Marvel Meltdown: November '09

[Stephanie]

Welcome to an all new Marvel Meltdown, true believers! Each month we’ll select three upcoming Marvel comic books and let you know whether or not they’re worth buying. This time we'll flip through the pages of Vengeance of the Moon Knight #3, cheer on the Merc and the Spider in Amazing Spider-Man #611, and make Norman Osborn look bad in Dark X-Men #1.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight #3

Gregg Hurwitz dishes up a strange but unexpectedly engrossing concoction in Vengeance of the Moon Knight, continuing with "Shock and Awe: Chapter 3." Armed with a weighty introduction slash synopsis to prepare new readers and the familiar alike, the comic definitely pushes its audience into the realm of awe with gorgeous and downright eerie artwork by Jerome Opena.

For those who are out of the loop, Moon Knight is back and saner than ever. Much to the annoyance of Spider-Man, the unlikely hero and converted murderer now fights on the side of good, inspiring nicknames and the charmed approval of New York City's denizens. Marc Spector might have the haunting whispers of the Egyptian god Khonshu—ruler of moon and (wait for it) vengeance—well under control, and his past tendencies might be restrained with the supportive aid of friends and his girlfriend Marlene, but not everything in the reformer's life shines optimism and rainbows. Moon Knight still suffers from the memory of his blood-stained past doings, and the odds are stacked against him with a new plot brewing in his honor.

The Hood and a man known as the Profile collaborate to resurrect one of Moon Knight's greatest nemeses, Raoul Bushman, who lost his face and his life to Spector. With a gruesome appearance and bloodthirsty demeanor, Bushman demands an army to command in order to destroy Moon Knight. The villain can't help but reminisce about the riotous days of bloodshed shared between him and Moon Knight, which forebodes intriguing possibilities that could lead Spector astray. Meanwhile, the sing-song Scarecrow (Marvel version, of course) leads the way to Ravencroft Asylum, where he breaks in and sets to work on Bushman's special project.

The comic bears a few awkward moments, and a few lines ("And the inmates will be running the asylum," for instance) with Scarecrow and the other villains can't help but feel Batman-esque, which isn't surprising considering many readers consider Moon Knight the Marvel Batman. Despite the chaotic impression—and the undeniably cheesy multi-villain shot near the end—the comic itself wraps up as riveting and dripping with sinister atmosphere. The gang of villains are colorful and radiate a delightfully old school feel; the other character moments in the issue are executed wonderfully, as well.

Amazing Spider-Man #611

The upcoming issue of Amazing Spider-Man takes us for a ride on the recent Deadpool popularity train. We'll hit a lot of humor stops along the way as the Merc and the Web-head duke it out on the streets of New York while flinging "your mama" jokes and enduring Wade's delirious tendencies, but one question is sure to be on your mind during the dizzying trip: Are we there yet?

It's easy to tell that Joe Kelly had a little too much fun writing this comic, and who wouldn't? The problem is, there's not much going on besides quip upon quip, and the issue quickly becomes tedious as a result. Starting with a Deadpool introduction, the comic then switches over to Peter's side of the story, and soon the reader witnesses him taking out the trash of a random wannabe villain. Cue the Merc with a Mouth, who rambles something about a price on Spidey's head and wanting to cash in on the ripe market. Of course, a page earlier on clues us in that there's something larger going on behind the scenes, and after Deadpool and Spider-Man are finished tearing up the streets with their antics, it becomes clear that the Merc really did have an agenda up his sleeve. The problem is, by the time the comic reaches the finish line and sheds light on the bizarre situation, it's difficult to actually care about the punchline—or lack thereof.

The comic isn't all bad. The humor does succeed rather well in places, but when it becomes evident that the humor composes the bulk of the actual comic, and Kelly simply means to fill pages—or failed to divert the reader's attention away from that fact—you'll be cringing at the poor attempt. Eric Canete's artwork definitely pleases, especially with the tone of the issue. However, the comic's worth degrades under the glaring lack of content and tangible quality of the so-called plot, which is completely disjointed when it's not plain skeletal. You can buy the comic for the dry laugh track of jokes, but don't expect much more than a quick skit. Prepare to throw those tomatoes or hold for applause.

Dark X-Men #1

Norman Osborn definitely isn't afraid to shake up the mutant and superhero world with a touch of his own style. Putting an Avengers team directly under his control and watch was only the beginning to his reign; now he's struck up a villainous band of so-called X-Men consisting of Mystique, Mimic, Omega, and Dark Beast. However, it doesn't look like they might be around for long—and it's not certain whether the comic will be, either.

With the way the tag-team of four handle situations in the premiere of Dark X-Men, it makes you wonder how they survived this long in the survival game of the fittest mutants. Mystique poses the biggest threat to Osborn, and her new disguise and outfit combines for a unique blend of flair and mockery at those she despises. Mystique clearly has her head on straight as she keeps the team and their mission in order, but the rest of the group can't help stumbling over their feet during even the most menial of tasks. Strange occurrences have been popping up all over the New York map, including one where near-mass suicidal but otherwise ordinary citizens claimed to be X-Men and drove themselves toward the edge of a cliff. Osborn makes the series of incidents the Dark X-Men's priority, but with each of them so unpredictable or unreliable, the challenge might be greater than anticipated. After visiting a survivor of the latest near-miss, the X-Men's instability shoots into overdrive. Writer Paul Cornell reveals the source of the problem, but it's obvious that the group's teamwork is more than shoddy. If the wild card Mystique can't maintain the peaceful nature of their missions, then who can?

Cornell's writing on the comic reads as mundane and uninteresting as the attention-deficit team; his character interactions are in need of drastic work, for each moment feels forced and unnatural. The humor is dry, and this oddball assortment of baddies isn't intimidating anyone into submission. Cornell implants an ironic twist at the end, but it's doubtful whether the change in the Dark X-Men's plans will throw much of a kink into the comic's reception. There's also a sentimental and unimpressive extra at the end between Cable and Hope (written by Duane Swierczynski with art by Steve Dillon).

Good or bad, you can find these and lots of other Marvel comics over at the Impulse Creations shop.