It's UNCANNY!

We wanted to wait a while before we broached the topic of Uncanny Avengers, mainly for 3 reasons:

• We were pretty disenchanted by the events of Avengers VS X-Men
• The release dates have been in constant flux - we knew we'd need to be a few issues in before we could write a review
• Captain America is on my personal hit list. (TBC)

So, now we're 3 issues in - what do we know.

Following the events of AvX, Captain America want's to re-establish a new team of Avengers and has enlisted Alex Summers aka Havoc, to be the leader. In this arc we see the return of the Red Scull with a special new addition - the brain of Charles Xavier, so he's now free to spread his mutant hating madness to all.

So, what do we think.
Rick Remender has a good premise with Uncanny Avengers, but we don't feel like it's strong enough. With these first few issues it feels like we're playing catchy up and that each issue is a series of bullet points. There are a lot 'how's but no 'whys' and there seemed to be a massive gap between #2 and #3 that we had to double check that we hadn't missed and issue. But that said,  #3 is probably the strongest, and the main reason that we'll keep on reading. A majority of this issue is in 3rd person perspective - which we think fits this story really well. It definitely creates that extra sense of drama and tension that we feel that John Cassaday and Laura Martin aren't conveying as much as we'd hoped.

This is a pretty big issue, so we expected bigger things by way of the artwork for the action sequences. When we compare it to some of the other heavy hitters that we're seeing from Marvel NOW, like the work of Immonen and von Grawbadger's for All New X-Men, this just doesn't appear as bold or dramatic. That said, Thor's arrival is definitely a scene to be hold, and Cassaday seems to always's pull it out of the bag with the final pages.

So what do we say.

Uncanny Avengers has definitely peaked our interest and it's worth seeing what they go with this arc and what's to come for the latest X-men turned Avengers.

What would doom do?
It's definitely time to step down and let the Red Skull take the reigns with this one. If worst comes to worst, there's always a sepcial place for Doom in FF!!!

Motorcycles, guns and demons. We've been officially repossessed.

JM Ringuet's "graphich novel in 4 chapters" follows on the hot trail of Joe, Clay and Martha - 3 hitmen (and woman) for hire who specialise in demon exorcism. Think Supernatural meets Sons of Anarchy.

By possession we're not talking that whole demon child who's head can turn 360 degrees, no no, the possessed can be anyone - a friend, neighbor, shopkeeper, anyone who seems to have suddenly started acting weird. Someone who has suddenly gone from listening to Radiohead to Celine Dion, that kinda weird.

Within a few pages we already get a glimpse of our first possession/excorcism, and we can see that Ringuet isn't playing around. They demons are all kinds of big, mean, ugly and shameless (possessing a Priest goddamit!). We also get to see that our main characters know their stuff, and there's definitely more to them than meets the eye.

So why is this working for us so far:

1. 'Supernatural' supersized
   It's pretty much this, and then some. Who doesn't love a good demon slaying for a bit of extra dollar. And these demons are biiigg, like fill a double page spread big, and that's what we like to see!
2. So pretty...
   Definitely the highlight of the issue. Ringuet's colours are beautifl, flawless even. The tones are able to convey a whole firey hell vibe, but at the same time give off a really chilled out there should be fun in the sun kinda thing. 

But as we know, with great power comes great responsibility, and as a one man team, Ringuet has a lot to live up to...

All in all we're feeling pretty positive about this so...

What Would Doom Do
He'd could rate this bad boy in amulets and give it a holy 4! Or something like that.

Billy stole Teddys bling!!

And so the day finally arrived...the return of the Young Avengers.

The brain child of Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung has now been left in the more than capable hands of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvin as Marvel high-tails it into the age of Marvel Now.

#1 reintroduces the YA (now 17+) dealing with life after the events of Children's Crusade - Kate is exploring her feminity and Teddy is cheating on Billy with superheroism. We're also re-introduced to Noh-Varr (Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways), Kid Loki - who is obviously up to no good and looking to dispose of Billy (why?!) and Miss America who seems bent on stopping him. And then the little surprise at the end in the form of Mrs Atlman

Now, if you've read any of our previous ramblings about YA, then you'll know that we're MASSIVE fans of the YA and as far as we're concerned, Heinberg and Cheung have a center place in the What Would Doom Do Hall of Fame, so there was always a bit of apprehension about this new line up.

So...what did we think? Well...there were a few things...

Teddy is minus ALOT of bling, Kate is all grown up, Billy gained some bling and more importantly became Billy CAPLAN (We always thought the K has a certain charm you know?).

But apart from that, it was an amazing first issue.

Gillen has always said from the very beginning that he's not looking to recreate Cheung and Heinberg's YA's. His YA's are no longer tweens, his are about being 18 and no longer aspiring to be part of the adult world but actually being in it. Already this issue definitely has a much older vibe and it actually feels like the YA aren't just kids anymore, and Gillen pretty much shows this from the very beginning with Kate.

Our only worry is if/how Gillen will part from the characteristics we've come to identify the previous characters with - Billy in particular. Not only has he become Billy Caplan, but we'd really hate to see his sarcastic wit evaporate with his tweenage years, but based on what Gillen is trying to achieve, this could easily and understandably be something that our fave Wiccan has grown out of.

To aid his revival of the YA's Gillen has teamed up with his self confessed partner in crime Jamie McKelvie, and it couldn't be a better match. Along with Matthew Wilson's colors, the pages are amazing. They've created an amazing youthful, cool and dare we say 'hip' vibe, especially with the opening pages. They pretty much read like music, and we really understand what Gillen means when he talks about creating a playlist for his new Young Avengers. One thing that we're really liking is that McKelvie's art definitely screams less action and more late night partying which is definitely what we'd be expecting from our 18 year old Avengers. 

Aliens, shape shifters, gods and sorcerers...we may be missing a little bit of speed and a super soldier, but I think we can forgive that for now.
What would doom do.
It's time to get over his hay days of Children's Crusade and realise that these young nippers are almost all grown up, and it all starts with this. Oh yeh...and he'd get the O'Malley variant.

I am not looking forward to Young Avengers...

No, not at all. And do you know why? Well I shall tell you. Its because of HIM, yes him, Kieron Gillen. That damned, cruel, beautiful, genius beast of a man. He has taken too much from me already. I have already given him all my love, and hope and joy, and he deserved it. Every measly scrap. Everything he touches seems to be gold, in my rose tinted eyes anyway. 

So why I hear you ask, am I not looking forward to Young Avengers? Because I fear it will be the death of me, or at least of all the joy and prettiness inside me that I have left, and trust me it's not much. It will destroy me, I have barely survived my previous encounters with the shattering beauty that is Gillen's work, (have you seen his work on Marvel NOW!'s Iron Man and he's taking him into Guardians of the Galaxy, I think I might weep.) but his genius, with Jamie McKelvie's artwork is just too much. I can't take it. Young Avengers will squeeze every last drop of goodness out of me, it will drain me completely and I will no longer be able to enjoy anything else. All because of Gillen.

For this reason I must stay away from Young Avengers, I must! Since if I don't, I will be ruined. And it will all be at the hands of Kieron Gillen. I think I finally understand how Bella felt. Now I must go blow my brains out since I once promised myself that if I ever made a Twilight reference I no longer deserve to live.

See what you have done Gillen, you have wrought both my destruction and a Twilight reference! 

Please don't ever change.

Hulk: Has the green behemoth actually changed?

Seeing that Marvel NOW is well and truly under way I thought I would take this chance to look back on some of my favourite characters and see whether they have really changed or if they just look like they have.

First up lets look at the Hulk, who, thanks in part to the Joss Whedon's masterpiece, is now more popular than ever.

In 1962 we were given the first ever issue of The Incredible Hulk, but who was he/it really? And how different is he from today's NOW version.

Well, first of he was grey, but that's just an aesthetic thing that while was a significant change when it happen isn't all that changing to the character in my opinion. No, the true aspect of the character was personal conflict, the scientist and man of reason Bruce Banner and the irrational destroyer the Hulk. Both at odds with one another, so much so that Banner takes it upon himself to rid the world of the Hulk and takes himself as far away from humanity as he can. Bruce dedicates himself to ridding the world, and himself, of the Hulk. While the Hulk fights against this, and everyone else. Especially those who come after him, whenever anyone tries to bring him in he usually attacks, he sees an enemy in everyone and refuses to join (for the most part).

So, we have two beings, both trying to rid themselves of the other and staying away from everyone, as they believe it to be the best for both themselves and others.

But, how have things changed, if at all?

Well, most notably the Hulk looks better, seems to have been working out. As for the character development and story, it has a changed, a lot. No longer is this a story of inner conflict and a man's quest to rid himself of his inner demons. Rather, Banner has excepted the Hulk and allows to him to destroy, but when needed, and in the right places. Both Banner and the Hulk have rejoined humanity, Hulk has even excepted joining forces to allow him to live in peace while also getting to smash. He just smashes what deserves to smashed now. And as for Banner, he now builds, he was always a genius, but he had let his need to destroy the Hulk take over his life, but now he has excepted that part of him he can use his mind to help improve life for everyone by using his most powerful aspect, his mind.

So, instead of two beings at odds with one another and the rest of the world we now have two beings that can work together with the rest of the world, to smash what would harm humanity and build that which can help them. A very different story from how it all began, and a better comic book for it.

What Would Doom Do? 

Nothing, it's the Hulk combined with one of the smartest men on the planet, Doom isn't an idiot, they can do anything they want. Doom will now take a nap.

Our Generation?: Gen¹³

Picking up from where Jim Lee and Brandon Choi left off, meet Wildstorm's next generation of Gen-active teens - superpowered humans as a result of the Gen-Factor.

Sooooo what the hell is Gen 13. Well sum it up in 3 digestible points:

Now fast forward to September 2002 and we meet the freshest batch of little Gen-actives; Ethan, Gwen, Hamza and Ja'Nelle, all with their own fun, fiery powers, and coming together to discover how and why they got these powers, and to become rulers of their own destiny.
It's all pretty standard 'New teen heroes 101' but with a nice spin on their powers, especially Ja'Nelle- whose gone from 5 ft nothing and pudgy, to a 7 ft Amazonian with telepathy. Very fun indeed.

Ale Garza's artwork is also a massive draw for us. We love his style, it's fun and vibrant, and very reminiscent of Georges Jeanty (Buffy Season 8), and Chris Claremont's writing is funny - laced with moral message, although at times a tad dated (although this works well with the dialogue between Ethan and his twin Dylan).

This series spanned across 2 years (#16 was released in 2004) and we've rested or curiosity at #6 (the end of the first arc 'September Song'), and we're very tempted to keep reading. The Gen¹³ legacy is a long one which has had cross overs in both the Marvel and DC universe. So it's nice to have a solid starting point with this re-booted team.

So it you're looking for some good old fashioned teen superhero fun, with twins, mysterious villains named Herod (similar to the baddie from Supernatural's season 1-2) and a stellar tag line of 'You Will Be Judged' then this is pretty much an interesting read for you. It's nice to juxtapose this to the teen hero teams that we see emerging now (but that's a wholllee different post)

A Girl's Guide to "Deathmatch"

2013 seems to be the year for some hardcore hero vs hero action. First we saw Marvel's Avengers Arena, and from BOOM! studios we have Deathmatch.

32 of the worlds top super-powered individuals find themselves in an arena with no recollection of how or why they are there. They find themselves suddenly forced to fight again their former team-mates, lovers and enemies (with 2 down so far), again with no recollection of how they every agreed to such barbarity. Fun huh?

Deathmatch is a great first read, and whilst the premise is similar to Hopeless' Avengers Arena (which we're loving at the moment), the execution is completely different, so DM manages to standout on it's own and we aren't faced with this whole "OMG which battle royal is better!!".

One aspect that really stands out is the focus on one character - Benny Boatright - the young supe known as Dragonfly is a noble hero with a no kill policy. But at the start of the issue we find that he has not only killed a fellow-team mate, but he has also revealed his secret identity to everyone. 

This whole notion of the righteous man falling from grace isn't a new one, and we really hope that this isn't all that Paul Jenkins has up his sleeve as DM definitely has the potential to be so much more than that. But who are we kidding, everyone loves a good guy.

We're really keen to see what angle Jenkins takes with Boatright, especially as the other supes are still realitively unknown to us (which is a first for us). It will be really interesting to see if Boatright will remain the character we sympathise with all the way through, or if other characters will be brought to he forefront.

What would Doom Do?

Fork out for some ringside seats at BOOM! Studios to check out this bad boy from start to finish

The new Prince of Image : Mara #1

Kicking off 2013 with a slamming game of Volleyball?

Another release fresh out the Image back door, Brian Wood and Ming Doyle's 'Mara' is the story of a dystopian society ravaged by poverty and war but has now become united by sports as a means of distraction.
Well what makes this different from any other dystopian story such as Battle Royale, Brave New World and The Running Man, where the sport is revered I hear you say? Ha, well Wood has been very smart here as we don't see a typical world now ruled by violence, corruption and dictatorship. It's all seems pretty bloodless at the moment, which means we get to focus on other things! Such as who the hell is Mara?

Mara Prince is a 17 year old highly skilled athlete, a household name, and the best in the world at Volleyball. She is perfect in every way, women wanna be her, men wanna sleep with her (although she appears to prefer her own team), this bitch is just too good to be true. Or is she?

By the end of #1 we see this mask beginning to slip, and live on air it all seems to be crashing round around her. We begin to see the build up of Mara's story as we are exposed to her life and all those around her. Really loving the work of Doyle so far, as she really brings this story to life, especially with the graceful yet swiftness of the sports scenes. But to be honest our key area of interest here is gonna be Wood. We're interested to see where he will take this story and what themes will begin to emerge.

What would Doom do?
Time to get comfy in his fave throne, crack open a beer, drink it from one of those funny hats, flick over to sky sports and get to learning some of his best vollyball lingo. SPIKE!

Holiday helpers: Marvel Comics

Now, whilst we're in the warm comfort of Image, Marvel really is bring it's A Game with it's new batch of NOW! We'll try to keep this short and simple


All New X-Men #4
The redeeming X-Men series that can do no wrong.
Scott has come face to face with him and the early X-Men - he thought, he freaked out Jean and it was epic. I don't think that this confrontation could have been any better.

The start is dialogue heavy, but it definitely called for it. It's a concise and a progressively human insight into Scott's mind. Bendis pretty much answered all the questions that we'd find ourselves asking, and Immonen captured the sequence brilliantly. These short bursts of action really get you excited about what's to come, and you just know they're gonna get bigger. Also, is it just me, or is Angel looking suspicious?

What Would Doom Do?
He'd read this now, and he'd read it a lot, then start over and read again


Avengers Arena #2
Only a page in and another man down (Red Raven - the close up of her death is amazing yet chilling) leaving 14 teen superhumans.

Hopeless is very smart with this issue, and turns his focus to the lesser known characters - The Braddock Academy and Rebecca Ryker.
I felt like this was quite an emotional issue - with the young and lonely Rebecca taking the lead. With no friends, or alliances and fresh off a cybernetics table, she is most out of her element and you really do sympathise, but as the issue goes on you can really feel the story beginning to take a darker turn. It's definitely time to get their killin on.

What Would Doom Do?
He'd start gathering his latverian pennies cause it's time to bet on who's gonna come out on top




Cable and X-Force #2
Hopeless is the man of the hour.

Cable is dying (no surprises there), and his 'headaches' are manifestations of the future. You'd think that Nate would start to user this power for good, but based in the scenes from the present, you can only assume 'good' is far too boring for him now.

Most importantly, the final member - Colossus, has now arrived, and in keeping up with the new NOW! continuum, like the rest of the Phoenix five (All New X-Men) his powers are all out of whack, and in comes Cable to save the day. Now, although Colossus doesn't appear until the very end #2, it's still the highlight!

What would Doom do?
Find Nate, capture Nate, steal Nate's brain, see the future like Nate, and live blissfully knowing that what's to come is gonna be badass




Captain Marvel #8
I've been waiting a while for this issue and I must say i'm a little disappointed. We LOVE the work that Deconnick has been doing, but this issue fell pretty flat. Captain Marvels 2&3 (Rambeau and Danvers) take on the underwater transformer and with all the wise cracks and banter flying around, it was very easy to forget they were in combat.
Soy made it look as amazing as ever, but we'd really like to see his skills tested in a bigger action setting.

I know this is the reintroduction and redevelopment of Danvers, but it's time to see a longer arc for Captain Whiz Bang! Deconnick and write it, and Soy can art it so lets see it!

What would doom do?
Put the party poppers away cause this issue's just a very tame hootenanny. Maybe next time eh?




FF #2
Tasked with becoming the worlds savoirs' for 4 minutes, Fraction's new FF are rapidly becoming our ultimate alliance (overboard? yes).

#2 follows on directly where Fantastic Four #2 left off . There are mole men, "ex-cons with delusions of super-heroic grandeur", thing-suits and human torches falling from portals. At times it feel like it's moving too quickly, but I can see what Fraction is trying to achieve, but i'm hoping the pace slows down a bit. Apart from that the dialogue is on point. Scott and the kids of the Future Foundation are really selling this for what it is - a story about a bunch of people that haven't got a clue, and now they've realised that it's gonna be a whole lot longer than 4 minutes, the story can really begin to shape up!

What would doom do?
Time to get on standby, it's Doom's time to shine...that or just keep reading.


Thunderbolts #2
My original review still stands. This story just feels like its passing me by and I still have no idea of what's going on. Way doesn't seem to be making any attempts to inform us why Ross has brought this new team of Thunderbolts together, and why in the hell any of them have agreed to join. They also seem rather out of character (especially Deadpool, apart from the trippy scene), and I just don't feel like this has any strong direction.

Sad to say that this is definitely my first disappoint me of Marvel Now. There seems to have been a lot of hype, but not much delivery. Maybe a couple more issues will change my mind but we'll have to wait and see.

What would doom do?
Hijack Hank McCoys time machine in an attempt to get back the 20 mins it took to forcibly read this issue. Harsh Doom...harsh.