Saturday Splash Page #106

 

"False Advertising," in Superior Foes of Spider-Man #4, by Nick Spencer (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Joe Caramagna (letterer)

Released during, as the title suggests, the Superior Spider-Man era, Superior Foes of Spider-Man revolves around a bunch of second-tier (at best) Spider-Man enemies, trying to pull off big scores as the "Sinister Six." Bullcrap. You've got Boomerang, a Beetle, Speed Demon, and the Shocker. They're the Sinister Syndicate! Spider-Ock never appears. Actual Spider-Man appears only in flashback, although Boomerang is revealed in the last issue to be telling this whole story to a guy named "Peter".

That Boomerang is narrating (those are his purple caption boxes) is important to keep in mind, because otherwise you'd be wondering how a guy who once thought trick boomerangs made him a match for the Incredible Hulk was managing to out-maneuver so many people. Once you allow for ~90% of it being bullshit, everything makes more sense. This was not something I managed to keep in mind when I was buying the comic as it came out, so I'd get annoyed at how often Boomerang would seem to skate clear or danger, or how Shocker got treated as the pathetic joke. You gotta have better villains on the team than this crew for that to be accurate.

Which is not to say Boomerang doesn't get made to look like a fool on more than one occasion. He has a humiliating run-in with Bullseye, the Chameleon freaks him out by impersonating the Punisher, and his own crew chucks him out. So he anonymously sics Luke Cage and Iron Fist on them, to teach them a lesson.

The book is really one long caper flick, with all the double-crosses, triple crosses, fakeouts, and surprise reveals you would expect. Spencer gets a lot of run out of characters being able to impersonate other people, or just the general weirdness that would exist in the Marvel Universe. The decapitated (but still functional) head of Silvermane is involved. An alleged painting of Doom's uncovered face is involved. A support group for super-villains trying to go straight in involved.

The book involves a lot of panels of characters arguing, talking, threatening, that sort of thing. Lieber's good at body language and expressions, giving Boomerang an air of undeserved arrogance. He throws in voice balloons with little pictographs as shorthand for whatever the characters are thinking about. Works well with the body language to flesh out the characters. Especially since the Beetle in this book was a new character, and I don't think Overdrive got much depth when he was introduced in Brand New Day. Or maybe he did, I didn't read the issues where he appeared.

Lieber keeps the layouts straightforward for the most part, though there are a couple of nice set-ups when the Syndicate storm someone's hideout and Lieber draws it as a cross-section of all the various rooms of death they're having to fight through. Not Boomerang of course, he sent them in the hard way while he took an elevator. Again, it's hard to believe he managed this without the others killing him, but he's telling the story, so things probably didn't go the way he says, if it happened at all.

I started buying Superior Foes in late 2013, the same time as the Duggan/Posehn Deadpool, in the early stages of a stretch where I bought more stuff from Marvel than I had since 2007. The book double-shipped a couple of times, relying on fill-in artists. Those were, unsurprisingly, the weakest issues, but Marvel just can't help itself. Superior Foes ended in late 2014, after 17 issues, not even surviving long enough to die in the mass kill-off of the line for Hickman's Secret Wars.

Spencer went on to make Boomerang Peter Parker's roommate during his run on Amazing Spider-Man, but I didn't read it, so who knows how that went. The new Beetle's gotten some limited run, though she doesn't seem to get treated with much respect. You'd think a skilled (and unscrupulous) lawyer, who is also a super-villain with a suit of powered armor, who is also the apple of her terrifying mob boss father's eye, would get played up a little more.

Random Back Issues #119 - Superior Foes of Spider-Man #17

"I wouldn't be part of any baseball team that would have me, but certainly not the Mets."

The last issue, where Boomerang reveals all his cards, what all his manipulation, backstabbing, stealing and scheming has been about: to impersonate the rookie sensation about to break his strikeout record via the Chameleon's appearance-altering serum. So that, really, he'll be breaking his own record. Or something.

Fred Myers is kind of a moron, even by the standards of boomerang-themed comic book villains.

But how can Boomerang be doing this, when he's simultaneously getting his ass kicked by, honestly, I forget which crime boss' goons these are. Chameleon's or the Owl's, probably. Well, Boomerang's been using the serum for a bit to set-up Mach-VIII. Planting a tracer on him while disguised as a cop, drugging his food while impersonating a waitress, asking him to meet, then slipping him the serum after he passes out so he'll assume Boomerang's appearance through skin contact. Quite how that changes his costume, I have no idea.

Boomerang calls the bartender he's been (mostly unsuccessfully) wooing through the series, to apologize for offering her as a victim to Bullseye to save his neck, and ask for a second chance. Also, he has this incredibly valuable painting of Doom's unmasked face, so in baseball parlance. . .trade affection for cash considerations?

Since we've been told Boomerang's crew has the painting, Boomerang explains how Mirage faked out everyone by stealing the painting and letting Chameleon catch one of his duplicates with a fake, while the real Mirage brings the real painting to Boomerang. Who then pushes him off a roof. But this is Boomerang telling the story, and he implies the bartender was actually the Black Cat, who takes the painting after Fred tells her about it, rather than just taking it herself whenever she wants, so it's all bullshit.

Fred's one strikeout from the record, when the Owl, sitting in the stands eating a rat on a bun, calls. He figured out Fred's plan, and has placed a large wager this pitcher won't break the record. If Fred goes along with it, ditching his own plan, all his debts to Owl are waived. Or he can insist on winning, and Owl will do the "lock a cage full of starving rats around your head," thing.

Boomerang, telling this story to someone with a shadowed face in a bar, tries leaving his choice ambiguous, but the guy doesn't think he can get away with a "Lost" ending. I think the fact Boomerang is alive to spin this yarn tells the tale.

The stranger wants to know what happened with the others, and Boomerang's nicer than I'd expect. Speed Demon wins a huge court settlement against Iron Fist, after Fist broke Speed Demon's foot in a fight (where Boomerang tipped off Fist and Luke Cage so the team would realize they needed him after all). Mach-VII gets saved from his beating by Iron Man (in that ugly black-and-gold armor from the Gillen run), receiving validation when Stark offers to have a team-up.

Beetle and Overdrive try to escape with the (fake) painting after their attempt to use the head of Silvermane to take over all the crime families fell apart when every member of the group made a backdoor deal with a different crime family. They run into Doom, who wants his painting back.

Meanwhile, the Punisher shows up in the middle of the gang war, demanding everyone form an orderly line so he can kill them. Frank's really lost his zest for the job, turning it into an (dis)assembly line. But someone objects. Could it be Tombstone (who is impervious to bullets anyway)? Mr. Negative? Hammerhead?

After 16 issues of being the punching bag, the Shocker roars in on his Shockermobile (Shocker-Buggy?) and blasts Frank Castle clear to Hoboken (location may not be accurate, GPS non-functional at this time) and is declared the new Don. Sure, why not?

Describing this ending as a "How I Met Your Mother" approach, Boomerang reflects the classic Sinister Sixes don't know what it's like to be someone with nothing but a dream, and have to fight and claw to make it a reality. And fight and claw all the harder for the backstabbing. Back in the bar, Boomerang admits he made up half of it, and finally asks the name of the guy he's talking to. It's "Peter", and Boomerang remarks they could be good - cue fade to black Sopranos ending, though Spencer would make Boomerang Peter Parker's roomie when he wrote Amazing Spider-Man.

Eh, still better than living with Johnny Storm.

{11th longbox, 36th comic. Superior Foes of Spider-Man #17, by Nick Spencer (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer)}

Random Back Issues #55 - Amazing Spider-Man #281

How long you think Hydro-Man's been waiting to use that one? For that matter, how long did it take him to think it up?

An opportunity to use my "sinister syndicate" label! It's a great day! This is the second part of the first story that actually introduced that bunch. I have a soft spot for them since they formed to improve their chances of making money, rather than out of a desire for revenge.

Silver Sable's put Spidey on the payroll to help her catch Jack O'Lantern, and how nice, Jack called to tell her he'll be at Coney Island at midnight. Sable knows it's a trap, but figures with Spidey along they've got it under control. Now they're up against five super-villains (although Sable's disappointed none of them have a decent bounty on their heads.) Oh yeah, and Spidey's nursing an injured shoulder after he tripped Speed Demon last issue, and Sable hurt both her ankles kicking the Beetle. You know, the guy in the powered suit of metal armor. (She's not coming off as very bright, especially since she's putting a wrap on the right ankle she insists isn't too bad, rather than the left.)

 

Things look bad, but then the Sandman decides to join the party, having heard the commotion. Spidey and Sable dip out, but you know Parker's not going to abandon someone in need, so back they go. Sandman's doing pretty well when he lets Rhino just pass through him, but tries to match him power for power and gets smashed, then scattered by Speed Demon. He pulls himself together in time to go at it with Hydro-Man, as those two apparently really don't like each other. I do enjoy those kinds of petty beefs among villains. It's fun. 

 

Although Sandman describing Hydro-Man as like looking into a 'broken, distorted mirror,' is a bit much. But this is part of that gradual shift to being a good guy Sandman went through for a few years in the '80s and '90s, so I guess he's gotta feel bad about his past behavior.

 

Silver Sable takes out the source of Beetle's sting blasts (his antennae?) and Spidey slams him into a roof, then stops Boomerang. Unfortunately, Hydro-Man's learned turf beats surf and goes for the easier target (Sable) instead. Spidey disrupts his concentration by throwing Boomerang through him, giving her the chance to grab a fire extinguisher and spray it into waterboy, which makes him nauseous? Sure, fine. Unfortunately, Spidey took a serious hit in the back from the Rhino to make that throw. Fortunately, this activates his secret super-power (at least when DeFalco's writing him), The Desperation Flurry.

Sandman gets the drop on Speed Demon (who was already had one foot out the door wondering what it took to stop Spidey), but Hydro-Man gets the webslinger off Rhino and the villains retreat. Sable tells Spidey he's not getting paid because he quit when he chose to come back to help Sandman, but she wonders if Sandman would like a job? (As we saw in Random Back Issues #20, the answer's yes.) That lady is a shitty, shitty boss. Probably deducts funeral expenses from their pay. Spidey tries swinging home, broke and broken, and collapses on a roof before long, wondering if he got a permanent brain injury. Well, that would explain so many things from the late-2000s.

 

In other developments, the "Who is Hobgoblin?" story still isn't finished. Flash Thompson was arrested in a costume, but Robbie Robertson isn't convinced. Then Jack O'Lantern breaks Flash out of jail, thinking rescuing the Hobgoblin will make him a player in the New York underworld. What it actually does is piss the real Hobgoblin off. I don't know how framing Flash was going to work long-term since presumably the Hobgoblin would want to get back out there at some point.

 

The two of them fight from inside Jack's base out onto the rooftops, but it ends inconclusively. Hobgoblin gets Jack with a 'computerized barrage of electro-blasts', but Jack's armor protects him long enough to hit Hobgoblin with a pumpkin bomb, sending him careening into a storefront window. Meanwhile, Flash escaped in the confusion and is wandering the streets, unsure what to do.

The Hobgoblin thing has a ways to go yet, and of course the eventual end (Ned Leeds), ends up being retconned later, but at this point they've been teasing the mystery out for like 40 issues, which is just way too long.

[1st longbox, 60th comic. Amazing Spider #281, by Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (story layouts), Brett Breeding (pencils and inks), Nelson Yomtov (colorist), Joe Rosen (letterer)]

What I Bought 1/26/2015 - Part 9

For today's reviews, we have one series wrapping up, and another just getting started.

Secret Six #1, by Gail Simone (writer), Ken Lashley (penciller, inker), Drew Geraci (inker), Jason Wright (colorist), Carlos M. Mangual (letterer) - Before I realized the letters on the cover were forming words, I thought it was a weird periodic table reference. Then I was trying to figure out what element would have an isotope of W47, and what that had to do with anything.

Catman's hanging out in some dive bar, and three dudes posing as cops try to arrest him, and get thrashed, only for the singer to tase Blake. Then he wakes up in a big metal box with 5 other people. They have 15 minutes to figure out a secret, or one of them is gonna die. And since the box is at the bottom of the ocean, they kind of seem to be out of options.

This was not what I was expecting. I am curious as to what the secret is - though I have a strong hunch it's something along the lines of the Sixes' lives being in the hands of whoever put them there - but I feel like it might have helped if we had a better sense of the people who set all this up. Blake and the others don't have to know anything, and we don't have to know everything. But at this stage, things are so vague this could just be some asshole sadist torturing people, like those crapass Saw movies. I highly doubt that's the case but you can't rule it out, at least not after one issue.

The art varies in quality, depending in part on who's inking, and also what's going on. When the characters are sitting and talking, things look pretty good. The club scene at the beginning, that was solid, though I think Wright's colors help a lot. There's something about how panels or pages will have this one overwhelming background color, but the characters are shaded differently, like the light plays off them differently, I like it. When people have to start moving, things don't go as well. It's more muddled, and as busy as Lashley's style is, he might want to use either larger panels, or put less stuff in them to make things clearer. Also, at certain points the faces get really undefined, and even seem to lose their shape (around the point Blake accosts Black Alice), which I'm assuming is when Lashley wasn't inking himself. Things got a lot more, Impressionistic, post-Impressionist? The general idea of human shape, rather than an actual one?

I wouldn't call this a win as first issues go, but we'll see if my curiosity keeps me here long enough for things to pick up. I'm confident that if Simone has time, she can build some relationships between these people they was she did the previous versions, but she's got to keep me here until then.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #17, by Nick Spencer (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - Are they in a shawarma joint? And I just now found out what that actually is, from looking it up to see how to spell it. While I don't know Steve Lieber or Nick Spencer, I'm not sure I'd trust them to prepare my grilled mixed meats wrapped in, is that a flatbread? Let's go with flatbread.

Boomerang is on the verge of breaking his own strikeout record, while impersonating the guy who was going to break it anyway. He calls up his lady friend to give her some spiel about how he'd give up the whole crime thing for her, and hey, he has this super-expensive painting of Doom they could share. He used that villain Mirage to steal the real one, but used a duplicate of him to carry a fake painting to trick Chameleon and Owl. Two problems: One, the Owl isn't tricked. He's watching the game from the stands, and orders Boomerang to throw the game, or else. Two, his girlfriend was actually Felicia Hardy, and she took the painting. And we never find out if Fred threw the game or not, though the fact he's alive suggests yes. Otherwise I think rats would have eaten his innards by now.

But let's be honest, most of this is him making stuff up. Hey, I enjoyed watching the Shocker become head of the Maggia by taking out the Punisher with his Shockermobile, but yeah, that didn't happen. I mean, Fred says Speed Demon won 90 bajillion dollars when he sued Iron Fist, and we all know Danny Rand is a lousy, broke ass businessman, so there's no way he's being ordered to pay that much. It's highly unlikely Fred was really dating Felicia Hardy, even if she was in disguise. And Iron Man showing up to help Mach 7 out of that bind, while bolstering Abe's sense of self-worth? Please.

It was funny, though, which counts for a lot. It is, as Fred says, about a bunch of people scratching and clawing to fulfill their dreams, and pleasantly enough, their dreams don't revolve around killing Spider-Man or world conquest. They can't quite pull it off, because they're second-raters and they can't stop backstabbing each other, but they make up, and try again. I've been frustrated at times with how stupid Fred's made everyone around him seem, but having him openly admit on the last page he's making half of it up helped a lot. I'm going to miss this book.

Lieber's and Spencer are very good at those one panel, reaction shots? set-ups for the punchline? I'm not sure what you'd call them. The one of Frank, slightly perplexed and saying 'Hell', right before Shocker blasts him over the horizon. It gives the reader a moment to appreciate the preceding panel, and get ready for the next one. The use of arrows in this issue, to help clarify all the shape-shifting and fakeouts. Appreciated, but they run with it just long enough for it to become funny, without getting annoying.

What I Bought 11/15/2014 - Part 14

Finally this round of reviews come to an end. Of course, November's books may have arrived by the time you read this - I'm typing this the week before - so we might jump right into the next round. Or not. Can never tell with my comic guy, you know?

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #16, by Nick Spencer (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - Nice going, Boomerang. You got your gang arrested, and the city is burning down. I hope you're happy (Note: He is happy).

Let's see, the Punisher is back in New York, Fred's lady friend is understandably pissed at him for trying to save his own hide by throwing her to the Bullseye robot, Mach-7 is trying to get some help from Tony Stark, and gets some bullshit pep talk before Tony hangs up on him. Hydro-Man saves the Shocker, who has had it with people betraying him and is out for blood. Go Hermann! And everybody's attempts to double-cross everyone else over Silvermane's cyborg head lead to a huge battle. Which Boomerang skips out on, only to run smack into the Owl and Chameleon, who beat the hell out of him.

But wait, that isn't Fred. Fred is actually about to impersonate the Mets' star pitcher, by using some serum Chameleon uses to change his appearance these days. That's what Fred stole from Chameleon's safe some issues ago. I have no idea who the Boomerang getting beat up is. His skin color is wrong to be Mach-7, and I don't know why Abe would be impersonating Fred if that's who he was trying to capture. Find out next issue, hopefully.

It's somehow fitting that a loser like Fred would consider pitching for the Mets, "winning". At least aim for a team that's good, like Tampa, or Detroit. Maybe the San Francisco Giants. But the Mets? I knew there was a reason I hated Fred. Though there's a halfway decent chance he's just trying to ruin Demang Pendak's career. He's breaking some of Fred's records, I could see Fred intentionally trying to injure several opposing players to wreck the guy's rep.

Actually, I might give Beetle the credit for most evil in this issue, not for the betrayal, just for using "Sorry, not sorry". That's such an irritating phrase. "Let me show you what a jerk I am by apologizing for the fact I'm not going to apologize for whatever I did." Just say you aren't sorry and get punched in the face.

Silly little note, but thanks to Steve Lieber for drawing Madame Masque's mask as a mask, rather than like a second skin. You can see a little skin around the eyes under, because it's a big metal thing, it shouldn't fit completely snugly. Tigh Walker was drawing it like that on Avengers Undercover and it bugged me.

I got to see part of the final issue online, and it helped with my perspective on the book. I've mentioned my irritation with the fact everyone seems to have become an idiot so Fred can pull this off. But as it turns out, Fred is actually retelling this story to someone in a bar, so he's just making shit up for the parts he wasn't around for. He admits he's making up half of it. Which should have been obvious to me, since I knew it was Fred telling the tale, but when he's the only narrator I've got, and the art isn't contradicting what he's saying, what option do I have? So there's a distinct possibility a whole lot of this is crap.

What I Bought 9/5/2014 - Part 6

From comics about someone very good at what she does for a living, to comics about a group of people not so good at the (bad) things they do for a living. But darn it, they try hard (at double-crossing each other).

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #14 and 15, by Nick Spencer (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Rich Ellis (artist, #14), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - Kind of sums the team up, doesn't it? Standing around in broad (or waning daylight), bickering, with a van that doesn't appear to have much cash inside, judging by the paltry number of bills we can see.

It's a couple of issues setting things up for the big finale. This does not mean it's boring, though. We finally found out why Overdrive and Beetle were driving a hijacked school bus, and how that signaled the end of Overdrive's dream. 'No, and now I never will be.' That was a little heartbreaking. Just a little. Like somebody dropping a really nice muffin on a dirty floor. Basically, Overdrive got his powers thanks to Mr. Negative, but he still owes money on the procedure, and so he and Beetle were involved in a long chase across the city. This is the third book that did a double page spread that was really a series of panels. There was the one in Ms. Marvel, the one in Rocket Raccoon, and now this. And of the three, Lieber (and also Rich Ellis maybe?) did the best job. For one thing, they actually started in the upper left corner, instead of the lower left corner, like you should because that's where the reader's eye is naturally going to go, which experienced comic artists ought to know, but apparently some don't.

Anyway, Boomerang and Speed Demon do much ridiculing of Overdrive, and make several unprofessional remarks towards the Beetle about her getting worked up by fast driving. Given she's probably the most powerful member of the team, they might want to not do that, but whatever. During all this, the Shocker's been hiding, and when Boomerang starts trashing him, Herman's had enough. It looks like he's finally gonna get his moment, but the Beetle zaps him in the head, because he waited too long. Now that the team has managed to pull off a successful (they think) heist, they're fully on board the Boomerang train. So they bury Herman alive. At least they put him in a coffin first. They also took the head of Silvermane and are planning to use it to become head of the Maggia, as you do. Except none of them appear to want to run it, and are each planning to share control with someone else. Mr. Negative, Tombstone, Madame Masque (she's freaking everywhere these days, is she about to appear in a movie?) And the Owl and Chameleon are teaming up to get the painting back from Boomerang.

There is going to be one heck of an insane melee between gangs at the end of this. I really, really hope it ends with Boomerang strutting off, feeling so smart. And then Spidey swings by and just casually knocks him out and leaves him webbed up for the cops. Perfect humiliation. I will give Fred credit, he regurgitated Shocker's speech to the rest of the gang perfectly, so he must have been paying attention, even if none of them were. It's the details that trip you up, so he's covering that base, at least.

I appreciated the little bar fight in the second issue. It's a small thing, but Lieber did a good job giving it the look of a sloppy, stupid brawl between a bunch of losers who just happen to have powers. So there's a lot of sucker punches, cheap shots, ear pulling, that sort of thing. It just also involves people getting electrocuted and a guy turning one of those fat people scooters into a steamroller. And I like that he uses the circle effect for Speed Demon's legs when he's using super-speed. Like how they would show the Road Runner or Sonic the Hedgehog when they ran fast? I don't know, I just enjoy that he went that route. Also how Overdrive somehow turned a wheelbarrow into a backhoe (complete with the sound effect "BACKHOE!") to bury the Shocker. Poor, poor Herman. Maybe he could get She-Hulk to beat them up for him, since she's his new buddy and all.

Nah, Herman wouldn't do that. He still believes in the loyalty thing, even if nobody else does.

What I Bought 7/31/2014 - Part 4

Since it's Friday, let's step over to the wrong side of the law for these reviews. Get a little rowdy and such. Teenage rebellion, nefarious deeds, and all that.

Avengers Undercover #7, by Dennis Hopeless (writer), Kev Walker (penciler), Jason Gorder (inker), Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I would question making out with someone right next to your own tombstone, but Alex just got out of Hell, so I guess any place is an improvement.

Nico trying to hone her control of her powers with some instructions from recently back from the dead ex-boyfriend Alex. Except Alex' teaching method is mostly to flirt with her. Then she finds out Chase was shot, and though she heals his injuries, he won't wake up. Frustrated with that, she decides it's time to make bad decisions, and makes out with Alex. Also, Deathlocket didn't mention she shot Chase. That's going to be awkward later. So the guy Zemo's crew attacked AIM to get is the person who designed basically all of SHIELD's security and systems. AIM couldn't get anything out of his brain, but that's because they relied on science and super-powers. Hellstrom has magic, so yeah, that's bad. Perhaps SHIELD should do something, but as Hank Pym's discovering, Maria Hill has no intent of invading Bargalia, and certainly isn't worried about the kids. Oh, they killed a man who tortured them! So leave them in the hands of super-villains. Brilliant! At least Pym cares. Too bad he stole Buffyverse Spike's hair, and got his head shrunk in the process (that first panel he appears in, his head is much too small for his shoulders. Rare misstep from Walker).

Good news, though, Cammi's alive! And trapped in a cell right next to Zemo's living room! And Arcade's in a cell next to her! So nobody really died! But I guess my theory about the bad guys actually working for the good guys and testing the kids is going down the toilet. Plus, I think Hazmat may have thrown in full-scale with Zemo. Some young girl with long straight black hair was there sharing drinks with the baddies. Can't be Cammi, Nico was occupied, Deathlocket only has half a head of hair, kind of just leaves Hazmat. It would tie in with her being the one to seemingly toast Arcade. I guess I'll have to see if Hopeless and Walker can tie this whole thing together in the 3 issues they have left.

Nice touch, having Nico's pupils disappear early in the issue when Alex starts winding her up, and having it get progressively worse throughout. By the end, it looks like she's burned out her eye sockets, and magic is just pouring out through her eyes constantly. Not a good sign, but it definitely looks cool (though I wonder how she sees where she's going).

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #13, by Nick Spencer (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - It's the Shocker stumbling around in the Rhino head that gets me. That or Speed Demon dumping the Gwen doll. Sick, but funny. Surprised Boomerang went with Kraven's get-up. Does he really want to emulate the guy who celebrated his greatest success by blowing his brains out? Though I guess Fred could be about to find out getting what you always wanted can be hollow.

Boomerang, Overdrive and the Beetle made off with the (fake) painting of Doom's face. I don't know if that means there's never been a real painting, or if this is a forgery of the real painting. Boomerang called the cops, but one of the poor saps that got drafted into his Sinister Sixteen called Mach 7, so now he knows Fred was leading an attack on the Chameleon's headquarters with a bunch of criminals. The Chameleon's not pleased with Fred, and since the Owl apparently knows he got double-crossed again, neither is he. If this doesn't end badly for Fred, I'm going to be stunned, because I still can't believe he's smart enough to talk his way out of it. But our intrepid villains make their way to a safe house in a stolen taco truck, and meet Speed Demon along the way. He and Fred have got something going they aren't telling the other two, and Fred is not doubt preparing to betray Speed Demon at any moment. But someone else is also in the safe house - the Shocker, with Silvermane's annoying, old man head, after they were forced to flee Hermann's apartment to get away from Hammerhead.

I have no idea what Boomerang's plan is. At this point, I'm not even sure what things are and are not part of it, other than he wasn't counting on the Shocker showing up. I'm not criticizing Spencer for this, he's done pretty well so far at putting the pieces in place, then bringing them all together. Just saying, I can't even make a guess at the end game here, 'cause all Fred seems to do is be making enemies, and that's the sort of thing best reserved for people with the power to get away with it. Dr. Doom or Kang can piss off a bunch of villains, because they can incinerate anyone who gives them any lip about it. Boomerang may be punching above his weight class here. But it's nice to have goals, I guess.

I can't figure out what that little "X" Lieber draws on Mach 7's right shoulder is. It honestly looks like a couple of Band-Aids, but surely Abe could afford a better patch job than that. He's looking at freaking buttercup yellow couches and scented candles. Fix your super-suit! Unless it's an insignia. Is Abner a member of the X-Men now? Well sure, why not? They won't let Deadpool in, but accept the guy who doesn't even have powers! I'm sure that's not it, but I don't know what it is.

What I Bought 7/3/2014 - Part 5

All right, last pair of comics for a couple of weeks. One book has a guest penciler, the other one is getting back its usual artist.

She-Hulk #5, by Charles Soule (writer), Ron Wimberly (artist), Rico Renzi (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - I have never tried that "tape all the pieces of evidence on the wall" thing you see people do. It always looks too messy and disorganized for me. I'd just get distracted by it.

We're into the "let's split up, gang, and look for clues" portion of the investigation. So Jen visits the Shocker, who is both more and less pitiful than he is in the book we'll be discussing further down. But Jen manages to avoid a fight, and the Shocker manages to remember a few things after he zaps himself with his gauntlets. Patsy goes to visit Tigra and they have a pleasant chat until Patsy mentions the name of the guy who brought the case against them. Then Tigra tries to kill her, and herself, though Patsy narrowly averts both those things. Angie's up in North Dakota trying to find the original documents, which she does, but the person at the courthouse is about to shoot her. Which means it's probably a bad thing Jen wraps up the issue calling Wyatt Wingfoot to discuss the case with him.

So we have post-hypnotic implanted suggestions, a mysterious person was up to something and needed two villains with similar shticks to help, and the resultant effort by the heroes to stop it destroyed a town. I have no idea how all that pieces together. I also don't know if it's significant that Wimberly used the same spiral in the eyes thing for the country clerk when he's getting ready to shoot, and for Angie and the monkey when they saw whatever it was they saw in the ruins of that town. Is she (or the monkey) connected to all this?  Is there some sort of illusion cast over the town, and it requires a similar effect to the hypnotic suggestion to see through it?

Can't say I care for Wimberly's art. Everything's too wrinkled, and he draws things so I feel like I'm looking through a fish-eye lens, kind of like Tan Eng Huat does, which is not an effect I'm terribly fond of. He does good work with the sound effects, though. I especially like the SCREEEE when Angie hits the brakes, the way it follows her across the panel. Don't understand why he uses quote marks around them sometimes (like the THMMM when Jen lands on the fire escape. I like Renzi's colors. They're very, "Day-Glo" is the word that comes to mind, and maybe a little unusual, but they evoke the mood well and make sure things stand out. Angie's car against the frozen expanses of North Dakota, or that pink-purple sky over Tigra and Hellcat's heads. It's a good backdrop for their color scheme, and it looks odd enough to put the reader slightly on edge.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #12, by Nick Spencer (writer), Steve Lieber (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - Hmm, I get that Wimberly is trying to make their costumes look like they fit as real clothes would, but no. He made the Shocker look even dumber than usual, like it's some common hood trying to pretend to be the Shocker with a custom made ski-mask.

After two issues of stupid time wasting crap, back to the actual storyline. I mean, jeez, did Lieber and Spencer think they were Fraction and Aja, going to stall for time with a bunch of stupid ancillary nonsense? Whatever. Boomerang manages to convince his team that it was really the Chameleon who screwed them over, which wouldn't have worked if the Owl wasn't there backing him up (because Spencer's Owl is about 1/100th as smart as Mark Waid's Owl). And the Owl wants them to help get back his painting from the Chameleon. He even went out and hired a bunch more super-villains for Boomerang to dupe, er I mean lead in an assault. Isn't this a little small-time for Bi-Beast, though? The others, sure, I could see them getting on board (maybe not Shriek), but I kind of thought Bi-Beast was into destroying humanity or taking over the world, stuff like that. Just being cannon fodder here, so I guess it doesn't matter. Boomerang suckers Overdrive into taking a fake of the painting (because Fred's such an expert on art he can detect forgeries now?), and that leaves Boomerang free to loot the safe. The other thread is that Hydro-Man told Hammerhead how Shocker has Silvermane's head, and now Hammerhead's guys are going to storm Hermann's apartment. Hmm, now would be a good time for She-Hulk to show up and ask more questions.

I'm still having a hard time buying Boomerang being smart enough to even come up with a scam like this, let alone keep it together this long. He's a putz. He's always been a putz. He couldn't out-maneuver the Beetle for leadership in the Sinister Syndicate, because he's a dope. Fortunately, everyone else in the book is an even bigger dope. It's like the Futurama episode where the giant brains make everyone except Fry complete idiots. But there are no giant brains to be seen. The book is still funny, but remember how I said a couple of weeks ago that I've grown really impatient waiting for fictional characters to get their comeuppance? I'm kind of itching to see his team kick his butt.

All that (extensive) complaining aside, credit to Spencer and Lieber for making me care about the Shocker. He's a chump, the guy who figures if you say you're a team or a gang, it means something, in spite of all evidence in his life to the contrary. I've always kind of liked the Shocker, because at his core, he's just a thief. He doesn't care about world conquest or bloody revenge. If he never saw Spider-Man again, I'm sure he'd be just fine with that. But he can't help himself being a thief. He either can't, or won't change, and so he's stuck. There's always going to be a hero there to ruin his day. Now he's got to deal with the fact the people in the same boat as him don't even treat him well. I'd really like to see him get a good moment here, just trounce Hammerhead and his guys, but it's probably not going to happen.

OK, that's weird. I was looking back over it, and the Owl says he hired more guys, and that Fred requested 11 more villains, Fred's response being that now they're the Sinister 16. Except with only 4 members (Boomerang, Overdrive, the Beetle, Speed Demon) to start with, that would only be the Sinister 15. But Lieber drew 12 villains, which would make 16. I'm confused. I also notice Speed Demons is nowhere to be seen during the attack on the Chamleon, so either he's got something planned with Fred, or he's hanging back, waiting to pounce when Fred tries his double-cross.

It's interesting how much more subdued Rosenberg's colors are here than on Nightcrawler. It fits; there's not weird magic, super-powered robots, or schools with training rooms that cost billions of dollars. It's a bunch of cheap crooks running around making fools of themselves. It's basic greed and stupidity, just dressed up a little.

What I Bought 4/25/2014 - Part 1

I had some errands to run in town last week, so I swung by and got books. It's almost too bad, I'm pretty sure he would have mailed them this week, and the first issue of the next Atomic Robo mini-series is due this week.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #10 & 11, by James Ausmus (writer #10), Tom Peyer & Elliot Kalan (writers, #11), Carmen Canero, Gerardo Sandoval, Nuno Plati, Siya Oum, Pepe Larraz, Wil Sliney (artists), Terry Pallot (inker), Chris Sotomayor, John Rauch, Andres Mossa (colorists), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - I am not going to the trouble of listing who worked on what issues. There's a lot overlap, anyway. Leave it to Octavius Spidey to have crooked, uneven web designs on his costume. That's the lack of attention to order I'd expect from a villain playing hero. Not to mention a guy who wore a green-and-orange spandex outfit that made him look like a billiard ball.

I figured since I made mention on Friday of these issues being disappointing, I might as well start here. Just in case one of you had been thinking about picking this title up based on my glowing reviews of the previous 4 issues. I have, I will admit, softened somewhat since Friday, but not much. Both issues are a bunch of vignettes. Issue 10 is the 3 remaining members of the Sinister Six swapping stories about their greatest victories. It's as sad as you might expect. The Beetle claims victory over Daredevil because she beat Matt Murdock in court once. By hiring the Looter to attack the courthouse so Murdock would bail on the trial and go save the day as Daredevil. Issue 11 was about a super-villain support group we were introduced to earlier in the series. It doesn't involve the main characters at all, as it's more about how the Grizzly and the Looter have both been traumatized by the new, "superior" Spider-Man.

Look, any appearance of that Spider-Man is going to bring a frown to my face, so that issue was swimming upstream from the start. The annoyance here was that issue 9 ended on a really good cliffhanger, and I wanted to find out what had happened. These issues did not tell me that. They were filler, and issue 10 wasn't even full-size filler. 18 pages. That's right, 18 pages for a $4 book. And while we learned some stuff about the cast in #10, it wasn't anything we couldn't have learned in the course of actual, plot-relevant developments.

I mean, yes, Overdrive is probably a bigger coward than Shocker, and is his own biggest hurdle to success, just due to the limits he places on his powers. Yes, Speed Demon is an idiot with the same attention span as Impulse. And yes, Beetle is the only one with any brains, but she's probably too aware of all the pitfalls of super-villainy to be good at it. She's trying so hard not to get tripped up on something like a parole violation, she only keeps weapons available when she thinks she needs them. Which ignores the fact she's in costume, so she's probably always going to need them. Because you don't know when Hercules is going to strolling into the bar you're robbing/patronizing.

Let's discuss a positive. The idea of Grizzly being reduced to robbing drunks for pizza money, and using kid's music to lure them in, is hilarious, even if he's doing it because he's too scared of Spidey to try anything more high-profile. Nuno Plati's artwork is nice. He goes heavy on the black, but it works for him, especially on the Looter's story of woe. The way the Looter returns to New York, and leaps off a ledge to start his daring heist, fully illuminated. Then you turn the page and here's Asshole Spider-Octavius, showing up to not only shatter his bones, but his sense of self-worth. The panels get shorter, closing in, crushing Looter, and the shadows close in as well, bringing all focus on his humiliating defeat.

I'm a little sad to see Will o' Wisp among the villains Looter approached about working for him. I recall when Spider-Man had convinced him to be a good guy, like he did for Sandman, Rocket Racer, and the Prowler. I think Prowler might be the only one of those guys still doing the hero thing, though I haven't seen him since Carol Danvers beat him up and threw him in jail while she was busy being Stark's Pro-Registration lackey.

If you were thinking about picking up Superior Foes, well, honestly there's only 4 issues left, so maybe buy the trade of the first 6 issues, and wait for the next trade to come out once the series wraps up. But if you, like me, are too impatient for that, go ahead and give these issues a pass. I guess there's always a chance the Six' flight from Hercules will be relevant, but right now, it doesn't seem like these were essential issues.

What I Bought 3/14/2014 - Part 6

Keepin' on with reviews, as we turn to the villain team that's just tryin' to make a buck in this harsh world. Too bad they're a bunch of incompetent, backstabbin' stumble bums. No, I don't know why I keep loppin' the "g" off all those words.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #8 & 9, by Nick Spencer & Steve Lieber (storytellers), Rich Ellis (additional art?, also color art, #9), Rachelle Rosenberg (color art, with someone named Redmond on #9), Joe Caramagna (letterer, #8), Clayton Cowles (letterer, #9) - I swear, credits just keep gettin' more and more confusin'. But what an adorable cover, right?

There are two basic plot threads in these issues. One is Boomerang dealing with the fallout from him stealing a revealing portrait of Doom, and not the head of Silvermane. The other is the Shocker actually having stolen the head of Silvermane, and finding cranky senior citizens aren't any less of a pain in the ass just because they're disembodied.

Boomerang's is a little more complicated. First he gets the crap beat out of him by the Chameleon, angry because Fred didn't bring him the head of Silvermane. When he awakens, he sees Chameleon tossed his crummy apartment and found the Doom painting, and took that as payment. Then Fred gets surprised and beaten up by the girl he's trying to sleep with. He tells her he a super-villain, which she takes fairly well, even encouraging him to get the painting back, and then Bullseye shows up, and beats Fred down, but not before Fred tries to save his own neck by throwing her to the wolves instead. As Bullseye remarked, that is so embarrassing.

I know what you're saying, Bullseye? That's unpossible! He was crippled by Daredevil, then blinded with radioactive waste while Daredevil looked on and did nothing (still a terrible decision, Mark Waid)! And you'd be right. Bullseye is actually an LMD cooked up by the Tinkerer for the Owl, who is peeved about Boomerang robbing him. Boomerang actually talks his way out of this by taking advantage of the fact that everyone believes he's a loser. It doesn't make them wrong - he is a loser - but even a schlub can pull off a fast one once in awhile if he's willing to do whatever underhanded thing it takes, which is Fred all over. He won't get much time to enjoy it, because his team just found him, and they brough along a busload of kids with ninja weapons. Consider me intrigued.

Really, this could be very interesting. The Owl is gunning for the Chameleon now, convinced he impersonated Boomerang and stole the paining himself. Which might give Fred the chance to steal it back, if he can convince his team to go along with him. I have no idea what the fallout's gonna be for the Shocker when word gets around he has Silvermane's head, but I like how he explained himself to Hydro-Man. That he just wants to make some dough and get out, that's his thing. He isn't a revenge villain, a boss villain, or a take over the world villain. He's a cut the check guy, just trying to use some gadgets to make some bank the best he can. Fictional universes need guys like that, if only for contrast to the murderous nutcases. I also like the fact his couch has the same pattern and color scheme as his costume. It's just a small thing that amuses me.

Lieber does a lot of small little things I like. The extremely self-satisfied shrug he draws for Fred after telling his date he's a super-hero (he tells the truth on the next page) is just perfect. It's meant to look sort of self-effacing, kind of  'what can I say?', but the smirk completely blows it out of the water. Fred gets a lot of looks like that, the sort of grin I'd love to see someone wipe off his face. Smart move by Spencer and Lieber to have him spend most of these issues getting beaten up by various people, then.

What I Bought 1/27/2013 - Part 4

I had been planning to journey back to the boonies for the start of another year on Saturday. So naturally it's going to snow the next two days. Sunday it is then.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man #6 & 7, by Nick Spencer & Steve Lieber (storytellers), Rich Ellis (artist, #7), Rachelle Rosenberg (color art, #6), Lee Loughridge (color art, #7), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - Yes, a new book for the pull list! With all the books that ended earlier this winter, plus the ones I've dropped or am dropping soon, there was plenty of room.

I hadn't actually order issue 6, because it'll be included in the first trade, and I plan to buy that when it comes out. But I'm not going to fault my comic guy for being conscientious. The series, near as I can tell, is a group of five second or third-tier Spidey foes have formed a new Sinister Six (yeah, they can't count) to pull of heists. #6 is dealing with some of the fallout of their first attempt. Seems team leader Boomerang told everyone they were breaking into the compound of the Owl to steal the cyborg head of former crime boss Silvermane. That was ruse, and Boomerang just used them to steal a one of a kind painting of Dr. Doom, without his mask. The rest of the team was left behind, where they're about to be tortured by the Owl, until the Beetle places a call, and we learn she's Tombstone's daughter.

Issue 7 is Janice's (that's the Beetle) origin, where we see her as Daddy's Little Girl, apple of his eye. Bringing a new dog as a present for a another young girl's birthday, then using the dog as a distraction so she can steal all the other presents. Then calling the dog back to her as they ride off in her's dad car. I want to be outraged, but I can't help smiling at the audaciousness of that. She makes it through law school, gets a good job at a firm, but that's not what she wants. She wants to be a super-villain, but her father is opposed. As he points out, she can make more money as a crooked lawyer, businesswoman, or politician than he could ever dream of stealing or extorting. And she won't get punched in the face by Spider-Man this way. But Janice is undeterred, and when Baron Zemo needs some one to dose Bucky with some nanites the Fixer whipped up, Janice takes the opportunity. While also working out an arrangement between the two villains so Fixer feels properly compensated for his creations, but Zemo doesn't feel he's getting ripped off.

It's a little weird to have just these two issues, because 6 ends on kind of a cliffhanger, and then 7 is a flashback issue, so I'm still left hanging. But it isn't uninteresting to be sure. This group, regardless of what they call themselves, are the Sinister Syndicate reborn, because the Syndicate, unlike the Sinister Six, wasn't about killing Spider-Man. It was the second-rate guys trying to work together to make scores they never could alone, and that's clearly what this team thought they were up to. Now it turns out Boomerang used them, but back-stabbing in a Syndicate tradition as well. Still, it's nice to see super-villains that are just out for the money, rather than taking over the world, getting revenge on heroes, or trying to destroy the universe.

Plus, it's already apparent there's a lot of scheming and such among the group. Boomerang hoodwinked them, and assuming he survives the Chameleon's visit, that'll probably come back to haunt him. Boomerang says there is no Silvermane head, but Shocker certainly seems to have one with him. Boomerang was probably the leader, but then you have to factor in Beetle's desire to be a boss, as she told her father, and how that's going to play out. Which is good. Boomerang and the Beetle historically jockeyed for control, so in a sense, she's carrying on the tradition of her title. That was actually the one thing I found odd, that Abner Jenkins (formerly the Beetle, now Mach-5? 19? I don't know) apparently sponsored Boomerang's parole or something. Those dudes hated each other. I guess Abner's big on second chances now that he's a good guy and all.

The last time I saw Lieber's artwork, it was the Hurricane Sandy issue of Hawkeye, and I thought it looked a bit like Aja's, in how draws people, if not page layouts. I wouldn't say that's the case here, so maybe it was a matter of Hollingsworth's coloring, or Lieber purposefully altered his style to more closely resemble Aja's. His work as it stands here is fine, Boomerang's a real ham, so he gives Lieber the opportunity to draw some comic overacting, and he nails it. I mean, it's hard for me to believe Boomerang could possibly think that act he put on for Abner would fool anyone, but I can see someone trying it, and it's hilarious, which is more important.

I might actually like Ellis' art on issue 7, more though. The slightly exasperated/irritated/bored look Janice has as Zemo and Fixer bicker on page 15. Her cartoonish imaginings of the bickering are pretty funny, too. Especially pimp Zemo (though Deadpool still looks better as a pimp). Also, the wicked little smile she gets on the last panel of page 19. She's excited, but with her, that's kind of a scary prospect.

I don't know quite where this story is gonna go next, which is nice. I don't have any real expectations, except that I'll enjoy it, because it seems like kind of a funny book about awful people trying to work together and stab each other in the back at the same time. It's kind of like Secret Six, except I don't think these villains like each other anywhere near that much.

It's Such A Simple Thing

I mentioned it before, but I've always been a fan of the Sinister Syndicate (see reason #47). Beetle, Boomerang, Hydro Man, Rhino, and Speed Demon (and later, Shocker). I think they're regarded in general as a team of second-stringers, kind of losers, a very poor man's Sinister Six. And while it's true they aren't as evil as the Sinister Six, I still think there's a lot to like about them.

For one thing, I think the Sinister Syndicate does have at least one frontline Spidey villain, the Rhino. You scoff, but that's because in today's Marvel he's a punching bag for whichever creative team wants use him that month. If it's not Deadpool (when he's three inches tall), it's Frank Castle, or who knows who else. But Rhino is at least as much of an A-lister as an old dude in a bird suit, or a guy with a fishbowl (for the record, I like Mysterio, but that fishbowl is silly looking). Plus Hydro Man is arguably more powerful than everyone in the Sinister Six, except maybe Electro or Ock (On the basis of Ock's smarts. The tentacles wouldn't do much good against a water dude).

Beyond that, there's the differing motivations. The Sinister Six formed because the bad guys were tired of getting pantsed by Spidey. If they had actually succeeding in eliminating him, that probably would have been the end of their partnership, they go their separate ways and they each would have been caught by the Fantastic Four or the Avengers about a week later. By the time we get the "Return of the Sinister Six" (Amazing Spider-Man #334-339), and "The Revenge of the Sinister Six" (Spider-Man #18-23), they had set their sites a little higher (world domination), but everyone on the team was just jumping to Ock's tune. He suckers them in the first story, then laughs off their attempts to get him for it, then the second time uses his Adamantium tentacles to whomp the Hulk, and scare the other five into working for him (except Sandman, who was turned to glass). At that point, it's less a "team", more "Doctor Octopus' gang of super-powered helpers". For the record, I do remember that there was another Sinister Six during the Mackie/Byrne years, one run by Electro, and hired to kill Doc Ock. But that group also had Venom in it, so I'm choosing to call that out of continuity.

For the Sinister Syndicate, it was about moola. Working together, they could pull jobs with a greater rate of success, because five villains have a better chance of escaping the cops or Spidey or Daredevil, than one bad guy. They weren't going high-level enough to attract teams like the Avengers (who would have trounced them), so they were going to actually have a chance to make some cash. Their first time out they got hired by Jack O'Lantern to eliminate Silver Sable (who was trying to collect the bounty on Jack). That Spidey was there as well was just a happy coincidence for some guys with history wirh the web-slinger, not their primary motivation, which makes it a nice change of pace (probably because I still really like it when the villains are focused on more than just revenge on the hero).

Plus, the team didn't exactly work well. Not that the Sinister Six were all that chummy, each demanding to take their own shot at Spidey the first time, and by the later incarnations they were together mostly out of fear of Octavius. But with the Syndicate, guys got into it with each other. There was politicking. Boomerang was frequently challenging Beetle for the role of leader, and each guy would court the other members for their side (in Deadly Foes of Spider-Man #1, Beetle makes certain to side with Rhino in an argument over whether to kill Spidey, because he recognizes the value in having the Rhino's power and loyalty on his side). Speed Demon was the typically loud-mouthed jerk a lot of speedsters seem to be (because everyone moves so slow to them?). Because the uniting purpose was only money, the bonds weren't that strong, so you had the potential for more intrigue, backstabbing, and unpredictability, compared to a team that eventually was being run by one guy.

So in a way, it was a little gratifying to see half of the Sinister Syndicate in the Avengers: The Initiative #3 book a few weeks ago, up to their usually thieving ways. I'm not sure they should have gotten captured by a bunch of losers in Iron Spider armor, but I guess the point of that was to demonstrate that SHIELD will have their own Spidey's, if the original won't play ball, so what ya gonna do? Maybe the whole team will get back together as part of that MODOK's 11 maxi-series.