Posted in: Comics | Tagged: archer and armstrong, Atomic Robo x 2, avengers assemble, buffy, Comics, creator owned heroes, Daredevil Annual, dc, gambit, image, It Girl And The Atomics, marvel, new avengers, Ozymandias, thor

Twelve Thoughts About Twelve Comics – Archer And Armstrong, Thor, Gambit, Buffy, Avengers Assemble, Daredevil Annual, New Avengers, Ozymandias, Atomic Robo x 2, It Girl And The Atomics, Creator Owned Heroes

The new Archer And Armstrong has a tough battle, against one of the most critically acclaimed early Valiant series. Even now, it seems incredible to describe, a religious zealot warrior teaming up with a drunken, slovenly immortal, Achilles Meets Bacchus, They Fight Crime, and written with a wit and wisdom that would predate the likes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in their lightness of touch.

This is not that. But it is one issue. And by taking Archer and making him some kind of avatar of the Conservative Religious Right, growing up in a museum dedicated to telling the true stories of where the dinosaurs came from, creates a far more topical and relateable character, who is treated more like Loki in Journey Into Mystery, discovering this world anew. Armstrong feels lacking in comparison, especially when you have the likes of Dan The Unharmable from Valiant's David Lapham over at Avatar. But there should be room for growth.

A good read, not a great read. But the potential to be a lot better.

Talking of Loki, his appearance in the new issue of Thor, part of the crossover between the two books, is, well, a little lacking. Tumblr may be full of anger in this Loki seems unaffected by the events that have recently passed, even in situations where you'd hope a flicker of the memory of Leah may be suggested. The book is, of course, beautiful, and two Alan Davis comics in one week gives me flashbacks to when you might get new Alan Davis Captain Britain, DR And Quinch and Marvelman all in one week. The book sets up foreboding, worry, godly might wonderfully however. But this isn't the Loki we've been reading of late and that's a shame.

Gambit #1 opens with a shower scene, washing his naked body in pure, unadulterated fan service. Very different in look and feel to last week's Hawkeye, nevertheless this also sees a B list superhero character in unfamiliar garb, location, embedded in the Marvel Universe in a different way. Here we see him thieving a powerful doohicky for altruistic as well as personal reasons, hooking up with a babe along the way whom he turns to the dark side in a bright sort of way. Not a great comic, but with moments of fun spattererd around that should do the job. And there's always that shower…

Buffy The Vampire Slayer however takes those spots of fun and makes the comic all about that. Such as Andrew's social network Tincan on the verge of making him and those around him million/billionaires. And of course its been infected by Wolfram And Hart who have turned it into a portal to hell. Basically exactly like Facebook, except in this comic they are destroying the company before it goes public. By nuking it from space. At its best, Buffy has interpreted the world around it by supernatural allegory, and this is its best. Basically, at its heart, we have Buffy Versus The Internet. With swords and stuff. Man, I love this comic.

Avengers Assemble has two really good things going for it. A confidence trick by Tony Stark, and Rocket Raccoon. His very existence justifies this comic, I mean don't you just want to pet him?

Oh also there's Thanos, the Guardians Of The Galaxy and the Avengers, which given current media crazes, should make the best selling comic on the stands. This is the first time we see Bendis give his dialogue tics to character… more on that later I think.

Our second Alan Davis book today and its an extra long Daredevil comic. Except it's really not, it's an excuse for Alan Davis to continue his story of the Clan Destines, a family of supertypes trying to hide from the Marvel Universe and badly failing. Especially when a dead member of the Clan resurrected in robot form goes on a rampage. David shows us the inside of Daredevil as much as he does his outside, but this is a passing phase, he'll be taking the Clan's story to another superhero in his next annual. Perfectly executed traditional superhero comic books, that's taken a left turn into a longer narrative, that's about Family more than it is Power.

You know exactly what a New Avengers comic book is stereotypically described as. A bunch of superheroes sitting around a table talking. Now that's rarely true, there are usually lots of divergences along the way. But this issue is exactly that. A flashback to the Second World War  aside, we have the Illuminati, well most of them, reunited one last time around a table, and talking to each other for twenty pages. It tackles a bit of continuity that has been bugging some in the fight against the Phoenix. But more than that, it's great. A post-Avengers movie comic, the conflicting personalities are funny where they need to be funny, concerned where they need to be concerned and frightening… so much power round a table. . And no one to fetch coffee. If you like talky superhero comics, and I do, jump on.

The first issue of Ozymandias was my favourite of the Before Watchmen books, it felt unbending to culture, unyielding to influence, the storytelling felt new, fresh and meaningful, pulp fiction recreated in an incredibly modern fashion. The second issue however, leaves that behind to rewrite the superhero origin story, which is less reinvention and more retreading. The vitality has gone here, even as the book still looks stunning. But even Jae Lee begins to lose his structure and the final pages are less witty, less inspiring, less controlled. And in a book where control is key, that's a shame. It's a good comic book, to be sure, but it's not the blinding flash that the first issue promised.

Oh joy oh joy, what is this? Two Atomic Robo comics on the same day? Issue 2 of Atomic Robo: The Flying She-Devils Of The Pacific and issue 5 of Atomic Robo Presents: Real Science Adventures? Together? It Girl & The Atomics #1 also comes out today and I'm going to mean about it below, because these two comics tread a similar path, with similar shoes, but Atomic Robo kicks the Atomics' collective sweet asses. Atomic Robic is funny, sweet, dangerous and daft in a combination that goes together perfectly. It is no less one thing for being another. The first gives us nineteen fifties female military pilots with eyepatches (okay, just one) clearing up after the war, the second takes through the twentieth century looking at war, the after effects of it and the hoipe of new inspiration, all while retaining the joy of humanity. It's a remarkable trick, but then these are remarkable comic books.

See?

It Girl & The Atomics, as Jamie S Rich put it, BPRD to Madman's Hellboy. The side cast, given lead billing. And It Girl as a superhero without villains to fight, looking for a new purpose in life. It's… not enough. Sorry, but it's not, this may be Image's big launch, and it is rooted in fun characters, but it's too close to the sources that it is playing off, parodying and recontextualising. It feels a pointless book, that doesn't go as far into oddness as Mike Allred has taken it, or joy that new Atomic Robo Comics give you, just because this also references Tesla. It's another one of those "moments" books that don't add up to a whole sandwich.

Wheras Creator Owned Heroes gives us a deli spread, American Muscle being a stand out example of someone turning the tables on their oppressors using their egos, plain stupidity and lack of respect for life. I usually prefer an intelligent antagonist, this book makes a virtue of using the opposite. Oh and there's that interview with Mark Waid…

Yeah, okay, I'm never going to Pennsylvania.

Comics courtesy of Orbital Comics, of London, currently exhibiting the work of Ian Churchill with a signing this Saturday.

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