Rocketeer Adventures 1 (May 2011)

816789 I’m going out of order because Kurt Busiek, in eight pages, made me tear up. He does a Rocketeer during WWII story; Cliff’s in the Pacific as a flyer and as the Rocketeer. Cliff writes Betty letters, we get summaries. It’s freaking amazing work. Great art from Michael Kaluta. The Rocketeer details are inconsequential; they just makes it more touching. It’s the third story, easily the best.

The first story, from John Cassaday, comes in second. Cassaday doesn’t draw a good Cliff, but his Betty’s all right and his Rocketeer helmet’s good. The story also works. Cassaday gets how to mix in the relationship humor. There’s a fantastic, filmic action sequence here too.

The issue’s loser is Mike Allred’s middle story. It’s a side sequel to New York Adventure (I think). Allred’s art is good, but his dialogue and character work are both terrible

Two out of three ain’t bad.

CREDITS

The Rocketeer; writer and artist, John Cassaday; colorist, Laura Martin; letterer, Chris Mowry. Home Again; writer, artist and letterer, Mike Allred; colorist, Laura Allred. Dear Betty…; writer, Kurt Busiek; artist, Michael Kaluta; colorist, Dave Stewart; letterer, Mowry. Editor, Scott Dunbier; publisher, IDW Publishing.

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2009) #6

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Okay, so Busiek doesn’t pull it off, not saving the whole series, not even saving the whole issue, but when he has the chance to be a right cheap bastard and have the mutant girl be a hallucination of a dying cancer patient… he doesn’t do it. He doesn’t do the M. Night Shyamalan ending. He does the work instead.

The ending doesn’t work–we never find out the title of the new book the protagonist was working on and there’s this whole emphasis on his concern for mutant rights–which started an issue ago, certainly not through the whole series–but most of the issue does.

Marvels: Eye of the Camera is a piece of shit. The only issue worth a cent, much less three hundred and ninety-nine of them, is this last one. It could have been a one shot. Would have been better as one too.

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2009) #5

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If Marvels II is really all about the protagonist dying, shouldn’t they have made the issues match the Kübler-Ross model–the five stages of grief–you know, from that “Simpsons” episode with the blowfish. Just an idea.

I’m not sure when this issue takes place. Sometime in the late 1980s at least. The protagonist has been dying for six months or something, so this history of the Marvel Universe is rather abbreviated. It’s idiotic, really. I mean, if the point of Marvels was to age things real time, based on publication date, look at this nonsense. Whatever.

This issue ends with a thread from the first series returning. It’s an interesting, cheaper than cheaper idea. I mean, if Busiek really resolves the story of the runaway mutant girl… it means the first series really was all bullshit to him.

I think I dislike this comic book more each issue.

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2009) #4

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Ok, so Secret Wars took place in the seventies? I mean, based on the style of the protagonist’s new boss, at least. She’s wearing clothes straight out of “Mary Tyler Moore.” It’s fine, of course, if it does take place in the seventies in Marvels, but maybe mention it, guys. Maybe mention the year. Maybe tie in some events. Or at least get things right when it comes to costumes, if you aren’t going to mention years.

As I understand it, Alex Ross brought Marvels to Marvel and Busiek came onboard it. So letting Busiek run Marvels II seems a little odd. There’s absolutely no passion to the series, but there’s not even any interest in it. There’s a lot of random events, not particularly memorable ones either, taking place over a dozen years in this issue.

It’s not disastrous, but it’s a waste of time and money. Mine, specifically.

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2009) #3

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Does Busiek have a point this time? This entire series seems pointless. It’s Anacleto, finally, drawing superheroes–not a lot of them, but some of them–and they look good and the comic looks good overall, but Busiek isn’t doing anything here. There’s nothing… pressing about this comic book. It’s completely by the numbers.

It’s so unspectacular, I don’t even remember what happened this issue. It ends with Spider-Man not trying to save the Hitman. It apparently takes place in the seventies, since the Punisher has just shown up, but there’s no seventies texture to it. Apparently, setting Marvels in a point in history is over now. It’s just the same as every other Marvel comic. Stuff happened a while ago. An indeterminate while ago. Like when Doctor Doom says many months ten years after an event. Sure, it’s many months….

Oh, man, this was four bucks an issue?

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2009) #2

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The second issue is better than the first… but it’s still got a bunch of problems. It’s more of a sequel to the original series than the first issue, which makes the first issue even more questionable, but it also… it’s a….

So, the protagonist has this book about all the heroes and it’s called Marvels and it’s a big best seller. So now he doesn’t know what to do next and he decides instead of doing a book about villains or something, he’s going to do a book to show everyone the superheroes are true heroes.

Something he basically already did and they talk about him doing a lot in this issue.

It’s mind bogglingly illogical.

I must be missing something. Like a CliffsNotes to it or an online reading guide.

Anacleto’s still boring. Maybe the lack of superheroes in the superhero comic has something to do with it.

Marvels: Eye of the Camera (2009) #1

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I’m a little confused. Marvels is, itself, somewhat out of continuity–the Fantastic Four didn’t really get their start in the sixties in current Marvel continuity. So, Marvels: Eye of the Camera is–or should be–out of continuity too, right?

Because Busiek wastes the entire first issue ret-conning Marvels.

It’s not even clear until the last five pages it’s about the same Phil Sheldon (Busiek introduces his Judaism big time in this issue, which wasn’t even a minor part of the original series). The narration’s all different, sounds like a totally different character. Busiek obviously wasn’t trying to recapture the voice. Instead, he went with a burn out.

Anacleto’s art’s okay. It doesn’t do what Ross’s art did on the original Marvels, which was realize comic book characters in a realistic way. Anacleto’s art is careful, pretty and stylized–not particularly special.

It’s off to an awful start.

Marvels (1994) #4

Marvels, quite simply, can’t live up to the potential of the first issue. The present action is about thirty years. Thirty years, four issues. It’s not going to be a solid narrative. Busiek has a couple opportunities to tie the first and fourth issue and doesn’t. It would have worked better without the same narrator throughout.

This issue does have the Gwen Stacy stuff, though, and it’s incredible. Busiek and Ross cast her as an angel in Marvel Universe and it works. It does work. Maybe it’s a little cheap–it’s not like no one but Gwen Stacy could appreciate these things, but there’s just something so … affecting about using her. It’s unfortunate the book has to contrive a relationship between her and the narrator for it to work.

Marvels is a wee self-important and a wee overbearing. It’s like no one ever realized what worked best.

Too bad.

Marvels (1994) #3

The Galactus issue. Way too many full page fight scenes here (Ross must have been getting tired) and no real story. It’s all centered around the one event, around the Fantastic Four fighting off Galactus. I’ve never read the Fantastic Four issues this one retells, so I don’t know if the lame excuses for no other heroes being around are in those too, but it really doesn’t work.

There’s more to it, sure, there’s a bunch of stuff about Iron Man (who’s off page the entire issue) and, while it does provide texture, it’s … it’s supposed to be a snapshot into the protagonist’s life, yes, but it all feels too forced. The comic is losing some of its charm (especially since, at issue three, they’ve finally decided to put some Black people in the comic–there weren’t any before, now it’s packed).

I hope the fourth issue ends things well.

Marvels (1994) #2

I think this issue of Marvels might qualify as cheap. I mean, while the first one thrilled and exhilarated, in this one Busiek puts a young girl in harm’s way as a dramatic plot. I’m not saying the issue does hit you in the stomach and hard, I’m just saying… it’s easy.

I mean, bigot learns not to be a bigot, but finds himself in a world where his not being a bigot anymore doesn’t mean everyone else isn’t a bigot. It’s almost a modern American narrative standard. I think “Quantum Leap” did about six episodes about it.

It’s a solid comic book and it does make the reader feel. It just does it in a dirty, cheap way.

Ross’s work here is fantastic. The grinning faces, the riots, it’s all just great.

I think the issue bothers me because it did choke me up, it just didn’t earn it.