Silk #5 - Review

Written by Robbie Thompson. Art by Stacey Lee. Color by Ian Herring.
Published by Marvel Comics; June 10th, 2015.
Rating: 5/5
Worth the 3.99?: Been reading Silk? Then yes, absolutely. Haven't been? It's not the worst place to jump in but I highly recommend tracking down issue #1!

In the middle of the equal parts exciting and exhausting mega-event known as Secret Wars, the fifth chapter in the Silk storyline is a breath of fresh air (which is ironic given that Silk's story had her locked in a bunker with no fresh air for years.... but I digress).

A TOUCHING STORY
One of the reasons I've latched onto the Silk series, is because it manages to toe the line between small personal story and big superhero spectacle. Seeing Cindy struggling with how to go about this, unsure of whether to accept outside help, and regretting the past makes her real.

I was genuinely touched when J. Jonah Jameson stopped what he was doing to listen to and help Cindy Moon. We often think about JJJ as the one dimensional Spidey-hater, but this was another side of him and it's great to see that every now and again. His momentary switch from the nickname Analog to calling her Cindy is something a good human being does and Jameson gets to be that person, if only for a few pages. At one point, he tells Cindy that "It's okay to get help," and this moment is not lost on Cindy. Later in the issue, she is quick to call on Spider-Man as backup before going after Black Cat. Ah, if Jameson only knew that his words of wisdom inspired someone to call Spidey in for help...

The little look back at her brother's fright at her transformation is another interesting point. Played against the Peter origin story that we're all so familiar with, the fear of the unknown that her brother feels, plays as a stark contrast to the secret double life that Parker led when he first got bit. All of these subtleties are smart writing on Thompson's part. It's the kind of writing that is good the first time through and gets better on the second read through. Not an easy feat.

BOSS BATTLE... FIGHT!
Black Cat has been hunting Silk for a few issues now and this was a sufficiently twisted way to get them to a face-to-face. I'd say Black Cat's continued journey from anti-hero to full on villain is complete with the kidnapping of a former employee's daughter just to get to a rival superhero.

The actual sequence leading up to and through the fight is good all around. After Spider-Man arrives, he questions Silk's choice to have Dragon-Dude there, questioning her choices mainly, I'm assuming, because of her lack of experience, but Silk holds her ground and believes he should be there. The three of them then jump knowingly headfirst into a trap.

The battle plays out well and there's some cool lines and quips along the way ("That kitty cat is a butt!"), but it's the ending that hold the real twists. Black Cat almost becomes a red herring, as she is quickly displaced by what now seems to be the real Big Bad for Silk. An armorer who worked, briefly, for Black Cat rigged up her henchman to explode at the right moment so that he could kidnap Silk. The question is... who does he work for?

THEORY TIME - WHO KIDNAPPED THE MOONS?
The obvious first thought is Ezekiel Sims or someone he secretly worked for. All we really know about them is that they've been watching Cindy for some time and have kidnapped her family. To what end?

They could be taking a page out of the movie version of Amazing Spider-Man and perhaps her genetics are somehow important to a larger scheme at work. Or it could be much simpler and they could just be leverage. That would mean that they managed to kidnap the Moons and erase any trace of them all in the short time that Cindy had been out of the bunker (it's a while since she got out in terms of when her story was release but in universe, it wasn't too long ago).

NOTABLE MOMENTS

Silk's comment about whether Spider-Man "felt that" is a small piece of something interestingly different for Spidey. Someone in the world with the same power set could give him a truly powerful teammate. Being able to communicate via spideysense maybe?

Black Cat giving Silk that backhanded compliment of being B-list vs D-list was funny and it felt like the creators feelings on their own character. Seeming like a small time character, but in reality seeing her become very popular.

Silk calling Spider-Man her sidekick made me giggle.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Silk is a really great series. It's fun, simple in the best ways, and has a fresh, humorous voice that, at least for me, lands just right. Add on top of that Stacey Lee's exceptional and unique style (which I was excited to see back this month), and this issue is another chapter in a great ongoing title.

Secret Wars #2 (aka Marvel Does "Game of Thrones") - Review

Written by Jonathan Hickman. Art by Esad Ribic.
Published by Marvel Comics: May 13th, 2015.
Rating: 4.5/5.

Now that Secret Wars #2 has been released we can tell where the decision to do it came from: someone over there loves Game of Thrones (and why wouldn’t they). One day they started wondering: ‘what house would Tony Stark be in if he was in Westeros?’ (ironically it’s probably Baratheon, not Stark). That thought process quickly evolved into, what if the Marvel Universe just was Westeros….. and before you knew it, (this iteration of) Secret Wars was born.

If you were left a little unsure of whether Secret Wars was going to be fun after issue #1 (I personally was scared it felt a little close to the burdeningly large scope of Infinity), this issue should assuage those fears as we’ve now set up the insanity of Battleworld. Divided into Kingdoms, this world is set up as single planet of all of Marvel.

SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT.

Let's be clear. Much of this book is spent simply setting up the insanity that is Battleworld. As such, there's actually very little "story" in this issue. But it's really the first chapter (#1 being more of a prelude) so I'm willing to forgive that. 

Like any good story in a new world, we need a character who has to be introduced to various aspects of the world so we can learn with them, and Hickman gives us a young recruit to the Thors (or Thor Corp... say it out loud, it's kind of fun). They're sort of the police of Battleworld and it's a really cool thing to see and it's revealed slowly which is nice. We see a couple familiar faces in the crowd. Old Man Thor from the recent God Butcher storyline and Beta Rey Bill. Bill may be a resident of the good ol' 616, but we don't see our Odinson or SPOILER REDACTED, our current Thor (see my Thor #8 review here for discussion on that reveal).

The SHIELD... see what they did there?

In the Game of Thrones comparison at work here, Thors are effectively a combination of Kings Guard and the Watchers on the Wall. You volunteer, pledge your allegiance to God, and are tasked with protecting the realm, which includes the protection of "the Shield" a wall that protects the kingdoms from the armies of Marvel Zombies (Deadlands), Age of Ultron bots (Perfection), and Annihlus and his forces. If I hadn't picked up the GOT vibe before this, a wall protecting us from the dead pretty much solidified it. I actually really love this reveal. If we're truly smashing together all the famous Marvel stories, it makes sense that these world consuming forces are here, but (being world consuming forces) they'd have to be contained in some way. It's fun and cool and calling it the Shield made me giggle. 

Of course, the BIG reveal is that the "God" that the Thors spoke of is in fact Victor Von Doom himself. Clad in all white, Doom has taken control over the entire Battleworld. For better or worse, he has formed this planet to his means. He protects the subjects of his world, while also crushing and killing anyone who violates his laws. This includes two Braddock brothers (aka Captain Britain's people), who accuse Baron Sinister of making moves against them. The hearing leads to a trial by combat, with Sinister winning and so Jamie Braddock (again, Marvel sees no reason to be subtle with the GOT references) is forced to reveal himself a traitor to Doom or watch his innocent brother die. This whole sequence is filled with awesome little snippits, references, and hints about the world at large: Stephen Strange is Doom's right hand man, Sue Storm is his advisor (queen?), and he has a Galactus (there could be more than one in Battleworld) guarding his palace. 

The big question surrounding Doom being in charge is whether he got that seat by taking control of a world in chaos or if it's Doom himself that crafted this world. There was a brief moment in issue #1 where we saw the Beyonders and Doom, so I'm personally assuming that he either manipulated or bargained with them. Certainly, I don't imagine we're going to make it to our New Marvel Universe without dealing with them at some point. 

Sue saddled up with Doom? Creepy.

Doom does make a brief reference to a group of "heretics and thieves" who are working to bring him down. They're gathering in something called "The Silent Chambers." I haven't the faintest idea what those are if it's a reference to something but I think it's a safe bet that those heretics are our 616 and/or Ultimate heroes. Probably 616's Reed Richards and team. 

If they're slowly making a revolution away from Doom's forces, we might be able to assume they're sort of going to fill Daenerys' or Stannis' role. The usurping army who will pull teammates from unlikely sources as they vie for the throne. 

MEANWHILE, we also get an interesting side note as a team of explorers from Castle Doom (but also from the 616 FF (I think) discover a hole in the ground that leads to the inside of the planet which has full gravity working opposite of the normal side. Here they find a ship, identical to the one the Illuminati built at the end of "Time Runs Out," only this one has the Cabal on it and Thanos emerges. (Are you out of breath and exhausted? Me too.) All cool moving pieces that will hopefully get paid off in the remaining six issues.

Oof. If that wasn't enough to digest, this book prints a non-censored version of the Battleworld map and, honestly, I could just keep staring at it. There' SO MUCH story packed into that map. We get somewhat obvious (though still intriguing) lands like "King James England" or "2099" to the more what-is-the-difference realms like Arachnia/Spider-Island and Mutopia/Westchester (being from Westchester, NY this excites me to no end). I also really want to visit New Quack City...

Secret Wars has a metric ton of tie ins. I doubt I'll be able to keep up with them all but in case anyone's curious. I'll definitely be reading Spider-Verse, Renew Your Vows, Thors, Star Lord and Kitty Pryde, Planet Hulk, 2099, Civil War, Spider-Island, Guardians of Knowhere, Howard the Human.... and maybe if I'm not broke Captain Marvel & the Carol Corps, Red Skull, Giant Size Little Marvel, and A-Force. We'll what else winds up in short box. If you want to see all of the titles coming out, this guide from How to Love Comics is pretty encompassing.

Do you think Marvel's Game of Thrones is a cool idea? Over it already? What book's are you planning on reading over the next few months? Let me know in the comments!

Silk #3 - Review

Written by Robbie Thompson, Art by Stacy Lee

Rating: 4/5

Spoiler Free Review

Silk's back! Since the second issue came out back in mid-March, I've been seriously chomping at the bit for more Cindy Moon. What once again shines in this book is the combination of writing from Robbie Thompson and the artwork from Stacy Lee. The two are clearly working hand in hand to make this book something special and it's clear that there is a love for this character. Anyone who's on the fence about reading Silk, should track down the first few issues and enjoy.





SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT.

Thor #7 - Review

Thor #7 - Written by Jason Aaron, Art by Russell Dauterman with Color by Matthew Wilson

Rating: 4/5.

Looking through my stack of comics for this week, Thor #7 was easily the one I was picking up first.

It feels right that Thor originated in "Journey into Mystery" because the most interesting part of this book has been the mystery. Who is the new Thor? Is she someone we know? It's not Jane Foster, it's not Angela, it's not Frigga. WHO ARE YOU?! But I digress. That kind of excitement? That need to get the next issue? THAT'S what most books are missing these days.

As far as that mystery is concerned, we open up on a scene that almost gives us an answer. Issue #6 left a cliffhanger that left us believing it was Roz Solomon, environmental activist and Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.. She's fighitng for the earth, a noble and selfless cause. Does that make her worthy? It certainly makes her a possibility, and a lesser known character might be a good way to go since we don't want to give up other characters who are busy doing stuff elsewhere. But of course we stop short of actual confirmation. We come so close (literally her standing over the hammer) that I almost think it's a misdirect.

We do get an awesome splash page at the end of the book. Odinson comes across the rainbow bridge with a team that is more or less comprised of every Thor suspect (other than Roz). Let's run through who's there. We've got Odinson, Frigga, Sif, Angela, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Scarlett Witch, Lorelai, Enchantress, and two other Asgardian women I can't confidently identify (Broonhilde and Hildegarde?).

They're all there to backup Thor as she faces the Destroyer. I'll be honest, although this is a cool visual, I don't really like the story that it presents. I get calling in back up, and I love that Odinson, Frigga, Sif, etc come to help but... why is Widow there? Why Jessica Drew? Captain Marvel's dealing with her own stuff (not to mention the Black Vortex), so why is she chosen to show up over say Iron Man or Wolverine? I'm all for the female empowerment at the center of this book, playing against Odin's misogyny makes for great character drama. That's part of why I started reading Thor again when this volume started. But when the only motivation for a character to be part of a team is that she's a woman... is that really moving things forward? Black Widow is a great spy and an amazingly deep character. She can hold her own in a fight, but is she going to be any help against The Destroyer? Probably not. We'll see how that unfolds next issue I suppose.

As for the rest of the story. The fight was cool. There were times that I legitimately thought this might be the end of our Thor and that Odin might get the hammer back. The psychopath duo of Roxxon and Malekith were in full insanity force when they slaughter a bunch of innocent fairies. The guys are nuts (N-V-T-S nuts!)

Overall it was solid outing with Thor. We're journeying ever closer to this mystery's answer and rumor has it issue #8 will finally give us an answer. If it does turn out to be Agent Solomon, the environmentalist superhero battling the corporate Minotaur Roxxon, could be a great dynamic. But we'll see... only time will tell.