KC Carlson. Art by Keith Wilson

by KC Carlson

Normally, you’d be reading my Collective Thoughts column for books being published in March right here. But the holidays, and being away for a week during Christmas, have screwed up the timing for that. Watch for it next week. I get to talk about Moose und Squirrel… er, Rocky and Bullwinkle!

I realized that I don’t actually talk that much about reading comics any more (mostly because I’ve gotten behind on my reading due to the real world interfering), so it’s probably time to rectify that, especially since I recently read about 75 comics over a long weekend. Here’s what I’m thinking about some titles I enjoy reading.

THE MADNESS THAT IS MARVEL

Mighty Avengers #8

Currently, I find Marvel Comics to be schizophrenic in its publishing. There is obviously an A-line of their regular books, with top artists and writers headlining these books, edited by their top editors. Most of the Avengers, X-Men, and Spider-Man titles fall here, and all are generally good reads, produced by folks who have a strong track record for both quality and excitement. However, Marvel chooses to publish a lot of books for their two most popular teams, the X-Men and the Avengers, and there seems to be a two-tiered publishing plan in these areas. For instance, there are headliner books like Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, Mighty Avengers, and the three core solo books: Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor: God of Thunder. And then there the more experimental Avengers books, including the recently canceled Avengers Arena, Fearless Defenders, and Young Avengers, all of which had dynamic and alternative storytelling. The result is a different kind of superhero book, but they were seemingly just not interesting enough for a mass audience. Too bad. I especially liked Young Avengers and hope those characters get a new gig soon.

Avengers #27

It baffles me somewhat that Marvel Studios recently produced one of the best and most action-packed and comicbooky (in the good way) blockbuster movies in The Avengers, yet their two main Avengers comic books (Avengers and New Avengers) are written by Jonathan Hickman — a writer so evenly-paced and cerebral that you can almost see the wind gently blowing in the backgrounds of the panels. Don’t get me wrong, Hickman is a talented writer, and I loved his take on the Fantastic Four, but when I think of an Avengers comic — especially in the wake of the most action-y superhero film of 2012 — I want to see bodies crashing though the panel borders and the Mansion/Tower getting destroyed every six issues or so. What I’m not so fond of is obscure characters not seen for years (like Nightmask and Starbrand and Captain Universe), who just get lost among the dozens of other characters. I’m not sure the Avengers as an army is something I want to see constantly.

Infinity

I started reading Infinity in real time, week by week, and it seemed to move really slowly early on. Then, I got busy and missed reading for a week or two. Ultimately, I read the entire multi-part story in one (long) sitting (re-reading the issues I already read). It was a much better read all at once, although I felt that the event served as mostly a set-up for the next event (the now-delayed Inhumanity). It was good to see Thanos again, and I’m happy to hear that Marvel just announced that Jim Starlin will be returning to the character he created for a new graphic novel in 2014. When the weekly reading experience is no longer satisfying, though, with more and more writers specifically “writing for the trade paperback”, I have to wonder why I even bother with the weekly “pamphlet” comics. At least I don’t have to wait for the collection when I can make my own reading stacks.

MUTANTS BACK ON TOP

X-Men #12

The X-Men titles have long been the standard-bearers of modern Marvel Comics, largely based on the house (X-Mansion?) that Claremont, Cockrum, and Byrne built. This lasted for a long time, until the sheer number of mutant groups and titles exceeded common sense and fans’ wallets, to the point where Marvel had to sit down and come up with a new game plan for the X-books. So they severely restricted the number of spin-off books (not that you’d actually notice, this being Marvel’s primary cash-cow until the Avengers got reinvigorated by Brian Michael Bendis), and House of M/Decimation/”No more mutants” laid the mutants low for a while to rebuild.

All-New X-Men #24

And rebuild they have, as the recent reclamation projects by Bendis (All-New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men), Jason Aaron (Wolverine and the X-Men, Amazing X-Men), and Brian Wood (X-Men) are based around a simple but brilliant idea (that, when you say it out loud, sounds like it’s coming from an very excited 12-year-old). “What if the original, teenage X-Men got trapped in the current Marvel Universe?” This instantly returned the fun, excitement, and unpredictability of the original Lee/Kirby/Thomas/Claremont/Cockrum/Byrne era with its surprising goofiness and ever-changing teenage crushes. It had to be done, since the original (adult) X-Men were/are almost unretrievable from previous bad decisions. Scott: Murderer; Jean: Mass-Murderer, dead; Hank: mutations beyond humanity, depression; Bobby: aimless; and Warren: SO many bad things and alternate personalities, also occasionally dead.

Amazing X-Men #5

I’m not sure who exactly came up with this wondrous idea (Bendis reports that it had been floating around the X-offices for awhile, but he was the one to act on it), but for me, the (relative) lightheartedness that came with the teens’ return actually started earlier. That attitude was first reflected in the launch of the remarkably odd and downright wacky Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron and (originally) Chris Bachalo, which is currently wrapping up its run (and then instantly restarting with a new Number One — with a different creative team — as is Marvel’s wont there days). Aaron has moved over the the equally fun Amazing X-Men, where he was allowed to resurrect Nightcrawler and make him a blue furry swashbuckler again. I’m in.

I AM GROOT

Guardians of the Galaxy #10

Also really worth your time and hard-earned money are Marvel’s new “space” books, the revived Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova. The former is treading gently, as the previous incarnations of this series are beloved by fans. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and with art by Steve McNiven and Sara Picchelli, the series has been not just filling in the secrets since the last space event (but not all of them) but also intriguingly introducing a character from another company. That’s Angela, originally created by Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane as a recurring character in Spawn. Gaiman eventually won full rights to the Angela character, which he subsequently sold to Marvel. The title is also introducing the Guardian characters to a wider audience for their movie debut, currently scheduled for August 2014, which will lead directly into the next Avengers movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015.

Nova #10

Nova, initially by Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, and Dexter Vines, tells the adventures of a brand-new character, teenager Sam Alexander, the son of another Nova soldier (Jesse Alexander) who has mysteriously disappeared. He is to replace the long-missing and presumed dead original Nova (Richard Rider), who supposedly sacrificed his life to save Earth. (The Nova soldiers are roughly the Marvel equivalent of the Green Lantern Corps.) This new series is very kid-centric and fast-paced, balancing Sam’s complicated life on Earth (aren’t all kids’ lives complicated?) with his training to be a member of the Nova Corps in outer space. In the double-sized issue #10 by Zeb Wells and five artists (which was also the 100th issue of Nova throughout the various series over the years), Speedball and Justice from the New Warriors attempt to talk Sam into joining up in a story so heartwarming that it even made the Watcher smile.

Other great Marvel books include the Doc Ock Superior Spidey titles (which look like they’re about to get shook-up real good in the near future), Daredevil (about to be re-launched with the same creative team), Hawkeye, and the unpredictable Indestructible Hulk as written by Mark Waid.

52 PICK-UP

So what about DC’s New 52 books? Sorry, but I have nothing much useful to say about them, because I recently (finally?) stopped buying and reading them. I think the last two straws for me (besides most of the books being either ultra-depressing or unintelligible) were the realizations that DC is now more interested in selling shiny covers than stories, and that their ongoing treatment of long-time loyal creators, some of whom are friends of mine, is horrible. Can’t wait to rave about Kevin Maguire on Guardians of the Galaxy!

Astro City #10

I still read and enjoy several DC Comics projects, though, including Astro City, Batman ‘66, Sandman: Overture (assuming we eventually see issue #2), the recently completed Batman: Black & White and Batman: L’il Gotham, and Scooby-Doo Team-Up — now with more Bat-Mite! Also looking forward to the new Black Canary/Zatanna: Bloodspell GN by Paul Dini and Joe Quinones, hoping it’s not locked down to any specific continuity. More about which next week.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #3

I do have to say that it’s great that DC has apparently been able to attract a new, younger readership to their core books. Although, who’s to say for sure, as many of those younger readers are probably embracing the relatively recent development of digital comics — of which sales are — so far — top secret! (Which is one of the big reasons that publishers like digital so much!)

I guess I can now relate to those old-time Golden Age fans who were so outraged when DC Comics first introduced the new Julie Schwartz-edited Flash, Green Lantern, and Justice League of America titles in the late 1950s and early 1960, displacing the Golden Age versions!

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KC CARLSON SEZ: Now wishes that DC really had rebooted the DC Universe in 1986, after Crisis on Infinite Earths, instead of some of the half-hearted remakes that rolled out over the next few years, ultimately causing much of the damage that led to the New 52! Jeepers! Where’s my Cosmic Treadmill?

Do not drink and drive or read comics while doing either! Happy New Year!

WESTFIELD COMICS is not responsible for the stupid things that KC says. Especially that thing that really irritated you.