Marvel Now/ReEvolution Ongoing Discussion (Spoilers)

[Mike Farley]

So of Marvel Now! I've picked up:

ALL NEW X-MEN - Surprisingly good. I haven't enjoyed anything from Bendis this much since the first couple of years of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN (Vol 1). A keeper for now.

IRON MAN - Trust Gilliem so keeping.

INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK - Easily the best of the bunch. Keeping.

THOR - Just realized today that I stopped in the middle of issue #2 and never went back to finish. Don't like the art. Don't care about the story. Dropped.

UNCANNY AVENGERS - Enjoying so far. I like crazy super-villain Red Skull. Keeping for now.

AVENGERS - Nothing in the first issue made me want to keep reading. Dropped.

CAPTAIN AMERICA - Enjoying the tone shift toward crazy Sci-fi/fantasy. Keeping for now.

[Turtletrekker]

Next weeks previews from CBR...

• Age of Apocalypse #10
• Amazing Spider-Man #699.1
• Avengers Arena #1
• Avengers Assemble #10
• Cable and X-Force #1
• Dark Avengers #184
• Fantastic Four #2
• Iron Man #4
• Marvel Universe vs. Avengers #3
• Scarlet Spider #12
• Ultimate Comics Iron Man #3
• Ultimate Comics X-Men #20
• Winter Soldier #13
• Wolverine #317
• X-Treme X-Men #7.1

For me, just Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Winter Soldier.

[Hound of UIster]

Turtletrekker wrote:

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Iron Man 3-- As with the first two issues-- just OK. Gillen has said that unlike his Uncanny X-Men and Journey into Mystery runs, where he knew exactly how they were going to end before writing word one, he has no idea where his Iron Man run will take him. For that reason, I am willing to stick with his Iron Man until he finds his direction, but he needs to find it soon.

Gillen clearly hasn't read up on the Extremis related material and his knowledge of human biology and science is close to medieval. This plus Land's artwork and Bendis's backseat plotting undermines much of the entire book.

[Turtletrekker]

OK, I'll bite. What "backseat plotting" by Bendis?

[Hound of UIster]

The entire arc is suppose to lead into him going into space and joining the GotG, something, which Bendis had been setting up as far back as AvsX.

[Captain Craig]

Mr Light wrote:

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I tried Thunderbolts #1 but I won't bother going to the next issue. By not giving the slightest hint to what the storyline is going to be about, I'm not hooked at all.

This was without a doubt the worst #1 issue I've read from any company in quite some time.

No explanation for why they are being recruited.
No seemingly common foe or enemy.
Is it a personal reason for Ross or government sanctioned operation.

I've never been a fan of Dillion's art work. The characters all look so stiff and lifeless.

This is a perfect example of how decompression is ruining storytelling. You don't even get the hook in issue #1.

[Admiral_Young]

Ross explains in the issue why he's recruiting these individuals, they're all like-minded like he is. Not everything is going to be explained in the first issue guys. I quite enjoyed Thunderbolts #1 and will be following at least the first arc. Basically this is the superhero version of X-Force, and I'm guessing from the tone of Ross's explanation to Frank that this is unsanctioned.

[M'rk, son of Mogh]

Admiral_Young wrote:

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Not everything is going to be explained in the first issue guys.

That's what's been frustrating me about reading many people's reviews of late.

Many (not all, obviously) want all of the answers, the full thrust of the story, the direction and where it will end up by the first page it seems.

That's why I don't drop the title after the first book if I'm not digging it. I picked up the book because something about it hooked me, right? Might as well get through the first story first.

Incredible Hulk, for example, was almost pure exposition. Not my favourite way to start, but necessary for where the title wants to go it seems. So I'll keep with it.

Same with Avengers 1. We didn't even really see the team until the last page, so waiting to see where this goes.

Uncanny Avengers, ditto. Not digging it so far, but I'll give them a chance to see where things are going.

Potential for all of these, but certainly the first issues are only the smallest part of these books and the necessary evil for getting a new story going with a new direction by new creative teams.

But New X-Men has been my favourite so far. Fantastic, and I never collected anything X (except for solos and minis) before.

[Mr Light]

You need to at least a gist of where it's going in the first issue. We know "Uncanny Avengers" is about the Avengers and X-Men forming a joint team to deal with mutant issues and that the Red Skull stole Xavier's brain. We know "Avengers" is about the team getting bigger and global and we're introduced to a new set of villains and go into battle with them and we see a defeat and a rousing call to action... I actually thought Avengers #1 was pretty jam packed with story. We know "All New X-Men" is about the original team going into the future to meet their present selves and contrasting silver age and modern comic storytelling.

Thunderbolts #1 only told us that Ross was going around recruiting characters. That's it. Who's the bad guy? Why is he doing it? What is the series premise?

[Nerys Myk]

Thunderbolts seems to be going for the "proactive heroes" approach that usually fails in less than year.

Avengers was a good read, but the idea that the Avengers need to get "bigger" is an odd one considering the number of heroes that have passed through the doors of the mansion and type types of threats the team has faced over the years.

All-New X-Men. Scott whining "it wasn't me" for most the issue. I get that Emma lost her psi powers but Scott's change is puzzling. He has some sort of weird swirly blast happening. Which, while visually interesting, doesn't make sense. Not sure what was happening with Magneto's powers either.

[Mike Farley]

Cap's motivations in Avengers #1 didn't make a lot of sense. The Avengers is already a huge team (taking it's various components in play) and they have faced now foes much "bigger" than a handful of Deux ex machina shmoes on Mars. I also don't know why, while Cap was unconscious for three days the rest of the super hero community ignored the fact that five Avengers were in the hands of some ne'er-do-wells on Mars.

[Captain Craig]

Admiral_Young wrote:

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Ross explains in the issue why he's recruiting these individuals, they're all like-minded like he is. Not everything is going to be explained in the first issue guys. I quite enjoyed Thunderbolts #1 and will be following at least the first arc. Basically this is the superhero version of X-Force, and I'm guessing from the tone of Ross's explanation to Frank that this is unsanctioned.

For 10 pages over at the CBR forums the opinion is overwhelmingly that it's an unsatisfactory issue with an unsatisfying explanation by Ross. Being like minded isn't a full enough explanation.
Even those who said they went in with low expectations were let down.
This is just one I'll agree to disagree with you on since you seemed to like it.

[Admiral_Young]

Considering I dislike Daniel Way, I was surprised with how much I liked the issue. It was your typical recruiting issue. Most of it was spent building up what I assume will be the core relationship between Ross and Frank. I assume he intends Frank to be the field commander of the squad which is interesting. I'm not a big Steve Dillon fan before as I've stated in the thread earlier, but his art works for this issue. I understand what you guys are saying about not knowing the enemy or whatever, but this is a black ops squad. I'm sure Ross doesn't even know their targets or whoever they'll be going for yet and once he's compiled he's team together then we will know who they are going after and why and they'll be fully briefed about why they're all there.

[MNM]

Captain Craig wrote:

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For 10 pages over at the CBR forums the opinion is overwhelmingly that it's an unsatisfactory issue with an unsatisfying explanation by Ross.

CBR forums being filled with rational, mature people of course!

Being like minded isn't a full enough explanation.

Its more than enough of an explanation for a first issue in my opinion.

If there is no more of an explanation after 10, 20 or whatever issues then fine, complain, but complaining about it after 1 issue always seems stupid to me. It's akin to bitching that a novel doesnt explain everything in it's first chapater.

[Mr Light]

In today's market of $4 comic books in the Great Recession, you better hook your audience with the first issue. Disposable income is at an all time low.