Review author: Mike Murray, owner/operator of MyComicStore.net
Fantastic Four #4
Starting with the Fantastic Four: I thought this was still a good book although I wasn’t as overjoyed with it as I was the previous three issues. Matt Fraction started to lose me here with his whole re-writing of the history of the romance between Reed and Sue. It’s not enough that he can write adventures in time and space? That he has to go back to ‘fill in the gaps’ for us. I found the flashbacks to be boring and unnecessary. The little time loop Fraction created could have been fun, but instead just left me feeling like “I don’t get it”.
Mark Bagley’s art continues to shine. He’s absolutely beautiful on this book and it lifts up a lackluster script to an above average comic.
Secret Avengers #1
Secret Avengers written by Nick Spencer did a very good job of creating a “What just happened?” moment but I didn’t really enjoy it. Based on this first issue, I don’t see this book surviving as a series but just being a mini series, because when the Avengers figure out what’s going on it’s all over.
I never had a problem with the Ultimate Nick Fury being black and he certainly worked in the movies, but to see him walk into the panel in the Marvel U here, and they even discussed the character change.. I didn’t like that either. Characters are expected to grow and change but not this much. White World War II veterans don’t suddenly become Black Desert Storm veterans… Luke Ross produced some average comic art here. I found it a little bit stiff in some parts but it didn’t detract from the story. It just wasn’t good enough to elevate the story either.
Uncanny X-Men #1
Uncanny X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis, Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, and Al Vey was a good idea. This is promised to be the flip side book to Wolverine and the X-Men. Where Wolverine has his school and teaches his students in his own book, this one features Cyclops and his search for mutant students and redemption. Bendis also writes All New X-Men so we’re also promised a larger, richer, tapestry if we read both, as storylines will intertwine and weave between the two. That’s a tough marketing ploy for consumers on a budget.
I’ve never been a big fan of Bachalo’s art. It’s not bad, it’s just not a style that I enjoy. Cyclops being a character that I’m not so inclined towards makes this a book I won’t be reading. That’s the good thing about the huge amount of X-books pushed onto the market… I can feel better about spending my money getting my X-Fix elsewhere.
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