Welcome back to another edition of "Hot of the Presses", and first I want to apologize that it has been awhile since the last update. I have been busy moving and went out of town for my birthday, and I have been slacking quite a bit. I'm hoping to get a "Box Office" post up here in a couple days for the Captain America: The First Avenger movie review. Today though I have 3 issues for you (I know all Marvel, but that's what I've grown to love when it comes to super heroes. Don't fret though I just signed up for JL and still deciding on which Batman to sign up for when the reboot comes into town.) I have Venom #5, X-Men Schism #2, and Ultimate Fallout #3, so without keeping you guys while I run my mouth... err fingers any longer lets get to it!
Writer: Rick Remender
Penciled: Tony Moore (pg 1-6)
Inker: Crimelab Studios (pg 1-6)
Art: Tom Fowler (Pg 7-20)
The last issue left off with Spider-Man saving Flash Thompson's girlfriend Betty Brant. This issue branches off into an issue before another ark, and it starts off with Tony Moore doing a wonderful job on his art for the first 6 pages when Flash is fighting the Human Fly (one of Spider-Mans villains) The story then branches into his personal life, and just continues from there. You don't get to see Flash in the Symbiote suit for the rest of the issue. Apparently Flash has had a ruff life growing up and Remender takes you on a background story of Flash Thompson. His dad would verbally and physically abuse Flash growing up, and not only that his father had a serious drinking problem. His father has been sober the past two years. As of lately his father has been hitting the bottle again, and Flash gets a call from his mother saying he has to go find him since his father hasn't been home for the past few days. Flash searches bar after bar looking for his dad until Flash gets a call saying his dad is at the police department. Once Flash gets there you can tell that his father has no respect for his son and blatantly bad mouths him in front of everyone in the station making himself look like a fool. Later after he passes out Flash and his mother soon find out that his father has cirrhosis of the liver, and Flash now understands why his father is drinking again.
The story up to this point has been awesome. When I started reading this issue I didn't realize what this issue was about, and I now know that Remender what utilizing this Story break to give the reader more knowledge of Flash Thompson and his past. Giving great depth to Flash as a character and letting the reader understand that Flash wasn't the bad guy when it came to Spider-Man he was just a typical bully who had it rough growing up. It's not Flashes fault that he was the way he was, and that it was his father’s fault. I've heard a lot of people say they didn't like Flash as the new Venom cause he bullied Peter Parker, and he was a bad guy and couldn't play the good guy. Maybe Remender has heard such talk and is now is telling readers to give Flash a second chance he really can be the good guy.
I love Tony Moore's art, especially in this Venom. I love it so much that when I got past the 6th page I was like this isn't the same art what is wrong here, and found out he only did the first 6 pages.
It lead me to a hint of sadness as I miss Moore’s work on Venom. It's not just Remender's story telling that I long for once a month when I ambitiously wait for the next Venom, but it's Moore's handy work in the frames. Moore does a magnificent job of bringing Flash and Venom off of the pages. After saying that, misproportionate body parts, weird stances, and lack of detail has made Tom Fowler an artist I don't want to see every again. I know it's harsh, but when I'm looking at a picture of Flash Thompson with shoulders passing his head and looking like his shoulders are about to hulk out makes me sick. Thanks to Remender's story telling I was able to enjoy Venom #5 just a bit.
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Frank Cho
Colorist: Jason Keith
Last issue left off with Quentin Quire making a mess of everything around the entire Globe, almost all Homo sapiens now despise the mutant race. Kade Kilgore a little menace that killed his father to take over The Hellfire Club has some major plans brewing up. This issue starts off with the Human Race activating all the Sentinels around the world, and the second class X-Men as well as the Avengers have split up into different teams taking the sentinels out one by one trying to save the Humans from these faulty machines. Meanwhile Quentin Quire shows up at Utopia looking for a safe haven, Wolverine wants to turn him over to Steve Rodgers, but Scott wants to harbor the fugitive because Scott wants him to be trialed upon by his peers. Kade Kilgore has his cronies off making deals with aliens for some brain slug. The Mayor is trying to get a hold of Scott trying to plan a Museum of Mutant History opening, and hoping that it calms the hatred that the humans have for the Mutants. Scott sends a few of his heavy hitters as well as the future of mutants, students who are currently taking classes, but they're not safe because the Hellfire Club is about to crash the party!
Jason Aaron is new to me I just starting reading his stuff with this series, and the first issue was great. I loved the bits of humor that were in the story and he doesn't cut corners every frame seems to have some part of the story that is vital. This issue he kind of cut back on the humor a bit, and I was a little disappointed by that. I'm looking forward to the next issue and I'm hoping he throws more humor into it before it starts to get to serious. His dialogue between Scott and Wolverine is awesome, and I believe it to be spot on when I think of those two together. No matter how much respect they have for one another they always rag and disagree with each other
The art was what seemed to be hit or miss, and mostly miss. Frank Cho imagining of Wolverine and Cyclops were disgusting. His Wolverine looked like something straight out of Planet of the Apes and his Cyclops looks like an anorexic 60 year old on his deathbed.
He had a very nice Rogue though, but other then that nothing to appealing to look at. It's sad because last issue they had Carlos Pacheco, and it was beautiful and glorious to look at. Wolverine didn't look like a primate and Cyclops didn't look like he needed a sandwich. It seems to be a on running thing with Marvel to give you an awesome artist in the first issue and just slaughter the series with lack luster artists after that. Hopefully the next issue they will go back to Carlos or maybe somebody better, because if I have to look at Cyclops or Wolverine drawn by Cho I'm going to lose it.
Writer: Jonathan Hickman (Tony Stark)(Hulk)
Nick Spencer (Kitty Pride)
Artist/Artist: Steve Kurth (Tony Stark)
Eric Nguyen (Kitty Pryde)
Carlo Pagulayan (Hulk)
Inker: Jay Leisten (Tony Stark)
Eric Nguyen (Kitty Pryde)
Jason Paz (Hulk)
Last issue we left off with a weird branch of stories for Thor and Rogue. I don't follow any other Ultimate series at the moment except for Spider-Man, so I'm not sure what this is all about. Assuming what I have been told by a friend they are working on rebooting the Ultimate Universe, or somewhere along the lines of just bringing all the stories to a center story so they can branch out all over again. This story starts off with Tony visiting his brother’s memorial/burial service when he is acquainted with what seems to be one of his brother’s co-worker/friend.
Tony is invited to a group of rich people and is asked to join their cause, and their cause is vague and unclear but it seems that they want to assure that the economy and the world flows the way it's suppose to and to make sure that everything that needs to happen happens. Then off to the Kitty Pryde story she goes off on some 5-page rant about how the world is stupid because they never stopped to look at what Spider-Man was doing for them and instead treated him like a criminal. She eventually runs into Bobby Drake who's crying on a bench. He's worried about where he will end up. He doesn't want to go back to Peter's house because he doesn't want to trouble Aunt May any more then he already has, so Kitty Pryde cuts him a deal. If he agrees to not use his power anymore regardless of any circumstance and to live like a normal person he can go with her to a Shelter specifically for Mutants. Two weeks from the day of Peter Parker's Funeral Karen Grant who is working for S.H.I.E.L.D is what seems to be controlling Bruce Banners mind. Trying to contain his Rage and to see if she can control him when he's all hulked out.
So far this series seems to be going down hill for me. I just absolutely loved the first one I thought Bendis and Bagley just did an outstanding job, and now they are having 2-3 writers and artist jumping the story around to their liking and it's just really tough to read. So many different styles and what seems to be pointless dialogue is just turning my brain into Mush. Hickman and Spencer I know are great writers, but I really don't see where this is going and hopefully in the end it will make sense. I really feel lost when reading each characters story, and all of it just seems to be setups to their own Ultimate storyline and I hate that. I followed Ultimate Spider-Man series at the end, and they advertised and portrayed this series to be where they lay Peter to rest and a new Spider-Man rises from the ranks to reboot the Spider-Man series. I didn't think I was signing up for everyone’s life story. This might be an awesome read if all you do is follow the Ultimate universe, but it leaves so much for the person who just wants to know what’s going to happen to the Ultimate Spider-Man series.
Like the story it's hard to enjoy the art when it flip-flops. I think Carlo Pagulayan did the best work of the 3 and I'm going to say I didn't enjoy Eric Nguyen art one bit. It was too fake and it just ruined all the work that has been done for Ultimate Spider-Man as a series. From here on out I don't think I have any high hopes in seeing some good art to finish off this series. Mainly sticking it out to see who replaces Spider-Man.
Alright at that's it for this issue of Hot off the Presses! I hope you all enjoyed and catch you all back here some time soon for my Captain America: The First Avenger review!
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