The Mighty (2009) #7

First, someone made a big art decision about this issue and I can’t tell who. It’s Samnee on pencils and inks and John Kalisz coloring; Kalisz has been coloring the whole series, Samnee’s been on for an issue before this one. The coloring of The Mighty is now incredibly lush and vibrant. The story’s also intensifying–Alpha One is now killing everyone left and right and it’s clear the series is going somewhere nasty–but the colors….

All this terrible stuff is going on in these amazing colors.

The issue moves way too fast again, as Tomasi and Champagne can’t make a solid decision between protagonist and antagonist. Alpha One gets more panels than Cole and Cole’s supposed to be the lead. Here he’s kind of a guest star.

There’s some weird stuff going on with the dialogue–Alpha One’s pop culture reference to Star Trek II boggles the mind.

The Mighty (2009) #6

What an issue. The pacing is awful–I’m pretty sure it took me about three minutes to read–because the whole thing is just a conversation. After discovering, Alpha One is nuts or something, protagonist–the first time I’ve ever referred to him as such–Gabe hangs out with Alpha One in space for a really creepy moment.

Then the rest of the issue is Gabe trying to tell his wife Alpha One is a nutso without Alpha One hearing but Alpha One does hear.

It’s not so much a weak issue as it is a weak half issue. The Mighty, for a twelve issue limited (or whatever, it was going to be ongoing at one point, right?), is seriously lacking any subplots. It’s all about Gabe discovering Alpha One is a fruitcake bad guy masquerading as a good guy. Or something along those lines.

But it’s got no texture.

The Mighty (2009) #5

For Samnee’s first issue, apparently Tomasi and Champagne aren’t going to beat around the bush. Alpha One goes from being a hero with some quirks to being an intergalactic villain. Well, maybe not intergalactic–the alien things on the last page look a lot like something out of War of the Worlds.

Samnee’s art, which is even less superhero style than Snejbjerg’s, fits the series, though it’s unfair to compare the two because Samnee isn’t tasked with trying to infer deception behind Alpha One’s otherwise heroic demeanor.

What’s shocking about the issue is how fast Tomasi and Champagne introduce the bad stuff–there’s a lot of implications against Alpha One–before he goes and murders someone. After spending three and a half issues being cagey about it, The Mighty enters Irredeemable territory–the two books premiered around the same time, which is interesting. No one talked about The Mighty though.

X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas (2009) #2

Wait, what?

Okay, I get it. Agents of Atlas can’t make the grade sales-wise so there need to be team-ups–Parker’s the best writer Marvel has working on their mainstream stuff right now (sorry, Ed, but I can’t forgive some of the Daredevil and X-Men lows)–someone realizes it and doesn’t want him to jump ship to DC, who wouldn’t appreciate him, but he more jibes with their stuff anyway.

This issue reveals the whole series just to be an Atlas comic. It’s got nothing to do with X-Men other than as a McGuffin. I mean, whatever, I get it… but still, it’s shameful Atlas can’t get a solid reading audience.

What am I saying? I should be grateful for any good comic books at all, given the depths of idiocy pop culture has descended to in the last fifteen years.

Oh, yeah. Great comic book.

X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas (2009) #1

Ok, so I’m not sure it’s really a “versus” book. I mean, sure, it’s got the Atlas guys fighting the X-Men, but it’s really just an Agents of Atlas issue with an X-Men crossover (much like the New Avengers crossover early in the Atlas series).

Parker does an unsurprisingly fantastic job, though I wish there’d been a little more recap–I can’t remember if Venus got snatched in the Atlas finale, though I know for sure Parker did start laying the groundwork. He mixes the unfunny X-Men brilliantly with the humorous, but serious, Atlas team.

Pagulayan’s artwork is excellent as always, a slick modern Marvel style without sacrificing expressiveness. The backup, which is just a fun insert instead of dramatically important, has lovely art from Samnee. Along with the other Atlas backups, it does more to establish the series’s perceived playfulness than anything in the modern stories.