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.

Doom's year of comics: Top 5 of 2012

2012, we bid you farewell! Lots of comics were released, which by definition means lots of comics were read. It's been a year of mutants vs the genetically enhanced, re-incarnated twins searching for their crazy mutant nullifying mother, warring alien races, intergalactic chases and of course total revamps.
And because we couldn't think of anything more interesting we here at What Would Doom Do have decided to come up with our top 5 comics of the year.

1. Avengers: The Childrens Crusade
   The final quest for the Scarlet Witch ended with 6 teenagers and a young Vision. Although Cheung and Heinberg started this project in 2010, it didn't reach it's conclusion until this year.
   There were tears, twin tantrums, time wimey space stuff, resurrections, remorseful granfathers, pissed off uncles, teenage deaths and of course the (almost) triumphant return of Doom. A:CC was definitely one of the events of the year, resulting in the Young Avengers (what's left of them) finally being acknowlegded as Avengers. 2013 will see the reigns handed over to Jamie McKelvie and Keiron Gillen, definitely one to watch...but WHERE THE HELL IS SPEED?!
   
   
2. Saga
   Image Comics have be FLYING this year with a host of amazing releases including Mind The Gap, Danger Club, Nowhere Men, Change, and topping our list is Saga. Brain K.Vaughan and Fiona Staple's space opera has been setting new standards this year as it blends sci-fi, mystery, fantasy,  romance with outlandishly epic and sometimes borderline gross characters.
   It's still only 7 issues in and we've barely scratched the surface of the awesomeness that's still to come. Vaughan and Staples are amazing story tellers, and geniuses at the element of surprise. We're going into 2013 with our eyes wide open for this badboy
   
   
3. Wolverine and the X-men
   
   What we have here is a truly spectacular piece of work by Jason Aaron, from issue one onwards it is brilliant.  Not only is it incredibly well written with a great cast of characters all being given time to shine but it is all brought to life by some wonderful artwork thanks to Chris Bachalo and Nick Bradshaw.
   Spinning out of X-men Schism the X-men have split, and Wolverine starts up the Xavier School for Higher Learning again, and many choose to follow. But since its the X-men of course nothing goes to plan, not only do the school inspectors turn up but the very school itself turns against the staff and pupils, oh and the Hellfire club returns, and it's run by children, which is terrifying.
   
   This book has no downside. Just read it, and revel in the glory of ICEMAN!!!!!!
   
   
4. The Hypernaturals
   Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett's work is amazing, you will read it, you already love it. Its awesome, its just....blarrghhhee!!! Its so good it makes me crazy. A truly fantastic comic, a science fiction epic that even goes so far as to have its own fictional adverts instead of actual adverts on the ad pages. its the same level of excellent writing that we have come to expect from the team of Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett only taken to the next level by artwork from the likes of  Tom Derenick, Andres Guinaldo and Brad Walker which only goes to elevate this work to realms of godhood....I'm a massive fan of The Hypernaturals in case you haven't  guessed.
   
   I hope to see this run for a very long time, its definitely got the plot for it, with mystery and intrigue, action, deceit and a villain so evil he has evil smoke surrounding his face. It also has some truly human characters, not super heroes  but people, who happen to be better than normal, Hypernatural you might say, who get elevated to celebrity status due to their power and help to better the world however they can, even if its not the way they would prefer.
   
   Seriously, you need to read this book.
   
   
5. 
   Extermination
   Here we have a book that is genius from Simon Spurrier, it takes a fresh look at the relationship between good and evil, hero and villain and what this values even are. With excellent characters, stunning environments and one hell of a plot courtesy of Simon Spurrier, easily one of the best writers of 2012. Not only a book with truly great writing but also beautiful imagery thanks to Jeffrey Edwards and V Ken Marion. Definitely worth a read just to see the relationship between the so called hero and villain, such a human relationship that you forget at times your reading something so fantastical as a comic book with giant aliens and humanity on the brink of extinction. I can honestly say this is the first time I've ever been truly drawn into a comic for the relationships of the characters, which I think is a testament to the skill of Simon Spurrier, and that's what makes this book worth of a Top 5 spot of 2012.

Holiday helpers: Image Comics

Easily our top publishers of 2012, and the perfect holiday companions, Image Comics just keeps coughing up the goods.

Saga #8
We will continue to sing the praises of this series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, and today is no exception! #7 left us knee deep in Marko's parents and hilariously gross intergalactic genitalia, and with #8 it is definitely more of the same.

Finally, and albeit unexpectedly, we get a glimpse into Alana's 'forbidden book' (these scenes are hilarious) but also how Alana and Marko first met. The setting of this first encounter is to be expected, considering their 'occupations', but it's obvious that Vaughan will be doing something more with this, as it's quite clear that it definitely wasn't love at first sight - although Staples panel would have you believe otherwise.

If we're completely honest, this issue seemed like a bit of a filler, we didn't really learn anything new, and even Marko and Alana's first meeting didn't seem like much of a big bang. But Vaughan and Staples can even make filler awesome, and one again they bring the boom at the end, and we finally get an answer to "who the fuck is Gwendolyn?!", and yes, this reveal is definitely worth the wait.

This series is full of serious awesomeness, and the women are really stealing the show. Alana, The Stalk and Marko's mother are some pretty dominant ladies, and by the looks of it, Gwendolyn will also be a major player. Issue #9 please.




Nowhere Men #2
Stephenson and Bellegarde have pretty much struck gold with Nowhere Men as #2 kicks it up a notch.

This series is still a big ball of mystery, with only a few more clues being offered. So what do we know now?

- World Corp now only consists of Emerson Strange
- Emerson Strange (and maybe Dade & Simon?) commissioned the building of a space station that is unknown to the rest of the world, and they are aware that the crew are sick.
- Apparently Dade is ill and now awake?! (had to do a double take on this and make sure this really was issue 2...)
- Simon is planning revenge (due to being ousted from WC?)

Stephenson is completely on point with this issue, and begins to build a really tense story. He is definitely doing an amazing job of keeping readers hanging on (but hopefully not for too long). Although the only pitfall with this issue is the disconnect from #1. Whilst the space-station scenes have continuity, i'm feeling pretty lost with our friendly scientists. How much time has passed since we were first introduced to them? What about the Evangelion looking monster? I'm sure these will all be answered, but at the moment it's a bit confusing.

Bellegarde is killing it with the artwork and colours. He really is dictating these pages and the flow of #2. The pages aren't too busy or messy - which can sometimes happen with lots of characters in a shot - you really can follow the sequences, and the tension flows effortlessly across the panels right to the end. It's almost as if Bellegarde is able to depict various chemical reactions through the characters - a slow build up of kinetic energy resulting in a 'big bang'.

Image Comics own 2012.

What would doom do?
Trade in all his finest Marvel autobiographies, throw in a few dark horses and comics with Superman in them, so he can stock up on a whole bunch of Image.

Holiday helpers: DC Comics

Less of a helper and more a holiday glance. I feel like the glow of The New 52 seems to be wearing off for me- i've already chosen to ditch Aquaman (although my partner in crime remains loyal) -but with the whiff of Wally West on the horizon for 2013 I may very well change my fickle mind.

I feel like I should show some sisterly solidarity and stick with Kate Kane as Batwoman. 15 issues into this series, and Kane is still on the hunt for Gotham's lost children hand in hand with the goddess of the hour- Wonder Woman.

I've seen that there are a few haters of Batman #15 in terms of conceptual execution, but personally I really liked it. So far this series of Batwoman has been pretty dark and rather detached from the civilian point of view, so it was nice to see Maggie Sawyer and the police force taking the lead with this issue.

Gotham is once again a playground for mayhem, and without a Bat in sight (for now), Maggie and her force take it upon themselves to try and restore some sort of order.

Now, whilst I liked the concept, there was definitely something missing. The more I read, the more it started to feel a bit more "filler and no killer". The grittiness of the dialogue was a bit TOO gritty, and Maggie just came across as a bit cold, the stereotypical 'no bullshit female cop', and it was definitely on the verge of emotionless. But I love and respect what Williams and Blackman tried to do here, I just wish they could have done a bit more.

My real issue probably lies with the artwork. Trevor McCarthy steps up to take the reigns for this issue. Whilst I like McCarthy's work, something about it just didn't connect. The grittiness of it matched the tone, but I just felt that it lacked the gracefulness that we'd seen in previous issues, and Maggie just looked far to hard. Sure the mayhem would do that to you, but it didn't seem to fit right.

All in all, Batwoman #15 has slowly rekindled our dwindling lust for DC, but it's safe to say that we're ready for this saga to reach its conclusion and get to kicking with some new Kane-based antics.

What would doom do?
He'd hold on to his huffing and puffing and let the DC flame burn just a little longer. WE WANT WALLY - Sorry Kate.