer Kieron Gillen smartly splits the action and creates a duel narrative, not to confusing or over reaching to a new reader. On one side, Gillen puts together a slow burning discussion between Magneto and the X-Men’s public relations representative (Yep, the PR guy), a great narrative device which asks all those questions a new reader has (Magneto in the X-Men… ok) but Gillen never lets his dialogue become over-expositional. On the other side we have the action, but again Gillen limits the team to a group of well-known characters, not over-whelming the reader. Uncanny X-Men was great, I will definitely be buying the next issue.

Next to hit my doormat is Avengers #12.1 and I hate to say this, but I just feel the whole issue is a tad bland. There is nothing wrong with the comic per se, the story is adequately set up and resolved quite comfortably within the allotted 30 pages, and we even get a snippet of things to come at the end. It’s just nothing jumps out of the page, the characters all seem one dimensional (Steve Rogers and Wolverine come off as especially poorly written) and there is nothing special about the art work. Brian Michael Bendis tries to let too many characters have their 2 frames in the spotlight, and whilst this could have been an attempt to let the new reader meet the whole team, it just comes off as overly confused and cluttered. The last twist in the final few pages does interest, but not enough for me to buy the next issue.

The final .1 release is Secret Avengers #12.1; I am instantly grabbed by the bold yet simple cover art (Shadowy figures standing against a harsh orange backdrop) and hopefully read on. Admittedly helped by the fact the team is small, writer Nick Spencer manages to give each member of Steve Roger’s elite team a moment to shine, a clear voice over among the crowd, and successfully changes the mood between scenes from super serious to really silly; an exchange between Ant-Man and War machine is particularly good fun! My only problem with the plot is a huge narrative jump towards the end of the comic, whilst this may seem quite small time and petty, it really is a big jump (we are talking grand canyon sized). The artwork is so-so, but some nice use of frames and interesting page set ups save the issue. Whilst I did warm to Secret Avengers, considering how many comics I’m buying now, I don’t think it will make the cut and end up on my pull list.

So that’s it for the Marvel.1 releases, I would say the line was a success since my pull list is now much longer than it was 3 months ago, I’d better get reading!

Will Pond.

I open up Captain America 615.1 and immediately recognise the name Brubaker, I assume Marvel is pulling out all the stops for this issue and eagerly read on! The issue nicely sets up the relationship between Steve Rogers and that shield, a man who doesn’t want to take on the huge responsibility it holds but jumps at the chance to jump over rooftops whenever the opportunity arises! The pages are exciting and action packed, Bettie Breitweiser’s colouring nicely complimenting the art. I do have one gripe though, Nick Fury disguised in a latex suit?! Come on… I must admit though, I am not completely swayed but decide to buy the next issue and see how it goes.

I have to take a double look at the cover for Hulk 30.1, the guy is red! Once I get through the opening page I hit the ground running and read on, or if you’re a hulk… jumping! Parker’s writing is really sharp, never losing sight of Thunderbolt Ross’ voice underneath the red skin; who else would shout “Get out off the way trust fund babies” whilst flying down a ski slope? The relationship between Ross and General Fortean is also well handled, and I like the Moby Dick referencing title. Hulk was exciting and full of adventure; I will definitely be buying issue 31.

Ok so just a few questions about Deadpool 33.1, is it always this crazy? And also so funny? If the answer to all of the above is yes, then I’ll be sticking with Deadpool through the next issue. Next up, Thor 620.1 and I have to admit I am really looking forward to this issue, the film is coming up and I am hoping it will be a good starting point; luckily I am not disappointed. Abnett and Lanning get through all the boring plot details quickly (Asgard on Earth… etc) and move straight into the action, introducing a villain and giving Thor a clear objective that can be completed within one issue. The writing builds up the anticipation to Thor’s arrival to maximum effect and very nicely gives us a way to meet all the other colourful characters in Asgard. I really like this issue and will definitely be putting Thor on my pull list.

The last release of the month is Uncanny X-Force 5.1, one look at the opening page and the size of the team I know I’ll be making quite a few trips to wikipedia in the near future. The issue is really exciting and can only be described as a combination of extreme violence and nice looking pictures, it’s good to see a darker arrow for the Marvel bow and I like the idea of a black opps mutant team. The colouring by Dean White nicely compliments Albuquerque’s scratchy drawing style; this leads to a grimy page, soaked in dark tones, really letting me know I’ve entered the dark side of Marvel. Remender’s writing is very lean and the action moves at a fast pace, and although the attention to the individual characters within the team is a little un-even, I feel we will become acquainted in future issues. Uncanny X-Force is loads of fun; I will definitely be buying the next issue.

You’re gonna end up buying SO many comics Will – ED

In part 3 of this feature, I’ll be taking a look at the final .1 releases including Uncanny X-Men 534.1 and Secret Avengers 12.1.

Will Pond.

To tie in with a landmark issue number, the first release was The Invincible Iron Man 500.1 and I’ve got to say it was a disappointment, writer Matt Fraction provided a basic first person re-telling of Tony Stark’s entire life story. Apart from running over a few helpful plot points and setting up familiar adversaries ( The Mandarin) the issue didn’t offer much more than a simple search on Wikipedia could provide, and it only takes one viewing of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man to find out Tony Stark has major issues with booze and woman. I think Fraction failed to provide the springboard Marvel set out to provide with the point one releases, the end two preview pages did more to persuade me to buy the next issue than anything.

ED – Yeah, this put me off Iron Man a lot, which is a shame because #500 was a great jumping on point…

Just from the cover art I became interested in the next point one, Wolverine 5.1. Whilst at first I was worried Jason Aaron might rely on the lazy inner monologue technique used in Iron Man, these fears were immediately dashed as Aaron set up a double narrative between Logan fighting cannibal hillbillies and his girlfriend setting up a surprise birthday party! Aaron used the situation and action to convey the character rather than dialogue heavy exposition, the issue was violent but still comedic, and the artwork was interesting and nicely coloured; we even met further characters in the Marvel universe (we’ll be coming to Deadpool next time!) An epilogue set up the narrative for the next issue and left me wanting to find out where Logan might be heading…

ED – HELL! Didn’t tell you that did it?

The February releases finished with the highest issue number point one, The Amazing Spiderman 654.1. Once I got over the fact that Peter Parker is not the primary character in this issue (Didn’t I just see him on the cover?) I enjoyed it. The use of panels within the pages are really kinetic and the plot points exciting; The spy and espionage elements to the narrative were even reminiscent of classic James Bond (Flash Thompson very quickly ends up putting on a tux and uses dance to get close to a
girl, it’s Sean Connery in a Venom Symbiote!). Although the end two preview pages did interest me enough to continue reading, I was left wondering why Spiderman only now takes over the narrative drive, and who will have it in issue 655?

ED - I thought it was more a Venom 0 than a Spiderman.1. I guess they figured noone really needs a jumping on point for Spiderman. Not surprised you were confused though, they just used the issue to get people to buy Venom #1.

In part 2 of the point one feature, I’ll take a look at the March releases, including Hulk 30.1, Deadpool 33.1 and Uncanny X-Force 5.1.

Will Pond.