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Among The Panels: ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA #1, BATMAN #36, THE SPIDER-VERSE #1 & More!

A world of four color magic arrives every Wednesday.

Stories and adventures of heroes and villains, good versus evil.

Tales that entertain and excite by talented writers and artists.

Here are my thoughts Among The Panels.

Thor #2

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: Russell Dauterman

Publisher: Marvel 
Comics
Price: $3.99

Thor #2 is the much anticipated follow up to last month’s issue number one where we found Thor’s hammer has chosen a new soul to wield it, but this time it’s a woman.

If you were not aware that Thor as the character was switching genders this issue won’t let you forget it.

It starts off with our new Thor standing on the Moon trying to come to terms with the fact that she is now Thor. This is done by her having an inner and outer monologue that are speaking to each other.

Inside, she is her mortal self and talks like any regular human does. Outside, she is Thor and speaks with the weird Asgardian dialects.

They waste no time with her figuring out her powers and how to use the hammer. She just remembers watching Thor and then just emulates everything he did. She uses the hammer to fly back to Earth and lands outside of a Frost Giant cave entrance. She heads inside and destroys them all without breaking a sweat.  She then stumbles upon a room where all of the Avengers stand as frozen statues. She doubt’s herself for a brief second but then goes out and kicks more ass.

A few familiar faces show up and it will be interesting to see how they interact with this new Thor. Hopefully it can go farther than the fact that she is a girl and we can get real character interactions that feel a little more meaningful.

The issue wraps up with Thor losing her hammer behind a wall made out of the two marvel mythical metals. We are all left the same way she is, wondering how the hell she will do without the hammer.
Once again the art of Russell Dauterman shines brilliantly on the page. There are a few panels that were really hard to read while Thor was killing things with her hammer. It just was confusing but the colors and renderings made up for it. Marvel picked a great artist to helm this story because it just feels nice to read even when the story is kind of lacking.

I know Jason Aaron has a lot of weight on his shoulders trying to usher a new Thor into the Marvel universe. This issue wasn’t bad at all but it felt really heavy handed when it came to the fact that she is a woman. I know this is a hot topic in comics right now but it just felt like it would have been much better if they never commented on her gender at all.

Instead of saying things like “You weak woman, what can you do?” You can just say “You’re not the Thor I know, let’s see how you fight!” We all already know she is a woman we don’t need commentary on how woman may or may not be weaker than men. Just let her kick ass and all rest will become unnecessary.

I have really high hopes for this book and I can’t wait until they are done flushing out the introduction.

Score: 3.5 out of 5

All-New Captain America #1

Writer: Russell Dauterman

Artist: Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger

Publisher: Marvel
 Comics
Price: $3.99

With Steve Rogers no longer holding the mantel of Captain America Sam Wilson has to step up and wield the shield.

All-New Captain America #1 gives you everything you want from a number one.

We get the horrendously sad backstory of Sam of how it shaped the hero he would become. It was nice to get to see him just be Captain America, even though he references it half a dozen times.

This opening did feel like Sam was taking his first step out of the massive shadow that Steve left behind. Watching him fly through the cave fighting Hydra agents was super fun.

His comments on using Cap’s shield were really funny and helped identify Sam’s character.
The story itself was also really interesting. Russell Dauterman did a great job shaping this new Captain America for new and old readers. Adding in Nomad as his sidekick added tension that felt needed with Sam as the Captain. The dialogue between Captain and the villain of this issue, Batroc, was just hilarious. All the anti-American sentiment felt really fresh against the backdrop of such a pro-American hero.

The two artists on this book did great things.

Sam’s backstory pages, in the black, red, and white, were really amazing. The fight scenes with Sam hurling the shield worked really well. Sometimes I feel that artists get caught up in the way the movies have imagined the way the shield flies and they try to replicate that back into the comics but this time it stayed true to the classic way the shield moved around the panels and inflicted it’s justice on each Hydra agent.

I was wondering how they would try and separate Sam from Steve and in this issue there really isn’t much of a crowbar separation between them. Sam did feel like a lesser version of the Captain America we all know and love. His morals seem similar and his mission is the same but now he can fly. I did enjoy this story like I have the other Captain America titles but I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t that different.

Still a strong opener for such an iconic character, I’m excited to see where it goes.

Score: 4 out of 5

Batman #36

Writer: Scott Snyder

Artist: Greg Capullo

Publisher: DC
 Comics
Price: $3.99

Last month’s opening issue of the latest Batman arc, Endgame, was action packed and full of surprises. The second issue is more of the same.  We jump right back into the fight between Batman and Superman. When you reach the conclusion of this fight you understand immediately how much love Scott Snyder has for these characters.

We have all had the argument of who would win in a fight Batman or Superman and the nerd wars will probably never really end where this is concerned.  Scott Snyder summed it all up in one line; “Neither of us.”

This type of ending to a fight with the two most arguably famous comic book characters is perfect and full of thought.

Even though the fight is short and to the point it shows how strong a character Batman is through how strong a writer Scott Snyder is.

The fight ends about mid issue and then Batman pulls on his detective pants to finish the issue out. We get to see him pull the pieces together of how Joker has made the toxins for each and every member of the Justice League. Batman is convinced that the answers lie in the old Arkham Asylum in the cage the once held the Joker himself. When he arrives we get another end of issue reveal that will go down in history. Joker is alive and his face is no longer falling off. It’s another Joker redesign that comments on the fact that he is once again changed.

This time he doesn’t see Batman as a friend or foe, he just wants it all to end.

When you read anything by Snyder and Capullo you know it’s going to be epic. The hype around these two is one that is deserved. What can be said about Greg Capullo’s art that hasn’t already been shared by every other reviewer and fan alike? You just can’t get through one issue without saying “wow” out loud. His work turning Superman’s face into the grotesque Joker infused madness is just something to awe at.  I think that his line work mixed with the colors of FCO Plascencia, honestly cannot be matched anywhere else in the industry. Each page explodes with new and amazing things. I can read an issue three of four times and still find something I didn’t see before.

The back matter in this book helps ties us closer to what the Joker might be planning. The art and writing are a little lacking coming off such a great issue but it does help move the story along and that I can’t complain about at all. I hate waiting between these issues; it makes a month feel like a year.

Too much greatness is on its way. If you haven’t read any of Batman since the re-launch of the New 52, I suggest you rush out and catch up on what I feel is the best title running.

Score: 5 out of 5.

Archer & Armstrong: The One Percent #1

Writer: Ray Fawkes

Artist: Joe Eisma

Publisher: Valiant Entertainment

Price: $3.99

I haven’t read many comics coming out of the Valiant camp but I have been trying to branch out lately.

I have also never read any of Archer & Armstrong but I thought this one shot story might be a good place to jump in.

Archer and Armstrong: The One Percent #1 is a great place to dip your toes in the pool. I gravitated to this because of Ray Fawkes’ name being tie to it.

I am a huge fan of anyone who has written Batman or the likes of and I’ve read quite a few things from Ray. Going in blind was probably a bad choice but I enjoyed it all the same.

The bulk of the story is just explaining how the one percent is changing to a younger generation who is hell bent on not just holding all the money in the world to themselves but taking the entire planet for ransom. Our main character Austin is pretty much the worst character you will likely read in a comic this year. He is just so appallingly psychotic that when it all comes to a head at the end you don’t really even care what happens to him. Whether he is buying and selling people over the phone or talking to his barista in a gimp outfit, I really couldn’t get enough of his snark.

Ray Fawkes wrote such a wonderfully vile character that I probably will end up reading more Archer and Armstrong just to get more of him. Austin just embodies everything awful about what we perceive the 1% to be. We all know that they cannot possibly be as bad as this but it’s nice to put a face to the horrible people hording all of the money.

Joe Eisma’s art fit the story pretty well. I felt that his style is a bit too clean for such a horrible story. The pop art style with bright colors just felt a little out of place for such mature themes. His art is solid and beautiful to look at but I might have chosen someone a little darker.

Overall Archer & Armstrong: The One Percent is a great one shot story to develop a character and show how evil and vile he can be. The reasons why he’s evil don’t really matter but watching it was fun anyway.

Score: 3.5 out of 5

The Spider-Verse #1

Writers: Dan Slott, Skottie Young, Robbie Thompson, Katie Cook

Artists: Humberto Ramos, Jake Parker, Denis Medri, Katie Cook
Publisher: Marvel
 Comics
Price: $3.99

First, I need to give a shout out to all the artists and writers in this book of six awesome stories.

The first story written by Dan Slott with pencils by Humberto Ramos is an introduction to the Spider-Verse as it stands. The splash page showing how the master weaver is conducting his business is extra great to look at.

The second story by written by Skottie Young with pencils by Jake Parker send us to the mountains of some Asian world where Spider-Man is a tiny monk who fights his otherworldly looking brother named Venom. This story is short and to the point but the art of Jake Parker out shines whatever the story was trying to say.

This one just looks so great that it doesn’t really matter what it adds to the Spider-Verse.

The third story is a steampunk inspired tale about a lady spider that fights a group of steampunk classic Spider-Man villains. This story is much like the others. We get a brief glimpse into a world where everything is laced in steampunk styling and mechanisms. It was really good to look at but the six stories. Robbie Thompson writes a decent story with spectacular art by Dennis Medri.

Story number four is my personal favorite. Dan Slott returns to write a single page drawn by Ty Templeton. This one page is a call back to a much simpler Spider-Man. Morlun appears in a classic Spider-Man comic strip just to kill him. Spider-Man tries to fight him off with delicious snack pies and cakes but Morlun makes quick work of him. I really enjoyed this story because of how simplistic it was but showed how dangerous Morlun is and how he will leave no Spider-Man universe alone.

Story five was written and drawn by Katie Cook. This is a very cute and heartwarming story of a little girl who is granted the powers of the spider. She is afraid that people will make fun of her but she saves her friend while wearing a paper bag over her head. The conversation between this Spider-Girl, Penelope, and her Aunt May is really great. It’s the same old “the world needs more people like you” story but with Katie’s cartoon styled art it feels really special.

The sixth and final story is written once again by Dan Slott but this time drawn by Grummet & Palmer. This one is based on the old black and white style comic strips where from week to week we needed a recap of what happened in the last three panel comic. Morlun appears and doesn’t understand why everyone is repeating themselves. It’s seriously clever and fun to read.

Reading this book was probably the most fun I have head reading a comic in a long time. All the stories were well written and played well against each other. The two stories with Morlun, even though they were humorous, still showed us the scope of how this event is playing out. Well done Marvel, well done.
 
Score: 5 out of 5

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