Morbius The Living Vampire #7 (Marvel, cover date September, 2013)
Writer:
Joe Keatinge
Artists:
Valentine De Landro and Felix Ruiz
Colorist:
Antonio Fabela
The
so-called Superior Spider-Man (read: Doctor Octopus' mind in Peter
Parker's brain) teams up with Morbius to battle Nikoletta Harrow. I
wonder if she is supposed to be the daughter of old school minor
league villain Doctor Jonas Harrow. In any case, her ridiculously
large gloves/fists make her seem silly. Of course the Rose is still
there pulling the strings. Morbius finally gets a costume, an updated
take on his original duds. Things end with a bang.
Two more issues to go and then this series will be finished. I am sad. This is likely the last shot Morbius has at his own series, as it is apparent that comic fans don't love Morbius as much as I do. If I were Keatinge, I'd say screw it and throw Werewolf By Night, the Living Mummy, and It! The Living Colossus in the final two issues and have them team up with Morbius to battle Mephisto. What's the worst thing that Marvel could do, cancel the series?
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.
AVENGERS VOL. 2: THE LAST WHITE EVENT (Marvel, 2013; Hardcover)
Collects
Avengers
Nos.
7-11 (cover dates May- July, 2013)
Writer:
Jonathan Hickman
Artists:
Dustin Weaver (7-9) and Mike Deodato (9-11)
Colorists:
Justin Ponsor (7-9) and Frank Martin (10, 11)
Hickman
tap dances with DC-level Multiple Earths nonsense in this arc, where
we see a variation of the New Universe (Marvel's aborted line of
comics which started in 1986) join the Marvel Universe. Hickman's
Avengers are increasingly galactic in scope, so these
reality-altering, universe-shaking threats like Ex Nihlo and Abyss
are either going to have to pay off in a major way or we are all in
for a major letdown. So far I find them to be intriguing.
I
am not pleased to see these versions of Star Brand and Nightmask
enter the Marvel Universe. While many folks despised it at the time,
I actually enjoyed the New Universe titles and was thrilled to see
the Warren Ellis Newuniversal series a few years ago. We had a
few Classic trade paperbacks from the '80s series, and then
nothing. I'd rather see these properties get some top notch talent
retooling them and seeing the characters brought back like that
rather than how they are slapped into the “616” Marvel Universe.
Oh, and the Sentry sucks. Thanks for bringing him back.
 |
| Don't worry, Wolverine is on THIS team as well. Whew! |
Issue
11 is a glorified Shang-Chi, The Master of Kung Fu solo story. While
the portions with Shang-Chi are great, much of the rest of this issue
treads dangerously close to the abyss of bad Bendis-style dialogue.
'Witty' writing is a lot like the Cliffhanger game on The Price Is
Right. Folks like to see how far they can push it, but most
writers end up taking a fall. Yodel ay yodel ay yodel ay...berm berm
bermmmm....Oh no! I can almost hear Bob Barker now.
Don't
get me wrong, this was a solid and mostly enjoyable read. We are
still light years away from the horrors of the Bendis
“administration” on the title, so I'll keep looking forward
rather than back. Who knows, maybe Vol. 3 will be incredible and the
further implementation of the New Universe characters will blow me
away. I'd love to be proven wrong.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.
The
OCD zone- These Marvel Now Premiere Hardcovers put all of the
covers in a gallery in the back of the book, all while wasting
multiple pages with “chapter breaks” like the one seen below.
This is a horrible waste of space. Does anyone that buys these books
believe that they are “graphic novels” and not compilations of
material originally published in the single magazine periodical
format? No, I didn't think so either, so cut the crap!
DVD-style Extras included in this book:
#9
Many Armors of Iron Man Variant: Daniel Acuna
#8
& 10 Avengers 50th Anniversary Variants: Daniel Acuna
Charactert
Designs: Dustin Weaver (1 page)
Layouts
& Inks: Dustin Weaver & Jay Leisten (4 pages)
Paper
rating: 3.75 out of 5. This book has a decent weight glossy stock
paper but it's not as nice as the paper that they used to use for the
Premiere Hardcovers.
Binding
rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding. This is a thin book so it lays
reasonably flat. That stupid free digital download card glued into
the casing remains a nuisance. I would cut it out with a razor but I
have taken a Hippocratic oath to never willingly harm or deface a
comic book.
Hardback
cover coating rating: 4.5 out of 5. The dull matte finish belies
the durability of the coating on these dustjacket free hardbacks.
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