4 New Marvel Comics That Really Kick Butt

4 New Marvel Comics That Really Kick Butt

Every once in a while, I like to scoop up a bunch of random books in hopes that I'll find something good. This time, there were several I liked, but only four of them really kicked butt. I'd like to introduce you to these if you haven't already read them. And if you have, you'll agree that the art is good, the writing incredible, and the overall reading experience is some of the best the comics industry has to offer. With all the X-Men, Avengers, and Spider-Man books flooding the market, I try to shy away from those titles in order to find the gems in the smaller lesser known properties. The truth is, some of those books are just plain awesome and I shouldn't ignore them and risk missing what I'm looking for. You'll see that that I dipped into that pool a little, as I introduce you to Guardians of The Galaxy, The Punisher, Ms. Marvel, and X-Men. Each of these books are highly recommended and I'm going to tell you why.

Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli are doing some amazing things with Guardians of The Galaxy. In issue #11, a council of intergalactic kings and queens decide that the teenage Jean Grey, who has travelled here from the 1960's, must pay for what her now dead present self did during her stint as the Dark Phoenix. It's a brilliant idea, except for the fact that Jean Grey from the past never had the chance to commit those crimes. At any rate, the council goes after her and it's up to the Guardians of The Galaxy to save the all-new X-Man.

It goes without saying that Bendis' writing is phenomenal. He's a master at creating flawless dialogue that fits perfectly into a story that flows so naturally.

Some of the best dialogue is in the beginning of the issue where Peter Quill is sitting in a bar with his teammate, Gamora. They're casually talking about recent events and what their next plan is. We get wrapped up in the cleverness of their banter back and forth and are almost caught completely off guard when he says to her:

“First, you are going to look down at your belly button... and you're going to see that my one-of-a-kind elemental gun is pointed right at it. Then you are going to tell me who you really are.”

It turns out that he's not talking to Gamora at all, but a shape-changing Skrull bounty hunter intent on taking him in. In my opinion, it's perfect storytelling.

Pichelli's art is incredibly suited for this book. Her style keeps the reader aware, that even though some of the characters might have a funny line or two, this is a very serious book, and the Guardians of The Galaxy mean business. Guardians of The Galaxy really kicks butt and I'm putting it on my permanent pull list.

Note: I have to point out, that Image's Spawn fans should appreciate that the character Angela is a member of the current cast thanks to co-creator, Neil Gaiman. She's a welcome addition to the line-up.

Sixteen year old Kamala Khan becomes another statistic affected by the events of Marvel's Inhumanity storyline and she uses her newfound power to save the day in G. Willow Wilson's and Adrian Alphona's Ms. Marvel. Ms. Marvel has been all the rage since Marvel Comics first announced it. Their newest heroine isn't just a sixteen year old girl. She's also a practicing Muslim. Wilson knows how to write the character in a way that makes her feel real. Kamala faces the same conflicts any girl her age faces. She has to deal with school, peers, parents, and now super villains. Ok, not every teenage girl deals with super villains, but the new Ms. Marvel is definitely a character teen readers can relate to. She's smart, inexperienced, unsure, and a modern American girl.

As far as the art, Adrian Alphona really deserves a big hand here. Readers may recognize him as the artist on Runaways written by Brian K. Vaughan or Mary-Jane Loves Spider-Man written by Outside The Cube fave, Terry Moore. Alphona brings in a combination of realism and humor with his artwork that is rarely seen in comics. Is it comical or is it serious? Who cares..? It's Adrian Alphona and it rocks. In fact, Adrian Alphona and G. Willow Wilson complete the formula for another Marvel comic that really kicks butt. And, it's still early enough in the book's run that you can find issue #1 around most comic shops.

Note: Readers who enjoy this book might also look for Wilson's Cairo, a graphic novel she wrote in 2007 for Vertigo or the already mentioned, Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona.

The next book on my list is X-Men. It's written by Brian Wood (DMZ) and beautifully illustrated by artist Kris Anka (Uncanny X-Force). With an all female roster of six, this X-title is a refreshing change from the same old/same old.

Lady Deathstrike is resurrected in the body of teen heiress, Anita Cortes. She and an all new sisterhood of villains are out to sink the X-Men at the behest of the sentient computer program, Arkea. What I like about this is the list of names in the sisterhood. Amora the Enchantress, Typhoid Mary, Lady Deathstrike, Selene the Black Queen and a resurrected Madelyne Pryor. It's like a party with all my favorite Marvel bad girls.

Wood is good with touching on the human element in some of these characters. On one level he's

writing Arkea, Amora, and Selene who are more god than human, but Lady Deathstrike/Anita Cortes is just a seventeen year old girl caught up in something too big for her. She wanted power and notoriety, and she wanted to meet her idol Cyclops. She didn't think that she'd have her body possessed by the consciousness of a vengeful maniac driven by madness. Wood throws in moments where we see how Cortes surfaces from time to time and regrets the choice she made to become the new Lady Deathstrike. In fact, she regrets it more and more and would rather die that continue to let Deathstrike control her. For me, this is an element that gives the story much of its strength.

Kristafer Anka is pretty new to comics. He's a great artist, who has a touch of the manga in his style. His work isn't cartoony in the least, and it adds a great deal of intensity to the already dark mood of the story. I've been seeing Anka's art on Uncanny X-Force covers, waiting for the day when he'd get his own regular series. If this is it, he's landed on the title that just might blow his career into comic stardom.

Note: I've always been a fan of Lady Deathstrike and her vendetta against Wolverine. Now that she's a consciousness downloaded into a human host... she really kicks butt.

Last but not least on my list of 4 Marvel Comics That Really Kick Butt is The Punisher. Frank Castle has taken it upon himself to be a one man clean-up crew, and when the trash consists of street gangs, mafia dons, drug lords, and slave traffickers, there's nobody better for the job than the Punisher.

This time around, the Punisher has taken his war to the streets of Los Angeles. He's tracking a gang called Dos Soles. With the help of an old military contact named Tuggs, Frank manages to take out a good number of gang members. But one thing always leads to something bigger and he discovers that Dos Soles is awaiting the shipment of a very special weapon. What is that weapon exactly, and who is selling it to the gang?

When the Punisher first showed up in Marvel Comics, he was really just a costumed villain. He was gunning after Spider-Man for supposedly killing Norman Osborn. He was just doing his job by dealing out some vigilante justice. Obviously, readers wanted more.  He was different than anything Marvel was doing at the time. However, looking back on those early appearances makes me realize just how silly the character was at first. He wore a black costume with white gloves and white boots, and his white belt was part of the skull design on his shirt. He was practically a robot sent to kill. There was never any personality or depth to the character. Punisher writer, Nathan Edmondson is all about the depth. Sure, I've liked The Punisher since his initial introduction, but Edmondson helps me relate to him. He writes the character as a human being with the difficult task of protecting the city and its

citizens. For the first time in a Punisher series, we are allowed to witness Frank Castle eating breakfast at a diner and having normal conversations with the people there like he was one of them. The days of “Frank Castle- murderous sociopath” are gone. In this series, we actually end up liking the guy. Lady cops crush on him, diner owners pour him coffee, and when the day is over he goes home to his pet coyote, Loot, where he's welcomed and appreciated. Thanks to Nathan Edmondson, this is definitely not you father's Punisher. Whatever he's doing, he's doing it right.

The art in The Punisher lends to the mood of the book just as much as the writing. It's a toned down style. Rough. Edgy. And it's simpler than many of the flashier books in the Marvel Universe. That's Mitch Gerads for you. His take on the Punisher keeps the costumes in the closet. It's cargo pants and t-shirts, with a subtle presence of the famous Punisher skull. The toned down look of Gerads' art gives the book a harsher dryer feel. You get the facial expressions on the characters when that's what the artist has to focus on. You understand what's happening in every panel right away, because you're not overwhelmed by a bunch of unnecessary images. Gerads illustrates a Punisher that feels cinematic rather than drawing a Punisher that we can adapt to the screen. As writers and artists go, Edmondson and Gerads are the perfect team for this book.

Note: Big thanks go out to Nathan Edmondson. It's great to see a Howling Commandos team in this book. He's given new life to an old favorite.

So there you have it... 4 Marvel Comics That Really Kick Butt. Each of these books are now among my regular pull list and I intend to look for more work by these incredible creators. So pop in to your local comic shop and give them a try. As soon as you do, let me know what you think and we'll catch you “outside the cube.”