I don't need drugs when I have BAXTER/REXTAB.

I would like to congratulate Dan Slott and Javier Pulido for making my eyes hurt. In Amazing Spider-man #658, Spidey and the FF travel forward in time to when the super science types of that era have built the future version of the Baxter Building, "Baxter/Rextab, the first ever palindromical architecture." Just look at it. It's beautiful.
The part of my brain that's been forever altered by ten years of reading Grant Morrison instantly fell in love with it.

What I'm Reading 4/13/11

Amazing Spider-man #658
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Javier Pulido
Colors: Muntsa Vicente & Javier Rodriguez

I'm enjoying the direction that Slott has taken with Spider-man. Peter Parker used to try desperately to keep up with his many responsibilities, but he always struggled to get ahead in life while juggling his career, his family, his friends, and being Spider-man. His new research job is more than enough to fix all of the problems you'd find in Parker's life normally. This new, successful Pete could live comfortably because Slott's created a impossibly perfect dream job. Peter can come and go as he pleases, and his office even comes with private storage space for his costume. Peter's new girlfriend even works with the police so she keeps hours as strange as his. They even leave to investigate crimes at the same time.

I would accuse Slott of trying too hard to make Pete's life too easy, but instead this has become an excellent example of how Peter is his own worst enemy. Instead of taking it easy, Peter's sense of responsibility motivates him to do as much as humanly possible with his new resources. He's joining a second super team, loosing a super power, and being more aggressive about his Spider-man duties. Slott's take on Spider-man is a man that will always push himself to the breaking point. He doesn't know how to relax, and I enjoy watching Peter make trouble for himself. He would never neglect a responsibility to make his life easier, and out of his friendship with the deceased Human Torch, he joins the Fantastic Four this issue. Javier Pulido goes from personal, to cosmic, to comedy, and back again with skill and ease; I'm very impressed with his ability to draw both Spider-man's NYC and the FF's cosmic world so well. I also love how cute he makes some of the characters. Slott and Pulido create a series of bizarre little sci-fi problems for the team to solve, and it ends with Peter screwing up his personal life. It's all Pete's fault, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Rating: 7/10

PunisherMAX #12
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Steve Dillon
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth

Jason Aaron (writes Scalped, and you should read it) has done an amazing job of following Garth Ennis' character defining run on the title. He's kept the dark humor, but moved into a much more personal and long term story for Frank Castle. The Punisher has been at war with the Kingpin and Bullseye for over a year in publishing time, and the fight has left Frank Castle physically and mentally broken. The only thing keeping Frank alive is his reputation; he's not even interested in defending himself anymore.

We don't see or even hear about the antagonists that have been troubling Frank for so long because he's main interest is his past. In the previous issue, Bullseye finally made the Punisher realize the kind of man he really was to his family. Trapped in traction, Castle keeps flashing back to his family life after the war, and he's finally aware of how much he failed as a father and a husband due to his time in Vietnam. The perfect family life that he lost is a lie he's been telling himself, and I think we're going to get some dark issues centered around PTSD. I'd expect this from the man that dedicated several issues of his Vertigo book to parallel plots involving abortion and heroin addiction. That arc made Scalped the feel good read of 2010.

This issue is a big change of pace from the previous twelve, but thankfully Steve Dillon is on art. He's great with action, but subtle, emotional, conversation scenes are his greatest strengths. I still look back at Preacher and marvel at how well he handles the long conversations and vast range of emotions in that title. The real downside is that this is four dollars for twenty-two pages, and it's part one of a larger arc. I have faith in Aaron's ability to make this a great arc, but it's still a slow expensive start. The upside is that the more I read it, the more I like it.

Rating: 8/10

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6
Writer: Nick Spencer
Pencils: CAFU
Inks: BIT
Colors: Santiago Arcas

I'm really enjoying T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and I recommend that you pick up the collected edition when it hits stores. It doesn't matter if you never heard of this property before; everything you need to know is in this ongoing. The UN has its own superheroes, but their artificial super powers slowly kill them. The art and writing have been wonderful, and I just know that the trade will make a great read.

However, this issue is little on the light side, and it feels even less eventful than PunisherMax despite having much more action. It's an epilogue to the first story arc, and it repeats a few things that the reader already knows. The second half introduces some new elements for the next plot, but the issue just reads too quickly. I complained about Punisher being four dollars, but even at the lower price of three dollars, I blew threw this too quickly, in less than ten minutes. It's a shame because I loved the previous issues.

Rating: 6/10

What I'm Reading 4/6/10

Herc #1
Writers: Greg Pak &
Fred Van Lente
Pencils: Neil Edwards
Inks: Scott Hanna
Colors: Jesus Aburtov

A new #1 for Hercules comes with a new direction. Hercules is now mortal, but instead of trying to regain his divinity, he's fighting evil as a mortal man with some magic weapons from Greek mythology. Edwards does a terrific job with the Grecian Urn style panels that explain where each item comes from. With a lesser creative team this would be a rather pathetic attempt at making a character relatable, but thankfully, we get a story that focuses on Hercules' indomitable spirit and the world of mythology that he hails from. Being a hero is what he does, and he won't quit just because he stopped being bullet proof. If he can't fight Ares head to head on Olympus, he'll fight the disciples of Ares on the subway. However, he actually does have one of his divine abilities left; he can hear his followers praying for his help. It keeps Hercules grounded in his mythic roots, and it's a great representation of how he can never let go of his heroic obligations.

Another thing he can't let go of is his legendary abilities as a ladies man. Even without his divinity, being a seven foot tall, muscle man goes well with the women of NYC. It did make me think of one idea I'd love to see: the Hercules Safe Sex PSA. It's finally Marvel's chance to one up that time that Death and John Constantine put a condom on a banana.

Rating: 8/10

The Amazing Spider-man #657
Writer: Dan Slott
Artists: Marcos Martin, Ty Templeton, Nuno Plati, & Stefano Caselli
Colors: Muntsa Vicente, Javier Rodriguez, Nuno Plati, & Marte Gracia

Slott's run on Spider-man has won me over because it's fun and it looks gorgeous. I would date this book it looks so fine. I can't give enough credit to Stephen Wacker for bringing some great artists out of obscurity and getting them on this book. The art alone makes this a title worth reading; Marcos Martin for one has proven to be one of the best artists at Marvel since he started drawing Spider-man over a year ago. This issue uses several short stories to show case Spidey's relationship with the Fantastic Four, and it makes use of some great established talent like Ty Templeton along with some of Marvel's more recent finds.

Spidey and the FF are getting over the death of the Human Torch, but Slott wisely avoids doing a solemn tribute issue. He instead has the characters reflect on what they liked about Johnny Storm, and we get fun little stories full of pranks, space travel, and underpants that remind us how much fun a goofy super hero comic can be. It's a very smart move since Spidey just went through the death of a supporting cast member, and two funerals in two months would have ventured too close to self parody. Spider-man is a character that often gets moved too far into moody melodrama, but this is a great little story about moving forward with the help of your friends.

Rating: 7/10

Incognito: Bad Influences #5
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Art/Letters: Sean Philips
Colors: Val Staples

I only have one complaint about Incognito, but it's not really a complaint. I think that many of the ideas that Brubaker and Philips couldn't fit into Sleeper's brief run became Incognito, and I'm fine with that. I really love Sleeper and it has never read like it was cut short to me, but I assume that's because the creative team knew how low the sales were and planned accordingly. It's great to see more work from Brubaker and Philips in the vein of Sleeper, but I can't help but compare the two. Incognito:Bad Influences especially feels like the third season of Sleeper that we'll never get to read. It doesn't weaken the book for me, but it does take me out of the story. I keep trying to imagine Sleeper's Holden Carver into this book, but that's just me being silly.

I could blog all freaking day about how much I love the Brubaker/Philips team, but I'll keep it short because that's what I promised to do for Lent. It's a great unexpected ending to a very strange and twisted plot. I highly recommend it and anything from the creative team.

Rating: 9/10