Comic Book Resources

Randy Orton = Namor, I agree.

I’m with you on the “am I ever going to re-read this?” quandary. Not with 52 specifically, but after the last time I moved, I really started to have second thoughts on the whole concept of maintaining a personal library that involves physical objects. All new DVD purchases have to pass the “Will I watch this more than once?” test. If not, it goes on my Netflix queue instead.

Every once in a while I’ll go through my comics looking for stuff I don’t want anymore, and there’s always one or two runs that I didn’t really like and don’t need for research purposes that for some reason I can’t quite bring myself to get rid of.

Of course, then there’s the problem of how to actually get rid of them, since most of them aren’t worth selling but I can’t bear to just toss ‘em into the recycling.

I did the same this year on FCBD. Wasn’t really interested in the offerings this year anyway.

I did however inform a few friends who were beginning to show an interest in comics that is was happening. One friend in particular scored 11 books (my local gave away free back issues too) and to say she was happy about that is an understatement.

I like the fact that Sentry scares Bullseye/Hawkeye (who is by far the most overrated power wise any character in the past ten years) but beyond that, his power levels do make the character less interesting. I do agree that power should be the least interesting part of the character, but I think that some of a characters value is based upon them overcoming their abilities and I guess with the sentry him overcoming his psychological issues is a big deal, but I just can’t get into that character at all.

I also prefered Web of Spiderman, not sure why but it was usually my favorite.

Comics on Kindle may be the perfect platform for computerizing comics. (the oversized ones, heck I imagine that at some point in time they may come up with a version of kindle that is two panels book shaped sponsored by one or the other big two)

Interesting thoughts on FCBD. I have to say I mostly agree, though I usually go and always end up with a healthy stack of books. I haven’t read most of this year’s offerings yet, but there is usually at least one or two intriguing or worthwhile comics I either hadn’t heard about or hadn’t tried yet that ends up in my FCBD batch.

But my real reason for going is to bring my four-year-old daughter. I take her to the comic shop with me fairly regularly anyway, but she really has a blast at FCBD. My shop had a signing by Skottie Young, and she was thrilled that he drew a sketch “just for her.” Plus, there’s people running around dressed like superheroes, and she gets a whole stack of books to look at as opposed to the one comic I let her pick out when we go to the store otherwise.

All of which I suppose really only supports your point that FCBD is for the casual reader and for the kids.

Pre Clone Saga Web of? REALLY? I remember those books as a shit stain on my incipient Spider-Man collection, with Terry Kavanagh’s unforgiving stench steaming off of them. I think he was pissing out like four-hundred and seventeen books a month at the time, many of them starring some facsimile of Spawn, and Spider-Man was not, by any stretch, a bright spot on this guy’s deeply shadowed comics career. During his tenure, he gave us such classics as robot man, robot men, robot woman, and Metal (sorry, non-robotic) Spider-Man (wow!), plus some other dour, bloody stuff like the Blood Rose (though the ignominy of that creation, we can’t pin on Kavanagh) and Carnage and Venom and all the sort of trashy EXTREME cliches endemic to the coarsest toilet paper Marvel was reeling out in the 90s.

It took years – and a huricane washing my house away – before I was able to cull my collection. ebay was good for a lot of it – I sold my cds after getting an ipod – easiest $1500 ever. I would gladly read comics in a digital format – porbably not my “real books” (a term I loathe almost as much as the hoity toity “graphic novel”) though. I love reading the 8 page previews on CBR, I see no reason not to read them on a computer, especially if it’s cheaper. Not having to fight my way past the smelly ass gamers at the local shop would be nice too.
Also, I never was much of a Spidey fan, but I did read a trade of the SA stuff last summer – I agree, Mary Jane was a bit of a bitch – Peter ought to make a deal with the devil to get out of that one.

Of course, then there’s the problem of how to actually get rid of them, since most of them aren’t worth selling but I can’t bear to just toss ‘em into the recycling.

That’s it exactly.

I could part ways with 98% of my collection, easily, but the how trips me up. I know a couple people who got burned pretty badly by eBay, so I’m not exactly down for using that service. I inquired about selling my collection to the local comic shop, but the owner said he could only hook me up with a t-shirt in exchange for the books (which seems like an awful lot of work — bagging, boarding, lugging — for a piece of apparel I’ll never wear). And, my friends who pick up comics are also more interested in selling old stuff than buying it. So…blah.

A couple weeks (months?) back, in an installment of Pipeline on CBR proper, Augie floated the idea of an eBay-like site that would focus solely on comics, breaking categories down by publisher, writer, artist, or whatever. I would totally be in to that. If it existed.

The awesome Vess covers for Web of Spider-Man issues were always very appealing, but ultimately I liked the run of Spectacular Spider-Man with Sal Buscema the best. And then Clone Wars happened, and outside of the odd issue here and there (like the recent Bachalo run) I haven’t had any real interest in any of the titles.

Well, if you’re just going to toss comics, you might as well donate them to a library or children’s center. There’s never any reason to toss anything when there are less fortunate people out there who could use it.

I know “Mycomicshop.com” and “milehighcomics.com” will buy used comics. I’m not sure if they give you a good deal, but I’ve ordered stuff from both sites before and they seem reliable enough. I also hear people get varying success with just donating their comics to youth centers or libraries. I’ve thought about it, but I sincerely doubt anyone would want my collection of “X-man” comics, even if I gave it to them.

As for the Sentry, I’m kind of digging his current role as Osborne’s bodyguard. I like the idea that this guy with god-like abilities is so unsure of himself, he easily bends to a stronger personality. It’s like if Superman worked for Lex Luthor.

On the Cabal issue, I’ll agree that the proximity of good and bad reviews is odd, but I think part of it is that the issue really isn’t possessed of any strong qualities, and it’s written by creators that, with the possible exception of Fraction (who is higher profile), people either like and want to support or haven’t really encountered and have no interest in tearing down. I can almost gaurantee if it had been same story but written by Bendis, Millar, and Morrison, you’d have a similar but much more vocal polarization where some people would be hailing it as genuis and while others were savaging it on charges of being self-indulgent, disrespectful of continuity and previous characterization, and largely incoherent.

For my part, I was one of the people who mostly agreed with your original post, but I didn’t hate the issue so much as thought it meh and not really relevant to the larger story it purported to be part of. If you hadn’t reviewed it, I probably never would have mentioned it either way.

Agreed on Mary Jane, though! Also, I wasn’t part of the sixties, but calling mousy bookworm PP “tiger” reminds me of those d-bags who call people “cheif” when they want to subtly belittle them.

Mary Jane knew that Peter was putting off meeting her, and she most likely figured it was for the actual reason he was doing it – which was he was afraid of who this girl was that Aunt May’s friend kept trying to push on him. So when she meets him, her comment is meant to speak to that fact.

I know, Brian, but it still rubs me the wrong way.

And I’ll never claim that Web of Spider-Man was a good comic, just that it was the one I followed when given a choice. To be fair, I picked up the odd issue JUST before the Clone Saga… most of my Spider-Man reading as a kid was during the Clone Saga. I loved that story then.

“What an arrogant bitch.”

Sheeeeeesh. “An arrogant bitch?” I’m guessing you’re a blast to go out with.

” Random Thought! “Will I ever reread those?” I think to myself, looking at the four volumes of 52 and I just can’t say. It’s certainly possible, especially if I feel like doing one trade each week for a month’s worth of Reread Reviews (which actually isn’t a bad idea), but… if I don’t think I’ll ever reread them, why do I keep them? Although, based on my experience of trading comics as a kid, I know that if I do ever get rid of them, sometime in the following ten years, I’ll have a strong urge to reread them and then where will I be? ”

I actually found 52 to be the opposite, a series that benefits greatly from multiple readings. Yes, it’s an inconsistent series ( like you’d expect a weekly written by a round-table of writers and a legion of artists ), but there’s an incredible amount of stuff going on, and it all ties together very well.

Plus, it demonstrates that the DC Universe has a lot going on when you remove the supervision of the big guns…

D.R. Cabal did zip for me I think I got bored and stopped reading and just flipped through and looked at the pictures. I don’t care for the Sentry please do use him and kill him dispose of him he’s just pointless you might be able to squeeze one good story out of him. later!

- Agreed about MJ

- My favourite Spidey title was adjectiveless Spider-Man. I always liked Tom Lyle’s work. I also loved Spider-Man Unlimited, because I’m a sucker for anthologies.

- The idea of Superman returning felt more like a “lie” than the Reign of the Supermen story did. I was naive enough, for about a week, to think that he might actually stay dead.

Agreed on Mary Jane, though! Also, I wasn’t part of the sixties, but calling mousy bookworm PP “tiger” reminds me of those d-bags who call people “cheif” when they want to subtly belittle them.

He wasn’t really a mousy bookworm at the point to be honest. Especially after Romita took over.

As far as the first run you read of a book being the definitive, I don’t agree. For example I was a big Spider-Man fan for years, but once I read the Lee/Ditko issues for the first time that automatically become the definitive run for me, the comic I measure not only all Spider-Man runs but all superhero comic runs in general against.

” As far as the first run you read of a book being the definitive, I don’t agree. For example I was a big Spider-Man fan for years, but once I read the Lee/Ditko issues for the first time that automatically become the definitive run for me, the comic I measure not only all Spider-Man runs but all superhero comic runs in general against. ”

Similarly for me, the first Iron Man comics I got into were reprints and back-issues of the Michelinie/Layton stuff. At the time, I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Now I find it vastly overrated after reading some of the more creative stories before and after.

( though I can’t say I have a definitive favorite Iron Man run; Fraction is coming very close, and Kaminski is definitely in competition, as are the Knaufs. Denny O’Neil and Luke McDonnel did the best single issues in the series’ history, though most of the parts aren’t the best except as part of the whole ).

The suggestion that good art is the only reason to buy a comic with bad writing has always baffled me despite my own use of it from time to time. Since I’m a very writer-focused reader, good art and bad writing just makes me angry that a good artist was wasted on a piece of shit comic.

I’m sad to say it took me years of buying Jeph Loeb comics to finally admit this. I mean… Tim Sale! Jim Lee! I couldn’t say no! It became a long recovery process:

1996: “Wow! Look at the pretty pictures in The Long Halloween! And we get 13 issues of this! I sure hope this is a great mystery story that will totally make sense by the end!”
1998: “Wow! Look at Sale on Superman for All Seasons! I sure hope that it doesn’t just repeat the same basic story elements that John Byrne wrote 12 years before!”
1999: “Wow, this art in Dark Victory is good… but isn’t this the same exact plot as Long Halloween?”
2002: “Wow, 12 issues of Jim Lee art! But… Bruce Wayne’s mysterious childhood best friend? Well, maybe I should just buy the Spanish editions so I can’t even read the words…”
2003: “Wow, a new Superman/Batman team-up book! A definite add to my pull…. oh, look at that, nevermind.”

What’s the definition of insanity? That thing about doing the same thing over and over again? Well, consider me insane from 1996-2002.

i was always partial to spectacular spiderman.
I categorize the spidey movies as the first one being amazing spidey and the second one spectacular spidey.
the third movie is categorized as shite. which kinda matches the clone saga, i guess.

Web of Spider-Man was my favorite for a while there too. Those Kyle Baker inks trump anything the other comics did at the time.

“Hellblazer” may be a lot like “Doctor Who,” in that whoever was fronting the series when you got into it will always be the Your Version (Eccleston will be that to a whole new generation, which is kinda cool). I started with Garth Ennis, so it’s always gonna be Ennis’s version. Ellis is a close second, but the run’s just not long enough (even with my print-out of “Shoot”).

What’s funny is it probably should be the ARTIST to define the character in your mind, but Constantine’s chiefly a voice and attitude. That said, after Steve Dillon, Marcelo Frusin’s beady-eyed Constantine is a very close second.

The Sentry…man, I don’t know what to deal with, there. Reading World War Hulk after New Avengers, I found it interesting that the same story element – Sentry’s crippled by indecision because he’s so powerful – can play two very different ways. WWH let us in on Sentry’s frustration, but then had him DO SOMETHING, while Bendis’s Sentry seems to not be entirely aware of what’s happening at any given moment. And when he DOES do something, the pacing’s so off that half the time you don’t even notice.

Jeff… Never really thought about what artist embodies John Constantine for me. Frusin would definitely be up there since he illustrated one of the Ellis issues I first got plus a big chunk of Azzarello’s run. Sean Phillips did some nice work on the character (I’d love to see him return for a short run). Tim Bradstreet dominates a bit because of all of the cover he did around the time I first got into the character plus he also drew an Ellis issue. I’m not sure there’s a definitive look to the character for me… if forced, I’d probably say Frusin, but that’s because he captures the creepy bastard element of Ellis and Azzarello’s takes on the character.

Not quite the same thing as buying comics with great art and awful writing, but I do occasionally buy untranslated manga despite not being able to read a word of Japanese solely because the artwork is so visually stunning. Really, the Suehiro Maruo collection that started my collection was too awesome to pass up regardless of what language it was in.

Here’s some random reactions: dude, you’re a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy – at least she called him tiger, yeah? I always liked Amazing best (Erik Larsen! Mark Bagley! The Prowler! Cardiac!), but I have a very soft spot for Spectacular – I’ve grown fonder and fonder of Sal Buscema’s pencils over the years, and I’m still waiting for the inevitable Outlaws reunion (still my favorite Marvel title ever – and it only exists in my head!). Also, Joe Robertson VS Tombstone. Sleazy Nick Katzenberg. Uptight Kate Cushing (more of a Web character, I know, I was just free-styling). I miss the pre-Clone Saga Spiderverse – though I also miss Ben Reilly. Anyway, FRAZER IRVING is that rare artist who, even when illustrating a warmed-over turd like Azrael: God’s Batman, for some reason demands my attention. I run into the same problem as you, so I just put in stickers over all the captions and balloons, and write my own story. Coincidentally, that’s exactly how Frank Tieri got started with his writing career too, only for him it was books drawn by Paul Ryan. Weirdest bunch of Fantastic Fours I ever fished from a back-issue bin, that’s for sure. Also: agreed on the Sentry. Agreed on Hellblazer – I love that final Ellis issue where all he does is tell nonsense about London and the royal family, and Hard Time is a Corben Classic. But if you enjoyed Preacher, the Ennis Hellblazer is worth seeking out as well. Dark Reign: the Cabal was very inoffensive, aside from that incredibly bad Hood story by Remender – was that dialogue written on a bet or something? Horrible, horrible. Peter Milligan however, should write a Loki MAX series. Sharpish like.

MJ:

Well, yeah. Did you see her those first couple of years? I’ve read those in Essentials and she was kind of a ****tease. It wasn’t until later when she and Peter got SERIOUSLY serious that she became the Lois Lane/Donna Reed hybrid that we all know and love today (up to OMD, at least).

Reign of the Supermen:
Did DC ever actually come out and SAY that one of the four would be Superman? I just recall that they said that there would be four replacements. I recall that era pretty well, and I’m re-reading them right now. I haven’t seen anything in the editorials saying that one of the four would definitively be Superman; Just that one was “The Man of Steel,” one was “The Last Son of Krypton,” one was “The Man of Tomorrow,” and one was… I forget what they called Superboy. “World’s Mightiest Teen,” or some such.

1996: “Wow! Look at the pretty pictures in The Long Halloween! And we get 13 issues of this! I sure hope this is a great mystery story that will totally make sense by the end!”
1998: “Wow! Look at Sale on Superman for All Seasons! I sure hope that it doesn’t just repeat the same basic story elements that John Byrne wrote 12 years before!”
1999: “Wow, this art in Dark Victory is good… but isn’t this the same exact plot as Long Halloween?”
2002: “Wow, 12 issues of Jim Lee art! But… Bruce Wayne’s mysterious childhood best friend? Well, maybe I should just buy the Spanish editions so I can’t even read the words…”
2003: “Wow, a new Superman/Batman team-up book! A definite add to my pull…. oh, look at that, nevermind.”

What’s the definition of insanity? That thing about doing the same thing over and over again? Well, consider me insane from 1996-2002.

You are one of the few people who seems to realize that Loeb always sucked, including his Tim Sale collaborations. That makes you saner than most, who sincerely believe tripe like Long Halloween, Dark Victory and Superman for All Seasons are classics.

Regarding what to do with comics you no longer want, I have two suggestions. One that won’t get rid of a lot of them, but is a lot of fun, is to give them to kids on Halloween. I did that this year, gave them a choice between candy or a comic. Over half picked the comic, and it was pretty much an even split of boys and girls picking the comic. Granted, that only got rid of like 20 comics, but it’s a good use for them.

If you just want to get rid of comics and get something for them, and live in an area with a Half Price Books, take them there. They buy everything, and pay cash. Granted, they might buy all 12 long boxes for a dollar total, but they take the whole ball of wax off your hands, and depending on the store/person buying you can get a pretty good price. I worked at HPB for 3 years and ran the comic section of my store. I paid on average $.05-$.25 per comic for average stuff, more if it was valuable or in high demand. Nothing to get rich off of, but it would come out to $15-$75 per long box usually. Better than just throwing them away.

Age Of Apocalypse was the one that jaded me.

I was new to Wizard when it came out, and me and my friends really only got news before that from letter pages and Bullpen pages, so when they said they were killing Xavier and changing everything, I believed them.
Actually, I loved that whole story (at the time), it was when they got back from that and every title meandered, and they headed towards the next crossover that I realsied they were making it up as they went along (barely), and that I just didn’t care what happened.

As far as the first run you read of a book being the definitive, I don’t agree.

I’ve gotta agree with T here.

I got into comics through X-Men, and though I loved my mid-90′s Fabian Nicieza at the time, Morrison’s run is easily my fave of all.
The first Constatine I read was Paul Jenkins, then some Ennis, then Ellis, then Azz, then Delano, then Moore and then the rest of Ennis… and yet it’s a toss up between Ennis and Ellis for me.
(In fact, as I only read a few Jenkins stories I can’t comment on his really, but all the rest of the guys write a Constatine I like to read! It’s everything after Azz that feels wrong to me).

On another, Moore’s replacement Wildcat’s is the first I read, but I actually prefered the Choi/Lee Wildcat’s – it was just dumb and colourful and they all made sense in that setting.
That said, it’s Casey’s ‘living after the war is over’ Wildcats I love the best.

I think I just make whatever run I like best ‘the definitive run’ in my mind – it’s the one I want to see more of!

Jeff… Never really thought about what artist embodies John Constantine for me. Frusin would definitely be up there since he illustrated one of the Ellis issues I first got plus a big chunk of Azzarello’s run.

I loved Frusin, but I thought Higgens art really, really worked with Ellis’ script on the ‘Haunted’ arc.

Wished we got to see more of Frank Teran’s Constatnine though.
Hell, I just wish we got to see more of Frank Teran’s artwork.

If FCBD was all reprint stories I would agree, but I see no reason to miss out on a preview to Blackest Night and a neat little Avengers story just because I’m not the reason for the holiday.

If FCBD was all reprint stories I would agree, but I see no reason to miss out on a preview to Blackest Night and a neat little Avengers story just because I’m not the reason for the holiday.

For sure – and if the store is smart, they’ll have a big sale on as well and so they make a ton of money off old fans and new alike!

(which is of course the real reason for FCBD – making money!!!)

Thats who Orton (or at least who he’s portraying himself as) reminds me of. He’s so pompous and arrogant he could play namor in a movie.

Constantine for me is a toss-up between Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis. Visually though? Gotta go with the Glenn Fabry covers from Ennis’ run…

Used to have a HUGE poster of the cover where a weary Constantine is leaning against the doorframe with bloodstains on his shirt…

Late 80s/Early 90s Spider-man was all about Buscema on Spectacular, though Web was still fun.

Have no idea who Randy Orton is, but visually? yup! Look’s like a good Namor to me. Just Vulcanise those ears a bit…

I have mountains of TPBs in the loft that I keep trying to rotate through and re-read… I lie to myself that I’m holding onto some for the kids when they grow up, buy really it’s that thing of knowing that I might want to re-read a story in ten years time that may be out of print… (Marvelman/Miracleman, I’m looking at you! I don’t want to spend £200 on “Olympus”!)

The Atomic Robo book was more than enough justification for FCBD, it was pure joy on paper. That story was the best read of the month, if not the year.

My own random thought re: Mary Jane…

I understand there’s a character featured in Spider-Man currently called Jackpot. Has anyone yet said to him/her, “Face it, Jackpot — you just hit the Tiger!”?

I remember liking “Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man” back when it was around issue 95. That series seemed to focus more on Peter’s life, while “The Amazing Spider-Man” was your usual superhero Spider-man, and “Web of Spider-Man” was the cool/alternate book for Spider-Man.

I guess it was the human interest that appealed to me.

I can see that Constantine is a lot like Doctor Who, or James Bond, in that your first exposure to the character will always be the definitive version for you. Even so, I always think of Delano’s take on him first, even though I was around at the very beginning for the “Hey, look, it’s Sting!” days of Moore/Bissette/Totleben. Ennis was great, of course, and I loved Ellis’s version. It’s too bad he didn’t stick around longer.

While we’re on the subject, it’s kind of strange that this is such a factor for Constantine more than other characters in comics. You never hear anyone say, for example, “Gee, Johns is doing a great job on Superman, but Jurgens really defined the character for me.” Then again, there may be a reason for that, but you get my point.

As it happens, I’ve been reading through my “52″ floppies lately. I’d made about three trips to the comics shop without buying anything, and then I thought rather than complaining about all the comics they’re publishing these days that I don’t want to read, why not read this amazing series that I already own? With its interweaving plot lines and super-hero characters who — miracle of miracles — change over time, “52″ may be the closest thing I’ve read to an actual “graphic novel.”

And I’ll cast my vote along with Ittousagi for “Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man.” I began reading the series when Peter David was writing it and loved the fact that it was gritty but not grim, and that Spider-Man spent his time fighting burglars and murderers rather than costumed criminals. “The Death of Jean DeWolff” is still my gold standard when it comes to Spider-Man stories.

I had a preference for Web as well. I think it’s because I started picking it up from issue #1, so I felt I had more of an “ownership” to the title. The adjectiveless Spider-Man was just okay. The art was great, but more often than not, the stories didn’t make too much sense.

And when it comes to parting with comic books and trades we’ll never read again… well, if you were coming of age during the 90s, then the “collector” mentality is still probably screwing with your head. I mean, do you really need to keep Supreme #1, or all your multiple copies of X-Force #1? OR… And I don’t know if I’m the only person who does this, but I think I may personify my collection a little too much… I mean, does anyone else think their comic books are going to hate you for getting rid of them?

I don’t recall anyone ever stating that one of the four was the real Superman. The house ads asked “Which is the real Superman?” Everyone I talked to back then agreed “None of them.”

Ennis’s Constantine is definitive for me, too… and yep, that was the run that I got into the book on.

“While we’re on the subject, it’s kind of strange that this is such a factor for Constantine more than other characters in comics. You never hear anyone say, for example, “Gee, Johns is doing a great job on Superman, but Jurgens really defined the character for me.” Then again, there may be a reason for that, but you get my point.”

I’ll say it. I came in in the early 80s, before Crisis and the reboot, but Jurgens and the whole “Triangle Era” team had the definitive vision of Superman, as far as I’m concerned.

What ever happened to Frank Teran, anyway? I was really excited to see the rest of his Desolation Jones arc, but not sure if we’ll ever hear from that property again…

(By which I mean DC/Wildstorm/Vertigo/whichever imprint was publishing it has probably cooled on it – though if all rights belong to Ellis, I wouldn’t be shocked to see it show up at Avatar some day.)

What ever happened to Frank Teran, anyway? I was really excited to see the rest of his Desolation Jones arc, but not sure if we’ll ever hear from that property again…

I believe you’re mixing up Frank Teran with Danijel Zezelj.

Both have vaguely similar styles – very stylized but also very ‘rough’ looking.

More work from both I say!

I think Edge would make a better model for Namor. He has that Bill Everett triangle head.

Trashing Dark Reign: the Cabal!? Oh, I’ll gladly disagree on this one, although I have to get to work so I don’t have much time now. I thought it was probably the best Marvel book of the week, and I don’t expect much of anthologies. But here we had five well-written stories, by some of Marvel’s best up-and-coming talent, a couple of which actually moved their characters forward.

The first piece was just a clever little short story giving Hickman a chance to shed some light on the mind and the ambitions of Doom. The dialogue worked for me, the usurping of the Hood was a nice touch, and the art was fantastic. Certain implausibilities gave me pause at first (the shot of Emma and Loki, or the strangling at the end) but then what’s the story angle? This is simply the future vision of the greatest egotist in the Marvel Universe.

Fraction’s story was a well-stated recap of Emma’s history, showing us what he’s been saying all along about how her history as a teacher of mutant children in a hostile world has led her to this point, where she’s working with the cabal. It doesn’t move her story forward so it’s actually a bit less exciting to me than some of the other stories here, but it makes sense to show Marvel readers who haven’t been around for 20 years what’s shaped Emma into the person she is today and considering the story’s told in about 8 pages here, it’s well done.

Remender’s Hood story completely stole the spotlight for me. It’s easily the best Hood story since Vaughan’s original mini-series, showing us greater depth to his character than what Bendis has given us New Avengers, and taking us back into the life of Parker Robbins, whose family has been conspicuously missing in his recent appearances. It moves the character’s story forward, the dialogue is top notch, and even if you see the punchline coming it’s told with great finesse.

Then we’ve got Kieron Gillen on Namor. Most of Namor’s recent appearances have been about clashes or collaborations with other heroes. Here we get to see him as a king, and as a judge, to his own people. His monologues are totally in character and it’s nice to see the character in this kind of action. This play out against the back-drop of a well-crafted philosophical morality play, where we see a couple quarreling over the fate of their gifted child. Gillen also uses this story to debut a new character who may well be turning up in Uncanny X-Men, and brand-new Marvel heroes are also not something I expect from anthologies, so: bonus!

Then we’ve got Peter Milligan’s Loki story which, ok, yes, totally should’ve taken place in the THOR book, and that’s my one complaint about it. It’s a bit late and it’s in the wrong place, but the storytelling is solid, the positions taken by each character make sense, and the ropes that Doom puts Loki through at the beginning to test him are a lot of fun.

All in all, a fantastic book and a pleasant surprise. Probably the most consistent superhero anthology book I’ve seen, or at least in quite a while.

Oh, duh. I did confuse Teran with Zezelj. I should’ve known something was amiss when I was able to spell the artist’s name without checking to see how many J’s were in it.

Okay, so what happened to either of them?