What I Bought 7/2/2015 - Part 2

I’m a little annoyed at my coworkers. They keep driving the work vehicle on errands around town, but don’t bother to gas it up. Then they casually mention the low fuel light is on when I’m the next one who is going to need it. With a great sense of responsibility comes everyone treating you like a chump.

Daredevil #16, by Chris Samnee and Mark Waid (storytellers), Matthew Wilson (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) – I feel as though computer screens shouldn’t give off red light. It’s very eerie, and makes your shadow look weird.

Matt’s got an offer for the Kingpin: Use his influence to keep Matt’s friends out of trouble after this mess Shroud’s tossed them into, and he can “kill” Matt Murdock. Give him a new face only Fisk will know, so he alone can enjoy the ability to destroy Daredevil’s life whenever he chooses. Fisk makes no sign he’ll go for it, but his goons bring a report to him they found Julia Carpenter (the lady the Shroud’s looking for), and Matt gets ahold of that paper and rushes off. Unfortunately, the Owl located her, too, which sends the Shroud after her, and Jubula had thrown in with max to save her dad, but Julia gives her another card to play, and Matt’s in the middle of all that. In the meantime, Fisk sent Ikari after Kirsten and Foggy.

The question is, what’s Fisk going for here? It wouldn’t be beyond him to get Ikari out of jail and send him after Matt’s loved ones, to make sure no one destroys them but him. On the other hand, he purposefully makes a call to Ikari, knowing the Owl will hear it. Though I’m not sure what Leland can do about it in his current state. I hope it isn’t going to turn out Fisk engineered everything, from Bullseye’s attempt to create a better Daredevil, to Owlsley’s trying to harness a new way to gather energy, to the Shroud’s desperation. I know it’s tradition that all roads of Matt’s misery lead to Wilson Fisk, but I wouldn’t mind bucking tradition in this case. And I suppose there’s no reason not to kill Foggy, if that’s what his comment about the call from his oncologist meant. Marvel’s about to reboot the hell out of everything, why not?

It would have to be a little strange to be approached by Wilson Fisk (or someone on his behalf) and asked to paint a picture of Daredevil being devoured by piranhas. Although maybe there’s a real market for that stuff in the Marvel Universe. Lots of bitter super-villains around. Heck, maybe one of the super-villains is a painter, though I feel guys like Sandman or the Trapster would gravitate more towards sculpture.

Ms. Marvel #16, by G. Willow Wilson (writer), Adrian Alphona (art), Ian Herring (color art), Joe Caramagna (letterer) – Well, we knew the streak of issues without a tie-in to some big event couldn’t last forever.

Kamala is drowning her sorrows over Kamran in kosher hot dogs, but no time for that, the world is ending in Manhattan! Which means mass panic, so Kamala has everyone head for the school to hunker down while she goes to check on her parents. And there’s Kamran, telling her his boss is going to expose her brother to the Mists to see if he develops powers. Hmm, figures. I completely dismissed Aamir as the one with possible powers, so naturally it ends up being him. My horrible success rate on predictions continues.

Kamran talks some shit, and Kamala does not punch him through a wall. I love how he’s going to treat the end of the world as a ‘convenient distraction’. Yes, it’ll be quite convenient when you’re dead, dumbass. I really hope Kamran didn’t make it on to battleworld. But Doom did bring a piece of Zombie Earth, so who knows. There’s a probably a Huge Douchebag part of it, too. The school is briefly under attack from idiots in track suits and medieval helmets, but Loki’s protection spell deals with them. As it is, Kamala’s having a little trouble dealing with the enormity of the task before her, which is when Carol Danvers shows up, wearing that stupid grey version of her costume from all Hickman’s stuff.

Hopefully Carol isn’t going to give Kamala a lot of grief about the codename. It isn’t like Carol’s the first one to go by Captain Marvel, or even the second. Or the third. Or the fourth. Accept it as a sign of respect for you from Kamala, and go from there. That said, I'm actually really excited for this team-up. I feel Carol has lots of valuable life experience she could impart to Kamala. Especially about falling for the wrong guy, but also about handling seemingly hopeless situations. 

I could have done without seeing Kamran again, he’s such a jerk. But guys like that never go away, they’re like Internet trolls, they love to hang around and make people miserable, just because. What did he gain from telling Kamala he has her brother? I guess he could be trying to draw her into a trap, but in that case, he might have been better served dropping some hints about where to find Aamir. I guess he’s supposed to be on New Attilan, but that’s a big place. So I’m going to assume Kamran was just trying to be a huge jerk.

One thing I like about Alphona’s art – and it was true of Miyazawa’s as well – is all the little details he adds that suggest a larger story. On the first page, what’s the deal with the guy sitting next to Kamala at the hot dog cart? Why are his clothes torn, and why does he look so forlorn? He’s not terrified, just worn down, so I don’t think he’s seen the planet about to crash into Earth. In the second panel, why’s that old man dumping water on that kid’s head? In the third panel, why is one pigeon wearing an Indian headdress, and the other one of those faux-Viking helmets with the horns? What is with the little people in the hazmat suits that show up a few times, both at the school and in the initial stampede from Manhattan? Did AIM kindergarten let out early for the Apocalypse? There’s a vampire doctor, and is that MC Hammer in the crowd in panel 4 on page 3? I love this stuff. The Marvel Universe is a big, strange place, “world outside our door” or not, and it should be full of strange stuff people don’t bat an eye at by now.