True Believer Reviews

Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Tony Moore

The Circle has opened, and in February’s weekly Venom event, Flash Thompson is joined by the new female Ghost Rider, the Red Hulk who has been sent to kill him, and X-23, Wolverine’s clone who is out for blood. Writers Rick Remender, Jeff Parker and Rob Williams team up to tell this six part story that kicks off this week with an extra sized starting issue.

And boy, does it kick off. The story begins with a bang, and keeps the throttle down all the way through this issue, and looks to continue that way all the way through. Readers of Venom’s series will easily slip into this new storyline that builds on the previous four issues, but Remender gives enough information for new readers to dive in head first and understand everything that’s going on. He does this fairly organically, both using the recap page at the beginning of the book and some subtle exposition as the story progresses. This ensures that whether you’re a regular reader of the title or merely a fan of the characters involved, you’ll be able to get the most out of this book right away.

Remender also makes sure that the entire book flows organically. You would expect that these four characters wouldn’t simply come together on their own, so having them all arrive at the same point together could feel forced. Yet they all have different reasons for being in Las Vegas, where the story is set, and these reasons clash together to form a big overarching storyline that plays to each character’s strength. They may be a little quick to put aside their differences and fight together, but at their heart each of the four protagonists are heroes, and they know a bad guy when they see one.

Remender has a great grasp of each of the characters also, so the fact that the book is narrated by all four of them and still remains cohesive is a triumph of storytelling. Despite some characters, like Red Hulk and X-23, only being the narrator for a while, their purposes in the story are easily communicated to the reader and their place in the plot is clear from only a few pages of their presence. They each have their own voice that they tell their point of view with, and these are easily differentiated (and I don’t just mean by the different coloured text boxes).

I’ve spent quite a bit of time talking about the characters, but the plot is very well done too. As I mentioned earlier, there are lots of plot points from both Venom’s and X-23’s series that contribute to the plot of Circle of Four, but these are really just a springboard into a mystical battle with some of Marvel’s best demonic characters. This entire storyline is meant to be a throwback to the New Fantastic Four storyline in the 90s in which Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine and Ghost Rider teamed up for a while, and the premise of this storyline is almost so 90s it hurts; but in a good way. I think the only part that feels a bit off is the cliffhanger, which feels a little contrived in order to set up nemeses for all of the characters, but with the strength of the storytelling so far, I have full faith in Remender and his writing team to pull this off.

Tony Moore is at home drawing monstrous, madcap characters and this is the perfect story for him. With Hell on Earth, plus Ghost Rider and the Red Hulk wandering around, this entire issue is full of Moore’s best work. It’s a shame that Moore can’t work on every issue of Venom, but when he does come along, it’s well worth the wait. The colour palette of the book visibly shifts when Hell hits the scene to a darker, redder colouring across everything, and it helps alter the tone of the book to a more hopeless one.

When Circle of Four was announced, it was easy to dismiss it as a waste of time and Marvel being out for money in a five week month. However, the more I learned of the plot, the more I looked forward to it, and now that the first issue has been in my hands, I can safely say that this is much more than it appears. Remender sets the bar very high in this first issue, helped every step of the way by Tony Moore’s superb artwork, and now it’s up to Parker, Williams, Garbett, Takeda, Totino and Medina to carry the torch through the rest of the story.

8.5/10

Writer: Christos Gage

Artist: Tom Grummett

I want to like the new direction that Christos Gage has taken this series in. In many ways he should be praised for keeping such a strong focus on the series’ original cast while introducing several interesting, well fleshed out new characters. He deserves plaudits also,  for managing to maintain a relatable and balanced group of antagonists. This title really should work, but unfortunately the execution spoils what should be one of the most enjoyable books currently published by Marvel.

It’s difficult to pinpoint where exactly Gage’s failings lie. Despite doing an admirable job of juggling a weighty cast, the book still feels overcrowded. What had been a perfectly balanced group of characters now seem to be jostling for panel space, and although Gage manages to imbue them all with well defined personalities, he appears to be fighting a losing battle. It is perhaps inevitable that some have been crowded out. Gage’s dialogue also seems to lack the adeptness that he has for characterisation. It is a shame that some of the series’ more poignant moments have ended up hamstrung by overly wordy and frankly dated dialogue. That it is dated is perhaps the main charge that could be levelled at Avengers Academy. No amount of strong characterisation or solid plotting can disguise a book that feels as though it belongs in another era. Tom Grummett’s art, while competent enough does not help, and lends the story a cartoony style that cannot help but colour some of the series’ more serious moments. Hybrid, while clearly a means to an end, feels like a relic from another age, in both characterisation, design and dialogue. The shadowy future versions of the Academy are formiddable and interesting adversaries, but the more immediate threat is far from engaging.

It is ironic that since the core Avengers titles have enjoyed something of a resurgance, this series has struggled to reach the heights of its pre-Fear Itself era. Everything about Avengers Academy is solid, and enjoyable enough, but it falls ever so short of the heights that we all know Gage can reach. Adequate, but unfortunately little more.

5/10

Writer: Dennis Hopeless
Artist: Juan Doe

There aren’t really any notable releases this week, at least not any that I picked up myself. As a result, I’m going to review an entire mini-series that finished this week instead, and I’ll try and use this tactic whenever there’s a week in which I can’t find anything to review. Therefore welcome to my first Mini-Series Review, which is for the just completed Legion of Monsters series.

I’m quite partial to the supernatural side of things, which is evident when you look at all of the Dark series I pull from DC. Marvel doesn’t really corner the supernatural very much, at least not regularly, so when a mini-series about all of the monstrous characters in the Marvel Universe popped up, I grabbed at the chance to read it. Relative newcomer Dennis Hopeless tackles fan favourite characters such as Morbius the Living Vampire, Manphibian, the Living Mummy, the Werewolf by Night, and monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone. Joined by Juan Doe on pencilling duties, this mini-series could have gone one of two ways: monstrously good, or supernaturally bad.

I found myself amazed at how much I did enjoy this series; Hopeless has a wonderful way with each character, completely nailing their voice on the team and making sure that they each get time in the spotlight, even if certain characters aren’t as essential to the plot as others. There’s even time for guest stars like Dracula, who slide in effortlessly and always bring something new to the table. It’s evident that Hopeless is a fan of these characters, and this makes them even more fun to read here.

Of course, good characterisation is nothing without a good plot, and Hopeless delivers on this front also. Whilst a little cliché in places, he spins an intriguing yarn that keeps the reader guessing as to the true villain all the way to the end of the book, and he isn’t afraid to pull things out of left field and hit the reader with some whiplash inducing plot twists. There’s even space for a trip to hell, a budding romance, and some hijinx along the way too. Even when the book is just expositing, it is never dull because of the well crafted narrative Hopeless provides.

A quirky title deserves a quirky artist, and Juan Doe has quirk in spades. Despite a sketchy style, nothing ever looks out of proportion or unbelievable, and when you consider that this book is set in the world of monsters, this is an even bigger achievement. Each character has their own way of moving and individual body language that helps them communicate Hopeless’ plot across. There is plenty of opportunity for Doe to let loose as well, with monsters galore and huge scenes full of crowds that he goes to town with, but he also knows how to reign it in for more subtle scenes like a conversation. His style could easily run away with him and become a mess, but instead Doe has a fantastic time with the book and compliments the story perfectly.

With Marvel’s new initiative on lower selling books and smaller mini-series, we probably won’t see anything like Legion of Monsters again for a long time, which is a damn shame considering how enjoyable this book is. It is consistently good fun, well scripted and excellently drawn, providing something that fans of the characters can go back to every now and then to remind them that their favourites can be treated properly when Marvel want to.  Whilst it may not be about the bigger selling teams like the X-Men or the Avengers, there is always a place on the market for niche books like Legion of Monsters, and hopefully both Hopeless and Doe are given the opportunity to create something like this again.

8/10

All four issues of Legion of Monsters are now available in your local comic shop, and the collected edition featuring all four issues will be available in paperback on March 28th.

Writer: Chris Yost
Artist: Ryan Stegman

Spinning out of Spider-Island comes the first Scarlet Spider comic since the mid-90s. With a new creative team and a new man behind the mask, the Scarlet Spider is heading as far away from New York City as he can and running into a heap of trouble as a result. The clone of Spider-Man, Kaine is equipped with one of Spidey’s tech suits, “borrowed” from Horizon Labs and a darker outlook on life than Peter Parker. Does his first adventure in his own solo title swing to success, or get himself stuck together?

Chris Yost hits a home run when it comes to portraying Kaine as his own character. Despite being a clone of Peter Parker, his different experiences throughout his short and painful life have given him a grim outlook, and now that he finally finds himself free of his degeneration disease, he’s really only out for himself. But at his core, he is still Peter Parker, and this self-interest clashes with his inherent care for other people, and so Kaine runs afoul of the criminal element and finds himself saving the day, whether he wants to or not. Kaine’s inner monologue is conflicted and persuasive; it feels like a man at a crossroads, being dragged in two directions, and this comes across well in his actions as well.

Most of the issue is fairly subdued, giving new readers time to catch up on Kaine’s recent past and then setting up his future, establishing what he feels and how he reacts to certain situations. The differences between Kaine and Peter are apparenty from the get-go, with his more brutal fighting style and ways of dealing with people easily communicated. There are some nice references to the Clone Saga and Kaine’s part in all of that, but Yost manages to keep it mostly uncluttered background knowledge that will bring everyone up to speed without being very confusing (More on this later). All of Kaine’s backstory is given to the reader in a neat two page spread, and this keeps it from intruding on the other story Yost is telling here.

Wisely, Yost gives Kaine most of the space in the issue, but doesn’t neglect some kind of ongoing plot that will hook you back in for another issue. It seems fairly straight forward to begin with, a nasty ring of human traffickers that Kaine confronts, saving a young girl. However, the arrival of a metahuman assassin at the end of the issue looks like it’ll be more trouble than Kaine bargained for, and there’s a suitable air of mystery around what’s really going on.

Artist Ryan Stegman performs admirably throughout the book, with some wonderful splash pages such as a fight between Kaine, Peter Parker and Ben Reilly as a flashback, and the stunning double page spread that features Kaine’s origin. He also has no problem with the smaller panels, bringing a fluid brutality to Kaine’s fighting style, and even nailing the more comic panels like Kaine bellowing at an old woman. You can also tell that he has worked at making Kaine his own character whilst still being true to his Parker origins; he holds himself differently, and despite a haircut midway through the book, he still has a familiar way of moving that likens him to his counterpart. Stegman also gives the setting of the book its own personality; you can tell straight away that Houston is nothing like the Manhattan we’re used to having Spider-Man swinging through, and it helps set this book apart from both Amazing Spider-Man and Venom, who both use the familiar city as a backdrop.

As an aside, if you’ve never read any of the Clone Saga, I would advise you not to read the Scarlet Spider Saga at the back of the book; it attempts to condense the entire storyline into four or five pages of short dialogue boxes, and just serves to confuse the reader. Yost captures everything you need to know in the main story, and reading the Saga would just be counterproductive.

Of all the things to come out of the Clone Saga, the last you would have expected would have been a failed clone of Peter Parker getting his own ongoing series, yet here we are with one issue down. Yost and Stegman team up to create something that both nostalgic fans of the Clone Saga like myself and brand new readers who only know Kaine from Spider-Island, or not at all, will be able to enjoy. It’s obvious how much work has been put into this issue, and it shines through. Even if you’re not a big fan of Spider-Man or his associated characters, check out Scarlet Spider #1 and see if this darker shade of Spidey is up your alley.

8/10