Western Comics: Capsule Reviews
First, Let’s Talk About Marvel:
Iron Man, #5-6
Writer: Christopher Cantwell
Artists: Cafu, Frank D’Armata, & Alex Ross
When last I commented upon the current Iron Man series, I complained about its cringe-worthy attacks upon its title character — and about Tony’s ineffectual whining. So what’s been going on since issue #4? Well, I’ve got good news and bad news.
The good news: As Cantwell dives deeper into Tony’s conflict with the megalomaniacal Korvac, the tics that bothered me in his first issues have essentially disappeared. Tony and Patsy are now interacting with each other as human beings and not as nag and target. Further, Tony is displaying a little more virility; in issue #6 in particular, he decides he’s done with apologizing and declares (in the narration) that he’s ready to stick up for himself and for the world he’s determined to protect.
The bad news: In my view, the weak Tony of the first issues is now being replaced with a callous and ridiculously imprudent version of Tony that’s also out-of-character. Tony Stark is supposed to be one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe — but in these issues, he’s demonstrated no ability to think inventively or strategically. Rather, he seeks confrontations with Korvac with zero plans beyond intentions to employ “good old-fashioned brute force.” Worse, this Tony uses and discards the people around him for the sake of his own ends with disturbing ease, which absolutely does not align with his history as Marvel’s consistently guilt-ridden pragmatist. Tony always - always - feels bad and blames himself when people get hurt in his general vicinity. He would never, ever say, "He's useless to me. Leave him." (Seriously: Can I smack Cantwell upside the head with The Confession? Or the entire Director of SHIELD run?)
The bottom line? Cantwell can’t seem to strike the appropriate balance between Tony’s softer facets - like, for example, his depressive streak and penchant for self-criticism - and his sharper, more hard-headed edges, swinging wildly between the poles instead of integrating Tony’s complexities. The art team here is still doing an amazing job — but the writer has yet to hit the right notes. ★★
Note: If you'd like to read longer reviews of these two Iron Man comics, check out the posts on my Iron Man blog here and here.
Black Widow, #1-5
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Elena Casagrande
Black Widow is not generally a go-to character for me. However, YouTube chatter led me to catch up on this new run — and I’m not sorry I did because the premise of Thompson’s opening tale is shockingly compelling. In a nutshell: Intent on breaking our heroine, a cabal of villains gets together to brainwash Natasha and convince her that she’s an architect who’s lived in the San Francisco area with her loving husband and toddler son for the past few years — a false biography that eventually breaks down as events remind her of her former life.
Now, Thompson could’ve taken this in the expected direction; she could’ve had Natasha abandon her “family” without compunction once the ruse is revealed. But what actually happens here is something you very rarely see in a modern female-led comic: Natasha retains her emotional connection to her husband and son and is genuinely devastated when she has to send them away for their own protection. Her new memories are constructed; nonetheless, to Natasha, they are categorically real.
So yeah: I really, really liked these books. I just hope like hell that this arc doesn’t get forgotten or retconned because it’s added something very special to Natasha’s canon. Admittedly, the art is a little rough at times, but the acknowledgment of the natural and common feminine yearning to procreate and build a home makes this story, in the current climate, breathtakingly counter-cultural and absolutely a do-not-miss. ★★★★
Daredevil, #27
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artists: Marco Checchetto & Mike Hawthorne
Yep: this month, I’m coming back to Daredevil (identified in the last column as Marvel’s hidden gem) because the latest issue is out-freakin-standing and deserves to be highlighted.
To recap: At the end of issue #26, Knull took control of a voluntarily-imprisoned Matt Murdock as part of his larger plan to subdue the Earth with his vast symbiote army. In issue #27, we see how Matt responds: by fighting Knull off with the power of his own faith and his capacity for self-sacrifice. What a fantastic wrap-up for this King in Black tie-in!
Indeed, to be perfectly honest, I’m having trouble choosing the right words to express how awesome this issue actually is — but maybe describing one stellar scene in particular will help inspire your interest. On page 8, Knull directly questions Matt’s belief in God, observing that “when your loved ones die and ascend to your ‘heaven’, you weep… because deep in your heart, you know there’s no such thing.” Matt’s reply? “I weep… I wail… because deep down, I suspect... I’m not worthy of God’s love… and heaven is out of my reach.” This right here beautifully captures Matt’s fundamental and long-standing Catholic guilt and, yes, is 100% emblematic of this issue’s overall attention to character and history. Well done, Mr. Zdarsky. Well done. ★★★★★
Meanwhile, My Final Thoughts on DC’s Future State Event Are as Follows:
Meh.
Like I suggested last month, Future State is not a total disaster. The two Swamp Thing issues - though rushed - approach excellence. Yara Flor, the next Wonder Woman, is an actual character and not a cipher for some writer’s woke politics. Jace Fox, the next Batman, leads a tense double life that could generate reader engagement if wholly exploited in his ongoing series. And I find it heartening that Superman’s new writer accurately roots Clark Kent’s heroism in his childhood home. Still, I’d say most of the content here can best be described as “aggressively generic.”
The principle problem, I think, is that Future State provides us with random sketches of the DC universe at different points in the timeline — sketches that are divorced from their essential context. As far as I can tell, there’s no central vision that ties it all together — no clear frame to guide the reader through this panoply of speculative story-telling and help him or her extract some much-needed meaning. Even the Bat books - which, to be fair, all take place in the same paint-by-numbers dystopia and are therefore more unified than the rest - fail to take full advantage of their setting. The result? A bunch of comics that are decently entertaining in the moment — but slide off the brain once they’re finished. Or, as I said at the start: meh. ★★★
And Finally, Please Remember:
I take requests! If there’s a particular review you’d like to see (especially of an independent comic that you feel needs my special attention), please contact me at hobsonphile@gmail.com and tell me the title, creators, and - most importantly - point of sale. Assuming the comic in question is available for immediate purchase, I will respond in the following issue!
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