Geoffrey vs. Superior Spider-Man, Hawkeye, New Avengers, and the Silver Surfer

Wow. Quite a donnybrook I have let myself in for. I think I stood a chance until I slapped the Silver Surfer on there. I am no match for the Power Cosmic.

Have I ever mentioned there will be spoilers here? Anyone who has been here surely knows this to be the case by now. It can't be that big of a deal seeing as I only write about comics that have already been out fo rmonths...ANYWAY!

SPOILERS! TOTES SPOILERS!


SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #30

Dan Slott, long time Spidey writer, had the sinister scheme to kill Peter Parker and have Doctor Octopus take over, he being the titular Superior Spider-Man. 30 issues in and finally, Peter returns from the depths of Spider-Ock's mind. And not only does he come back, Otto Octavius, so changed by his time as a hero, gives his own self up to allow Peter back.

This is some serious pay-off. Awesome stuff. almost 3 years worth of story (released at an accelerated pace over maybs 18 monthsish) coming to an amazing climax as Parker returns to face off in the final fight with his nemesis, the Green Goblin (assumed to be Norman Osborne at this point but I would not be super surprised if there is a twist at the last moment...and yes, I know this came out months ago and I could Google the answer but I won't!)

He used to be Superior, now he is once more merely Amazing.

I have seriously enjoyed this whole storyline. I think it is a tribute to how well done it is that I really want, somehow, Otto Octavius to remain a hero.

If you didn't give the Superior Spider-Man a chance, you really missed out. I can't wait to read the climax and then to read how Peter deals with the huge changes Otto made to Parker's life while he doppelganged it up.

Dan Slott and Cristos Gage wrote it, Giuseppe Camuncoli drew it. John Dell and Terry Pallot inked it. Antonio Fabella coloured it.

Awesome story.

HAWKEYE #18

Back on the West Coast, with the girl Hawkeye, Kate Spencer. More wacky private eye hijinks. Kate is probably my favourite of the Young Avengers, thanks to Matt Fraction. I love his take on her as a kind of almost female Rockford. That poor girl gets the crap kicked out of her and she just keeps on going. A lot like dude Hawkeye really. Even though they are both non-powered heroes, he sorts seems more "superheroey" for some reason. Probs his time on the Avengers. Kate'll get there.

ANYWAY! As I have mentioned before, this series is sublime. Both art and story. This issue does not disappoint. I strongly wish there were some way for this series to continue but I guess Fraction has had some setback or another (I could probably Google it but will instead decide it was a sharknado incident) and it is coming to an end qith #22. Critical acclaim and all. I wish they would Moon Knight this bad boy and let someone carry on with the same themes and style (I refer to the way Brian Wood has taken over from Warren Ellis on Moon Knight). Marvel, you have my number.

Ok, no you don't but I will give it to you if you ask.

Madame Masque as Kate's nemesis is wonderful.I loves it. I LOVES IT.

Read this comic and all its friends.

NEW AVENGERS #16

Dr. Strange is not in this issue...

Just a quick word. Jonathan Hickman is brilliant. I love this series and I am just dying to read how all his plot threads come together in Time Runs Out. It almost smells of Civil War 2. Almost. Maybs that'll be the next event, after Axis.

YOU ARE BRILLIANT, HICKMAN!

And finally, I Slott it up once more with

SILVER SURFER #1

I am going to do this whole series at some point, I can tell, because it is that brilliant. Silver Surfer as the Marvel Universe Doctor Who is such a genius and logical take on the character. And all that Allred art! Hot damn! Loverly loverly stuff. I would marry it but I am taken, alas.

I have enjoyed the Surfer for a long time. This may be the best take on him yet.

Geoffrey vs. Mark Waid's Daredevil #1-36

I have to say, I have always kinda liked Daredevil but had never been able to love him.

I don't really remember my first exposure to Daredevil. It was one of two ways; either the X-Men crossover Inferno or in a large box of vintage back issues that a friend's dad had in the attic. Both were around the same time. I think it was probably Inferno cause those back issues had him in the ol' yellow and black in some issues, and I sort of recall that being after I had already established a knowledge of the character.

"And you're sure this costume looks ok, Foggy?"
Snicker.

The Inferno crossover was pretty good on the Daredevil end. A demon-infested New York City comes alive and tries to eat everyone. Spider-Man also had some good isues during that crossover. In fact, I think the Spidey and DD issues were better than the X-Men ones. NEITHER HERE NOR THERE!

That is DD versus a vacuum cleaner.
Nope, not kidding.

Those issues, by Ann Nocenti with art by John Romita Jr kind of coloured how I felt about the guy. A bit down on his luck and definitely involved in the world of the supernatural and superhuman. So I was kind of disappointed when, aside from those issues, it seemed like Daredevil mostly fought gangsters and ninjas on a wash rinse repeat cycle right through the Ought Zeroes and into the Tens. I hear Frank Miller's run was seminal. Maybes I will read it someday. I am sure it's worth reading. At the time I just liked my superheroes a bit more super. I still do.

Enter Mark Waid's Daredevil. After years of what I perceived as misery-porn, Daredevil decides to love life and his comic is one of pure joy married with intense, high end, superhero action. Gone are the Hand and the Kingpin's goons. Instead we have Mole Man, the Spot, Klaw, Dr. freakin' Doom, Silver Surfer:

The over-arching plot of the first 2/3 of the series was Daredevil trying to figure out who was messing with his business. Waid really stacked the deck story-wise, leading to a cool revelation that I will not spoil because of reasons. The last 3rd was DD vs. The Sons of the Serpent, a vaguely occult white power group that had infiltrated the entire legal system of New York. This story saw the end of the Daredevil/Matt Murdoch dichotomy, with the final public revelation that Murdoch was indeed Daredevil. This set of stories saw Daredevil fighting the Jester, stealing the Darkhold from Satana and other such crazy hijinx. Wonderful stuff

I'd heard about that ending and was kinda meh over the idea of it, as I liked the sort of "is-he ain't-he" set up he had in-universe, but Waid sold it so hard I bought the extended warranty and the rust-proofing. I loved how the run wrapped up and I more loved how it is going to lead into the next phase of Daredevil's adventures as he moves to San Francisco.

In the Marvel universe, San Fran is home to Utopia, the recent mutant island home of the X-Men. There's also part of the city that was turned Victorian by Mr. Sinister and last I recall there is also a Celestial standing in a park. Waid is up on his continuity and comic history so I am sure those and other elements may come into play and I hope the next 36 issues are as absolutely fun as the ones I just finished reading.

The art throughout the series has been really great. It's mostly been by Chris Samnee with some heavy lifting by Paolo Rivera and others. The covers are usually to die for. My favourite is probably issue 7:

 This cover sums up the whole series. I loved it. It was awesome. You should read it.

Geoffrey vs. The Infinity Gauntlet

The Infinity Gauntlet was a 1991 Marvel crossover event series that ran for 6 issues. It detailed pretty much one fight by Marvel's top heroes against Thanos, the Mad Titan and cosmic villain who made his big screen debut in the credits of the Avengers motion picture. I forget why I felt like revisiting the series, but I am glad I did cause it is kinda awesome.

It's an important series. While it was not Marvel's first crossover (that would be Secret Wars), it sort of became the model for the "Summer Event Crossover". The big series that once a year every comic touches on in some way. Some of these crossovers have been awesome, some less so, but they sell books so they have continued unabated for decades.

It's also a relevant series because somewhere in the series are the bones of what is likely the plot for Avengers 3. At least that is what is expected by comic fans. If they do go that route (and I am one of those fans that thinks they will) it will be but a very loose adaptation. Infinity Gauntlet's main protagonists are Adam Warlock, as yet un-introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Silver Surfer, rights for film use held by Fox Studios. The story also comes from an era when Iron Man was B-list at best and I can't really imagine a scene in Avengers 3 involving Robert Downy Jr. getting his head ripped off by a female Thanos Real Doll.

Note the blood! Stark's head is totes in the can!

Infinity Gauntlet was written by Jim Starlin, the go to writer for cosmic action in the Mighty Marvel Manner. His affinity for these cosmic level characters shows and the work is a joy to read. A lot of these older comics, while still being very enjoyable, exhibit stark differences in tone and style when compared to modern comics. Infinity Gauntlet holds its own and even feels kind of ahead of its time, with a very decompressed tale told with lots of wide screen action.

This series is really just, as mentioned, ONE FIGHT. It is less than 24 hours of time. Thanos kills half the universe, everybody shows up and eventually curb stomps him (spoiler alert). That's it. But it is 6 issues, 42 pages apiece. That is a lot of story for one fight. It reads really well though. Some of the characterizations are a bit off for the era (Hulk, I am looking at you) and some characters (Gamora, Pip the Troll) seem to only be there to continue Starlin's very long form Cosmic tale of Adam Warlock and Thanos that started long before this series and continues TO THIS DAY.

The art in this series is delicious. The first three issues are by master artist George Perez. Issue 4 is by Perez and Ron Lim. 5 and 6 are just Lim. Inks on the whole series were done by Joe Rubenstein. Perez deserves every accolade he gets. He really knocks it out of the park and I don't really think anyone holds a candle to him when it comes to illustrating group fight scenes. I have to say as well that Ron Lim is maybe a bit of an underrated master himself. I've always liked him and seeing his work here with the hindsight of 23 years, side by side with Perez, it really holds its own. To me, Lim's depiction of Thanos is archetypal, based on this work and on his work in the Silver Surfer series from the same time period.

Man, I wish Marvel could do a Silver Surfer movie based on some of that stuff. It was AWESOME.

Can I talk about colouring for a second?

I was reading the first 12 issues of X-Force some time ago (note how commentary on that didn't end up here!) and had this thought. Lots of people complain about Rob Liefeld's art. I grant you, it is stylized and not to everyone's taste (personally, as I get older, I kinda enjoy it more). I reallllllly don't think the penciling was ever the biggest problem with that art. I think it was the colouring.

So much detail was lost due to the limitations of the colouring process of the era. Colours were just splatted on willy nilly. It was ugly! You can't even really wade through it to enjoy or appreciate some of the art due to the colouring. This is not a condemnation of the colourists of the time. I know there were limitations due to the process.

I'd show some examples but I do not want to get too negative or critical. Instead I will go back to Infinity Gauntlet. While it does not suffer as much from the colouring issues as X-Force seemed to, there are lots of points in the series where, compared to colouring today, it really is just basic and boring. The pencils are under-served. Lim and Perez's art deserves better. I don't know if it is possible but I would LOVE to see this series recoloured using modern techniques. Do it as a nice hardcover and put it out during the release of Avengers 3. Marvel, you know it should happen.

Anyway: here's a fun scene from issue 4 which serves as a nice contrast to modern comics where Captain America and Cyclops are not as friendly.

Get 'im, Cloak!

Spoiler alert: Cloak did not get 'im.

Also: Cyclops' X-Factor era costume was pretty nice.

Other awesome bits from the series: Dr. Doom's duplicity (shame he can't be in the film, but I bet his role could be filled by Tom Hiddleston's Loki!) Mephisto's secret attempts to undermine Thanos (Hiddleston in this role for the film too), the end with Thanos becoming a farmer (cooler than it sounds, yo), heroes like Cloak working with the big guns, Dr. Strange hanging with the Cosmic crowd, Celestials using planets as weapons, Drax the Destroyer in his purple cape (I do hope there is some kind of nod to this in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie...), Black Widow saving a baby from a fire, Eric Masterson's mullet....and so much more.

This was a really fun series. I really enjoyed re-reading it and seriously, if Marvel releases a recoloured version I will buy this sucker again.

I am going to reread Infinity War and Infinity Crusade. I don't recall those being quite as awesome as this one soooooo maybe you won't see them here. But maybe you will!