Library trades today: Ultimate Spider-Man: Ultimatum and Welcome to Tranquility

The clerk at the library was so awful last weekend. He literally opened up his phone to check the time, as I handed him my books to check out. Where has the courtesy gone?

Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 22: Ultimatum
by Brian Bendis, David LaFuente and Stuart Immonen
collecting Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3 and Ultimate Spider-Man #'s 129-133
(Amazon, out of print)

This paperback contains the final annual and the final issues of Ultimate Spider-Man before any reboot nonsense. There are two stories: in the annual, Mary and Peter's relationship moves forward in that awkward way that teenage relationships do, and a "Mysterio" is hinted at. The payoff for his introduction isn't in this trade, so that hurts the reading experience for this trade.

The second story is the five-part "Ultimatum," as Peter tries to save New York from Magneto's tidal wave, and teams up with the Hulk to save it. Here's a super-sweet spread from Immonen and friends:

Ultimate J. Jonah Jameson realizes that he made a mistake about Spider-Man: as NYC is engulfed in the tsunami, he types one last article, on the goodness of Spider-Man. Immonen and Bendis make a nice send-off for Ultimate Peter, and there's a small interview with Bendis that wraps up his run on Ultimate Spider-Man. Plus, the final page is a thank you page to everyone involved, including you, the reader!

The finality of these sentiments are a little weakened in retrospect, because any well-read Spider-fan knows that there was a whole new volume of Ultimate Peter, from Bendis and LaFuente, before Peter actually died. I'm sure it read pretty dramatic at the time, but to really enjoy this, you're gonna have to wipe your brain of some spider-history, that I don't think is worth doing. This volume is only for completists, or people who don't know better.

Welcome to Tranquility
by Gail Simone and Neil Googe
collecting Wildstorm's Welcome to Tranquility #'s 1-6, plus Worldstorm #1
(Amazon, out of print)

Here's a little gem that you haven't heard of. Simone excels at building the world of Tranquility, a retirement community for silver-age-esque superheroes. The first issue introduces a murder mystery that unravels a lot of problems simmering under the skin of Tranquility, and it results in a clash of generations and of superheroes. Rose-colored flashbacks are told alongside a less optimistic present that challenges a few of the ideas that are embedded in super-comics. If you take the time to learn about Tranquility and its inhabitants, you won't regret it.

Welcome to Tranquility had a sequel! We'll read this next week.

This Wednesday: Secret Avengers, Chew and others.

See you there!

Follow chezkevin on rss | twitter

Cover to Cover: Your face is a cash-grab

FUN FACT TIME!:
Janus was the Roman God of gates, doors, beginnings and endings (from Wikipedia).

The name "janitor" comes from this guy, since janitors take care of the places!

Janus had two faces, so he could literally see behind his head. Useful for teachers!

We won't be dealing with Roman Gods today, but we will be dealing with two faces!

Faces, that is, of eeeeeeevil! Hopefully you've been aware of DC's recent campaign to run "Faces of Evil" issues in several of their titles, and that just happened to intersect with some titles I collect. Here's an example of a F.O.E. issue done well, in which the spotlight is on and the perspective is from the villain, with incredibly smooth writing, but will today's issues fare as well? WILL THEY????

Secret Six #5
(Faces of Evil: Deadshot)
by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

Deadshot is a mercenary who left his family to protect them/get lots of money for himself. He's a jerk, but he's a pretty funny jerk with a mustache and a, well, killer aim.

He's one-sixth of the Secret Six and this issue, supposedly dedicated to him, takes place smack-dab in the middle of Simone's storyarc. Deadshot does some narrating, but then, fellow Secret Six-er Bane, also gets a fairly dramatic portion of the story devoted to him.

As a "F.O.E." issue, this pretty much fails. As a story it fares somewhat similarly.

The problem is that Gail's humor has to get through a very dark story, with plenty of sadness and tragedy, and gore for gore's sake. There were two scenes that had to be shaded in red just to blunt the horror of all these deaths, and this wasn't portrayed humorously at all. Bane getting tortured, for example.

If only Simone could integrate the darkness of these mercenary lives with her genuine humor storytelling more smoothly. (a good dose of black humor would just make my day!) As it stands though, Secret Six is a title that suffers from bipolar tone disorder: is it supposed to be funny, or is it supposed to be dark? This needs to be reconciled!

Green Arrow/Black Canary #16
(Faces of Evil: Merlyn)
by Andrew Kreisberg and Mike Norton

Merlyn is basically Green Arrow's arch-nemesis. Green Arrow has green arrows. Merlyn has black arrows. No, Merlyn has no magic powers like the eponymous Merlyn of Arthurian legend.

This issue is in no way focused on Merlyn, nor is it from his perspective. He plays the typical "bad-guy-who-gets-beat-up-by-the-good-guy" in the issue, so, basically, this fails at being a "F.O.E." issue.

Excepting that fact, though, this issue isn't that bad. It isn't great, sure, but it's enough for me to look forward to next issue. This is Kreisberg's second issue on the series, and it's shaping up pretty well. I feel like he's trying to bring back the Mike Grell era to Green Arrow -- make Green Arrow a city guy, not just a cape-and-tights superhero, but a city superhero who dealt real issues.

He makes friends with a police officer, and he even brings up environmentalism!

There's a follow-up on the previous issue, which makes for a stunning cliffhanger in this issue. It's pretty awesome, but that's as much as I'll tell you!

An unfortunate byproduct of the Mike Grell-ification of the story is that it's focusing on Green Arrow when the title is Green Arrow/Black Canary. I'm betting a lot of people, myself included, would like to see Black Canary get a nice spotlight too.

So, there you have it. Two "F.O.E." issues that weren't really that F.O.E.-y at all. One of them feels bipolar, but the other is constructed better.

That's all I got for today, guys. Do you have anything to add?

Cover to Cover: a little less bark, good chap

I am probably going to get sick from eating this year-old chocolate from last Christmas, so let's get this show on the road before I keel over in a fit of uncontrollable bowel-rage.

Birds of Prey #125
by Tony Bedard and Scott McDaniel

Scott McDaniel, your art is atrocious, and I find it appalling that Green Arrow let you draw it for forty+ issues. Appalled.

That said, this issue of Birds is supposed to be something of an anniversary issue, because it's two more issues to the end, and this is the last issue that ends in "5," and DC finally thought to use a stock cover from Frank freakin' Quitely.

Look at the cover. I'm showing the cover, so I have to show you as little Scott McDaniel art as is necessary. He does not know how to draw a human face. I don't think he understands that the human body has regular, normal proportions. It's sad.

You're tellin' me, Huntress.

I'm also showing you this cover, however, because it makes no sense, and Bedard tries his level best to shoehorn it into the comic. The header says "Black Canary and Oracle do Europe on 10 assassins a day" in insane font. The assassins, yes. Europe, no. They don't do Europe. They go to Las Vegas. They hijack an antique car, to thwart the "Collector," who's obsessed with collecting mint-condition everythings, and then finding like-minded people, and collecting them.

The villain may be the only original thing in this comic. The rest of it is a simple thwarting the villain. That's it. We don't get anything meaningful about the Birds as a team, and maybe one panel about the relationship between Black Canary and Oracle. It's as if the past issues -and past eras of Simone and Dixon- have done nothing to further their reliance on each other. I am severely disappointed in what should have been a good issue.

This was supposed to be more than the Birds stopping a psycho. This was supposed to be more than just two partners saying nothing important. There should've been more. This issue failed in every way. Sigh.

It may be the year-old candy, but your art still sucks, Scott McDaniel.


Secret Six #4
by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

This storyarc is moving really slowly, but I can enjoy the ride, because hey - it's Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. I think I'll stop reading it by singles after this arc, though.

Basically, the beats here are 1) the team of mercenaries start distrusting each other, 2) we see how the main villain is a sociopath (no remorse for others, kills without reason), and then 3) the Six get apprehended. Cue cliffhanger, in which the Six are put in danger, but-not-really-because-we-all-know-that-they're-going-to-live-somehow-after-eating-that-poisoned-food.

It's a pretty standard Gail Simone issue, by which I mean there's some good action, with some gags here and there. The new villain's pretty dark (rips people's heads off), but pretty bland so far. Blander than this year-old candy at least.

I just wish I could get more bang for my buck here. I feel like this is all being written for the trade.

Four whole dollars?!?

Too tired to come up with an intro deal-y.

Ultimatum #1 came out this week. I thumbed through it, and David Finch cannot draw ultimate Spidey. At all. Spidey looks way too old for his age.

For some reason, Marvel also released "X-Men: Pixies and Demons Director's Cut," for four bucks, which is really strange, 'cause that's basically the Free Comic Book Day story with an interview at the end. It's like free, but four dollars more.

The first issue of Sandman: Dream Hunters also came out today, but I didn't have enough money for it.

The next part of "New Krypton" came out as well, an Adventure Comics Special, whatever that is. It only seems like an intro. to the Guardian of Metropolis, and, y'know, nothing at all to do with New Krypton. I think I'm just gonna give up on getting the story in singles and wait for the trade, if it's any good.

I feel swamped now, and tired, so please don't hate me for being short today and image-less. If I feel bad enough, I might call a hiatus, but that's for tomorrow to deal with.

House of Mystery #7
by Matt Sturges and Luca Rossi (back-up by Bill Willingham and David Petersen)

This is part 2 of "Love Stories for Dead People," and it's kinda all over the place. There's no real focus, and I can't exactly grasp the point of the party that the people have at the House, or why Fig and Harry even kiss! It doesn't seem like their attraction was all that strong anyways.

And in the midst of all this, they decide to add more confusion: a little half-ram, half-elk thingy that keeps saying, "Mir. Run. Duh." and it's bleeding!

On the other hand, the back-up story by Willingham is nice, but it just seems so simple: a garden is the warzone between the animals, representing the natural order of things as guided by invisible hand.

I really feel like I should just wait for the trade. There is no focus at all to this issue.

Secret Six #3
by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

We finally learn what the card that the Six is after: it's a Get-out-of-hell-free card forged by Neron, the Devil himself! Isn't that amazing?

The rest of the issue is either flashbacks (to flesh out Catman or the Tarantula) or fighting (for the card). On the whole it's entertaining, but I still feel like I'd be better off waiting for the trade.

Some days, I think I should kick the weekly habit and just read trades. Maybe it's because I feel like crap right now, but this is one of those days.

Serials for 10-09-08: batten your hatches, there's a Gail comin'

Did you know the new issue of Green Arrow/Black Canary came out this week? I kept up with the earlier issues, because I really like Ollie and Dinah's relationship,  but Winick's writing was so hard to swallow that I dropped it around issue 7 or 8.

Well, I guess everything improves over time, or maybe I just missed reading it, because I thumbed through the thirteenth issue this week -- and it wasn't half bad! Mike Norton's art even seems better, and I especially liked Ollie's face when he says,

"I'll kill him!"

in response to Dodger's affections for Mia Dearden. Classic paternal instinct right there, because if you were a father, wouldn't you wanna kill the british thief who's got a crush on your daughter?

Anyways, that's all the preliminary stuff I have for you today. Let's just get to reviewin'

Secret Six #2

by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

This issue wasn't really as full as last issue. There's basically a brawl between Catman and Batman, and the Six break into Alcatraz. That's it.

Batman warns Catman that if they obtain the metal card from the Tarantula in Alcatraz, then every meta in Gotham will hunt them down, and they'll be as good as dead. Catman seems to have a death wish and doesn't really care.

There's a fight at Alcatraz, and then the entity who's after the metal card enlists all these metas to hunt the Six, just as Batman predicted.

Bane gets some interesting characterization, but this issue was much more action-driven than character-driven, so let's tune in for next ish. . .

Wonder Woman #25

by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang

It's another book by Gail! In the same week!

Exactly, Babs!

Here's where the two-issue Hollywood arc ends, and Gail does not disappoint. Wondie engages the Queen of Fables, at which point the Queen sends her to an altered reality. Wondie ultimately defeats the Queen, but not before seeing a glimpse of the movie that the Queen would make:

The smells are everywhere! I love how Gail satirizes the way we as a society can be so ignorant of what feminism means or what an Amazon is.

There's also that girl whom Wondie hugged last ish, and it turns out that Wondie was intuited to her struggle with alcoholism and single-mom-ness. That's an interesting side of Wondie that I wasn't aware of. Should we call it -- (Wonder) women's intuition?

Anyways, I really liked the ending, which was twofold in nature.  

1. Wondie decides that maybe it's better to wait for a great movie than to watch a poor one. That's arguably direct advice to fans waiting on a real Wondie movie, wouldn't you say? 
2. Wondie helps the single mom's children, and gives them bracers, because she's their role model and all (awwww). As she flies away, she ponders on the awesomeness of kids.

See now, there's an interesting aspect of superheroes that we usually don't get to see: their interaction with children. It's good to see Gail touching on this.

I think the solicits said that this special issue (25) would also say something about Wondie's relationship with Steve Trevor, but there wasn't anything in that. At all. Why do you lie to me solicits? WHY?

All in all, a good Wonder Woman read, but a not-so-compelling Secret Six read. I'm sure it'll get great though, because -- it's Gail after all!

Cover to Cover: worms worms worms

I've basically made three posts about last week's comics, and I still haven't gone through them all. Something's wrong here. . .

Wonder Woman #24

by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang

(This is the issue where Wondie checks out film prospects based on her likeness)

I know I kinda earlier complained about Chang's lanky depiction of Wonder Woman, but it's really improved here. She gives off a sense of power now, a sense of regality. Not a sense of "omg I'm so skinny."

The part with Nemesis was OK. I still don't see what Wonder Woman sees in that guy, but I love Gail and I trust Gail, and I know she'll tell a hell of a story out of it.

The part at Hollywood was the real highlight here. It's fun, and Gail nods at how difficult it's been to make a real Wonder Woman movie. It shows that Gail really cares about the character, but she's willing to have a lot of fun with her too. That's the kind of writer you want guys.

Also: Wondie's Gorilla posse RAWKed.

I might be staying on for just the next issue though, because I don't really get Simone's longer arcs.

Uncanny X-Men #502

by Matt Fraction and Greg Land

The title is advertised as having the writing duo of Fraction and Brubaker, but from what I've heard, the two of them are actually alternating arcs, so I'm only putting Fraction's name in the little white-credits-bar-that-I-doubt-anyone-reads.

On to the issue: there is soooooo much BDSM in here, and I'm not sure how appropriate it is for younger readers. This is the flagship x-title isn't it?

Well screw it. Just forget about Uncanny being the flagship okay? The new flagship is now X-Men: Fist Class, because a) the artist doesn't photo-reference/copy porn, and b) most of the antagonists aren't dominatrices.

Yes, there's a "Mistress." She likes to say "worm" a lot.

So am I regretting switching my X-Men: First Class subscription to this title?

. . . Yeah. A little bit.

an inside look at a goony gathering

You know who they are. Goons. Henchmen. Cronies. Lackeys. Minions. Shills. Henchmen. Thugs.

. . . okay, I'll stop now, but you know who they are. No villain is complete without them, but they need to make a living like any other human being.

And they need to form labor unions too! Gail Simone gives us some insight on their meetings:

A productive bunch, aren't they? You can see more for yourself in Birds of Prey #72 or the third volume of Gail's Birds of Prey: "Between Dark and Dawn."

Cover to Cover: "Oh, I fell asleep in the bathroom again."

Today we have two issues (as always). One of them's ending an arc, and the other's beginning a whole new title: House of Mystery #5 and Secret Six #1.

Secret Six #1

by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

If you haven't heard of the two names above this line, then YOU HAVE BEEN LIVING A HALF LIFE SINCE NOW.

I'll give you some time to recover yourself; you may be shell-shocked. Take some deep breathes as you remember your sense of self.

But seriously. Gail has her signature humor and character-writing, and Nicola is the perfect person to bring 'em to life.

And Secret Six #1 is no exception! The team of mercenaries this time has to retrieve a supervillain from Alcatraz, the Tarantula, who stole a very valuable plot device item from their benefactor.

Of course, the Six have their own personal, and hilarious problems. Catman might turn to the side of good, ever since Huntress hit on him, and Scandal has to deal with the death of her lover, the New God Knockout.

(click to enlarge)

This is a #1 that you definitely wanna check out, guys.

House of Mystery #5

By Matt Sturges, Luca Rossi and Sean Murphy

This is the last part of the first arc of House of Mystery, and the conclusion is, well, the House appears to be a metaphor for Fig's inability to get past her own fantasies and face reality. The House was angry at Fig, because when she designed it, it was her dream house, but Fig isn't "that way" anymore. I suppose "that way" means her idealistic former self.

Suffice to say, the conclusion isn't really satisfying, but it's not really the conclusion that makes the story. I guess it's all the little details in between.

The issue begins with a flashback to Fig's childhood: her father was a writer who wrote adventures about her. Fig's Adventure in the Clown Kingdom et cetera. Her parents later divorced, and her father moved to Texas. Maybe by designing the House, Fig was trying to reconnect to the father she knew as a child? Maybe she wanted to escape back to her childhood?

. . . ahhhh screw it, I'm not analyzin' nothin' today.

Some last words: I enjoyed the arc very much, but hopefully Matt tightens up the plots next time, and gets some more movement for the main character. I wonder how this arc'll read in trade?

Bird-Watching: Big Barda vs. Security Guard!

For a female, Gail Simone's writing is actually kinda testosterone-charged.

To be sure, this is on the basis that -- on the average -- stories about emotions and relationships are for women, and stories about explosions and fighting are for men -- on the average, may I remind you.

Taking this into account, Simone writes more like a man than a woman. In Secret Six, Birds of Prey and what have you, she's historically written long story-arcs that are plot-driven over character-driven with lots and lots of explosions. Although she never fails to give strong character moments, her stories have a history of big fights and widescreen action.

And truly, there is no greater example than. . .
the Mexican-Security-Guard-Big-Barda SAGA

(in four panels)

DING-DING-DING! Let the head-hitting commence:



But the trash-talking must end. . . as the wall-breaking begins!



The mighty MEGA ROD vs. the witless NIMROD: who will win????



But then Big Barda blasts out a blow to break the brainless blowhard!



And that, ladies and gents, is how you beat up a security guard when you're a New God.

Scans taken from Birds of Prey #100, by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott. This is the issue where the Birds raid a Mexican prison and free Tabby Brennan. This also had a cute little back-up feature with Black Canary and Sin.

More bird-watching over here.

Cover to cover catch-up: cosmic conflicts in comics

Welcome back to the blog, guys! I'm attempting to clean off my review pile, which includes all sorts of titles from Nova to Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters to Detective Comics to Wonder Woman.

Today, we're looking at Nova #1 and Wonder Woman #18. Yes, I really want to start the review at the first issue of Nova, because I think it deserves it, and statistically, a lot of people don't know who he is.

But before we get to Nova, let's chew the fat and review. . .

Wonder Woman #18
by Gail Simone and Bernard Chang

So this issue kicks off Gail Simone's second arc on Wondie.

This was a well-paced issue, but you can definitely tell that Wonder Woman isn't as fun a title as Simone's previous works (Birds of Prey, Secret Six). Simone's hilarious and overexaggerated YABS! articles still linger in my mind.

There's a somewhat annoying part at the beginning of the issue, in which Wonder Woman goes through a courtship ritual with Tom Tresser.

AKA Nemesis.
First of all, I don't know much about this guy, but I did read Picoult's run on Wonder Woman, and from that perspective, Nemesis is an immature child, and I really don't see what Wonder Woman sees in him.

But meh, she probably needs a love interest anyways. I'll give that much leeway to Simone.

Then the alien Khund visit her at the hospital -- TO BEAT HER UP.

Wonder Woman, without any hardship, wins, and I particularly like this panel:

This is nice, except this kind of hammers in the fact that Wonder Woman is a generally humorless character. So humorless, that she needs a strong supporting cast to bring in the laughs.

Yes, I really care about the humor, because I know that Simone rocks at it.

Some ANTI-rock would be Bernard Chang. He's an adequate penciller, but I' m really disappointed with the way he draws Wonder Woman:

Why is she so lanky! I wouldn't expect such a noble and graceful emissary-figure to have such a thin, tone-less body.

And the issue ends with a nice little Green Lantern getting territorial and about to attack Wonder Woman.

Overall, I'm kind of apathetic about this issue. Scant humor, weak art, unfamiliar background (am I supposed to know who the Khund are?) leaves me giving this book a two out of five Wonder Woman groupies.

Nova #1
By Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Sean Chen

Bursting from Annihilation as its stand-out hero, the adrenaline rush ends for Richard Rider (AKA Nova), as he must learn to cope with the fact that he's the last standing member of the Nova Corps.

. . .

By kicking some interstellar ass!

He runs across the universe, answering the calls of anyone who needs the Nova Corps., and he saves a planet from its own Doomsday machine.

I should note that Nova still isn't alone. Wired into his suit is the collective knowledge of all Xandarian culture: THE WORLDMIND. While Nova, human, acts occasionally on impulse and emotion-based, Worldmind is set on simple survival and tactics. They're great foils for each other.

In his errand-running, Nova over-exerts himself and --

At which point he decides to give himself a rest, and return to Earth. Coincidentally, Earth is just recently recovered from a certain Civil War.

See, this is how you launch a new ongoing book. You tie it in fluidly to larger events. At this time, Nova is just emerging from Annihilation, and the next few issues are going to be tangential The Initiative tie-ins.

Now that's smart marketing for a niche-ish book like Nova.

A four out of five grumpy Worldminds. Here's an example of how Nova does sci-fi justice:

and another:

Bird-watching: observations of Simone's writing

For a female, Gail Simone's writing is actually kinda testosterone-charged.

To be sure, this is on the basis that -- on the average -- stories about emotions and relationships are for women, and stories about explosions and fighting are for men -- on the average, may I remind you.

Taking this into account, Simone writes more like a man than a woman. In Secret Six, Birds of Prey and what have you, she's historically written long story-arcs that are plot-driven over character-driven with lots and lots of explosions. Although she never fails to give strong character moments, her stories have a history of big fights and widescreen action.

And truly, there is no greater example than. . .

. . . the Harley-Misfit Saga.

(in four panels)

Misfit fires the opening round with a salvo of --



Until everything gets down and dirty!



Ooh, they're busting out with the low blows now!

But then the fight gets called on account of ice-goddess-re-emerging-from-the-dead and Rocket-Red-firing-squad-about-to-fire:

We don't exactly know who lost, but we definitely know who won: the fans.

All scans taken from Birds of Prey: Whitewater, which ran from issues 104 to 108. It was collected in a trade paperback called Birds of Prey: Dead of Winter.

Covers -- just wanna have fu-un

In an attempt to maintain prompt blogging, today we're just gonna look at some covers in my backlog.

Why? Because it's fun.

IN THIS ISSUE: Wonder Woman gets shot by an assassin! Either that or she seriously needs to talk to a better hairstylist. Crosshairs are not in this season.

ALSO: The Flash eats a spoiled meatball! Will the fastest man on earth have . . . the longest diarrhea?!?!?!

I can't poke any holes in these covers. Darn.

I just think they're really pretty. I am of course a huge fan of John Romita Jr., the guy whose work you see on the right. His style is like an updated modern-retro style, and juxtaposed with the Byrne cover, it looks even cooler.

I'm really looking forward to the day he comes back to work on Amazing Spider-Man.

"It's Lady Blackhawk -- flying through the air -- and smashing that boulder!"

Unnecessary exposition? Check.
Spastic use of dashes? Check.
Hilarious reactions to superpowers? Check.
The mime-like gesture from Blackhawk. . . Check!

Never change, Silver Age. Never change.

Although: Zinda looks like she needs to eat in this cover. Take a hint from the Flash, honey -- I'm sure he's gotten some fresh food by now!

Comics Buzz: Forward to the Past?

"Civil War was all about pulling something apart. It was always about a line being drawn down the middle of the Marvel Universe. But now my spider-sense tells me that the time is right for reconciliation. This is all about building things up and making people feel good again. It's very much a response to the gloominess of Civil War."

That's from Mark Millar's interview, showing up in several Marvel Comics comics.
This interview was about his then-upcoming run on Fantastic Four, and with the first issue out (554), we can see some classic F4 beats: Johnny being a celebrity, Ben being a loveable uncle, Reed being a nerd and Sue being a competent and motherly figure.

It's the Fantastic Four as a family again.

Sure, but what does this mean?

Meanwhile, let's take a look at Tom Brevoort's Spidey Bible, outlining the future of Spidey stories:

-Peter has a supporting cast again;

-Peter's a freelancer, without too much direction in his career;
-Spidey's back to fighting villains of the month;
-Spidey's back to being an outcast of society;
-everyone's back to not knowing Spider-Man's secret identity (not even MJ? I'm kind of in disbelief here.).

Okay, okay, yeah, sure, but what does it all mean???

Meanwhile, the Uncanny X-Men, having just survived Messiah CompleX, had some downtime in issue 495.

In it, we saw the return of the three musketeers: Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Colossus are back to their adventuring camaraderie, as in the Claremont years.

We see Angel returning to the Uncanny X-Men, and we see Cyclops as being competent, as in-that's right- the (pre-Phoenix) Claremont years!

Okay, quit yanking my chain, what are you getting at here?

Noticing a pattern here?

Going "back to basics" in one Marvel title is an anomaly. Going back to basics in three of them, one of which is its flagship title, the others of which are prominent Marvel team books . . . is a pattern. Grassroots seems to be the keyword for these titles, so I want to ask you:

Has Marvel learned from the folly of Civil War?

Is it returning to its foundation of human characters with extraordinary superpowers?

Will we see a Renaissance in Marvel books?



Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion. After all, I'm overlooking one of Marvel's biggest titles: the Avengers books, one of which is still caught up in the aftermath of Civil War (The Initiative), another of which has turned into a crime fiction book (New), two of which are gearing up for the next Event That Will Change the Universe Forever (New and Mighty).

I just wanna prop up that question though, maybe spark up a little discussion.

If Marvel wants to return their books to their roots, that'll make them much more attractive to me.

Yes, even after One More Day.

But currently, OMD has put an odor on all things Marvel for me. Maybe we ought to look at its Distinguished Competition.

Specifically, let's talk about former Deadpool and Birds of Prey, currently Wonder Woman writer Gail Simone.

Is she awesome or what? I'm not trying to take this specifically from a feminist standpoint, but I'm just saying, our gal Gail has some real talent. Like Morrison, she makes her books quirky; like Johns, she has a genuine love for her characters; like Torres, she keeps her books fun.

Case in point: her column at comicbookresources: the You'll All Be Sorry! feature that ran from 1999 to 2003.

From what I' m reading, the YABS! column was a satire on the state of comics. Now, remember this started at the end of the 20th century. In terms of comics, we're talking Todd McFarlane. We're talking Rob Liefield. We're talking Image Comics. We're talking Rob Liefied (again).

Satire material doesn't get any better than that, guys.

I've only gotten through the beginning of 2000, but here're some of my favorites:

Who Fixes the Watchmen? A "Wizard" Phone Interview with John Byrne.
This is a wonderful "phone" interview from "Wizard" with "John Byrne." Simone has fun with Byrne's reputation of revamping every book he's been on, from Superman to She-Hulk. I gotta say, his She-Hulk was good fun.

Thpawn: The Redeemer
Todd McFarlane meets the new director for his Spawn movie (he fired the previous one), as he grimly and grittily narrates.

It'th hilariouth.

Terror at Twelve Feet!
Several comics creators -Joe Madureira, Peter David, Rob Liefield, Erik Larsen, Brian Pulido- meet up at Uber-Con, and discuss the question, "Are writers necessary for comics?" They're interrupted, however, by one pizza girl's phone call. . .

. . . and her desperate struggle to finish writing Green Lantern!

It's great.


Later, in 2007 it turns out, Simone got a feature in Newsarama called the Simone Files. They went up to the Simone Files VI, I believe, but I really only want you to recommend this one:

The Simone Files V: Nicola Scott
Gail Simone interviews upcoming artist for Birds of Prey Nicola Scott. We basically get Scott's life as an artist, but Simone's introduction is just good fun to read.

So go! Read now, if you know what's good for you!

--

ALSO: I wanna remind everyone that Catwoman #76 will be releasing next week. Remember, the Catwoman that I talked about twice? The Catwoman with the really, really awesome writer, strong characterization, witty writing and good storytelling?

Newsarama has some preview pages for it. Scroll down around the middle of the page; you won't be disappointed!