As always, welcome to another Wednesday edition of The Beat’s Marvel Rundown, True Believers! It’s time to thank you for another great comic book review. This week, the Avengers enjoy an endless summer on the California coast in West Coast Avengers #1 from Gerry Duggan and Danny Kim. But that’s not all. Stay tuned after our (spoiler-free!) main review of Rapid Rundown, including check-ins with Incredible Hulk #19, Iron Man #2, and Uncanny X-Men #6.
The Beat wants to hear from you, true believers! Let us know what you think of this week’s Marvel Comics! Shout out in the comments section below or on social media @comicsbeat or @comicsbeat.bsky.social Shout out to me and tell me what’s good and what’s not.
Excelsior!
West Coast Avengers #1
Screenplay: Jerry Duggan
Artist: Danny Kim
Colorist: Arthur Hesli
Written by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover artist: Ben Harvey
The West Coast Avengers pitch is perfect. Pick one high-profile Avenger, stick him into a team full of unhackable second and third stringers as support players for the main Avengers, and just go crazy. The West Coast Avengers have produced many memorable and bizarre stories over the years, including almost everything people remember about Scarlet Witch, from her imaginary twins to her mental instability. There are few writers today better suited to the eccentric eccentrics of the WCA than Gerry Duggan. , he proved adept at balancing humor, pathos, and action.
This new interpretation loosely and unconvincingly reflects the current status of Iron Man (Spencer Ackerman and Julius Ohta’s new series), alongside Spider-Woman, Iron Man’s trusted friend War Machine, and mutant outcast Firestar. supported by The team is joined by former villains Blue Bolt and Ultron (obviously not a costly mistake in the first six issues). The goal is to provide the villains with a chance for redemption and mentorship while keeping the West Coast safe. This includes Iron Man’s positive attitude towards his mission, which makes sense for Tony Stark, a futurist and problem solver.
The story here is a direct extension of Duggan’s work with Iron Man and the X-Men, and Tony’s new, open-minded ideas about reforming bad guys are due to his experiences and actions there. It is thought that. Firestar arrives distressed by his position as a double agent and perceived traitor to his own kind. Her introduction is humorous, but it’s clearly one of the darkest places she’s ever been mentally. That’s the fun of Duggan comics. He doesn’t compromise the drama or story with humor, instead finding moments of lightness in human frailty and hurt.
However, this first issue is clunky with a large amount of narration placed at the beginning to explain the book’s concept. Duggans tries to get past all that exposition by throwing us into a whole team of superhero action scenes at the same time, but it does so at the expense of actually showing us why it exists. There’s no explanation of who Blue Bolt is or why Ultron is better now. I would have liked to have gotten more insight into Iron Man’s decision to build his team around Ultron’s reformation, especially given the current cash flow and technology issues.
Luckily, artist Danny Kim’s style is expressive, dynamic, exciting, and has a lot of room, so you can forget the who and why questions and watch Iron Man kick the punks away. You can enjoy watching the electric scooter drive away. He does a great job with page composition and layout, placing the characters at the center of the larger spectacle. A page consists of just four panels. Following a mid-shot, a close-up image of a cancer patient sharing his experience takes up the entire page, before a small insert of Tony Stark reacting, and a panel of Spider-Woman exiting the room in the bottom right. They overlap. It disappears from the page quickly. There is an intimacy in the focus on her face, and the immaculate emptiness of the white space that surrounds the woman’s heartfelt emotions, forcing us to sit with her emotions, and then my We are shuffled uncomfortably alongside the aloof Spider-Woman. This kind of layout, formally rigid rectangular boxes arranged in unconventional ways, gives the book an approachable yet loose feel that lends itself to the middle ground between epic superhero drama and quirky characters. It gives a feeling. Kim’s art has great comic timing, and it really captures the dysfunction of this slapstick team. Arthur Hesli’s colors cast this question in a warm orange light that evokes an endless summer in Los Angeles. Judging by the faded orange color lit by the sun, there’s no doubt that the setting is New York City. The letters from Marvel stalwart Joe Caramagna are clear and easy to read, and are complemented by bold and fun SFX, giving the issue a retro-pop fun vibe.
The most interesting part of West Coast Avengers is the final few pages, where the final team members and the main villain are introduced. Even if this first issue feels a little shallow, it bodes well for the larger story. But this one has promise, especially for Iron Man fans looking for some fast-talking quips from Robert Downey.
Verdict: A decent start, but light on calories without an overarching story. Let’s browse.
Rapid rundown!
The Incredible Hulk #19 This latest work on the Incredible Hulk by Philip Kennedy Johnson, Nick Klein, and Danny Earls continues to be one of the best books Marvel releases each month. The story that Kennedy-Johnson concocted, with Banner and the Hulk vying for control while the Hulk battles increasingly grotesque monsters, remains fascinating. He never allows either Banner or the Hulk to become truly sympathetic, leaving the reader ambiguous as to which one should come out. Meanwhile, Klein and Earls trade art duties (though they team up on this issue), with the always excellent Matthew Wilson providing the coloring magic. The two artists came together to provide more terrifying visuals, especially the transformations, as the series progressed. Issue #19 marks a turning point in the issue, concluding the chapter on Hulk’s terrifying trip to Las Vegas. Charlie Tidwell, the Hulk’s new companion, has just regained his body (after being turned into a porcelain doll) and is pursued by werewolves. Banner sells the Hulk to the villain, Eldest, in order to save Charlie. There are some truly horrifying images, and Charlie is certainly not unchanged from this situation. In this issue, reporter Cory Petit shows off the sound effects, especially during action scenes. There’s a sequence where Hulk and Banner have to get back into the action, and Petit does some interesting things with typography. Since it’s a commemorative issue, there are some backup stories featuring various Hulk characters, but the real draw is the draw here. The character’s continued transition into horror, which began with Immortal Hulk, continues to provide creators with new and interesting places to explore. – DM Iron Man #2 If you’ve ever wondered what a superhero’s concussion protocol or injured reserve looks like, writer Spencer Ackerman and artist have you covered. Julius Ohta gives us a front row seat as a battered Tony Stark has to go to war without advanced armored weapons. Additionally, when the entire armory is infected by a mysterious computer virus, Tony is on the brink of losing his company once again as he must battle the combined forces of AIM and Roxxon in a corporate takeover that extends beyond the boardroom. . We’ve seen Tony lose his company and have to start from scratch many times. Heck, his last series was about him rebuilding his life and armor after Orchis took control of technology. So this Stark-Roxxon war is a bit familiar territory. twist. Retro versions and era-specific Iron Man armor aren’t new, new armor is part of the tradition. So when you think of Iron Man art, you probably think of something sleek and futuristic. But for this run, here’s what Ota looks like: Tony isn’t my favorite, but the overall art is a funky take on Iron Man technology, with a steampunk feel and a large, nondescript primary weapon. I like Ackerman’s use of history, acknowledging recent events like Tony and Emma Frost’s marriage and a surprising easter egg into the iconic Devil in a Bottle storyline. So far, the story is engaging and enough to make me want to come back again. – GC3 Uncanny X-Men #6 Given last issue’s climatic brawl and the upcoming “Raid on Greymalkin” crossover, writer Gail Simone brings the series back to life in this week’s Uncanny X-Men #6. I was curious to see where it was going to lead me. In this issue, Simone not only takes back the X-Mansion, but begins laying the groundwork for her next raid. The team comes under attack by Dr. Ellis’ forces at a local high school and grocery store. I think this issue works best by making the outliers going to school plot the focal point of the issue. In a world where few things are as cruel as the students in a school, and where anti-mutant sentiment is prevalent, the school setting sells itself as a quick way to empathize with viewers. The character moments between the Outliers weren’t bad, and I found myself rooting for them as they stood up to the worst bigots in the school. The problem I found with the writing was the pacing of the story. There are several overarching subplots explored in this issue, but I don’t feel like they were all explored effectively. Wolverine’s PTSD plot is something worth exploring with Wolverine, but it feels a little stilted in the reveal, with Rogue just declaring, “Wolverine, you have PTSD!” Thanks to the quick thinking of a young Jean Grey, Iceman comes out as gay. The revelation that Dr. Ellis has conscripted more mutants into his strike team comes out of nowhere, beyond the teasing that the Sirens are being forced into some kind of role for the fascists. Side note: The Blob and Wildchild (!?) lineup was weird. Javier Garon does a solid job with the art throughout the issue. The action sequences are well-paced and dynamic. Gambit steals the show early on, and the characters are expressive throughout the issue, as the art captures the vulnerability of characters like Rogue and Wolverine. The situation deviates because the character model gives Wolverine almost as wide as he is tall. I like the design, but I’m surprised at how short the king is. Uncanny X-Men #6 is another solid entry into the series, but it feels like it was rushed to set everything up for the upcoming raid on Graymalkin. This can sometimes be the nature of corporate comics. I have no choice. Still, I liked this issue. -JJ
That’s it for this week, Marvel fans! Stay tuned to Infinity next week as we introduce the new Infinity Watch. Happy Thanksgiving!
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