Serials for 11-30-11: Ultimate Comics All-New Spider-Man and The Flash

Ultimate Comics All-New Spider-Man #4
by Brian Bendis, Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor

It took me only 3 minutes to read this issue, so I looked back and counted the number of story pages - 20! What is going on here? What happened to my 2 missing story pages? I don't care if there's a letters page. I don't care that there's a preview for Avengers X-Sanction. I want a story. Brian Bendis really needs to consider page economy when he's writing a comic book. He gets to see all his scripts altogether, but the reader only gets to see one issue every four weeks. I know he knows better; stories like Ultimate Clone Saga are proof.

So it's been about 12 weeks since the first ish, and what's going on? In issue 4 Peter Parker dies and Miles Morales puts on a Spider-Man retail costume. It's frustrating to read about the death of Peter Parker 12 weeks after the death of Peter Parker. There is no new information here and no plot moves along. I don't want to be one of those fans who keeps picking up a disappointing title in the hopes that it'll be better, but, my goodness, I am. For Spider-Man I am. I want to enjoy this title and I'm gonna keep reading it until I do.

Maybe he's trying to write it like a "slice of life" story for Miles Morales. There are these quiet panels that emphasize Miles' emotions at the moment. It doesn't work and it shouldn't work without a plot. Not for an opening storyarc. What made Ultimate Peter Parker's story so great was that he grew up. He became a man in the issues, and he moved forward. He struggled. So far, Miles is not moving forward -- he seems to be regressing and picking up the pieces of Peter Parker's life. Fix it Bendis. Give Miles his own story.

The Flash #3
by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato

The writing team here has got a great rhythm for the page economy. The issue starts on a high, with the Flash making a great feat with his powers -- he grabs a plummeting plane and vibrates it through the Central City bridge to land safely in the water. It's breathtaking. You can, no, you have to check out the entire sequence on Newsarama. After that high the issue coasts and escalates for an impossible cliffhanger.

Barry's cognitive foresight seems to cripple him. When a rifle's staring him in the eye, he's thinking so quickly that, to him, he's already defeated the mob. But he's shot instead. The bullet seemed to hit Barry in the eye. Will he return as eyepatch Barry? Barry Allen the one-eyed scourge of Central City? The pirate-Flash? The serial experience has never been more rewarding than with this title. Every issue takes you for a ride. Not only are they pushing Barry's limits as the Flash, they're pushing the  the medium itself. Newsarama landed an interview with the two creators about how you have to read the art as well as the words in a comic book, in order to make sense of the ish. It's a goodie.

That's all I have for you today. Tune in on Friday as I wrap up the month of November with an assortment of panels. After that we will be on hiatus a bit as I have final exams and final papers for this school quarter.

Trade for 11-28-11 + video

Hiya guys I hope your weekend was swell. Did you find any nice Black Friday deals? I online shopped mostly for friends and family, but I didn't care for any deals. Today I have Hellboy volume 1 for you as well as a video on digital comics.

Hellboy Volume 1: Seed of Destruction
collecting the 4-issue miniseries
by Mike Mignola and John Byrne

One of the opening dedications is to Jack Kirby, and you can really tell. A lot of the muscles are drawn with that Kirby-esque flair, and there are Kirby dots in the usual places. The idea behind the comic book is that Hellboy is one part of a group of paranormal researchers in the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense). The main story revolves around a haunted house and a former Nazi scientist who seeks to open the gates of Hell and summon a demon.

Of course, they stop him, but there seems to be an unnecessarily think amount of backstory that gets in the way. As I was reading it on my device, it became more of a chore having to get through each panel than fun. It seemed to be about Rasputin the Nazi occult dude as much as it was about Hellboy, and I think that was a mistake -- Rasputin talks for an amount of panel time that doesn't really contribute to the plot. What I want to see more of is this gritty, tough-as-nails Hellboy.

Included with the trade are two short stories and some pin-ups: I think the short stories convey Mignola's vision much better than the main story, which gets bogged down in details and names and odd terms. Hellboy is a demon who faces down weird, supernatural stuff. He solves his problems by punching them. 

I usually get my Monday trades from the library, and no local library is complete without a Hellboy trade, but I actually bought this one from comiXology, which sells it at a phenomenal $2.99. It seems to be the only volume available there, as Dark Horse have moved everything to its own app?

You can also find the first issue for free, if you want just a nibble.

Usually I'll have two trades up for you, but not today. Today I have a video on the comiXology app for my device, the Kindle Fire!

The times, they are a-changin'.

If you too have been reading digital, let us know! What do you think?

Daredevil's all-new, all-action foe!

They're all over him! He's outnumbered!

Has ol' Hornhead finally met his match?

CAN EVEN THE DAREDEVIL 

ESCAPE RADIOACTIVE CHICKEN POX?

Happy Linksgiving

Not a lot of content today. Just links:

J. Caleb Mozzocco over at Every Day Is Like Wednesday has a fun comics-related thanksgiving game -- I got 3 out of 5 correct, shows what I know. . .

Newsarama landed an interview with Flash writers about yesterday's issue #3. Warning! It has spoilers, so buy and read a copy of it before you click the link! My own opinion will be up next Wednesday.

The Remembered Heroes tumblr is doing a Thanksgiving-themed posts, and you can find a shirtless Hawkman over here.

Marvel's put up an excerpt from their Holiday Special 2011. You can find it at comiXology, in which Prof. Logan teaches the students to play hockey!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Serials for 11-23-11: Daredevil and etc...

Check it out! It's an all-new, all-action, all-inclusive, all-expenses-paid banner! Whew.

Ya dig?

Daredevil #5
by Mark Waid and Marcos Martin

buddabuddabuddabuddabudda! I'm loving the way Marcos Martin draws his own sound effects. More artists ought to consider this -- digital SFX on top of hand-done inks are jarring.

Aw man just look at the way that fa-THOOM takes over the entire ship. Martin is on a whole new level of the craft.

If you haven't read Daredevil yet, I strongly urge you to check it out. ComiXology has an interview with Mark Waid, and the numbers should not be this low for such a quality super-comic.


Secret Avengers #16
by Warren Ellis and Jamie McKelvie

Check out the cover for this one! One look and I couldn't help myself. I never get the title, but I had to check it out. I'm weak.

This issue consists of the Secret Avengers finding a secret city of terrorism and then blowing it up. It manages to flesh out each of the 4 members in a seamless way. Beast, for example, gets to lecture everyone about the pseudo-science behind the secret city and about "Von Doom radiation." Everybody gets their fifteen seconds.

My one complaint is that the issue is one long, extended scene. It starts with the four entering the secret city, and ends with them leaving it. We don't get to see anything else! Comics are serial, and there's no story reason for me to check out the next issue. It's great that this issue is a full, self-contained story, but it's also a comic book that will be followed by another comic book.

Captain america #4
by Ed Brubaker and Steve McNiven

#4 rounds out our week of Marvel! Captain America is stuck in a dreeeamm world while the new HYDRA queen threatens to trap him there. There's nothing left to learn about the backstory behind this storyarc, so the issue is mostly punching.

It's a nice sentiment to think that, in Steve Rogers' utopia, the world doesn't need Capt. America and he pioneers the Moon for colonization with Sharon Carter. It also hearkens back to a couple panels in Captain America: Winter Soldier. In it Steve expresses regret to Sharon that so many men had to die for the sake of space research, when they could have sent him -- it was what he was built for! It's a nice shade of pathos for the man.

The issue was supposed to come out two months ago, which sucks.This is somewhat ameliorated by Steve McNiven's art. If I were trapped on an island and I could only look at five artists, he would be one of them.

SO PRETTY!