Hey y’all! We’re back with a couple reviews this week.
Apologies for the last couple weeks of no posts. Some things happened but we’re
back now! I’ve got some fun plans for upcoming posts, including a look at the
first season Invincible and my thoughts on Returnal. It’s gonna
be fun around these parts for a couple weeks. Stay tuned!
Spoilers for: Heroes
Reborn #1, Cable #10, Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25
Heroes Reborn #1
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Ed McGuinness
Colors: Matthew Wilson
Inks: Mark Morales
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Leinil Francis Yu and
Sunny Gho
I do not regularly read The
Avengers. The concepts Aaron and Co. are playing with do not much interest me
and, outside Wolverine and the X-Men, I do not find Aaron a compelling
storyteller. This crew brought back the Heroes Reborn title to tell a story
with an intriguing premise, so I decided to check it out.
It was a gamble that did not pay
off. That is not to say this issue is bad; it is just not particularly good. It
is an extra big issue that lays out the premise of the event and not much else.
There is little in the way on characters. The Squadron Supreme are introduced
and they are, as expected, largely just caricatures of the classic Justice
League lineup. Blade narrates the issue but is mostly running around with no
direction until the final pages as he decides to go unfreeze Steve Rogers, who
will presumably reassemble the Avengers and fix the world.
It is notable that Phil Coulson is POTUS in this new timeline. That is probably not a coincidence, and it seems likely he made a deal with Mephisto—or some other wish-granting entity—and this is what came of it. Making Coulson the villain of a big event may be the only good use of the character since his initial appearance in Battle Scars #1. Hopefully, it goes somewhere interesting.
The art in this issue is
perfectly serviceable. Page layouts are varied and do a good job of leading the
eye naturally. It is in McGuiness’ typical squat, overly muscular style. The
colors seem overly bright for a story about a (theoretically) dark world where
there no Avengers, but not in a way that seems to be attempting to create a
purposeful dissonance.
There is a page where Thanos is
drawn and speaks like a Silver Age DC Comics character and that rules, though.
Cable #10
Writer: Gerry Duggan
Artist: Phil Noto
Letters: VC’s Joe Sabino
Design: Tom Muller
Cover: Noto
Unlike Duggan’s other X-Men series, Cable does not feel as though it is coming to an end shortly. In fact, this book feels as if it has another 10 or 11 issues of story it could tell. Alas, it has two remaining before going to the great longbox in the sky.
Cable is looking for Stryfe. He is so desperate for
information that he plans to steal Cerebro from atop Xavier’s head. Lucky for
him, Emma—bizarrely looking half her age—stops him and sends him on a father-son
trip where he gets into it with Cyclops. Cable has come to believe he needs to
return to his time while Old Man Cable is reborn, but Scott, understandably,
does not wish to see his son go. It is a fun and charming adventure that does a
lot to further flesh out their relationship.
Noto’s art remains as sharp as ever.
With the exception of Emma Frost looking like one of her daughters, of course.
After 10 issues, it is difficult to come up with new ways to praise Noto. Just
know that this book looks really good, and this writer will miss Watercolor
Cable when it is all over.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #25
Writer: Saladin Ahmed; Cody Ziglar
Artists: Carmen Carnero; Natacha Bustos
Colors: David Curiel; Rachelle Rosenberg
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Taurin Clarke
This comic is so good. The prior 24 issues have been building to this story in ways both obvious and not. Whether it is the Assessor kidnapping Miles and then sending out a test clone or the buildup and breakdown of Miles’ relationship with Barbara, this feels like the culmination. Miles almost hits Ganke for crying out loud!
Speaking of which, recent issues
have taken great pains to show Miles’ burgeoning anger issues. These picked up
in the aftermath of his uncle’s “death”, so it seems likely this is part of a
larger story about Miles’ grief. Reconciling with his emotions and redefining
himself outside of being Spider-Man to defeat the clones would be a cool
direction for this story to take.
As usual, Carnero’s art fits
this serious to a tee and nowhere is that clearer than the aforementioned Ganke
scene. It truly seemed like Miles might beat the shit out his best friend. That
is purely on the art (Though the dialogue was quite good).
This issue also includes a fun little backup where Miles has to get to Judge’s birthday party but is attacked by a supervillain. It is a fun throwaway story with pretty art and snappy dialogue. It also has an all-time great ending. Behold:
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