In Passing...Fell to Kitty Pryde
Fell #3 - Another self-contained issue of Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith's noir series came out this past week, with our favorite law enforcer caught in the sights of a suicide bomber. I didn't like this issue as much as the first two issues of the series. I just thought it was a little dull in comparison without any real detective work and just a lack of action overall. Ellis showcased the quirkiness of Snowtown once again via a stroll through the street, where we saw a couple of shady figures, including the always-present nun wearing a Richard Nixon mask. 5.4/10
New Avengers #13 (spoilers) - The Silver Samurai confronts the Avengers and Ronin's true identity is revealed as Echo. Now, Echo as Ronin? Thirteen issues of being on the cover and then she decides to stay in Japan at the end and not be with the Avengers. Marvel needs to settle down with the cover campaigns as usual, instead of jumping the gun. The reveal was a big letdown, as anyone who hasn't read Daredevil for the past year wouldn't get who the character was, and the rest of us probably don't care anyway. I thought that the whole point of the New Avengers was to showcase the big guns of the Marvel universe on a team together. Echo doesn't exactly scream "big gun" to me. I doubt she could even headline her own mini-series at this point. Another problem: why is Echo in disguise? Why is she dressed like a man? Just to get the Marvel fanboys psyched up for the underwhelming revelation? Next time it had better damn well be Elektra under that mask if Marvel pulls a stunt like this again. Oh, and let's see Finch draw like...let's say, nothing else for this series. But anyway, the rest of the issue was decent! 7/10
Season of the Witch #2 (of 4) - I don't really care for the rapid pace of this mini-series, however it's inherent in the series' design, as each issue represents a season of the year (this issue being "Summer"). The issue does slow down at times to draw attention to key points in this character's development, but I get the feeling of being rushed when I'd like to slow down and take things in a little bit more. Our heroine isn't exactly the savior this world of magic and sorcery had probably hoped for, as she's fairly gullible and she gets into the bloodshed a little too much, but hey, this makes for an interesting character at least. 7.3/10
Generation M #1 (of 5) - This series wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. It is about mutants who have lost their powers but I was thinking more along the lines of each issue being a self-contained story about a specific mutant (this one being Chamber since he's, you know, plastered over the cover). Not the case, however. This series follows a columnist who battles her self-destructive past in the wake of her daughter's death to create a column that she feels needs to be told. Amid the "decimation" of the marvel universe, she decides to revive a failed column about mutant lives and highlight mutants whose lives have changed as a result of losing their powers (many of whom are still harrassed by people who rally behind the phrase "once a mutant, always a mutant" or are now physically impaired as their bodies can no longer function normally with their physical deformities). This could make for an interesting series with some things cropping up that are sure to thread through the entire series, like a rash of pictures sent to the columnist showing murdered mutants with signs thrown over them proclaiming "not enough died." 7.9/10
Kitty Pryde: Shadow and Flame #5 (of 5) - The mini-series concludes here with Kitty overcoming all of her obstacles and returning home. Of course, plenty of stuff leads up to that. This issue is pretty much one big battle as Kitty betrays Ogun's disciples, the Path of Destiny (who were about to betray her anyway), and turns them over to the mysterious J.D.S.S. and to the Silver Samurai (who is cropping up in a lot of books as of late). Meanwhile, she retrieves her beloved friend Lockheed and the green dragon she came to Japan to find in the first place. Paul Smith's art has been stellar throughout the series, this issue being no exception. This is probably the best Kitty Pryde mini-series out there. 8.5/10
New Avengers #13 (spoilers) - The Silver Samurai confronts the Avengers and Ronin's true identity is revealed as Echo. Now, Echo as Ronin? Thirteen issues of being on the cover and then she decides to stay in Japan at the end and not be with the Avengers. Marvel needs to settle down with the cover campaigns as usual, instead of jumping the gun. The reveal was a big letdown, as anyone who hasn't read Daredevil for the past year wouldn't get who the character was, and the rest of us probably don't care anyway. I thought that the whole point of the New Avengers was to showcase the big guns of the Marvel universe on a team together. Echo doesn't exactly scream "big gun" to me. I doubt she could even headline her own mini-series at this point. Another problem: why is Echo in disguise? Why is she dressed like a man? Just to get the Marvel fanboys psyched up for the underwhelming revelation? Next time it had better damn well be Elektra under that mask if Marvel pulls a stunt like this again. Oh, and let's see Finch draw like...let's say, nothing else for this series. But anyway, the rest of the issue was decent! 7/10
Season of the Witch #2 (of 4) - I don't really care for the rapid pace of this mini-series, however it's inherent in the series' design, as each issue represents a season of the year (this issue being "Summer"). The issue does slow down at times to draw attention to key points in this character's development, but I get the feeling of being rushed when I'd like to slow down and take things in a little bit more. Our heroine isn't exactly the savior this world of magic and sorcery had probably hoped for, as she's fairly gullible and she gets into the bloodshed a little too much, but hey, this makes for an interesting character at least. 7.3/10Generation M #1 (of 5) - This series wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. It is about mutants who have lost their powers but I was thinking more along the lines of each issue being a self-contained story about a specific mutant (this one being Chamber since he's, you know, plastered over the cover). Not the case, however. This series follows a columnist who battles her self-destructive past in the wake of her daughter's death to create a column that she feels needs to be told. Amid the "decimation" of the marvel universe, she decides to revive a failed column about mutant lives and highlight mutants whose lives have changed as a result of losing their powers (many of whom are still harrassed by people who rally behind the phrase "once a mutant, always a mutant" or are now physically impaired as their bodies can no longer function normally with their physical deformities). This could make for an interesting series with some things cropping up that are sure to thread through the entire series, like a rash of pictures sent to the columnist showing murdered mutants with signs thrown over them proclaiming "not enough died." 7.9/10
Kitty Pryde: Shadow and Flame #5 (of 5) - The mini-series concludes here with Kitty overcoming all of her obstacles and returning home. Of course, plenty of stuff leads up to that. This issue is pretty much one big battle as Kitty betrays Ogun's disciples, the Path of Destiny (who were about to betray her anyway), and turns them over to the mysterious J.D.S.S. and to the Silver Samurai (who is cropping up in a lot of books as of late). Meanwhile, she retrieves her beloved friend Lockheed and the green dragon she came to Japan to find in the first place. Paul Smith's art has been stellar throughout the series, this issue being no exception. This is probably the best Kitty Pryde mini-series out there. 8.5/10
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