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[Stephen Day]

My pick for next week is Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #526

[Starlord]

Great choice! I'm thinking about getting that in trade so this might help me decide.

[Amoebas]

I'm glad to see Punchy has ceased his persecution of Amoebas.

But Pncuyh hasn't, because unPcyh doesn't know how to spell my name. ynPcu - it's E before O except after W (and only on Thursdays around 4:15pm).

[Amoebas]

Defenders #1

I'm one of those guys that just really enjoy's Dodson's art. Unfortunately he's been at Marvel for the last few years and I haven't. But after the preview I read in store in Pointless 0.1 I actually threw my sheckles on the lcs counter for the book.

Beautiful art from page to page. While Hulk looked smaller than he should, everything else looked fine to great. The coloring really stands out. I can't place the name Oback anywhere - is she new?

While not technically 'art' - I've always liked DC's use of colored thought balloons and they work just as effectively at Marvel (except the Surfer - the pale light blue forced me to turn a lamp on in the afternoon). I'll also echo the Pres's thought on O & D - initially the word 'blood' on page 6 read like 'blooo".

Art - 9

And then comes the disappointment. I haven't read a lot of Fraction and I guess I'm kinda grateful for that after this.

The grad student & Strange was just strange and served no different a purpose than Strange reading the newspaper pages later (except now we know that Dr. Stephen Strange prowls college campuses).

Nul is in Europe. Hulk wants to go nowhere near Nul. So of course, Hulk goes to Europe

And while I'm trying to forget that silly Fear 'Fear Itself', if Nul is around I'd assume the others are as well. Why keep this a secret from the Avengers?

The only Marvel books I've read with any consistency over the last decade have been the Cosmic books - so my only guess is that the Surfer in Defenders is a Skrull because he doesn't read or act anything like he does elsewhere. One reason I basically stopped reading marvel was because they let writers take established characters and do whatever they wanted to with them for the sake of the story (not the character). Fraction and the Surfer strikes me as this.

Red She-Hulk is just She-Hulk? What's Jen calling herself nowadays? If Betty wants to get drunk, why doesn't she just de-hulk? I assume she can because I saw her control the change in Hulk #1 (guess not here).

Namor has access to the Atlantean war fleet. He's supplied teams from the Invaders to the Avengers with aircraft many times over. Yet he has to take a train? And I know Fraction was going for a comedic effect with Strange floating on the train, but it just doesn't work (unless Strange doesn't care about being conspicuous anymore).

The book needed some action (of a non-creepy old man & young twenty-something kind) and the Iron Fist pages worked well. But what's with the assassination attempt? Danny spends his thoughts on making up kungfuey names but he never asks "why?" and there is zero follow-up because...

From out of nowhere Danny bangs some nega-banded bimbo. What is Fraction's deal wanting to establish that his Defenders all sleep around irresponsibly? (and why does Danny so regret sleeping with the black chick?)

Next scene and we're back on Danny's HUGE plane that somehow is staffed by only two people. I guess that's all that's needed for a transatlantic flight in a "billion dollar plane'. I suppose King Namor had to fetch his own peanuts.

Oh! What good luck! Betty's sword landed so close to her and she didn't have to dig through 50 tons of crashed plane pieces to find it.

Prestor John and the Evil Eye? Now that's a blast from the past. Whether it be their first app in FF #54, an early M2i1, the Defenders/Avengers Clash or JLAvengers - I've always dug the Avalonian combo and despite the questionable plotting, characterizations and other nonsense Fraction has in this book - I'll be back next month just for this.

Writing - 2

Overall - 5.5

[ReturnoftheMack]

Nice review.

I was wondering why Betty didn't just change either.

[S.F. Jude Terror]

I'm of a mixed mind on Defenders #1. On the one hand, I like these characters a lot, and I'm excited to see them starring in a relatively high profile book. On the other hand, this is Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, Namor, and Iron Fist in name only (no one gives a shit about red She Hulk). In actuality, these characters have just been thrown into archetypes that are generally similar to them, but with little regard to the actual history and motivations of the characters themselves, as if this were an Ultimate Comics Defenders comic or something like that. I suppose I'm of a mixed mind on Fraction too, because while I do enjoy some of his work, he has fallen lately into the Nu-Marvel golden boy groove, writing stories that no doubt give Joe Quesada a big chubby for their sheen and self-aware hipster charm, but are in substance void of any depth or maturity. Come to think of it, these characters have been all over the place in recent years, so maybe nobody even knows what they're about anymore. Didn't the Silver Surfer die of cancer or some shit, or isn't he off in space fighting Thanos or something? What is he doing pretending to be snow in the mountains? Seems like lazy bullshit to me.

As for the art, I think I hate the Dodsons. I don't know why, because their art is technically competent and it even has its own unique style (when you're looking at it, I would be hard-pressed to describe it if it's not in front of me), but it somehow just feels lifeless. Perhaps it's their long association with Greg Land on Uncanny X-Men, where the short breaks from his offensively bad porn star photocopying required a true master to wash the bad taste out of the reader's mouth (and the Dodson's are not masters). In the same way, I certainly prefer this art over something like Land's, but it definitely can't save this book.

The story is cookie-cutter, and even though I've only half finished reading Fear Itself, I'm already sick and tired of the worthy. Hopefully the next super important mega-event will make everyone forget about Fracto, Breaker of Interest in Comics by next year, and this book will stand a chance (if it isn't cancelled by then, or if Fraction hasn't moved on to some other vanity project in six months).

Story: 2
Art: 3
Subtotal: 5
Doctor Strange Taking Advantage of a College Student Sexually: +1
Silver Surfer being snowflakes: -1
Iron Fist having the personality of KSChris: -1
Overall: 4

[S.F. Jude Terror]

My pick for next week is Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #526

That's been an awesome book, sad it's ending.

[Chris]

Iron Fist having the personality of KSChris: -1

I just noticed this you son of a bitch

[Starlord]

Defenders #1

I have always been a huge Defenders fan and just recently finished the Marvel Masterpiece Vol 1 of this title. That helped me get into the mood of some fun adventures with the non-team of my childhood. Guess what follks... you can't go back again.

Fraction is at his weakest here, putting each character into scene's that don't actually fit and seem to have no regard to what is going on in the other part of their lives. Dodson's art seems to be flat and lifeless, which actually blends well with the writing but it sure doesn't save the book.

I'll pick up the obligitory two more issues but I don't see myself collecting this any time soon.

Story: 4
Art: 4
My Score: 4

[Starlord]

And why was this thread half way down the second page?! What has happened with this group? I've never seen it so dull and boring in my entire life.

We need Forthy!!!

[chap22]

Great choice! I'm thinking about getting that in trade so this might help me decide.

it's been a terrific little book (other than the fairly average Fear Itself tie-ins and the totally pointless Spider-Island tie-in).

[chap22]

also, for those of you questioning the Surfer's attitude and location, i suspect you probably haven't read fraction's Mighty Snore, where his new status quo is set up.

lucky you.

[Eli Katz]

And why was this thread half way down the second page?! What has happened with this group? I've never seen it so dull and boring in my entire life.

We need Forthy!!!

It seems fewer people are reviewing.

[Punchy]

It seems fewer people are reviewing.

It happens every Christmas.

[Eli Katz]

It happens every Christmas.

Like a typical tyrant, you blame others for your own failures and inadequacies.