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KC Carlson

by KC Carlson

Fans of marvel Comics and DC Comics may be in for a shock this summer if they think they’re just reading the adventures of the current interpretations of their favorite characters. The “reality” is something altogether different. (And if you think that reality-in-quotes is a clue, then you’ve probably been reading superhero comics for as long as I have.)

Both company’s annual summer crossover stunts are taking a gigantic step back in time by devising new storylines based on some of the most popular events from their publishing histories. For DC, there’s a new danger to the Multiverse that affects not only their New-52 version of continuity but also includes looks into three previous events. Those events were big blockbusters created to not only “adjust” problem areas in their overall storyline continuity but also to supply new readers an opportunity to “start here” with fresh starts and re-definitions to their a lot of popular characters while also (hopefully) launching new characters who could stand the test of time.

Marvel has normally treated its events in a different way, normally just “tweaking” their characters (new costumes; different motivations; moving some characters off the playing field for a while, while adding new ones to the mix). They’ve never been one for major, cosmic level changes — although turning some of their characters (Scarlet Witch, Cyclops) into killers over the years has rubbed a number of people the wrong way. and they like to play fast and loose with the concept that the marvel universe is now over 50 years old in publishing years, yet not a lot more than a decade (and a few years…) in story time — yet they pride themselves on reflecting “topical” and real-world events. It’s what makes them Marvel. (And not DC.) but it causes real problems in a mostly fictional timeline, especially in keeping their major characters young and vital.

But I’m not here to dispute this ideal now. heaven knows there are plenty of sites across the Internet striving to interpret superheroic timelines. (Keywords: comic book continuity, timeline, shared universe, publishing history, etc.) My experience in reading about comic book continuity on the Internet is to start reading one of these a lot more generic sites, and you will find so lots of links to certain points of discussion, it will make your head spin. Be prepared to bookmark. Also, don’t forget to stop and eat every couple of days.

CONVERGING ON CONVERGENCE

Convergence #1

Convergence is DC’s event for this (early) summer, and thoughtfully, it’s compressed into just two publishing months and a stray pre- and post- issue here or there. In the real world, it gives DC’s editorial staff time off to step cross-country to their new HQ in Los Angeles and not have to worry about ever-present deadlines. Convergence has had a pretty tortured birthing, with at least one (non-public) false start, but it seems to have come together well with a bunch of long-time DC creatives hammering out the overview, including Futures end co-writers Dan Jurgens, Keith Giffen, Brian Azzarello, and Jeff Lemire. Others involved with the project include Scott Snyder, Scott Lobdell, Convergence writer Jeff King, and DC co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio. “The Convergence” was first pointed out in 2012 in DC universe presents #7 (featuring the Challengers of the Unknown), written by DiDio, so it’s something that Dan D. has been thinking about for awhile.

The first mention of The Convergence from DC universe presents #7

The raison d’être of Convergence is that the multiverse is broken (again — DC’s pretty rough with their toys), and things are again cosmically crazy. Luckily, instead of all hell breaking loose, it’s just the focal points of previous times the multiverse has been jostled (Crisis on limitless Earths — celebrating its 30th anniversary this year — Zero Hour, and Flashpoint), leading to adventures and crossovers and team-ups with versions of characters from those periods of time, as well as others (Tangent, anyone?). readers who have been studying up in preparation for Convergence also see some similarities to limitless crisis and its follow-up “One Year Later”. grant Morrison’s Multiversity (especially its Guidebook) is vital to keeping the 52 Universes straight.

Convergence: Booster Gold #2

Well, I’m undoubtedly interested, having lived through Zero hour as its editor, several continuities ago, as well as the original crisis On limitless Earths, which got me interested in comics again during a period when I nearly walked away from them forever. but the other reason that I’m getting seriously jazzed is the tease that some long-running plot-threads that were abruptly dropped when Flashpoint/New-52 unexpectedly happened (Wally West, Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, and Stephanie brown — just to name a few) may finally get attended to here. (Don’t screw it up, DC.) Plus, former Charlton characters and Booster Gold vs. the LSH?!? Insane!

Convergence: Shazam #2

Other unusual cameos: Detroit-era JLA, Kingdom Come cast, characters from the terrific disaster (including the Atomic Knights), Infinity, Inc., freedom Fighters, Time Masters, and — of course — Ambush Bug and Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew. and even Scribbly Jibbet! (Don’t know him? look him up! So amazing that he’s included!)

SHHHHHH… IT’S A SECRET!

Secret Wars #2

As far as secret Wars goes, I still don’t have a complete manage on what’s happening, other than it bringing Jonathan Hickman’s multi-year run on the Avengers titles to an explosive close! Battleworld from the original SW is majorly involved, but I hope marvel treads very carefully as the original secret Wars (and especially its sequel) isn’t as generally beloved as much as you might think — especially to older fans. But, of course, a brand is a brand…

The core series is eight extra-sized bi-weekly issues long. Apparently, the marvel universe is destroyed when it collides with the utmost Universe, which is also left pining for the fjords! Whoops! and that’s just issue #1! It’s going to be an all-encompassing event throughout the summer, and it’s going to cause sweeping changes for much of the marvel Universe. Which, for now, is securely under wraps, but rumored to have been in the planning stages for a while now. (They don’t call their lead creators “architects” for nothin’, ya’ know.)

A-Force #1

As per any major project of this scale, there are going to be a lot of series being canceled, with new ones created to take their place. I can’t be too certain about the cancellations, though, considering that marvel is being particularly cagey about whether series are putting out a final issue, just going on hiatus, or will later return. The normal “final issue” notes or details on whether a book is a one-shot, a miniseries, or a series are missing from their ordering information, making it difficult to get a manage on just how large an event this is going to be.

Ultimate end #1

For instance, there’s a five-issue series called utmost end which wraps up the utmost universe storylines. (But maybe not for good… They’ve played this trick before.) So far, there are books scheduled (both miniseries and one-shots) that harken back to Marvel’s past (Inferno, Infinity Gauntlet, Old man Logan, secret Wars 2099), with much a lot more to come. and new stuff. A-Force is an all-female Avengers squad which includes X-Men, Inhumans, and former Avengers in the line-up. planet Hulk features a gaggle of Hulks — and a battle-worn gladiator named Steve Rogers. Spider-Verse is a new Spider-centric team book featuring a lot of webs and legs. and the five-issue Where Monsters Dwell begins with the Phantom Eagle battling dinosaurs from a bi-plane, and ends. Some. Place. Else. It’s by the team that brought you The kids — Garth Ennis and Russ Braun, with covers by Frank Cho.

Thors #1 Variant Cover

And that’s just the first month. Month two is even bigger: Thors (by Jason Aaron and my old friend Chris Sprouse) stars Thors of every era and dimension (even that frog one…) in a cosmic police drama. With hammers… Runaways is a new take on the cult concept, starring the marvel Universe’s younger heroes (including the cult classic characters, but Valeria Richards is also spotlighted here). It’s written by Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes, Nimona)… Ghost Racers just looks bizarre, but if you love flamin’ skulls, you’ll love this!… Star-Lord and Kitty Pryde stars Marvel’s most current young lovers — but one (or both) of them just might be from another reality… marvel Zombies get two secret Wars outings — a “solo” title and an unlikely pairing with the Age of Ultron… and a dream come true for all those fans that are still mad about that Spider-Man story, amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows (by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert) brings us up-to-date on Peter Parker, his wife Mary Jane Watson, and their daughter in something that marvel is torturing us with by calling it “The Last Spider-Man Story”.

Years of Future past #1

And then there’s just the odd concepts: 1602 Witch hunter Angela… Weirdworld is for swords and sorcery lovers, featuring the odd and fantastic from throughout marvel history. like Arkon the barbarian and maybe a Crystal Warrior! It’s written by Jason Aaron… Squadron Sinister spotlights Marvel’s baddest inter-dimensional bad guys… 1872 stars sheriff Steve Rogers, town drunk Anthony Stark, and Bruce Banner in the old western flourish town of Timely… Captain marvel and the Carol Corps stars girls with guts, guile, and a whole lot of grit in high-flying action written by Kelly sue DeConnick… Armor Wars is exactly what you think it is. only shinier and battlier (is that a word?)… X-Men ‘92 is equally on-the-nose!… Peter David returns to his Future Imperfect concept, starring the Maestro against some unusual foes, including Odin, The Thing, X-Factor, and Ruby Summers!… Years of Future past stars Kate Pryde and her family in a new take in the popular setting… Similarly, X-Tinction agenda takes us back to Genosha for a not-so-great update there… and for the trifecta, E for Extinction is yet another new twist on a classic mutant storyline… Meanwhile, Korvac returns, seemingly corrupting the original Guardians of the Galaxy in Korvac Saga!… Guardians of Knowhere is a twist on the current Guardians by Bendis and Deodato… and then there’s Mrs. Deadpool and the howling Commandos (and they really howl!) and gigantic size little Marvel: AVX by Skottie Young! Yay!

Amazing Spider-Man : Renew Your Vows #1

So, lots of interesting reading over the next few months. Do whatever you have to do — mortgage the house, rig and win the lottery, kidnap and ransom Irving Forbush and Ambush Bug. (Hey! Why aren’t they teaming up?) looks like there’s at least a title (or three) for everyone!

FINAL THOUGHT

And to wrap stuff up, here are some lyrics from “Back In Time” as done and written by Huey Lewis and the News. You might remember it from a 1985 film called back to the Future. It’s about time.

Don’t bet your future

On one roll of the dice

Better remember

Lightning never strikes twice

Hope that doesn’t come true for Convergence and secret Wars!

____________________________

KC CARLSON: At least you don’t need any special glasses for all these dimensions and alternate worlds. now that would just be annoying…

WESTFIELD COMICS is not responsible for the silly things that KC says. especially that thing that really irritated you. like Hypertime. Or Continuity Implant. I’m actually very fortunate that my body rejected my Continuity Implant.

This post is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
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Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

Last time, I examined a number of the new Marvel’s number ones billed as marvel Now. considering that there have been so lots of number ones I thought I would also devote this blog to them, and I still have not covered all of them. as with the first batch, there is both good and great here. Of the five I am going to review today I didn’t dislike any of them, and some of them I thought were great. I need to say marvel is on a roll at the moment, even if I do not like this constant re-numbering of the titles.

Great Lakes Avengers #1

First up is great Lakes Avengers. This is a light-hearted and fun book written by Zac Gorman with art by will Robson. For those of you who did not know, the great Lakes Avengers were a group of B-grade heroes who got together to defend the upper mid-west. They had their own miniseries as well as appeared in a number of issues of the Avengers and West coast Avengers. They were originally created by John Byrne but over the years, the creators and line up have changed many times. The only real thing of note in the early appearances was Squirrel girl was the star of the early issues. This new series features Squirrel Girl, even though she is not actually in it (you have to read it to see). This issue is generally just a “Let’s get the gang back together” story, but I thought it was very satisfying and has the makings of a great series, although, to be honest, I do not expect it to last that long.

Occupy Avengers #1

Occupy Avengers is by David (Power man and Iron Fist, Nighthawk) walker with art by Carlos Pacheco and Rafael Fonteriz. I really liked this book. It is a very political story, as if the title did not give this away, and it features, so far, Hawkeye and Red Wolf. The story is set in new Mexico and it follow ups on Civil war II (spoiler warning) and the repercussions of Hawkeye killing Bruce Banner. While in new Mexico, Hawkeye comes across and joins up with Red Wolf, whose series recently wrapped up but I loved. This book has the threads to become Marvel’s leading political statement, even a lot more so than Captain America, and based on the first issue I would say it is left leaning. but I have no problem with a good political story, leaning left or right, as long as it is well done. The art by Pacheco and Fonteriz is great, it is clean and straight forward, and some of the nicest art I have seen in some time. This book seems to be a modern version of the classic O’Neil/Adams green Lantern/Green Arrow, but time will tell. but this first issue was great.

Avengers #1.1

Continuing my Avengers theme, we have the Avengers #1.1 next. This is a miniseries that takes place in the early days of the Avengers. This issue takes place ideal before/during issue #16 of the original series, where the new Avengers were introduced; Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver. It is written by mark Waid and drawn by Barry Kitson and mark Farmer, and with a team like that, how can this book not be fantastic? It is so fantastic that the villains are the old fantastic four villains, The Frightful Four! This book reads like the best of the Roy Thomas/John Buscema run. It is fast paced with all sorts of internal conflicts between the members, and beautiful art by Kitson and Farmer. I do hope when the series wraps up Kitson and Farmer get a regular series as they are dazzling together. This book is a need to for any individual who longs for the old days of marvel or just any individual who really enjoys a good old fashioned well done comic. (How about this creative team on a revived fantastic four book?)

Champions #1

The Champions was a team up book back in the 1970s which was a mix of characters that really did not fit anywhere else. It includes the Angel, Black Widow, Hercules, Ghost Rider and Ice Man. It never really caught on and is mostly looked back on as bit of a joke. marvel recently relaunched the Champions spinning out of Civil war II where all of the younger Avengers quit over philosophical differences with their elders and formed their own team consisting of Ms. Marvel, Nova, Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Hulk (Amadeus Cho), Viv Vision and the young Cyclops from the past. The book is written by mark Waid (again) and it is one of his best works. It is a mix of humor, adventure and great personalities. The art is by Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba and it is also a best fit for the title. Ramos’ art is often too stylized for my taste and I do not care for it, but here it is toned down and is perfect. The stories are well thought out and very well put together. It makes you think and it is entertaining as well. Plus, the interaction between all of these young heroes, with all of the questions about the true purpose of being a hero and what makes a hero, is perfect. After just two issues this book has jumped to the top of my need to read pile. If they keep this quality of work up the name Champions will rates as one of the greatest team books in Marvel’s history.

Foolkiller #1

Foolkiller spins out of title Deadpool and the Mercs for Money. This solo series is written by Max Bemis and drawn by Dalibor Talajic and Jose Marzan Jr. Foolkiller first appeared in the old Man-Think title and was a killer of people he thought were fools. over the years the character has gone through a number of changes and part of the reason I liked this book so much is it address the history of the character and attempts to describe all of the odd twists and turns Foolkiller has taken over the years. This is not the nicest book as it is a bit dark with all of the violence in the character’s past and in his present life, but I thought the book was a smooth read with very great art that made me want more. I am interested in where the writer Max Bemis takes the character after his last miniseries, as the worst X-Men ever was one of my favorite books in a very long time. Plus, the Dave Johnson cover made this book absolutely worth picking up.

Black Panther: world of Wakanda #1

There are a couple of miniseries that I also really enjoyed, the first issues of which are also part of the marvel now campaign. Black Panther: world of Wakanda is a five issues series by Roxane Gay and Alitha Martenez and tells the story of the Dora Milaje before the events of Black Panther #1. This was a complex story with great art that adds quite bit to the current Black Panther series. The second title is a four issue series by Genndy Tartakovsky called Cage! Genndy is joined by Stephen DeStefano on inks to do a stylized, yet very fun, take on Luke Cage back in the 1970s complete with headband and yellow tee shirt and boots. Genndy Tartakovsky is the designer of Samurai Jack as well as lots of other animated features and brings all the originality and wackiness of his animation work to the pages of this comic. A lot of fun.

Cage! #1

Well, that wraps it up for this time. marvel seems to be on a roll with the marvel now titles being, for the most part, great, with only a few clunkers, such as Solo. I do hope occupy Avengers (with this title I think it automatically dooms the book) finds an audience. have you read any of these new books yet? What do you think? Do you like them as much as I do or am I an idiot? I welcome your feedback at MFBWAY@AOL.COM or on Facebook at Wayne Markley. everything I have written here is my opinion and does not reflect the thoughts or opinions of Westfield Comics or their employees. Is there something you are reading that I am missing out on? Please let me know! I hope all of you have a safe and satisfying Thanksgiving and I am very thankful for you reading this blog and for your comments. As always…

Thank you.