Bottom of the Pile: Mar. 19th, 2014

And, we're back.

All-New Invaders

The Eternals are Marvel's version of DC's already slightly obscure New Gods.  They were designed by Jack Kirby in the 70's (if you can't tell just looking at him), and so far have had like four different series, none of which have lasted even twenty issues.   In a book featuring Namor and the original Human Torch and Vision, he is pretty much the last character that should be a surprise reveal.  But you know, whatever let's go for it.  I love those small parts of superhero history no one's ever heard of.

Avengers World

A sentiment nearly every one who will ever read this comic will no doubt agree with, Starbrand.

Daredevil

One of the distinguishing things about Mark Waid's Daredevil is how he doesn't just tell us about Daredevil's radar sense and enhanced other four senses.  He puts the superbly talented artists he's been working with to show us just how that radar sense might look with beautiful pages like the above, and how a guy who's completely blind could navigate that city better than anyone else.   Of course, with this new series he's in a brand-new city, taken away from his old contacts and completely out of his elements--exactly the circumstances you want your favorite heroes succeed in.  Great first issue.

Ms. Marvel

Our newest superhero learns an almost universal truth: Costumes are notoriously uncomfortable.  Except for Bruce and Tony's.  When you have that much money, there's really no excuse not to be comfy.

New Avengers

New Avengers 15 features so much psuedo-meta-fake science, even the guy who created Iron Man wants Reed and Hank to get to the point.  (Point being that Swan is evil.  Which someone should've noticed when her introduction was blowing up a planet.)

 

Superior Spider-Man Annual

This is how Marvel manages to have over 50 years of history with no outright reboots.  Both of those references (with Daredevil and Kingpin) come from like, 80's Marvel--over thirty years ago.    But nobody cares because Marvel only references things as they need them, otherwise they may as well have never happened.  It's a strange kind of continuity, but it definitely counts and the argument could certainly be made that it's better than rebooting every twenty years.

Iron Man

  Speaking of continuity, this is how you do it properly.   Malekith was last seen a few months ago in Thor's monthly comic, God of Thunder.  In it, he took control of Svartalfheim and in doing so earned a seat at the table of the Nine Realms.   Because of that, when he appears in this book, there's a plausible reason for the arc not simply becoming "Iron Man and Thor team-up to smack the bad guys around".    It's something that's explained simply in the comic itself, but if you read both it makes even more sense.   That's how continuity should be used: it shouldn't get in the way of new readers understanding a story, but it should enhance stories for those of us who are long-time fans.

Side Note: Stories where Iron Man has to deal with magic are always great.

Side Note #2:  The cover to this is amazing.  The proper number is at the bottom for long-time fans, but at the top there's a big ol NUMBER ONE plastered to let new readers know that, hey, this is a good time for you to jump in.    More comics should follow a pattern like that.

Thor: God of Thunder

Seeing this makes one wonder how fast Captain Planet could've saved the world if he'd simply obliterated all the factories that weren't healthy for our environment.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise

The idea of Megatron, potentially the most villain-y villain I can think of (from 80's Saturday Morning Cartoons or no), having an actual moment of growth is...disturbing, to say the least.  It hints at the idea that people are capable of growth and become more than merely black or white, bad or good, destroy or create.  For this version of Megatron, who started out as a fairly decent person, it also intimates the idea that there is a road back.   Not everyone will forgive you, but there can be some form of redemption, even if it's only within oneself.

....Now watch IDW announce that next year they're rebooting the entire line and we're right back to "All are fodder" Megatron.

 

 Uncanny X-Men

Having all your senses shut off and having someone drug you quite literally up to your eyeballs while your blood is being used for a weird drug farm.   If you're an X-Man, there's a good chance that at least once in your life something really, really fucking horrible is going to happen to you.  For some, more than once.  (See, Havok.)   All of their teams should really work on their protection plans.

Wolverine and the X-Men

"Lost Allman brother."  So Wolverine traded his healing factor for a sense of humor, then.  

Author's Note: Bottom of the Pile is a weekly column (or at least, my attempt at said) in which I cover the comics that found their way to the bottom of my pile, thus being the best as I've always been a proponent of "saving the best for last".   Since bog standard reviews can be found literally anywhere, coverage can range from mini-reviews to funny comments to commentary on a creator's run or comics as a whole, depending on a wide range of factors including the comic itself, the amount of time I have, and my general mood.