True Believer Reviews

Writer: Dan Slott
Penciller: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Victor Olzaba
Colourist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: Virtual Calligraphy’s Joe Caramagna

Previously, in Amazing Spider-Man: Peter Parker has finally hit the Big Time. With a swanky new job at Horizon Labs, designing new gadgets and gizmos for his dual life as Spider-Man couldn’t be easier. Spidey is also a card-carrying member of the Avengers now too, which comes with its own benefits – like having someone to watch your back.

Doctor Octopus and the Sinister Six have convinced the leaders of the world that he can save them from global warming with his Octavian Lens satellites. Spidey and the Avengers disagree, but after the Avengers are defeated at the hands of the Six, it now falls to Spidey, Black Widow and Silver Sable to try to stop Ock’s plans before they come to fruition. Unfortunately, Ock has set the world leaders a new task in order to secure his cooperation – capture Spider-Man!

__

For a storyline that is literally shaking the world, this issue is very much about Peter Parker as a character. Though we barely see his face this issue, it is a perfect testament to how Peter has changed recently, and just how far he has come. Leading his own little strike team against Doc Ock, Peter really steps up as a leader, barking orders and disciplining Silver Sable when she doesn’t do as he asks. Of course, all of this is with the usual Parker reluctance – Peter’s not used to this role, but Slott has placed him in it, and as he is wont to do, Peter rises to the occasion. Despite the gravity of the Sinister Six’s plan, Spidey will still be the one to save the day – because that’s just who he is, and he won’t stop until he has.

It’s not just Spidey that Slott is a master of writing, either. Only a few pages are devoted to Mary Jane Watson, but she rings as true to character as ever, and almost promises a return to the previous status quo that fans are scrambling for. The aid that both Silver Sable and Black Widow are offering Spidey is also well realised, with Sable’s motivational speech reiterating to the reader that which we all know already – Spidey is more than he seems, behind all the jokes beats the heart of a hero. It’s nice to see the other heroes in the Marvel Universe acknowledge this when Spidey is usually relegated to back-seat jokes instead of anything of import. It’s not just the heroes either – there’s a brilliant exchange with the team at Horizon Labs that shows how even normal citizens realise what Spidey always seems to underestimate about himself.

Slott pulls a very well done bit of misdirection in this issue whilst all this is going on. It’s been a bit of a “Will he? Won’t he?” with regards to Doc Ock’s plan to help/murder the entire human race, and this issue compounds this by having the entire world doubting Spidey. It’s enough to make you wonder if he could be wrong, even if you know that he’s not. With the entire world, including SHIELD and the United Nations (and even Dan Slott himself in a cheeky little cameo) seeming to support Doc Ock’s plan, it makes the final reveal even more devastating when you realise that you might have actually doubted Spidey, whose resolve is unshaking, even in the face of all the naysayers.

As with the previous issue, Humberto Ramos fills in for Stefano Caselli in this issue, and his style remains consistent. We know from Spider-Island that he can draw six issues in a row and still perform just as well, so having two in a row must be nothing. From his depiction of Doc Ock, it is clear that he is on death’s door, and I must mention Edgar Delgado’s colouring on the final few pages that really hits home how powerful Ock’s new weapon is.

I’d heard this issue called predictable elsewhere, but I must disagree. This is another in a line of excellent issues that highlights why Spider-Man is the heart of the Marvel Universe; other heroes may be more popular, or looked up to more often, but Spidey will always be the heart and soul, which is something Slott understands intimately. Ends of the Earth continues to impress, and the stakes are now even higher going into the final two issues of the story.

8/10

Writers: Scott Lobdell and Tom DeFalco
Penciller: Brett Booth
Inkers: Norm Rapmund, Sal Regla, Marlo Alquiza and John Livesay
Colourist: Andrew Dalhouse
Letterer: Rob Leigh

Previously, in Teen Titans: The Teen Titans returned to the Antarctic base of the mysterious organisation NOWHERE in order to rescue Superboy, who had been sentenced to death. Once there, they were brought face to face with the villainous leader of NOWHERE, Harvest, who easily defeated them and offered them to Omen, another teenage metahuman who preyed on their darkest fears in order to subjugate them whilst preparations for the Culling ritual were made.

Elsewhere, NOWHERE’s elite force of teenage metahumans, the Ravagers, lead by Rose Wilson, captured a team of time-displaced teens from the Legion of Superheroes. Now the Teen Titans, Superboy, and the Legion Lost must work together in order to survive the Culling – or face death at the hands of the Ravagers.

__

I mentioned in my previous review for Teen Titans #8 that I was getting tired of not getting any answers about The Culling, NOWHERE, and the Ravagers. Luckily, this issue does its best to address them. We discover the true purpose of the Culling and what Harvest is doing. These questions are soon replaced by new ones regarding Harvest’s origins, as the Legion Lost’s presence brings these about. It’s nice that we’re finally getting somewhere, and gives the reader something new to ponder about whilst digesting the answers that they do get.

I think that having the Teen Titans and the Legion Lost together works quite well for the most part. It plays out like a typical initial meeting between two superheroes, with the teams fighting first before realising that working together is the best thing given the circumstances and forming an uneasy truce. The same applies to Superboy’s presence as he reluctantly joins the two teams in order to show Harvest just what he thinks of being used as a weapon.

This is a very large issue, with lots going on (most of it fighting), and whilst it does improve as it goes on, the dialogue in the early parts of the issue is very stiff. Lobdell and DeFalco don’t seem to grasp what a contraction is (like don’t, instead of do not) until about halfway through, and it makes reading the first few chapters quite clunky and it can take the reader out of the story. Once they do realise this however, the story flows a little better.

Regular Teen Titans artist Brett Booth draws this enormous annual, and his pencils are aided by an army of inkers. However, there is a consistency to his art and he tackles all of the newcomers with just as much precision as he has on previous Teen Titans issues. Booth’s interpretation of the Ravagers and Legion Lost is enjoyable and fits in with how he has drawn the Teen Titans before, so nothing feels out of place. His depiction of Omen and Harvest is especially creepy, which is perfect.

Whilst the majority of the story is a mass fight scene between the Titans, Legion, Superboy and the other teenage metahumans, there are enough answers and new questions posed that will keep you engaged for most of it. The cliffhanger isn’t really much to go on, but it promises more fighting to come, which is what superhero books are famous for. The Culling started off on a wrong foot with some dodgy dialogue, but by the time the issue comes to a close, it has its feet firmly on the right path to being an enjoyable crossover.

6/10

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artists: Marco Rudy and Yanick Paquette
Colourists: Nathan Fairbarn and Val Staples
Letterer: Travis Lanham

Previously, in Swamp Thing: Alec Holland was recently returned to life with clouded memories as the hero known as Swamp Thing in the back of his mind. Whilst attempting to find answers, he found himself under attack by the forces of Sethe, the grotesque monster that lords over the Rot. Teaming up with his past love, Abigail Arcane, Alec tried to take the battle to Sethe. However, he resisted the Parliament of Trees, the leaders of the Green who could transform him back into the Swamp Thing to battle the Rot.

Now, all hope is lost. Abby has succumbed to the Rot and been transformed into a deformed creature of evil. Alec, heartbroken and dying from a grievous wound, used the last of his bio-restorative formula to transform himself back into the Swamp Thing. Initially decimating Sethe’s forces, he soon found himself face to face with Abby’s new form, and was summarily defeated.

__

Since Scott Snyder took hold of Swamp Thing with the New 52 relaunch, every issue has been superb, building on the previous issues to top them and drive the bar ever higher. It quickly became a firm favourite of mine, and paired with its sister title Animal Man, always made the first week of the month a reason to be cheerful. This issue stealthily appears to be a departure from this formula for the first half, almost turning into a pure fighting issue with no substance, but then Snyder pulls the wool from your eyes and shows his full hand, knocking you for a loop once again.

I’m not sure if this kind of storytelling was intentional or not – either way, it is very effective. By lulling you into a false sense of security, Snyder makes the ultimate reveals later in the book even more powerful. Without spoilers, there are at the very least two moments in the book that will make you gasp, and fans of the earlier incarnations of Swamp Thing will have a little something extra to take away from the cliffhanger ending.

With the build-up to the battle with Sethe coming to a head in issue 7, I was confused as to how we would progress, since Swamp Thing and Animal Man are on a collision course for a crossover from issue 12 onwards, and if Snyder was going to drag out the Sethe story until then, I was unsure as to how enjoyable it would be. I should learn not to doubt him, since this issue proves once again that he is one of the most unpredictable writers in comics at the moment – you would be hard pressed to guess what is going to happen next, and in an age when comics can easily become routine, this is truly special.

Series regular Yanick Paquette draws the first few pages of this issue before segueing into regular fill-in artist Marco Rudy’s pages to round out the issue. The pair has been tag teaming since the beginning of the series, but this issue marks the first time they’ve both drawn the same issue, and I think this helps highlight the different between them. Whereas Paquette’s pencils are more solid and help emphasize the grotesque nature of the villains in this book, Rudy’s are more earthy and insubstantial, which makes the later fight scenes seem almost unreal as Swamp Thing and his opponents battle across the pages. They both have a wonderful grasp for panel arrangements and transitions that make every page different from the next in design, contributing to Snyder’s unpredictable plotting with their own brand of randomness.

Swamp Thing looked to take a dive this issue, only to rise up even stronger. This is true of both the character and the series as a whole, with issue 9 being another superb instalment of the series. When we look back on Snyder’s run in the years to come, it will stand up there with Alan Moore’s critically acclaimed run as one of the best uses of the character.

8/10

Writer: Kieron Gillen
Penciller: Greg Land
Inker: Jay Leisten
Colourist: Guru eFX
Letterer: Virtual Calligraphy’s Joe Caramagna

Previously, in Uncanny X-Men: When the Scarlet Witch depowered almost all of the mutants on Earth with one spell, she left only 198 with their mutant abilities. Mutants were an endangered species, until the birth of the first new mutant since what had become known as M-Day. This little girl was sent into the future, protected by Cable, and raised into a young woman before returning to the present. All the hopes of the mutant race are now pinned on Hope Summers.

The Phoenix Force, a cosmic being of immeasurable power, is returning to Earth and both the Avengers and the X-Men believe that it is coming for Hope. However, the X-Men believe that this will herald the return of mutants, whilst the Avengers believe that it will destroy the planet. Captain America and the Avengers have arrived at Utopia, the island home of the X-Men, in order to take Hope into protective custody. Unfortunately, Cyclops and his Extinction Team are having none of it…

__

As I mentioned during my review of Wolverine and the X-Men #8, there are a lot of ways in which an event tie-in book can fail: it can retread the same storyline as the main event, or forget all of the storylines that were going on before the event in favour of what has to happen during the event instead. Very few books tend to come out of events totally unscathed by the interference of an event, but if I had to trust anyone to manage it, it would be Kieron Gillen.

Whilst he does in fact go over some of the same events as Avengers Vs. X-Men #1-2, they are retold from different perspectives, giving some insight into what other characters are thinking during these moments. For example, we learn of Namor’s true reasons for following the X-Men, and what exactly was going through Hope’s mind when she defeated her former team-mates as well as Spider-Man and Wolverine. Each of these perspectives feels unique, as they should, and this really illustrates how far into the characters heads that Gillen has gotten. Even a few thought boxes are enough to know which character is speaking, even if there were no accompanying images to illustrate the point.

There are also some unique events in this issue that aren’t played out in other issues. Firstly, we see Colossus and the Red Hulk battling in the waters surrounding Utopia, and we are treated to a continuation of the Juggernaut plotline that Gillen has been building since near the beginning of his run on this title before it was relaunched. There is also some reference made to the past two issues, with Unit playing a role in the opening scene and making some worrying statements that will likely impact Hope and Danger soon. Once again similar to Wolverine and the X-Men, there is enough here to warrant a purchase for new readers who have jumped on for the crossover, whilst long-standing readers or those uninterested in the crossover still have some other plotlines to get their teeth into.

The other artist on the rotating schedule for Uncanny X-Men, Greg Land, returns this issue, and his work is of his usual calibre. Renowned for tracing/lightboxing his artwork, I personally find Land’s work enjoyable to read, and always consistent. He is one of those artists with whom you know what you are going to get, and you will never be disappointed. Of course, some people find him terrible because of this, but as I’ve said with previous artists like Humberto Ramos, there’s nothing I can say that will convince you to enjoy his work if you do not already.

Gillen’s previous forays into event tie-in stories have always met with success. His work on Journey Into Mystery during Fear Itself, or on Thor during Siege, were excellent, and he seems to have discovered a winning formula that he can stick to and always turn out something enjoyable for any reader that picks up his titles – Uncanny X-Men seems to be following that pattern.

7/10