Well, it was a light week. All the same, the lone true "event" comic didn't fail to disappoint.
Secret Invasion: War of Kings changes the status quo for one of Marvel's oldest super groups. The Inhumans have been taking a major beating the last few years, from Quicksilver to the U.S. Government to the Skrulls... especially the Skrulls. And, as is detailed here, when you think about it, the Inhumans have been one of the most docile societies of super-powered characters you're ever going to see, opting to stay away from battles for the most part and even fleeing from Earth to the Moon in search of a peaceful existence.
If you've been along the ride for all of that, you're going to find this early precursor to the "War of Kings" to be an eye-opening experience. They're mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore -- as the Skrulls and other races (I don't want to spoil things) find out here. And if the mobilization and militarization of the Inhumans wasn't enough to shock you, then the end of the issue revelation will do the job.
As a fan of Vulcan's reign as Shi'ar Emperor and as a fan of the Inhumans, I am pumped for the "War of Kings." However, from the category of beggars can't be choosers, I felt Marvel could have done a much better job with the free War of Kings Saga issue. While the issue did a great job recapping the Skrull Invasion and the current Inhumans' situation, it didn't even touch on the events of "Annihilation," and frankly, I would think of the three components that filter into "War of Kings," "Annihilation" was the least read. Oh well. Beggars choosing.
Unfortunately, another issue I was curious about today, Faces of Evil: Solomon Grundy, was pretty weak. A lead-in to the seven-part "Grundy" mini-series kicking off in March, this "Faces of Evil" one-shot did absolutely nothing other than show Grundy dying and being born again. Literally, nothing of note happened until the last page. This entire one-shot could have been the first three pages of the first issue of the mini-series once it begins. And while I have no problem with being teased to a future mini-series, I do have a problem with it when I have to pay full cover price for a glorified prologue.
But, DC did make up for it in the most uncommon place. Trinity #32 was actually pretty darned good. Now, take this with a grain of salt, because if you want to get on-board the "Trinity" train at this point, you're going to have to do some research just to get yourself caught up with how weird and unusual the story has become. That said, this issue was one of the strongest the series has seen so far, and it's mostly thanks to back-up writer Fabian Nicieza's character work with Tomorrow Woman and Triumph.
Since I was pretty impressed with this issue, I just decided I'd put out a quick plug and say this series has really been pretty good for a while now. Don't get me wrong, the story is pretty ridiculous, but Kurt Busiek has weaved a tremendous concept together and executed it in an entertaining fashion. More than that, though, contrary to all advertisements for the series, the story has encompassed ALL of the DC Universe, not simply focusing on Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. Heck, the "Trinity" has hardly shown up of late. If you're willing to invest some time and money to get caught up, this has been an entertaining ride so far.
That's about it for now. Next week should be a much stronger comic offering, however. Two words: "Final Crisis."
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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