“One More Day” part 3
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Joe Quesada, Danny Miki, Richard Isanove
One more day continues to drag along in both shipping time and story wise. This issue took a long time to hit comic stores and the issue itself is boring and predictable. I love Spider-Man and I’m really upset that Straczynski’s last arc is so slow, we have known for about a year that Aunt May is dying and Peter will do whatever he can to save her.
This issue opens with a young red-headed girl meeting Peter in an alley. The two talk while Peter walks around with his mask half off and the little girl tells Peter he is an idiot. Peter continues to walk and passes by a larger version of himself from an alternate timeline. This Peter is a video game loving loner who is really sad and pathetic. Then he meets up with another version of himself who is rich and successful but also alone. This version of Peter likes to drink and brood despite his money and power. Peter finally meets the Lady in Red who is revealed as Mephisto. Mephisto wants to make a deal with Peter in order to save May’s life. Peter realizes he needs to talk this over with MJ and we find out Mephisto has already approached her with the offer. MJ wants to hear the terms of the deal and guess what? He wants to end the marriage. Big surprise there, huh everyone?
Mephisto wants their love so they will always be miserable and sad deep down. He tells them they have one more day to think it over and then either their marriage or May will be gone for good.
Thoughts/Comments:
Good lord this sucks. Joe Quesada might be a good artist but he really is Mephisto in this storyline.
Everything Mephisto said about getting joy out of ending the marriage is the same thing Quesada has fought for during the past year or so. Peter and MJ would never be foolish enough to deal with the devil himself, but they do. This is really out of character for the two; May is old and has lived a long life. If someone was to tell me to pick between my favorite girl Julia and my grandma, I’d have to tell granny it’s been fun. What’s more, if Mephisto has the power to save May shouldn’t Dr. Strange as well? I guess Strange must really be a Skrull or something cause this just isn’t making any sense.
Also, the back up feature in the comic is a reprinting of a Silver Surfer comic featuring Mephisto. Guess what, I don’t care! This isn’t worth charging an extra dollar for this book. This is a pathetic ploy by Marvel to get more cash.
This whole story is a joke and just a big fuck you to the fans of the Spider-Marriage. Quesada has the power to get his way no matter what and that is the entire point of this story. For the first time in history gang, I give this book an F . This storyline is just Quesada’s way of getting what he wants and to hell with all the other fans of the marriage. If this keeps up I might have to change my name to Bat-Ben.
New Avengers #36 Review
W: Bendis
A: Yu
C: McCaig
I finished the book and put it on the stack of “done reading” pile on my dresser. I walked back to my computer and sat down. Five minutes passed. I turned back and looked at the pile, “what the hell happened in that book?”
The question was rhetorical, because nothing, nothing happened in this book. No don’t get confused here, a lot of things seem like they are happening, but let’s run through them. My biggest complaint started out as a complaint, then I accepted it, then I realized nothing happened and it’s back to a complaint. The Venom Virus fight, it was almost a fight. I’ve really liked this book since Yu jumped on. I don’t know what Bendis changed to make me like the writing so much more, but whatever it was I was on with it. Ten there was the airplane issue, and now this one. The fight looks adrenaline pumped and a high-octane ride, but no, it suddenly…ends. Bam. Done, and Luke Cage makes a snappy wink to Might Avengers, “oh it was probably a big fucking deal for that other team, but to us it was cake.” Lame, just lame. It wasn’t even that cool of a fight, there was no tactic, no symbiote smashing, just crazy venoms being scary and attacking everyone, the heroes weren’t doing shit.
Then we have Cage and Jessica Jones talking in bed, where nothing “happens” by the way, yes their baby is sleeping on Cage’s chest but have they never heard of a crib. Cage still doesn’t truest anyone…that’s pretty much it. Then, like the cover suggests, Wolverine interrogates Spider-Woman, and gets no new information, surprise! Oh, oh the gang locates the Hood, does nothing, then between the pages goes and gets a FUCK LOAD of superheroes to deal with them. By a LOAD I’m talking about the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Iron Man (which doesn’t really make any sense still) and Howard the Duck, which is perfect because this book is a joke. D+
Author: Joss Whedon
Artist: John Cassiday
Colors: Laura Martin
Cover: John Cassiday
I'm just going to let you know that I really don't feel like putting up any spoiler tags on this review so be warned. It's the penultimate issue to Unstoppable and the penultimate issue to Whedon and Cassidy leaving the book. I'm going to miss this entire team of creators, because to me they have reminded me once again why I read not just X-men, but comic books. Sure the delays are horrible, but my God this book had me saying: Messiah what?
I have been looking forward to this issue for months now. Cyclops left up in space and the rest of the X-men with their luck about to run out. There are plenty of Whedon's trademarks in this issue with all the twists and turns. Whether it was the prophecy being nothing more than a plan or Cyclops scheming everything from the X-men being scattered to him being captured; this issue was full of twists. And of course the moment that made the whole fucking book " to me my X-men"! Motherfuck, I have never been a Cyclops fan, but damn it I really wanted to be after seeing him fire off that bitch of an optic blast. The fantastic dialogue of Emma being her own best friend and the X-men cutting loose on some bad guys really is a testament of how much Whedon loves these characters . I can't think of any flaws within this issue.
We can't forget who brings this all to paper either. The talented John Cassidy really shines with this issue and is easily becoming one of my favorite artists. The wonderful choreographed fight scenes and the sense of innocence on Armor's face shows how much of a range a true artist should be able to do. Everything you have read since issue 1 of Astonishing really plays a vital role with the revelations in this issue. It's really rare to see this kind of conscientious plotting in comics these days. Go back and read those issues and enjoy this representation of what a perfect comic should be. A+
Author: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Billy Tan
Inkers: Danny Miki & Allan Martiznez
Covers: David Finch & Marc Silvestri
I can't believe that we are almost at the 500 mark with just a few more issues. Damn, if I wasn't feeling my age, comics are always there to remind me. Then again I'm probably as old as the X-men now or maybe even older...sonofabitch...Anyway Part 2 of Messiah Complex hits the Uncanny title like a pile of bricks. Nightcrawler is still here, but the usual Uncanny team has been replaced by the cast of Astonishing and Angel.
I know I said not much happened in the Messiah Complex one-shot, but we get our fight here! It's the X-men taking on some lame Acolytes. That's not the only conflict in the book; we also get a nice little argument between Xavier and Cyclops. It seems that Cyclops wants Rictor to go undercover and join the ranks of the Purifiers. And then, hellz yeah it's off to see Forge aka Genesis, aka the Maker, aka the fucking man!
I really enjoyed the story and the dialogue read better than the actual one-shot. It's about time we see a confrontation between Cyclops and Professor X. Hell, between the secret X-men, Krakoa, Danger, and all together responsible for Corsair's death; it’s no wonder Cyclops didn't take his head off. Of course you can sense a little bit of that father/son relationship they still have that keeps them together. I really wished they had used other Acolytes, such as Senyaka (damn, I loves me some tentacles!), Unuscione, and Amelia Voght. I would rather be reading about these group of X-men than watch Warpath make out with Hepzibah. I think up until now the problem I've had with Brubaker's X-men is that he had no clue where to take the team. He didn't seem to have a vision of what stories to tell next and when writing a book that has bounteous of foreshadows as part of its legacy; it’s a pretty damn important factor to the success of the title.
The only negative thing I can say about the script was the weird mention of Proteus. Damn, I think that Multiple Man and Cyclops were part of countless of crossovers since Proteus. What I can say that I am disappointed in is the artwork. Tan took off for a couple of months for what I thought was to tighten his pencils up, but if this is any glimpse of what his art is to become then I wish he would return to his previous art style. I'm not sure what it is, but the characters almost seem to lack emotion, with the exception of a rejected Professor X that can't play. I can't wait to see what Forge's part is in all of this and can't wait for the attack on the marauders, if only they hadn't killed Sabretooth; we could have had a proper battle. B
Author: Ed Brubaker
Penciler: Marc Silvestri
Inkers: Joe Weems & Marco Galli
Covers: David Finch & Marc Silvestri
I was debating whether I should review the book or just talk about it during the podcast. Since it is a big event and we usually talk about those on the podcast. Then I said screw it. I haven't been this excited about an X-men event in years.
The plot is simple enough. No new mutants have been born since M-day and their numbers seem to be dwindling. Out of nowhere Professor X senses the birth of a new mutant and sends Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Angel (huh?), and Nightcrawler out to see about this new mutant. Whether it's to kidnap the kid or to just check on it is still up in the air with me, because of that Sinister grim Proff X has across his face. Instead of a small town in Alaska, they find a warzone with some casualties including Blockbuster and Prism (Damn, we didn't even get to see him shattered this time)! It seems that the Purifiers and the Marauders were both after the kid as well. Who would have thought that the Purifiers would have a better device than Cerebra and the most powerful mind in the world? So they have a fight with some civilians caught in the middle of it and the X-men are off to find Sinister and this baby. In the mists of the battle a new predator appears...one that could be the biggest threat to all mutant kind. We'll call it: Predator X!!! I thought Liefeld had this idea with his X-force mini-series, funny when he tries something he's just a hack, but when it’s Yost and Kyle behind this idea, it's pure genius.
Sure Predator X seems like a lame idea (even though Mammomax sucked), but I'm still excited about this crossover. And poor Blockbuster however will he come back to life now? Oh wait, Sinister still has everyone's DNA. Will that work since M-day though? Could he successfully clone a mutant? Why am I talking to myself? The story was entertaining enough. We really don't see the X-men do much, but run around looking for this mutant baby. I had no clue that Angel was back on the team. Did I miss a book? We get the point that the baby is very important to find specially if he is in the hands of Sinister. What the hell was the point of Endangered Species? I thought that mini-crossover was used to lead into this big story, but Beast never once mentions his adventure running around trying to find a solution....ohh well. Seems that Bru read some old Claremont issues and is now starting to use some of the accents and dialogues that are a trademark of those characters. Which made Wolverine calling Nightcrawler Elf and Cyclops Slim seem a little forced. What can I say about Silvestri? Other than his art is fucking fantastic! He is my favorite artist and always has been. It seems that Weems and Galli kept his style looking old school, by just going over his pencils instead of cleaning up his sketchy style. Reminds me of his work from the early 90's which to me is still his best stuff out. In other words, Marc come back and do x-men as a regular gig.
Not a bad start for a long crossover. I can't wait till the Acolytes/Marauders have a rematch with the X-men. Hell might as well invite Apocalypse, Stryfe, MLF, the Nasty Boys, and the Reavers for some of this action too. I am very excited for this crossover and cannot wait to read the next chapter. B+
