Post by goldenfist on Feb 7, 2008 1:23:36 GMT -5
Here's Ign's review of Ms.Marvel #24.
Few people I know actually read Ms. Marvel. I can't say I'm surprised. When the series launched, Brian Reed was still a largely unproven writer who only had the Ultimate Spider-Man video game and lackluster Spider-Woman: Origins to his name. More importantly, early issues of the Ms. Marvel series failed to impress in a lot of respects. Most readers are content to get their Carol Danvers fix through the Avengers books. However, the series has improved quite a bit in the past year, mostly through the addition of a terrific supporting cast. This particular issue suffers somewhat by mostly ignoring this cast, but a surprising twist ending ensures it will be talked about for months to come.
In a sense, the series hits a watershed point this month. With issue #24 Ms. Marvel has supported a solo series for as long as she ever has in her long and tumultuous history. Most of Reed's plot threads converge and see resolution in this one issue. Carol battles it out with the Brood for what may or may not be the last time. The full nature of her connection to the mysterious Cru is revealed. We learn what the future may hold in store for her now that her Binary powers have returned. Longtime fans will find a lot to like here. Unfortunately, I suspect a ot of new readers will be attracted to this issue in the coming days, and it's not exactly the most shining example of good storytelling the series has to offer.
For one thing, Ms. Marvel's quality is almost exactly proportional to the amount of face time characters like Machine Man and Sleepwalker receive. Because both are almost entirely absent this month, and because both are more compelling than Carol herself, the entire issue suffers. I also found myself wishing on multiple occasions that Reed would just give the narrative captions a rest. Some comic characters talk too much. Ms. Marvel talks to herself too much.
But at least we have the twist ending, and I think that's all a lot of readers will need to see. It's certainly interesting, but a couple interesting pages can't prop up an entire issue. I'm hoping the twist will allow for an increased focus on th book's ensemble cast. That's all I really want from a Ms. Marvel comic anyway. Whether that's a sad statement on the title character, I couldn't really say.
Review Score:7.2 Decent
Few people I know actually read Ms. Marvel. I can't say I'm surprised. When the series launched, Brian Reed was still a largely unproven writer who only had the Ultimate Spider-Man video game and lackluster Spider-Woman: Origins to his name. More importantly, early issues of the Ms. Marvel series failed to impress in a lot of respects. Most readers are content to get their Carol Danvers fix through the Avengers books. However, the series has improved quite a bit in the past year, mostly through the addition of a terrific supporting cast. This particular issue suffers somewhat by mostly ignoring this cast, but a surprising twist ending ensures it will be talked about for months to come.
In a sense, the series hits a watershed point this month. With issue #24 Ms. Marvel has supported a solo series for as long as she ever has in her long and tumultuous history. Most of Reed's plot threads converge and see resolution in this one issue. Carol battles it out with the Brood for what may or may not be the last time. The full nature of her connection to the mysterious Cru is revealed. We learn what the future may hold in store for her now that her Binary powers have returned. Longtime fans will find a lot to like here. Unfortunately, I suspect a ot of new readers will be attracted to this issue in the coming days, and it's not exactly the most shining example of good storytelling the series has to offer.
For one thing, Ms. Marvel's quality is almost exactly proportional to the amount of face time characters like Machine Man and Sleepwalker receive. Because both are almost entirely absent this month, and because both are more compelling than Carol herself, the entire issue suffers. I also found myself wishing on multiple occasions that Reed would just give the narrative captions a rest. Some comic characters talk too much. Ms. Marvel talks to herself too much.
But at least we have the twist ending, and I think that's all a lot of readers will need to see. It's certainly interesting, but a couple interesting pages can't prop up an entire issue. I'm hoping the twist will allow for an increased focus on th book's ensemble cast. That's all I really want from a Ms. Marvel comic anyway. Whether that's a sad statement on the title character, I couldn't really say.
Review Score:7.2 Decent
