The Four Color Media Monitor

The Nashua Telegraph gives some superficial coverage of Marvel's upcoming Heroic Age, which is still being overseen by Brian Bendis (and even Matt Fraction, who's just as pretentious):

It’s morning in America again – at least, the America in which Marvel characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Avengers live.

Maybe not, because Quesada is still in charge too.

For a couple of years in the Marvel Universe, Norman Osborn – yes, the Green Goblin – has been America’s top cop. He was head of the Avengers (which he staffed with murderous supervillains) and the black ops/intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (which he renamed H.A.M.M.E.R. and staffed with thugs).

This was on the heels of a “Civil War” between superheroes and a debilitating invasion by shape-shifting Skrulls from outer space.

The bad guys were in charge, the real Avengers were on the run and Captain America was (temporarily) dead. Grim days.

And days we could've done without. 6 years or more of total time wasting turkeys, which could not escape the feeling of editorial mandate or even favoratism to writers of Bendis' "caliber". I don't see that changing so easily. There's every chance he'll write just as pretentiously, and even if he reverses the fate of the Wasp, who was killed 2 years ago, it may still not be enough to counteract the bad taste he's left behind.

And then Osborn invaded Asgard.

That event, called “Siege,” proved to be a step too far, and the president revoked Osborn’s authority. It was a little late, as the Shining City came crashing down in Norman, Okla., and thousands – including Norse and Greco-Roman gods – lay dead.

Oh, and I suppose we're not supposed to care that Thor's and Hercules' worlds have been destroyed? Sorry, but that did not have to be.

Also, what's happening now to Iron Man?

Iron Man: “He’s back at square one,” Fraction said, “in mind, body, soul and professional life. No armor to his name, no company to run … living in a motel in Oklahoma. We spent two years taking away everything he has and now … now we get to watch him rebuild his entire life.

“Also: new armor.”

But not a new situation. Tony's been through this kind of story before, and done much better. Just what are they trying to prove by reducing him to a guy living in a shabby motel?

Thor: Asgard’s destruction leaves a hole in the “Nine Worlds” of Norse mythology, and what replaces it is very old – and very scary. Thor will be “terrified,” Fraction said.

“What do gods look up to?” he asked. “These guys. These are the gods of Bor and even earlier – these are primal forces of space/time given physical form. This is The-End-Of-All-Things.”

Yes, we know what that is, don't we? Ragnarok, what else? In that case, I'm not sure if Thor for one will be finding any light at the end of the tunnel. And even if he does, it's possible this won't be any better than Spider-Man's One More Day.

The LeHigh Valley Express-Times is just as sugary about this:

At the end of "Siege," former Captain America Steve Rodgers was given control of the superhero community. After seeing the world controlled by superspy Nick Fury, then Iron Man and, finally, Norman Osborn the president decided it was time to give control over to someone everyone respects, Captain America.

And what does that mean? That Nick and Tony aren't people we can respect? Sorry, but this really tanks, as does the following line:

Bendis brings fun back to the book.

I'm a fan of Bendis' previous Avengers. Its darker, street-level take on the team was what was needed to breathe new life into the aging franchise at the time.

Oh really? It was so far from the ideals that made the Earth's Mightiest Heroes work in the first place, and was so mired in crossovers - and I won't be surprised if there's still more where those came from coming soon - that it wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. And the Scarlet Witch didn't have to be ejected as terribly as she was either.

Now it's the return to the big epic adventure that's needed to keep the book fresh.

Bendis really pulls it off.

Yeah, I'll bet he does. How can we tell he hasn't - or won't - inject some of the same tasteless dialect and talkiness into this current take that he did earlier? And why should we just let him off the hook after he insulted our intellects in past years?

[John] Romita's art on the book helps give it a classic comic-book look.

I'm a huge fan of Romita's artwork and would buy the book based solely on his work.

Anyone who is thinking about becoming a comic-book artist should really study Romita's work.

Indeed. Romita Jr, if that's the artist here, has actually gotten rather iffy over the years, alternately drawing competently enough and at other times blocky. His artwork needs to be studied to know what works and what needs to be avoided in art practice.

Labels: Avengers, crossoverloading, dreadful writers, golden calf of death, marvel comics, msm propaganda