As always, there are plenty of SPOILERS in my reviews, so proceed at your discretion.
Avengers volume 3 #50, $3.50 US, published by Marvel Comics
Writer: Kurt Busiek; Pencils: Kieron Dwyer; Inks: Rick Remender
Rating 4 out of 5 stars
Yes, it's yet another review of Avengers. Hope I'm not getting into a rut here. But I wanted to take a look at issue #50, as the story relates to certain criticisms on my part in past reviews.
"Book of Revelations" sees Kurt Busiek's long-running Triune Understanding subplot *finally* come to a close, much to my relief. This storyline had been going on in one form or another since issue #8, which came out back in 1998. It had gotten to feel like one of those subplots that permeated the X-Men books in the 1990s. The difference here, of course, being that Kurt Busiek did actually bring about a definite resolution to the storyline. And a pretty satisfying one, at that.
I definitely feel that it was beneficial for Busiek to put the current Kang invasion story in Avengers on the backburner and devote the entirety of issue #50 to resolving the Triune plotline. After three plus years of build-up, the Triune arc really deserved a full issue in which to present the conclusion.
Busiek did a fine job of explaining the motivations and actions of Jonathan Tremont, head of the mysterious Triune Understanding. Since his introduction, Tremont's behavior fluctuated dramatically. At times he was depicted as a scheming manipulator who enacted various plots to discredit the Avengers and increase the reputation of his religious following. On other occasions, he appeared to be a benevolent spiritualist. Issue #50 reveals that, in the end, he was both. He started out with the best of intentions, embracing a spiritual path to combat a cosmic evil that threatened the Earth. But Tremont became corrupted as he amassed the power he needed to defeat the "Triple Evil" from space. He came to believe that only he was deserving of this power. In the course of trying to save Earth, Tremont developed a lust for dominance and a messiah complex.
It was surprising to see what happened to Pagan and Templar, two powerful associates of Tremont in his past plans to discredit the Avengers. Having lurked in the background for such an extended period of time, Pagan and Templar reappear, this time not to fight the Avengers, but to aid them in the battle against the Triple Evil. We also learn that the two are actually Tremont's brothers. But only a few pages later, the pair is killed, not by the Triple Evil, but by Tremont, who steals their life forces to fight the Evil. A very abrupt end for these two characters. But it did underscore Tremont's absolute lust for power, in that he was so incredibly casual about killing his own brothers to achieve his goals.
The highlight of the issue was seeing Avengers member Triathlon jump into the spotlight and become a key figure in achieving the victory against the Triple Evil. Triathlon was a member of the Triune Understanding, and his joining the Avengers was part of Tremont's machinations. As a result, most of the Avengers didn't trust their new teammate. It was a definite turning point when he realized Tremont's true nature and turned against his corrupt mentor. Now that he is out from underneath the cloud of the Triune Understanding, I hope Triathlon will go on to become a core, long-running Avengers member. In other words, here's hoping he's still around under Geoff Johns' upcoming tenure as writer.
Speaking of Triathlon, it's really too bad that such a pivotal issue for his development didn't even have him on the cover! Oh, well, other than that, I very much liked the cover, which has an incredibly striking design.
Busiek's characterization of Captain America in this issue raised my eyebrow. On the one hand, he demonstrated Cap's drive and willpower perfectly in having him be the one to break free of the Triple Evil's mental illusions. On the other hand, Cap seemed very temperamental throughout much of the story. For instance, he seemed to overreact quite severely to the news that the Avengers had been spying on the Triunes. Of course, I'm willing to write off most of his behavior as a result of the prolonged stress from the Kang crisis and the threat to Earth. But he was still carrying on a fair amount!
Cap's promise to "have a talk with Iron Man when we get back" sounds like it could re-open the sore issues of their troubled friendship. Of course, Cap had taken a leave of absence from the Avengers when Iron Man sent Justice and Firestar on their espionage assignment. Cap's reasoning for leaving (in #27) was to let someone lead the Avengers who would be more able to deal with the Triune Understanding's manipulations. Iron Man could argue that infiltrating the Triunes was doing just that, dealing with their problem in a way that the situation demanded.
The only real weakness to this issue was that the origins of the Triunes and the Triple Evil were related very closely to past continuity. Busiek tied in the Triunes to an old character called the 3-D Man, who I am completely unfamiliar with. Though Busiek does provide background on the 3-D Man, I still felt somewhat in the dark. And the Triple Evil is connected to a group of cosmic-powered beings, "The Trion," that appeared in an X-Men story a few years ago. But I never read that one, so I have no clue as to who or what the Trion is supposed to be.
The art is courtesy of new regular penciller Kieron Dwyer, with his frequent studio partner Rick Remender on inks. The resulting artwork from the pair is spectacular. Following in the footsteps of the high-profile George Perez and Alan Davis is no picnic. Dwyer has succeeded admirably in his first few issues, drawing some superb work with dynamic, well-organized layouts. I enjoyed Dwyer's work on Captain America a decade ago. His work is even better now.
I liked Dwyer's design of the Triple Evil, which takes the form of a huge, pulsing, dark, organic pyramid-shaped spaceship. The Evil utilizes an army of twisted insect-like footsoldiers who have been created from the victims of past conquests. In appearance, they reminded me a somewhat of the Drej, the alien villains from the film Titan AE. Probably a coincidence, though.
The coloring by Tom Smith was stunning. He created a very unusual effect for the flashback scenes where we are shown the origins of Tremont, Triathlon, and the Triple Evil.
As I mentioned earlier, Geoff Johns will soon be coming on as Avengers writer. I am actually sorry to see Kurt Busiek go. Yep, I have definitely had mixed feelings about much of his run. But the last several issues have been consistent in their high quality. If this level keeps up for the next few months, then Busiek will be departing the series on a high note.
Powers #s 15-17, $2.95 US each, published by Image Comics
Writer: Brian Bendis; Pencils & Inks: Michael Avon Oeming
Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars
The Brian Bendis series Powers is ostensibly the story of homicide detectives Christian Walker & Deena Pilgrim, who are assigned to investigate cases involving super-powered beings. But Powers is also Bendis' platform to delve into various facets of contemporary mass-media, fame, and popular culture. Examining modern American culture through the lens of a superhero noir series allows Bendis to approach his topics from a distinctive perspective. As Bendis sees it, if superheroes really did exist, then they would probably be celebrities. And accompanying that status would be all the baggage of fame: ambition, rivalry, money, scandal, sex, drugs, glamour, stalkers, and the meteoric rise & fall of popularity in the fickle public eye.
The current story arc revolves around the superhero group FG-3, who are as much celebrities as they are crimefighters. One member of the group has been found dead in the team's headquarters, his body blown apart in a grisly display. Another has fled from a police questioning in an explosive and volatile burst of power. And the final member of the trio, having previously been expelled from the group, is in hiding. As While Walker & Pilgrim investigate and attempt to discover if a murder has indeed been committed, a media circus erupts around this latest development for the scandal-ridden FG-3.
Bendis cuttingly satirizes the phenomenon of entertainment news programs through "The Powers That Be," a prime time round-table talk show. Bendis clearly intends for the reader to regard The Powers That Be as a sensationalistic, exploitative show hosted by a crass, ratings-minded entertainment personality. In other words, it is but the barest exaggeration of real life. It's the equivalent of Entertainment Tonight, or much of the programming on the E! network. Except it dishes out gossip and speculation concerning superheroes instead of actors, athletes, and musicians.
While amidst their investigation, Walker & Pilgrim find their lives disrupted to an exceptional degree. Walker, previously having been revealed to be a former superhero, is nearly extorted by the host of The Powers That Be for an interview. This causes the frustrations that have steadily been mounting inside Walker since the first issue of Powers to violently erupt. As for Pilgrim, she finds herself having explicit dream of sex with Walker, something no doubt spurred on by their previous case, an investigation that ended up dealing with the phenomenon of superhero groupie sex. And the detectives find that their uneasy partnership is once again beginning to fray at the edges, as the stresses of the case wear away at them.
Art is supplied by Michael Avon Oeming. His inventive layouts and brilliant use of shadows give this series a very cinematic feel. Oeming's style appears deceptively simple. But he is capable of the subtlest of detail in rendering the facial expressions of the characters, something that is a tremendous asset to a dialogue-driven series such as this.
Oeming is certainly proficient in bringing to life Bendis' more, um, colorful scenes. Deena's erotic dream sequence in #16 is especially, er, energetic. And then there is the discovery of the body in #15, rendered by Oeming with a gristly, horrific two page spread. I happened to be eating lunch when I was reading that issue. I was right in the middle of biting into an especially delicious corn beef sandwich when I turned to that scene. From past issues, I should have known better!
I did have a few problems with these issues. Some of the dialogue-heavy pages are difficult to follow, as there are word balloons floating everywhere. It can be a bit of a challenge to keep track of what dialogue goes with which character. And in the sequence showing The Powers That Be in #16, I think some of the captions may be pointing towards the wrong characters.
I also found Oeming's layouts in #17 to be a bit confusing. He switches back and forth between double page and single page sequential sequences, sometimes a bit haphazardly. Okay, it's difficult to actually describe this in words, without an image from the actual book to illustrate what I'm saying. But I will try to clarify. For example, pages 4 and 5 have a five panel sequence running across the top half of the pages. But the bottom halves of the two pages are to be read as single pages. If you have the issue on hand, you'll see what I mean.
And, I will admit, the plot does become somewhat murky in the second half of #17, as Pilgrim & Walker make headway into their investigation. A couple of characters' actions seem to occur without much explanation, and the detectives draw some conclusions that don't seem readily apparent. But I should definitely wait for the rest of the story arc to appear before pronouncing judgment, as Bendis will probably be delivering explanations for these events. I would not be surprised if some of the odd events tie in to seemingly inconsequential sequences from the first couple of chapters, such as Walker's tense run-in with federal agents in #16. There are also the bits of background information on FG-3 that have been tossed out, seemingly at random by Bendis, that may assume more significance in upcoming chapters.
Aside from those points, these three issues of Powers were extremely well done. From my summary, it's obviously not a book for everyone. But those who like keen satire and noir-inspired fiction will probably find it an appealing read.
Powers #17 also has a five page preview of Mike Avon Oeming's upcoming series, Bastard Samurai. It's difficult to tell from this short bit how good the story will be. But the art is exquisite, with some lush color work.
In this month's Previews is a solicitation for the first issue of Savage World, a miniseries by Dan Parsons and Kevin Rasel. Savage World will be published by Basement Comics. Having been able to read the first several pages, I am already very impressed. It seems extremely promising.
I'll be following up with a full-length review of Savage World #1 in an upcoming column.