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Post by Marvel Boy on Nov 12, 2012 23:03:08 GMT -5
This past week saw the release of Marvel NOW! Iron Man #1 by Gillen and Land. Sadly, my print subscription runs about a week behind the issue's release date. So hopefully I'll get this issue next week.
Till then, if anyone has read this issue and wishes to shares their thoughts, please go ahead.
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Post by tomspasic on Nov 13, 2012 3:22:55 GMT -5
I've read it, so potential spoilers ahoy!
I can't say that I was particularly blown away by the first issue.
The art was a bit patchy. Some panels I quite liked, but Tony's face bugged me in many other panels. Leaving aside the slightly odd rictus "Joker" type grin he sports, he just looks different to the last artists version. It's like artists now model him on a specific actor but not always the same one. I preferred the slightly generic Tony of the 70's who despite a bland simple face structure was always recognizable.
The colours are good, lots of computer aided effects but the panels are often light on backgrounds leaving a disconnected feeling where it seems like the colourist is putting in more time and effort than the penciller.
Some of the action seems a bit stiff to me, but not so much so as to spoil the book.
The writing was ok to good. Having enjoyed Gillen on JITM I know that he will often go for a slow burn long-term plot, so I'm willing to grudgingly endure not much seeming to happen now because I expect a clever, well crafted pay off later on.
He's kept some continuity with the previous author's work, but is clearly going to move things in a slightly (or maybe majorly) different direction. There are some callbacks and motifs which resonate with the long-term IM reader.
The plot has a couple of seemingly un-related threads running in parallel which I expect to converge down the line. The main one concerns Tony going undercover at an AIM auction of stolen extremis tech which ticks boxes for continuity but for me falls down in the following areas, (not all of which are Gillen's fault, by the way):
1. The "undercover" plot seems very much like a recent "Captain America and Hawkeye" book where they go incognito to Madripoor, and also feels a lot like much of Secret Avengers. If you've read neither of them, that won't give you the vague deja vu it gave me.
2. Bendis beat AIM to death in several loooong running "yet more Osborne" plots where he had them splinter and get taken over or something. The details escape me but it seems like this "business as usual, timeless AIM" we see here is unaffected by any of that. No big deal, I no longer expect much continuity in Marvel's books and this one actually has enough to satisfy me and let me ignore this.
3. Exremis sort of creates it's own issues by existing. In the old days, this sort of "tech genie" would be confined to the bottle by Professor Erskine or whomever getting conveniently killed or some sort of un-repeatable accident creating the stuff. Maybe Gillen is dealing with that question here by raising the issue that in theory Extremis could mass produce super powered villains. I'm going to trust that he will deal with this sensibly.
Now, leaving aside my quibbles above, it's a reasonably engaging read, setting up some decent material for the inevitable six-issue arc. It does not feel overly decompressed (but after 10 years of nothing but decompressed I may just be getting used to it), but could not be described as "stand alone" or "done in one" either.
I'm not blown away by it, but Gillen won me over with JITM so I'm going to stick with it for the first "arc" at least.
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Post by humanbelly on Nov 13, 2012 9:56:17 GMT -5
On a related- albeit broader- note: Does this whole "Marvel-NOW!" marketing thingy strike anyone else as being rather, oh, I don't know. . . weak? Unoriginal? SO 1975 (i.e. Dated)? Faintly desperate? Hackneyed? Forced? Over-eager? It brings to mind, of all things, that short-lived PIZZAZZ glossy mag that Marvel put out for all of two or three issues in the early 70's for slightly younger readers.
Clearly, it must be a knowing tribute to the Daily Bugle's long-time Sunday Glossy that I think has been referenced on and off since, wow, either the late Ditko or early Romita eras. I mean, to its credit, it's a very "Stan" kind of ploy. . . but then again, so were Marvel Pop-Art Books. . .
And OBVIOUSLY, six months from "NOW", it's gonna be "THEN"-- which will just emphasize the transitory nature of the medium, and hasten the books' journey into the realm of having all the relevance of old issues of Marvel Age Magazine. . .
(Okay, okay-- a little grumpy today. Got a broken table saw that I REALLY don't want to deal with. . . )
Grrgh-
HB
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Post by tomspasic on Nov 14, 2012 6:17:19 GMT -5
Agreed.
I was just thinking today how weak "now" is as a riposte to DC's "new 52".
How is it "weak"?
Well, to begin with it has no coherent core idea. It's just a marketing slogan. The "new 52" is a line wide reboot. A reboot is not an original idea, and is one which many dislike, but at least it IS an idea, and has shaken the line up.
Secondly it's just rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic. Shuffle creative teams to other titles because...it looks like it shakes things up. I suppose it does a little, but creative teams shift and change all the time, so to trumpet it as some bold new strategy when if fact it's just business as usual seems both dishonest and lame.
Thirdly, hilariously, the "flagship" title, "Uncanny Avengers" a creatively bankrupt ongoing Avengers/Xmen title is already late, on it's second issue. As one wag on another forum put it, "Marvel Eventually".
I know the "new 52" has it's problems, but at least it was a committed and concerted attempt to move the line forward, and has undeniably paid off in terms of sales, even if you feel it's creatively bankrupt.
Marvel Now seems to not be succeeding in terms of sales or creatively. It's literal swings and roundabouts since if you like Gillen's Iron Man in order to get it the cost was Gillen's Journey into Mystery. If you like Hickmans' Avengers, the cost was Hickman's FF, etc etc. There is no net gain that I can see.
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Post by humanbelly on Nov 14, 2012 9:07:47 GMT -5
. Marvel Now seems to not be succeeding in terms of sales or creatively. It's literal swings and roundabouts since if you like Gillen's Iron Man in order to get it the cost was Gillen's Journey into Mystery. If you like Hickmans' Avengers, the cost was Hickman's FF, etc etc. There is no net gain that I can see. Ha! That is very well-put. You've basically posited a comic-book creator application of the Commutative and/or Associative Properties of Addition-! (Depending on how many creative hands are in play, I imagine). Effectively, no matter the order or the groupings, your sum is going to remain the same. The opposite of a gestalt, really-- BUT, the gestalt effect is RARELY achieved through random, desperate re-shuffling. Rather, it usually comes about through careful consideration of individual merits, strengths, and weaknesses and attention to detail. Not from throwing all of the writers, artists, and titles against a wall while making a fervent wish, and seeing which ones stick to each other (to mangle a metaphor beyond repair. . . ). HB |
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Post by Shiryu on Nov 14, 2012 22:31:08 GMT -5
I suppose I liked IM #1, but only if compared to what went on in the recent past. Despite the great reviews I read around, I really really couldn't stand Fraction's Iron Man (or most other things he writes, he doesn't seem to click with me for some reason).
So, compared to that, it was a step in the right direction towards a more fun and "comic-booky" book. Still early days, but I'll get issue 2.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Nov 15, 2012 12:11:07 GMT -5
Like I mentioned in the other thread, I liked most of Fraction's work on IM. He did a good job of showing how Tony and IM can still be a relevant force in today's modern, tech-savvy world. The corporate/spy side of the story was more compelling and interesting than I'd first thought. Thirdly, hilariously, the "flagship" title, "Uncanny Avengers" a creatively bankrupt ongoing Avengers/Xmen title is already late, on it's second issue. As one wag on another forum put it, "Marvel Eventually". Also, Coipel will be a fill-in artist for, I think, #5 allowing Cassaday some time to catch his breath. New 52 is a re-launch, not a reboot. IMHO, a reboot means that a publisher takes all existing stories and canon, tosses them out, and starts over fresh from the ground up. DC hasn't done this. They cherry-pick what events they want to keep from the previous canon. Some titles were rebooted, others (like Batman and GL) were not. The description 'soft reboot' is too wishy-washy. Either you have or you haven't. But they have handled this relaunch much better than the '85 reboot of Crisis. Ever since it's announcement, right up till today, I have been more excited for NOW! than I ever was for New 52. Give Marvel credit, they are a business first and they make no qualms about wanting to earn your dollar. So, basically, let's restart some major titles again with new #1s again and fans will eat it up. The difference is, Marvel, over the past decade, has been more consistent than DC. Say what you will about Bendis, there's no denying his effect and influence on Marvel. Universe-wide, there's a been a steady progression of both stories and characterizations that build upon the last. May not agree with those progressions, but Marvel is making the effort. And they've been doing it with far more stable creative teams than DC. Fraction on IM, Brubaker on Cap, Bendis on Avengers, Cary-Gillen-Yost and others on X-titles, they've been on those titles for years. DC, on the other hand, has been having problems. Creative teams have been in flux on some major titles. I want to read Superman but the changing creators make it hard for any cohesive goals to form (plus how do you let someone like Perez go??) Liefeld may have gone overboard in his Twitter barrage when he left, but there's probably a few grains of truth hidden somewhere in them. Marvel's response to the New 52 was simply to relaunch their titles in light of their last major event. The same creators are now applying their talents to brand-new characters/teams for them. Really, bottom-line, for the first time in over a decade, I find myself excited, enjoying, and looking forward to Marvel Comics. |
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Post by tomspasic on Nov 15, 2012 12:53:01 GMT -5
It's good to enjoy, and look forward to Marvel comics.
I've been largely missing both myself for nearly a decade.
I think I disagree with you about what constitutes a reboot rather than a relaunch, but it's really not worth worrying or arguing over.
Let's hope we all enjoy the new books/ new teams..
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Post by starfoxxx on Nov 15, 2012 15:38:42 GMT -5
When will the Marvel bigwigs figure out that most of the people who actually still BUY comics would be more intrigued by a Marvel THEN! campaign than Marvel NOW! ??
Ha-Ha.
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Post by Marvel Boy on Nov 15, 2012 23:31:32 GMT -5
It's good to enjoy, and look forward to Marvel comics. I've been largely missing both myself for nearly a decade. I think I disagree with you about what constitutes a reboot rather than a relaunch, but it's really not worth worrying or arguing over. Let's hope we all enjoy the new books/ new teams.. Yeah, let's just agree to disagree. I've had this particular argument elsewhere on the worldwide web and it never really turns out well. What I find frustrating is that, for an industry and hobby that prides itself on knowing the exact condition of the books that it buys, sells, and trades, some vague definitions are used to describe what goes on within those books. Also, that's not saying I haven't enjoyed parts of the New 52. Snyder's Batman is good, Flash is terrific, and the Legion keeps marching on. |
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Post by Marvel Boy on Nov 24, 2012 23:00:10 GMT -5
With all the hoopla and running around of Thanksgiving, forgot to give my thoughts on #1 which I did get via the mail.
Overall, I thought it was a decent start. I've liked Gillen's work on Uncanny X-Men, his mini-run on Thor, I've yet to read his JIM though I've heard terrific reviews of it. Thus, I think whatever slow stumbles are present here, Gillen will eventually pan out.
One slight stumble was Tony's idea of a getaway to space, to clear his head. Problem is, this is what he did at the end of Fraction's run. I know this is to set-up his encounter/joining the Guardians of the Galaxy, but it's still odd that he took two similar type trips so soon. (Of course, I think this relates to whatever crisis of faith he had at the end of AVX, but since I have yet to read that, I can't say for sure)
Bigger issue is Land's art. Pepper looks an awful lot like MJ here and Tony's date appears to be Emma Frost. As for why Kitty Pryde appears to crawl from a manhole, I don't know. His potential usage of photo-referencing is known so here, it was kinda distracting.
The fight and armor scenes looked good though. Love the new armor.
On a different note, with every issue via the mail, comes a subscription form. I was surprised to see this form updated with most of the NOW! titles and other new series. Usually, it lags behind with any title changes.
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