Category: Marvel Comics

Written by Brian Michael Bendis.

Art by David Marquez; Stuart Immonen; Wade Von Grawbadger; Marie Gracia; Rain Beredo; & VC’s Cory Petit.

Cover Art by Stuart Immonen; Wade Von Grawbadger; & Marte Gracia.

SUMMARY:

Released by Marvel Comics in 2013, this 136-page hardcover compiles All-New X-Men # 6-10 from that same year. 

The Beast’s deliberate time-traveling journey into the past has displaced teenage X-Men rookies Scott “Cyclops” Summers; Jean “Marvel Girl” Grey; Bobby “Iceman” Drake; Henry “Beast” McCoy; and Warren “Angel” Worthington III in the present-day.  It appears that the Beast’s desperate effort to guilt the present-day Cyclops with a wholesome reminder of their shared past as rookie heroes has failed. 

Each of these younger counterparts poignantly struggle acclimating to the vast changes surrounding them on the campus that had once been Charles Xavier’s private domain.  Including revelations of Xavier’s homicide by Cyclops and Jean Grey now tragically deceased, these young X-Men are emotionally reeling.  For instance, intense stress has caused young Jean’s vast telepathic powers to ignite far sooner than they should have. Kitty Pryde and Storm try to mentor her as best as they can. 

Unable to cope with his future self’s ruthless actions, a disturbed Scott violently resists Wolverine’s help. He is also approached by Mystique for an unexpected pep talk, as this Scott has no idea of her nefarious ulterior motive. Later, Scott shares his unexpected discovery of an archived wedding invitation with his future wife, Jean.

Joining his own future self in defending Avengers Tower from a HYDRA strike, a bewildered Warren appears closest to crumbling under pressure. Only the young Bobby seems unaffected, as he is still essentially a child.  It’s up to Kitty Pryde to refocus this rattled quintet from their emotional turmoil and focus on continuing their X-Men training.

In addition to the Avengers’ skepticism, the X-Men’s senior staff finds out that Mystique and Sabretooth have unleashed a lethal scheme to free Mastermind’s illusion-casting daughter from a SHIELD-guarded prison.  The three mutant terrorists then embark on a murderous, cross-country bank-robbing spree.

Having been impersonated herself, SHIELD’s Maria Hill realizes that Mystique is this trio’s ringleader. More so, Hill sees through the shape-shifting terrorist’s efforts to frame the five teenage X-Men as the horrific culprits. With the Avengers presently unavailable, Hill is compelled to approach the X-Men for emergency assistance.

Meanwhile, the rival faction that Magneto, Emma Frost, and the present-day Cyclops have established seeks to pilfer the X-Men’s army of impressionable recruits.  Among may well be one of the five lost teenagers, as they have opted not to return to their time period for now.    

Guest stars include the Avengers’ Captain America and Thor. Their fellow Avengers, Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman, Black Widow, Hawkeye, & the Hulk, appear in non-speaking cameos.

Note: This title is also available digitally and as a trade paperback.

REVIEW:

Volume 2: Here To Stay is often a pretty good read, in spite of Brian Michael Bendis’ flawed premise.  Specifically, insightful readers will surmise that virtually nothing transpiring in this ongoing series impacts Marvel’s dense continuity.  This extended time-traveling arc, in that sense, mimics 1998’s Green Lantern: Emerald Knights storyline where Kyle Rayner and a young Hal Jordan join forces.

Without overstaying its welcome, DC’s idea has a rookie Hal Jordan briefly time-displaced from the past into his successor Kyle Rayner’s present-day adventures.  The similarities between a younger Hal vowing never to become Parallax and the predicament of these young X-Men (especially Cyclops) are readily apparent. 

Despite a fun time-traveling concept, Emerald Knights‘ end is still a foregone conclusion.  To a far greater degree, that same principle applies to the original X-Men in Volume 2: Here To Stay.  Telepathic memory suppression already seems like a convenient out, no matter how far down this creative road Bendis goes.

Bolstered by the art team’s high-caliber visuals, Bendis’ plotting mostly works well.  In certain scenes, one should suspect that these five young X-Men are possibly from one of Marvel’s endless alternate Earths.  Case in point: Cyclops’ bewilderment inside a convenience store (i.e. bottled water in coolers, overpriced magazines, and no awareness of what GPS is) imply the quintet may well be from the mid-1960’s vs. merely a time approximately fifteen years before their present-day selves. 

Another glaring oddity, for instance, would be the flip-style hairdo Jean has in one scene – which is inconsistent with her otherwise contemporary hairstyle.  Jean also curiously matures over a few pages, as she appears about 13-14 years old in her first scene with Kitty. A few pages later, she appears closer to 16-17 years old in the Danger Room sequence, which again doesn’t make sense.

Such subtle homages don’t necessarily foreshadow Bendis’ upcoming storyline twists for these five X-Men.  Yet, if Bendis has dropped these mid-1960’s anachronisms as meaningless red herrings (pardon the expression – given Jean’s trademark hair color), then cause for confusion among some readers is understandable.

Longtime X-fans, overall, should find All-New X-Men, Volume 2: Here To Stay an intriguing notion to explore.  As far as being a must-have, one’s appreciation of the appealing artwork may best determine between purchase and a welcome library find.         

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

Each full-page cover image precedes its story.  A full-page 50^th Anniversary variant cover gallery consists of: Issue # 6 (artists Chris Bachalo & Tim Townsend); Issue # 7 (artists Nick Bradshaw & Jason Keith); and Issue # 8 (artists Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, & Marte Gracia).  Last in the gallery is artist Greg Horn’s full-page Issue # 10 variant, which depicts Iron Man vs. the Phoenix Force. 

Artist David Marquez explains samples of his sketching process from the conceptual start to finished inks.  The samples are from:

• Issue # 6’s Page 5, Panel 1;
• Issue # 6: two versions of Page 3 and then its finalized look;
• Issue # 8’s Page 4;
• Issue # 8’s Page 16; and
• Issue # 8’s page 20.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                    7 Stars

Amazing Spider-Man # 692-694 Written by Dan Slott.  

Amazing Spider-Man # 692-694 Art by Humberto Ramos; Victor Olazaba; Edgar Delgado; & VC’s Chris Eliopoulos.

1^st Page Artwork by ‘Van Lente;’ John Romita Jr.; ‘Janson;’ & ‘White.’

Avenging Spider-Man # 11 Written by Zeb Wells.

Avenging Spider-Man # 11 Art by Steve Dillon; Frank Martin Jr.; & VC’s Chris Eliopoulos.

1^st Page Reprinted Panels Written by Stan Lee, with Artwork by Steve Ditko.

Amazing Spider-Man # 695-697 Written by Dan Slott & Christos Gage.

Amazing Spider-Man # 695-697 Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli; Dan Green; Antonio Fabela; & VC’s Chris Eliopoulos.

Collection Cover Art by Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado.

SUMMARY:

Released by Marvel Comics in 2013, this 156-page trade paperback compiles The Amazing Spider-Man # 692-694, an interlude with The Avenging Spider-Man # 11 (which occurs offscreen during the “Alpha” arc), and then The Amazing Spider-Man # 695-697 – all from the previous year.

Issues # 692-694 depicts the three-issue arc: “Alpha.”  Tiberius Stone’s resentful sabotage of colleague Peter Parker’s Horizon Labs scientific demonstration for Midtown High School students has a stunning repercussion.  In a mishap mirroring his own fateful teenage accident, Peter witnesses young Andy Maguire being struck by a reactor’s blast of alpha energies. 

Hence, teenage slacker Andy escapes his average life (including neglectful parents) by becoming an instant superhuman. Andy is mostly oblivious to how much of a potential threat he is, as Andy’s cosmic power levels are growing exponentially.  A guilt-ridden Spider-Man subsequently steps up as his mentor.  Yet, Andy’s immaturity to grasp his newfound powers and self-absorbed celebrity status as a super-hero build towards a recipe for mass disaster. 

The scheming Jackal, along with his female spider-ninja entourage, intends to make Andy his next cloning subject.  Meanwhile, Andy’s ignorant attitude as ‘Alpha’ towards battling massive foes like Giganto and Terminus endangers civilian lives – including Peter’s Aunt May and her husband, Jay Jameson. 

Guest stars include the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and the X-Men’s Beast, as all (especially Spider-Man) recognize the threat an inexperienced Andy is.  Meanwhile, Peter seeks Mary Jane’s insightful advice at her nightclub over the Alpha crisis, along with his recent work-related neglect of Aunt May and Jay Jameson.

Avenging Spider-Man # 11’s untitled story depicts Peter and Aunt May visiting Uncle Ben’s gravesite.  Once more, Peter tries to confess his guilt-ridden role in Ben’s tragic death. 

A ‘War of Goblins’ begins in Issues # 695-697 (the three-part “Danger Zone”).  With Norman Osborn comatose, Wilson “The Kingpin” Fisk seizes a chance to steal Osborn’s hidden cache of Green Goblin weaponry and top-level intelligence secrets.  Aided by Phil Urich’s new Hobgoblin and a corrupt Tiberius Stone, Fisk deploys an experimental spider-sense jammer that leaves Peter reeling with the pulsating equivalent of an intense, never-ending migraine. 

With Peter held captive, his Horizon Labs employer, Max Modell, risks his life exchanging Osborn’s mysterious briefcase to save his protégé.  Meanwhile, a desperate Julia “Madame Web” Carpenter sends out a psychic warning to Peter before collapsing into a deep coma.   

The original Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley, resurfaces to unleash his own sinister vengeance.  Mentally drained, Peter realizes the likelihood of his secret identity being exposed again is at a crescendo.  Caught between two feuding Hobgoblins, Peter must protect Max and Urich’s unsuspecting Daily Bugle rival from these homicidal, self-involved hooligans.  Kingsley’s surprising next move is revealed.

Note: This title is also available digitally and in hardcover.

REVIEW:

Unsurprisingly, The Amazing Spider-Man: Danger Zone comes off as a reshuffled deck of familiar Spider-capers.  Hence, the Jackal, multiple Hobgoblins, and Norman Osborn’s ominous shadow all play updated roles in Dan Slott’s stylish rehashing. Longtime Spider-fans will likely deduce most of Slott’s slick plot twists ahead of time.  

Case in point: Slott’s contrived Alpha character is likely to go one of two directions.  Either A. ‘Alpha’ quietly goes to Marvel’s dustbin, or B. The set-up for a resentful, Shaggy Rogers-like Andy becoming a future Spider-villain is now in place.  This “Alpha” arc is by no means a must-have; an asset, however, is the art team’s consistently solid visuals.    

In terms of déjà vu, look no further than the reprint of Avenging Spider-Man # 11.  Apart from the very rudimentary artwork, Marvel Comics resorts to this very sentimental Peter-and-Aunt May sub-plot for the umpteenth time.  Mining Peter’s guilt and May consoling him (presumably, to homage Spider-Man’s iconic 50^th Anniversary) isn’t so much the issue.  It’s more that writer Zeb Wells is shamelessly rehashing the poignancy of May and Peter’s grief, as it were a classic TV rerun, and ensuring the status quo doesn’t actually progress.     

As for the three-part “War of The Goblins,” Slott’s plotting is chaotically entertaining, though it is hardly memorable.  This assessment applies equally to the mostly unremarkable artwork.  With its worthwhile page count, the business-as-usual Amazing Spider-Man: Danger Zone, overall, makes for a decent library read. 

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

Each issue’s full-page cover precedes its story.  The cover artists are: Issues # 692-694 (Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado);  The Avenging Spider-Man # 11 (Chris Samnee & Javier Rodriguez); Issue # 695 (Steve McNiven); and Issues # 696-697 (McNiven & Simon West). 

Also included are artist Marcos Martin’s five 50^th Anniversary variant covers (two per page) for Issue # 692.  That same issue’s Fan Expo variant by artists J. Scott Campbell & Edgar Delgado completes the mini-variant gallery.  The last page is Issue # 692’s letters-and-answers column, including a lengthy letter to fans from Dan Slott.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                   5 Stars

Written by Ed Brubaker.

Art by Steve Epting; Dave Stewart; & VC’s Eliopoulos.

Cover Artists: Steve Epting; Gerald Parel; Steven McNiven & Dexter Vines; Dean White & Justin Ponsor; Phil Jimenez & Morry Hollowell; & Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, & Javier Rodriguez.

1939 Daily Bugle Written by John Rhett Thomas; Jess Harrold; Sheila Johnson; Dugan Trodgglen; & Jeph York.

1939 Daily Bugle Art by Chance Fivesh, with layout by Brian O’Dell.

1939 Daily Bugle Cover Artist: Mike Mayhew.

Collection Cover Art by Steve McNiven.

SUMMARY:

Released in 2021 by Marvel Comics, this 219-page paperback compiles 2009-2010’s The Marvels Project # 1-8 limited series. 

Narrated by Dr. Thomas Halloway, the prologue is set in 1939 New York City.  Halloway is a hospital’s attending physician for a dying Matt “Two-Gun Kid” Hawk.  Fascinated by Hawk’s imaginative claims of time-traveling and future 20^th Century adventurers he dubs ‘super-heroes,’ Halloway subsequently receives an unexpected treasure upon Hawk’s passing.  Did the former Old West gunslinger already know of Halloway’s own destiny in launching a fateful new generation of heroes? 

In the coming weeks, Halloway becomes the nocturnal vigilante dubbed ‘The Angel,’ as street crime has grown rampant.  Elsewhere, Dr. Phineas Horton’s creation, the Human Torch, initially terrifies the world.  Struggling to control its powers along with an instinct to feel human, Horton’s benevolent android goes into hiding. A chance encounter with mobsters convinces the android the only way to experience humanity is to become one of them by quietly posing as policeman Jim Hammond.  

When the renegade Namor the Sub-Mariner’s vengeful at-sea assaults against humanity reach Coney Island, the Torch has no choice but to publicly confront him. Their spectacular battle leaves Namor with an intense desire to destroy the Torch in a rematch.  

Recruited by U.S. Intelligence, Nick Fury and his friend, Red Hargrove, successfully complete a daring two-man commando mission inside Germany to retrieve German scientist Dr. Abraham Erskine.  They briefly encounter the mysterious super-soldier, John Steele, who had been held captive in suspended animation by German scientists since World War I.  Upon his escape, Steele fights the Nazis in guerilla warfare on their own home turf.  As it’s revealed, a repentant Erskine’s genetic experiments will ultimately change the course of the war. 

Meanwhile, two brutal homicides of the Angel’s allies motivates him to intercept a Nazi cell within New York City.  That same enemy spy ring intends to disrupt Erskine’s experimental procedure on a young test subject, Steve Rogers.  Partially duplicating Erksine’s lost Super Soldier Serum, the Nazis unleash its own weapon: the monstrous Red Skull.  The Nazis gain another weapon in the Atlantean powerhouse: Merrano the U-Man and his loyal army of malcontents. 

A rookie Captain America first meets the Angel, as they converge on New York’s murderous Nazi spy cell.  Along with Bucky, the two heroes reunite in a nocturnal showdown against U-Man’s renegades.  An embittered Namor ambushes the Torch, not realizing that Captain America is also present.  Once he discovers Merrano’s traitorous actions, a humbled Sub-Mariner is persuaded by Captain America and the Human Torch to join their Invaders strike team. 

As the war rages on, Captain America and the Torch both recruit their teenage sidekicks: Bucky and Toro.  Briefly seen are obscure Timely Comics heroes: i.e. Jeffrey Mace’s Patriot; Mr. E.; the Thin Man; the Phantom Bullet; the Ferret; Monako the Magician, among others.  As the original Union Jack’s son, Brian Falsworth’s journey into becoming the Destroyer is also depicted.  Through Nick Fury’s help, John Steele forwards a desperate warning of a catastrophic Nazi dual scheme to attack American soil.   

Ultimately, the Invaders must divide its forces to thwart a simultaneous attack against Washington, D.C. and Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor.  High above Pearl Harbor, the Human Torch and Toro defend Hawaii from a Japanese aerial assault.  Protecting the British Prime Minister, Captain America, Bucky, and Namor are targeted at sea by U-Man’s Nazi-sponsored Atlantean commandos.  The heroes are well aware that surviving this battle is only one of many still to come, if the Allies are to eventually prevail. 

The epilogue briefly refences the impact the combined Marvels’ impact on the war. In the present-day, the saga’s legacy comes full circle.  Specifically, a package is personally delivered to the late Dr. Halloway’s grandson. 

Note: This title is also available digitally and as a hardcover.

REVIEW:

Reminiscent of how DC Comics effectively mines its iconic Golden Age, the same absolutely applies in Marvel’s stunning homage to its predecessor: Timely Comics.  Revisiting and, to a degree, re-imagining the origins of the company’s original Big Three, The Marvels Projects is a first-class retrospective in every aspect. 

With writer Ed Brubaker at the top of his game, the saga’s plotting (along with virtually every detail) is patiently executed.  For instance, Brubaker faithfully introduces the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and, finally, Captain America one by one without rushing headfirst into a historic first team-up.  His efforts are reminiscent of the reliable Roy Thomas playbook (i.e., Marvel’s The Invaders and later DC’s All-Star Squadron) by using obscure Timely heroes for some pivotal supporting roles and/or cameos.  Brubaker, suffice to say, should proudly place The Marvels Project high up on his resumé. 

Equaling Brubaker is the art team’s consistently high-caliber visuals, as they effectively update Timely’s pulpy Golden Age style.   If anything, The Marvels Project is a welcome tribute to Marvel’s first creative talents.  Given its subject matter (and occasionally grisly inferences), this book is appropriate for teens and up.   

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

In a full-page format, each Steve Epting cover precedes its story.  The extras gallery starts with a two-page, unused concept of the back cover design.  The full-page variant covers consist of: Issue # 1 (artists: 1. Gerald Parel; 2. Steve McNiven – both color and black-and-white sketch); and 3. Phil Jimenez); Issue # 2 (artists: 1.McNiven; 2. Parel; and 3. McNiven); Issue # 3 (1. McNiven; and 2. Parel); Issue # 4 (Parel); Issue # 5 (1. McNiven and 2. Parel); Issue # 6 (Parel); Issue # 7 (1. McNiven – this title’s cover image and 2. Parel); and Issue # 8 (1. McNiven; 2. Alan Davis – two-page spread; and 3. Parel).

Artist Mike Mayhew’s 1939 Daily Bugle cover appears in a full-page format.  Meant, to a degree, as an in-joke, the 1939 Daily Bugle one-shot features articles on: Namor; the Human Torch; Halloway’s Angel; Betty Dean; Wolverine; Kang; a young Steve Rogers; Nick Fury; a tease of the Skrulls; the Rawhide Kid; the Wasp’s grandparents; the future Hellcat; and even Models, Inc.  Marvel (being Marvel) specifies titles and volumes where one can continue exploring these storylines.   

Also included is an editorial admonishing the Torch’s late creator, Dr. Phineas Horton, as a modern-day ‘Dr. Frankenstein;’  wink-wink ‘Letters to the Editor;’ and birth announcements of some familiar relatives to Marvel’s future heroes. 

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                       9 Stars

Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates & Yona Harvey.

Art by Butch Guice; Mack Chater; Stephen Thompson; Scott Hanna; Dan Brown; Paul Mounts; & VC’s Joe Sabino.

Cover Artists: John Cassaday & Laura Martin; Dan Brown; & Paul Mounts.

Collection Cover Art by John Cassaday & Laura Martin.

SUMMARY:

Released in 2017 by Marvel Comics, this 136-page paperback compiles the entire six-issue series from that same year.  Not necessarily a spin-off or sequel, The Crew is meant more as a reboot of a short-lived 2003 Marvel series by that same title.

Each issue starts with a flashback to Ezra “The Lynx” Keith in the mid-to-late 1950’s.  As a civil rights reformer, “The Lynx” has assembled a four-member, African American super-team: Brawl, Flare, Gloss, & a sorceress, The Gates.  Seemingly mercenaries for hire, they instead commence a fiery shutdown of a Bronx mobster in 1957.  The second issue’s flashback occurs in 1955 at the Asian-African Conference in Indonesia.  Ezra, at the time, first gets the idea of recruiting super-powered vigilantes out of Wakanda.  What he doesn’t realize is that a shadowy terrorist organization will be manipulating his covert agenda.

Per Issue # 3, in 1956 Harlem, Ezra and his associate, Frank, formulate a strategy to recruit their Wakandan super-team.  Issue # 4 explains how the grisly homicides of three civil rights movement workers in 1964 Mississippi disillusions Ezra.  Still, his squad delivers some justice without lethal retribution. 

By 1969, per Issue # 5, Ezra loses command of his ‘Crew,’ as they opt for a slick Frank’s end-justifies-the-means opportunism over Ezra’s conscientious brand of freedom fighting in Harlem.  It later comes down to Issue # 6, as fate intervenes during a 1972 confrontation between an estranged Ezra and Frank.  More so, Ezra realizes that Frank’s ongoing criminal activities are in league with HYDRA.  

Now-elderly protester Ezra Keith, over the years, has since become a mentor and inspiration to four heroes with links to Harlem: Ororo “Storm” Munroe; her ex-husband, T’Challa/Black Panther; hero-for-hire Luke Cage; mutant Eden “Manifold” Fesi; and NYPD detective Misty Knight.  Now, in the present day, Ezra’s suspicious overnight death in police custody has Harlem’s unrest sparking towards an ugly inferno of rioting in the name of social justice. 

Misty reluctantly joins Storm, along with Ezra’s adult niece and nephew, to unravel the shady circumstances of the civil rights icon’s death inside a jail cell. With multiple attempts made on their lives, Misty and Storm’s probe gradually recruits Black Panther (in his low-key undercover identity of Luke Charles), Luke Cage, and the now-fugitive Manifold.

Storm & Black Panther’s undercover investigation into an upscale luxury condominium called The Renaissance confirms Ezra’s suspicions.  In a subtle infiltration scheme dating back decades, HYDRA has not only slithered inside Harlem, but it has corrupted influential local players.  More so, Paragon Industries’ shoot-first Americop robots provide another layer of stealthy insulation.  Amidst a mass riot, it’s up to Storm, Black Panther, Luke Cage, and Manifold to finally strike back.  They’re soon stunned by the identity of one of this plot’s masterminds.       

Each issue is narrated by a character: Issue # 1 (Misty Knight); Issue # 2 (Ororo “Storm” Munroe); Issue # 3 (T’Challa/Black Panther; Issue # 4 (Luke Cage); Issue # 5 (Eden “Manifold” Fesi); and Issue # 6 (Ezra Keith).

Note: This title is also available digitally.  Though the story arc implies a mini-series, apparently Black Panther & The Crew was initially an ongoing monthly.  However, disappointing sales ended the series with Issue # 6.

REVIEW:

Premise-wise, co-writers Ta-Nehisi Coates and Yona Harvey have devised an ingenious set-up for a socially conscious and news headline-topical adventure-drama.  Intermingled with actual history, the Ezra Keith flashbacks supply a vital insight into its present-day storytelling.  As good as the primary arc’s twists mostly are, the plotting comes off as somewhat muddled. 

Some anachronisms curiously imply that the entire storyline occurs sometime in the past, i.e. Misty’s encounter with first-generation Americops, though she then remarks that Sam Wilson would later face a more advanced version; Storm’s stylish, mid-80’s Mohawk hairstyle; and, not to mention, T’Challa’s Luke Charles cover identity from the early 1970’s.  Yet, most other plot references, i.e. Ororo & T’Challa’s failed marriage; Luke Cage’s oddly unseen wife (Jessica Jones) and their young daughter; Misty’s then-romance with Sam “Captain America” Wilson, etc., clearly spell out that this arc is indeed in the present-tense 2017.  Despite such inconsistencies, Coates and Harvey’s co-plotting still makes for a good read.     

The artwork, like the scripting, tends to be inconsistent.  Some panels (i.e. Storm’s facial close-ups) are excellent, but much of the remaining material merely hovers in varying degrees of ‘average.’  Curiously, in the last three pages, the artists depict Luke Cage as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (minus the tattoos) – though it’s some logical casting, this wink-wink homage doesn’t improve the end result.  Suffice to say, this book’s visuals are generally solid, but they’re not a must-see asset. 

Black Panther & The Crew, overall, is worth the plunge.  It just may be more practical as a library option.  

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

The variant cover gallery (two per page) consists of:  Issue # 1 (1. Artists Rich Buckler, Tom Palmer, & Rachelle Rosenberg; and 2. artists Damion Scott & John Rauch; 3. artist John Tyler Christopher; and 4. artists Jim Cheung & Jason Keith); and then Issue # 2 (1. Artist Mike Del Mundo and 2. Sanford Greene).  Butch Guice contributes two pages of black-and-white character sketches, though Ezra Keith’s four-member crew is also inked.    

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                      6 Stars

Written by Chelsea Cain.

Issues # 1-5 Art by Kate Niemczyk (Issues # 1-4); Ibraham Moustafa (Issue # 5 only); Sean Parsons; Rachelle Rosenberg; Joe Caramagna; & cover artist Joëlle Jones (with Rosenberg).

S.H.I.E.L.D. 50^th Anniversary # 1 Art by Joëlle Jones; Sean Parsons, Rachelle Rosenberg; Sean Parsons; Joe Caramagna; & cover artist Paul Renaud.

Collection Cover Art by Joëlle Jones & Rachelle Rosenberg.

SUMMARY:

Released by Marvel Comics in 2016, this episodic 136-page trade paperback collects that same year’s Mockingbird # 1-5 and the one-shot Mockingbird: S.H.I.E.L.D. 50^th Anniversary # 1. 

Recently resurrected via an experimental combination of the Super Soldier serum and the Infinity immortality formula, Dr. Barbara “Bobbi” Morse, aka Mockingbird, is now required to attend weekly check-ups and on-demand appointments by the S.H.I.E.L.D. Medical Clinic.  Hidden a full ten stories beneath New York City’s Chelsea Market, Bobbi is less-than-thrilled with this mandated healthcare plan. 

Issue # 1 reveals that S.H.I.E.L.D. scientific personnel is monitoring Bobbi for potential side effects.  More so, Bobbi realizes that she is experiencing symptoms of a strange virus.  Mockinbird’s ongoing suspicions also expose S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ulterior motive behind why she is now exhibiting psychic powers.  This two-parter is later completed in Issue # 5, as Bobbi is trapped in the medical facility with Miles Morales’ Spider-Man and Howard the Duck.  It’s up to them to retrieve an experimental cure for this virus that has resurrected S.H.I.E.L.D.’s medical cadavers into psychic zombies.

Set a month earlier, Issue # 2 has an undercover Mockingbird in London to rescue her part-time lover, S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Lancelot “Lance” Hunter.  Held captive in an underground S&M faction of the Hellfire Club, Lance is Bobbi’s only potential back-up against the Black Queen’s small army.  Worse yet, the inappropriately-dressed duo must quickly thwart an assassination plot targeting the British monarchy.  Queen Elizabeth makes a brief cameo.

In Issue # 3, in New York City, Mockingbird is reminded of how her incessant childhood desire to be a super-hero was replaced by scientific ambitions.  Her subsequent doctorate in biology (and/or biochemistry) will be necessary to help Bobbi resolve a televised hostage crisis.  Holding four middle school classmates captive inside a force field several stories up, Mockingbird’s adversary is unusual.  Specifically, Rachel is a bewildered and lonely 12-year-old girl, who just discovered she has super-powers.  Worse yet, Rachel doesn’t understand how her light-based powers work or their limitations.  It’s up to Bobbi to improvise an intervention as both a hostage negotiator and single-woman SWAT team.

Set a week before Issue # 1, Bobbi is in the Middle East investigating a mass die-off of Saiga antelopes infected with the same bacterial infection she has.  Then, the day before Issue # 1, Bobbi infiltrates an underwater T.I.M. (Total Idea Mechanics) lab to rescue her captive ex-husband, Clint “Hawkeye” Barton.  A vial he has stolen from this terrorist group may help Bobbi thwart her mutating virus.  To Clint’s horror, Bobbi risks drowning herself to test to what degree the virus is mind-altering her judgment.  Issue # 5 completes Bobbi’s virus storyline, as she battles with Miles Morales against S.H.I.E.L.D.’s horde of medical facility zombies.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. 50^th Anniversary one-shot revisits Bobbi’s initial first appearance dating back to 1971’s Astonishing Tales # 6.  Bobbi leaves Lance Hunter at home to probe the home invasion murder of her former mentor, S.H.I.E.L.D. biochemist Dr. Wilma Calvin.  In a high-tech Georgia morgue, Bobbi and Wilma’s scientist son, Percy, conduct an unauthorized second autopsy on his mother’s corpse.  Bobbi immediately realizes something isn’t right, but she is willing to risk her life on this instinctive hunch.  Before she can return to Lance, Mockingbird quietly comes to terms with her past life: as a biochemist and what might have been, if not for Wilma Calvin.  

Notes: This title is also available digitally. Issue # 1 gag cameos include: Hercules, Luke Cage & Jessica Jones; Tony Stark; Howard the Duck; & Black Widow.

REVIEW:

As routine or deliberately hodge-podge as Mockingbird, Volume 1: I Can Explain will seem, it’s still a mighty fun read for adults.  With Chelsea Cain’s snarky writing and the art team’s excellent visuals, Mockingbird’s hard-nosed spy adventures deliver solid entertainment.  The occasionally naughty inferences are amusing, as Cain’s playful flippancy hits the right plot twists on cue.  It’s a welcome sign that Mockingbird has evolved past merely playing Marvel’s answer to Black Canary. 

More so, Mockingbird, Volume 1: I Can Explain confirms that Bobbi Morse is a solo Avenger capable of carrying her own title.    

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

Preceding is a full-page portrait of each cover by Joëlle Jones & Rachelle Rosenberg.  Also included is a page featuring two ¼-sizes variants for Issue # 1 (‘Women of Power’ by artist Kirbi Fagan and a kid-friendly Mockingbird by Skottie Young).  After Issue # 4, a single page depicts both artist Jeff Dekal’s ‘hip-hop’ Issue # 1 variant and artist Afu Chan’s variant.

Later, again in ¼-size, there are additional variants.  For Issue # 2, the variant artists are: 1. Nen Chang; 2. Kirbi Fagan; and 3. a Civil War-themed variant by Pasqual Ferry & Frank D’Armata.  For Issue # 3, the variant artist is Elizabeth Torque.

Taken from Mockingbird # 1, there is an insightful, page-length letter to fans from writer Chelsea Cain.  From Issues # 2-5, there are four individual paper doll accessory cut-out pages for some tongue-in-cheek fun-and-games.  

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:               7 Stars

Written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly.

“Captain America and The Winter Soldier Special” Art by Kev Walker; JP Mayer; & KJ Díaz, with cover artists Salvador Larroca & Frank D’Armata.

“Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty” (Issues # 7-11) Art by Carmen Carnero; Nolan Woodard; with cover artists Carmen Carnero & Alejandro Sánchez (Issues # 7-8, & # 10-11); & Carnero and Woodard (Issue # 9).

Collection Cover Art by Carmen Carnero & Alejandro Sánchez.

SUMMARY:

Released by Marvel Comics in 2023, this 144-page paperback compiles Captain America & The Winter Soldier Special followed by Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty Issues # 7-11 – all from 2022.  Notably, this storyline incorporates a retroactive origin for Captain America’s iconic shield, as well as the Captain’s decades-old link to his new enemy.   

A prologue set in desolate, post-World War I Latveria of 1922 has enigmatic Wulf Fortunov recruit four others to comprise ‘The Outer Circle.’  This quintet intends to secretly manipulate the world’s future through power, finance, technology, and art, for ends the group sees fit.  Utilizing subterfuge and violence, its wildcard player (calling himself ‘The Revolution’) relies most upon pawns dubbed the group’s ‘starpoints.’ 

In present-day 2022, having recently assassinated ‘The Revolution,’ Bucky has assumed his predecessor’s place within The Outer Circle.  To circumvent the group’s internal rivalries, Bucky intends to install his own murky game of power-play ethics. Among his first actions is recruiting Peggy Carter as his double-agent to spy upon Steve Rogers – Captain America and, by extension, his current inner circle: Nick Fury; an elderly Roger Aubrey’s Destroyer; the Outer Circle’s rogue pawn, Redacted; and her own niece, Sharon Carter. 

Recuperating from a shoulder wound Bucky caused, Steve commands a team he has loosely assembled as a new makeshift generation of ‘Invaders,’ to face The Outer Circle.  Waking up days later with inexplicable memory loss in a Kansas field, Steve realizes that The Outer Circle can evidently play horrific mind games upon them at will.  Reuniting his team, Captain America leads them in freeing a captive New York City from A.I.M.’s force-field scheme. 

Discovering that a warped M.O.D.O.C. is one of the Outer Circle’s demented ‘starpoints,’ Cap’s team risks suffering a descent into insanity, if not death, defying such relentless mental torture.  With one teammate making a valiant last stand, it’s up to Steve to confront the ruthless Fortunov on the battlefield of New York City.

If anything, victory will draw Cap closer towards a showdown with his treacherous protégé, Bucky Barnes, who has no intention of surrendering his newfound omnipotence.  Making brief appearances are: Namor the Sub-Mariner; Hawkeye; Black Widow; Luke Cage; Lourdes Chantel; and Emma Frost. 

Note: This title is also available digitally.

REVIEW:

Squandering a so-so premise, Captain America – Sentinel of Liberty, Volume 2: The Invader falls regrettably short.  Aside from the Destroyer’s well-played support, the co-writers, Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly, rely far too much upon recycled contrivance rather than exploring fresh material.  With Steve Rogers at odds with a renegade Bucky Barnes yet again, this storyline’s muddled plotting makes Volume 2: The Invader a forgettable read. 

Pitting Captain America vs. the original Bucky (when first repackaged as The Winter Soldier) was an inspired Marvel feud nearly twenty years ago – even if it mirrored DC’s Batman vs. Jason Todd.  In the late 2010’s, writer Ed Brubaker subsequently topped himself with a superb post-Civil War assassination angle where Bucky reluctantly assumes the mantle of Captain America.  The potency of Black Widow, Sharon Carter, and Sam Wilson’s Falcon aiding the new Captain against Red Skull; Dr. Faustus; M.O.D.O.K., etc. added to the franchise’s reinvigoration.  Apart from Steve’s preposterous ‘frozen in time’ resurrection, Brubaker’s creative run was an impressive feat.

Bucky’s New Revolution incarnation (reminiscent of Star Wars’ conflicted Kylo Ren), by comparison, comes off as both unnecessary and disappointingly tiresome. In theory, fans will accept that a secret global conspiracy is practically a given for a multi-issue Captain America adventure. Yet, Lanzing and Kelly fail to add sufficient ingredients to make this clichéd creative pot worth stirring.

Setting up Steve’s imminent betrayal by his closest wartime friends is epitomized by having Steve openly wail multiple times for Bucky to just ‘come home.’  Having Steve emotionally compromised (and blaming himself) makes sense, but the eye-rolling way it’s conveyed in The Invader makes it awfully tempting to switch channels, so to speak. 

Lanzing and Kelly weakly opt to depict Steve near-apologetic for his protégé’s history of misdeeds.  Hence, it becomes too implausible the Star-Spangled Avenger won’t accept that a misguided Bucky now deems his mentor as likely expendable.  Even a last-page twist doesn’t boost hopes that this Outer Circle dreck will be improving anytime soon.     

Visually, this volume’s artwork is consistently solid.  The book’s visuals, however, aren’t nearly remarkable enough to overcome this blah variation of a Captain America conspiracy cliché-fest; let alone justify purchase for the artwork alone.  A reader’s best bet on Volume 2: The Invader is finding it as a library rental, if at all.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

The original covers are included.  Multiple cover variants are presented in either full-page form or in a 1/3 size, with three to a page.  The variant cover artists are the following: Captain America and The Winter Soldier Special (1. Alex Maleev; 2. Carmen Carnero & Alejandro Sánchez); Issue # 7 (1 and 2. J. Scott Campbell & Sabine Rich; & 3. Kevin Wada); Issue # 8 (1. Maleev; & 2. Phil Noto); Issue #9 (1. Ron Lim & Israel Silva; and 2. Jonah Lobe); and Issue # 10 (David Mack).  

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                       4 Stars

Written by Jonathan Hickman.

Art by Dustin Weaver; Mike Deodato; Justin Ponsor; Frank Martin; & VC’s Cory Petit.

Cover Art by Dustin Weaver & Justin Ponsor.

SUMMARY:

Released in 2013 by Marvel Comics, this 161-page hardcover compiles Avengers (2012) # 7-11.  Each issue’s participating Avengers are identified prior to its beginning.  The roster for this five-issue stint includes: Captain America (Steve Rogers); Iron Man (Tony Stark); Thor; Hawkeye; Black Widow; Hulk; Wolverine; Spider-Man; Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers); Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew); Falcon; Shang-Chi; Sunspot; Captain Universe (Tamara Devoux); Cannonball; Manifold Smasher; and Hyperion.

Team (Issues # 7-9): Captain America; Thor, Iron Man; Captain Universe; Hulk; Captain Marvel; Hawkeye; Black Widow; Spider-Man; Shang-Chi; & Hyperion.

The initial three-issue arc consists of: “The Last White Event;” “Starbranded;” and “Starbound.” After a single-page prologue (from the prior issue), events re-imagined from Marvel’s 1986-89 ‘New Universe’ imprint set up the multiverse’s ongoing catastrophic ‘White Event.’  With help from the enigmatic Nightmask, the Avengers must prevent the rapid cosmic destruction of one universe after another from spreading to their Earth.    

A horrific mass tragedy soon puts the team into contact with a bewildered college student, Kevin Conner, who discovers that he has been designated the Marvel Universe’s ‘Starbrand.’  Reluctantly accompanying Nightmask, the new Starbrand helps locate the culprit behind the chaotic transformations now plaguing Earth.  Considering Kevin’s lack of control of his vast firepower (as well as Nightmask’s own capabilities), the Avengers have no choice but try to contain them. 

Team (Issue # 10): Captain America; Wolverine; Hulk; Falcon; & Manifold Smasher.

In fallout from ‘The Last White Event,’ the team is summoned by SHIELD to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.  Entitled “Validator,” Canada’s Department H and SHIELD send in an Avengers strike team to breach an impregnable dome caused by an ominous organic threat infesting the city.  It’s revealed that four Omega Flight super-agents previously deployed to investigate have now been missing for a month. 

Once inside the dome, the team and Department H’s Robert Michaud are overwhelmed by a horrific and mind-bending secret.  Note: The issue’s title refers to the missing Omega Flight member known as ‘Validator,’ who is secretly linked to a member of the rescue party. 

Team (Issue # 11): Black Widow; Spider-Woman; Captain Marvel; Shang-Chi; Cannonball; & Sunspot.

Entitled “Waking the Dragon,” Captain Marvel commands an undercover six-person surveillance operation infiltrating a glamorous Macau casino to thwart A.I.M.’s underworld auction of a devastating new bio-weapon. 

Little, if anything, goes according to their SHIELD-mandated strategy, as Shang-Chi faces a formidable army alone.  Captain Marvel confronts the weapon’s suspected inventor at the gaming tables.  Meanwhile, the team is startled by Black Widow’s cold-blooded attitude towards their adversaries. 

Note: This title is also available as a trade paperback.  It hasn’t been released separately in a digital format (yet). 

REVIEW:

This art squad has definitely brought its A-game, as their visuals are top-caliber.  Unfortunately, the same doesn’t apply to writer Jonathan Hickman’s incomplete plotting, which adds virtually no character depth to the Avengers themselves.  The sole exception is discussing Black Widow’s chilling preference for torture and even homicide to expedite covert interrogations versus bothering with time-consuming spy games in their A.I.M. sting operation. 

Some great concepts are lurking within these pages, but their stories come off as little more than glorified teasers.  For instance, given the supposedly epic magnitude of “The Last White Event” (as it echoes DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths), three issues don’t accomplish much beyond re-establishing Marvel’s ‘Starbrand.’  Still, fans of Marvel’s long-scuttled ‘New Universe’ may be intrigued by how Hickman re-packages concepts from nearly thirty years before.

“Validator” grimly suffers a similar scripting weakness, as Hickman sets up another earthbound cosmic threat that is abandoned at the issue’s end. As for “Waking The Dragon,” this undercover Avengers caper suggests a good read is coming, but readers are left yet again with a ‘stayed tuned’ finish. It’s odd that Marvel doesn’t bother to indicate what issues (or subsequent collections) readers can find follow-ups tothese storylines, assuming there are any. 

Ultimately, The Avengers: The Last White Event delivers a superb visual package.  The glaring disappointment is that Hickman’s storytelling is strictly a half-baked library read. This compilation’s underwhelming page count is the best clue of a letdown for Marvel fans.    

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

The cover gallery presents the five covers in a slick, full-page format.  Their artists are Dustin Weaver and Justin Ponsor.  Immediately following are artist Daniel Acuña’s full-page variants.  For Issue # 9, he presents a Silver Age to the original Avengers.  For Issues # 8 & # 10, it is his Avengers 50^th Anniversary two-page spread.  Concluding the book is a single page of Weaver’s character designs followed by four inked pages of Weaver and inker Jay Leisten’s black-and-white scene layouts.

Though the promotion has long since expired, the book once offered free access to the book’s digital copy.  Additional directions are given on how to access on-line content via the Avengers’ ‘AR Index.’

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                          5½ Stars

Written by Jason Aaron.

Art by Russell Dauterman; Matthew Wilson; Rafa Garres; Frazer Irving; Frank Martin; Valerio Schiti; Mat Lopes; & VC’s Joe Sabino.

Collection Cover Art by Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson.

SUMMARY:

Released by Marvel Comics in 2021, this 448-page paperback compendium collects Mighty Thor # 1-19 (from 2015-2017).  With a disgraced Odinson (the original Thor) presently missing, a terminally ill Jane Foster wields Mjolnir as a masked Goddess of Thunder.  Few are privy to Jane’s guarded dual existence as Thor, even among her fellow Avengers. 

Worse for Jane, she is fully aware that the ancient magic transforming her into Thor subsequently dissipates any progress her chemotherapy has made.  In effect, her heroics as the new Thor is prolonging her cancer death sentence and now killing her a little bit at a time.  Case in point: Jane calmly chooses to leave a chemo session to save a crashing Roxxon satellite plummeting from Earth’s orbit to save innocent lives.  Her fellow Avengers (in a cameo) can only observe her in awe.

Baited by the sight of hundreds of murdered Light Elf corpses falling out of space towards Earth, Jane’s Thor senses the Dark Elf, Malekith, has now started a War of Elves.  With chaos igniting among Asgard’s realms, Malekith’s shadowy alliance (including a link to Earth) intends to install him as the ruler of all Elves, by any unscrupulous means necessary. 

Destroying Jane’s Thor means one less obstacle to his growing reign of terror.  Unable to convince Asgard’s Council to intervene, Jane knows it’s up to Thor and her trusted friends to thwart the War of Elves and free a captive Queen Aelsa as Malekith’s unwilling new bride.     

Having already imprisoned his own wife, Freyja, a mentally imbalanced Odin’s wrath is challenged by opportunistic in-fighting in a fractured Asgard.  Hunted as a fugitive impersonator, Jane’s Thor faces off vs. Loki and even Odin himself to protect Asgard’s downtrodden.  Along with her allies (Sif and The Warriors Three, among them), Jane’s Thor attempts to quell insurrection, though Loki is an unpredictable wildcard.    

Trying to still maintain her mortal existence on Earth, Jane poignantly puts Asgard’s needs before her own.  Not only is a suspicious SHIELD probing Jane’s connection to Thor, but the Shi’ar Empire’s Imperial Guard intends to capture her as a prize amidst Asgardian civil war. 

Again challenged by a skeptical foe, Jane defennds herself against one of the galaxy’s mightiest aliens: the Imperial Guard’s Gladiator.  Yet, even he pales in comparison to the two ethereal Shi’ar adversaries demanding the Goddess of Thunder answer to them. 

Assuming she even survives battling the Shi’ar’s own gods, what still awaits Jane’s Thor and guest star Quentin Quire is a defiant stand against the cosmic firepower of the Phoenix Force.  Jane’s fate may well hinge upon the return of Odinson to Asgard.  Unlike old times, her odds of a climatic rescue have shifted – Jane’s Thor, with her mystical hammer, Mjolnir, refuses to be a damsel-in-distress.            

Note: This title is also available in a digital format.

REVIEW:

Fans of Jane Foster’s Thor ought to find Volume 3 a superb read.  Along with writer Jason Aaron consistently at the top of his creative game, the book’s visuals are mostly high-caliber.  Still, nineteen issues (with virtually zero humor and minimal downtime) is a lot to absorb for anybody. 

Casual readers may find themselves overwhelmed, as Aaron doesn’t simplify his sophisticated plotting for newcomers.  That’s really where this volume’s entertainment value becomes subjective – if one stays patient, Aaron’s epic storytelling gradually becomes immersing.       

Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Volume 3, suffice to say, is for mature fantasy saga buffs, who appreciate a creative long game.         

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:

After each issue, its full-page variant cover(s) follows.  Following the table of contents, the original full-paged cover by artists Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson precedes each story.  The 24-page extras gallery consists of:

• Dauterman’s two-page, black-and-white (inked) spread of Issue # 1’s cover;
• quarter-page cover sketches by Dauterman from Thor # 6-8 and # 10-12;
• in a half-page format, Dauterman’s character designs of Jane Foster, Odinson (Thor), Roz Solomon, Exterminatrix, Ancient Loki, Titania, Bloodroot, Kurse, armored Asgardian warrior, Quentin Quire, Shi’ar Gods, Blue Witches,. Mangog, and characters from the ‘Congress of Worlds;’
• a full-page variant of Mighty Thor # 1 variant of Dauterman’s Jane Foster character design;
• the same for Mighty Thor # 2 features Dauterman’s takes on Odin and Freyja;
• the same for Mighty Thor # 3 featuring Dauterman’s renditions of Hela, Queen of Cinders, & Karnilla;
• the full-page Mighty Thor # 5 cover variant by artist Laura Braga; 
• a full-page Mighty Thor # 6 cover variant by artists Joyce Chin; & Laura Martin; and
• full-page cover variants: Greg Hildebrandt’s Mighty Thor # 8; Natacha Bustos’ Mighty Thor # 10; Pasqual Ferry & Frank D’Armata’s Mighty Thor # 11; Mike Deodato Jr. & Frank Martin’s Mighty Thor # 15; Andrea Sorrentino’s Mighty Thor # 15; Ryan Sook’s Mighty Thor # 15; and Joe Jusko’s Mighty Thor # 16.

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                            8 Stars

Written by Chip Zdarsky.

Art by Marco Checchetto; Rafael De Latorre; Alex Maleev; Paul Azaceta; Phil Noto; Chris Samnee; Klaus Janson; Mike Hawthorne; John Romita Jr.; Scott Hanna; Matthew Wilson; & VC’s Clayton Cowles.

“The Hand” Written by Ann Nocenti, with Art by Chip Zdarsky & VC’s Clayton Cowles.

“Mini-Marvels” Writer/Artist/Letterer: Chris Giarrusso.

Cover Art by Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson.

SUMMARY:

Released by Marvel Comics in early 2023, this 144-page trade paperback reprints 2022’s Daredevil # 1-5.  Previously, the world’s knowledge of now ex-convict Matt Murdock’s secret identity has been magically erased. 

Maintaining her intimate partnership with Matt, Elektra Natchios continues to operate as a masked Daredevil.  After the murder of Matt’s ‘twin brother,’ Mike, and Wilson “Kingpin” Fisk’s murky departure, an undercover Matt and Spider-Man retaliate by leaving Fisk’s latest heir a grim warning to behave himself. 

Before joining Elektra overseas to set up The Fist’s secret base, Matt has an ominous encounter with his former law school classmate and now assistant New York district attorney: Robert “Goldy” Goldman.  Deluding himself as an archangel of God, Goldman demonstrates explosive powers of mass destruction, which he claims has ‘helped’ spurn Matt into becoming the best possible hero for several years now.  Among the possible casualties of Goldman’s latest terrorist act is Matt’s beloved ex-girlfriend, Kirsten McDuffie. 

Matt also discovers that Mayor Luke Cage is considering city business with the nefarious Stromwyn family.  Luke subsequently confirms Matt’s dire warning about the billionaire Stromwyns’ true nature.  Matt himself is ambushed by Aka, most likely The Hand’s deadliest operative.  Collecting his best friend first, Matt abandons his prior life in New York City to commit himself as the co-leader of the underground Fist group.

On a remote island between Russia and Japan, Elektra, Stick, & Matt train their Fist ninja recruits, including Foggy Nelson and NYPD police detective Cole North.  A mutated Dr. Leonard “Doc” Samson, whose nickname is now ‘Doc Sasquatch,’ also accompanies them.  Committed through an ancient ceremony as the Fist’s ‘King’ and ‘Queen,’ Matt & Elektra are married. 

In therapy sessions with “Doc” Samson, a zealot-like Matt increasingly expresses the intent of his Fist to conquer The Hand cult making the world a better place.  Before their group can decisively confront The Hand, Elektra & Matt command a shocking raid on The Myrmidon – a prison for super-villains in an undisclosed ocean.  Its troubleshooter, John Walker’s U.S. Agent, and his armored troops prove no match for an intense Matt.

Reviewing security camera footage, this brazen jailbreak for fifteen notorious super-villains leaves The Avengers no choice. The two fugitive Daredevils are now on the team’s ‘Most Wanted’ list.        

Note: This title is also available digitally.

REVIEW:

Relaunching its Daredevil title yet again, Marvel Comics has opted for a huge tonal shift in Matt Murdock’s long-time wars against criminals like The Kingpin, Bullseye, and others familiar foes he shares with Spider-Man.

Deviating far from Daredevil’s street-level defense of the innocents residing in Hell’s Kitchen, Chip Zdarsky’s “Red Fist” storyline is an acquired taste where one must suspend disbelief at the outset. Envisioning Matt & Elektra’s modern take on an ancient ninja cult challenging its evil counterpart – seemingly with the fate of the world at stake, Zdarsky is taking his time setting up Marvel’s equivalent of Batman’s perennial feud with Ra’s al Ghul’s sinister forces for a new phase.

With some caveats, the result is somehow a relatively good read.  Among this plot’s most implausible elements, the quasi-religious “Goldy” Goldman sequences likely do the most harm to a convoluted storyline.  Since Zdarsky’s scripting already pitches cult leader Matt Murdock/Daredevil out of character as is, adding an enigmatic supernatural adversary indulges the creative envelope too far. 

Even so, the art squad’s terrific visuals are this compilation’s best asset, as far as making Zdarsky’s plot seem more engaging that it really is.  Curiously, Elektra’s eyes are consistently depicted to resemble Matt’s, as if implying that she, too, is now blind (though it is clearly stated that she isn’t).  If anything, perhaps it is a subtle artistic nod by the creative team indicating how devoted Elektra and Matt’s union has become. 

As appealing as the artwork is, “The Red Fist Saga” is likely best perused as a library option first.  This high-concept story arc is not the gritty Daredevil most casual fans would expect, so a ‘test drive’ prior to purchase makes good sense.   

ADDITIONAL CONTENT:

In a full-page format, each Marco Checchetto/Matthew Wilson cover precedes its story.  Entitled “The Hand,” a four-page back-up story depicts Daredevil’s interaction with a young Irish family reluctantly mixed up with Hell’s Kitchen mob.  As fair warning, this tale’s poor taste is peculiar.  Specficially, a gruesome revelation hidden in a cooler prompts an inappropriately lighthearted finish with a smiling Daredevil’s approval. 

A single-page “Mini Marvels” comic strip subsequently parodies the two Daredevils by depicting Bullseye ineptly ‘horning’ in on Daredevil & Elektra’s partnership. As compared to the prior bonus feature, this spoofy “Mini Marvels” is at least mildly amusing.

Consisting of quarter-sized displays and full-page images, a six-page variant cover gallery consists of: Issue # 1 (seven variants alone): 1. (artist: Jorge Fornes – full-page); 2. (artist: Peach Momoko – quarter-sized); 3. (artist: David Nakayama -quarter-sized); 4. (artist: Dan Panosian – quarter-sized); 5. (artists: John Romita Jr., John Romita Sr., & Richard Isanove – quarter-sized); 6. (artists: Ryan Stegman & Marte Gracia – full-page); and 7. (artist Joe Quesada – quarter-sized).  For Issue # 2, there are two quarter-sized entries: one from artists Gary Frank & Brad Anderson, and the other from artist Pete Woods.

For Issue # 3, artists Alev Maleev and Paolo Siqueira & Rachelle Rosenberg each provide quarter-sized variants.  Both Siquiera & Rosenberg and Checchetto & Menyz provide their own quarter-sized variants for Issue # 4.  For Issue # 5, artists Scott Williams & Sebastian Chang provide a quarter-sized variant before Checchetto concludes with a full-page sketch and color design variant.    

BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING:                      6 Stars