Avenging Spider-Man #1, The Defenders #1, and Carnage USA #1

Avenging Spider-Man #1
Story by Zeb Wells and Art by Joe Madureira

I’m totally in love with Zeb Wells for the amazing writing he did for the Civil War tie-in featuring the Runaways. Excited, I picked up Avenging Spider-Man, happy to add another Spidey title to my already motley mix of subs. I was retardedly saddened when Deadpool Team-Up was canceled (oh, how I miss the snappy comebacks of one Wade Wilson!) so when I heard about this title, my demeanor brightened. The comic opens up with Spidey soliloquizing about how he does the superhero gig with everything going on in his life (girl trouble, jobs, etc) and asking the Avengers for a lift back to NYC. After a round of “not it’s”, Red Hulk (Thaddeus Ross) is stuck with the gig and off they go. Creatures are attacking J. Jonah Jameson’s hosted marathon (creatures he calls Bilbo) and further “investigation” shows the creatures a.k.a. the moloids  under the control of the ever creepy Mole Man who also is under the control of super Bilbos.  Definitely a fun little comic to read.

The art by Madureira is cute and I especially love the little details he puts into Spidey’s expressions. This whole two page made me go “awwww’ as I felt bad for Spider-Man. Also, why doesn’t he own a car or some kind of mode of transportation?

My vote for this comic is yes, go give it a try, at least for an issue or two. It’s fun, light-hearted and good for some quick reading.

The Defenders #1

Story by Matt Fraction and Art by Terry Dodson

The comic begins with strange happenings in Bucharest and there is something amiss with the number 23. I like feeling on edge the opening pages of a comic book and in that, the story delivers. Enter Doctor Strange, reeling from a one night stand he regrets and a vision plaguing him after the suicide of a friend. Enter the incredible Hulk, loathe to ask Strange for help and all we know is the past must stay the past. Enter Namor, in the middle of exacting justice on sea poachers when he stops at the mental intrusion of Doctor Strange. Enter the Silver Surfer, curious and on a search to find himself. Enter She-Hulk (Betty Ross), disappointed at an off-panel rip-off but eager to use her “big-ass sword”. Enter the last member, Iron Fist who is testing the zero-g capabilities of a plane. This ragtag group heads off in search of Nul, the Black Hulk while Hulk goes away lest he merge with him.

They coerce Iron Fist into using the plane he’s just tested for transport which blows up at the end of the comic. It flowed quite nicely and seems generally like a fun title.
Art wise, Dodson does well. I love how he’s drawn Namor but hate how Strange is drawn. He looks kind of like a Persian drug lord with that ‘stache. I like the Silver Surfer’s happy expressions but feel bad for She-Hulk’s impending back problems thanks to her overly huge breasts.  Overall like I said, Dodson does well…but there is room for improvement. Sonia Oback colors everyone quite nicely but Rachel Dodson is a little ink heavy, especially in places that don’t need to be that shadowed, i.e. cock areas.

If you have the extra $4, pick up the Defenders. It was enjoyable.

Carnage U.S.A. #1
Story by Zeb Wells and Art by Clayton Crain

Coincidentally, this is another title by Zeb Wells and as previously mentioned, I really enjoy his writing.  If you haven’t familiarized yourself with semi-recent events, the comic luckily has a quick rundown which I will generously paraphrase for you here: Cletus Kasady is a serial killer who has bonded with a symbiote offspring and turned into the wonderfully violent Carnage. Last we saw him, he appeared to be dead but obviously he has survived in order to take us on a very bloody ride. Anyway, he tears up a shit ton of people at a meat plant in Booneyville, Colorado (not the town’s real name) and sends a cop with a message carved into his body to the U.S. Emergency Response Center who forwards it to the Avengers. The Avengers move out, making jabs at The Thing’s repeated use of corny one liners as demonstrated by Hawkeye’s facepalm at the line “It’s clobbering time!” Once they arrive, Carnage quickly overpowers them all, using his control over the townspeople and turns them into Carnage-y versions of themselves. It’s pretty fuckin’ sweet looking and the U.S. Emergency Response Center quickly activates their contingency plan consisting of five symbiotic individuals dubbed Project: Liquid. By the way, this is the sequel to last year’s Carnage which I didn’t read. I honestly don’t know how much it factors into the story but I didn’t feel like I needed prior knowledge to enjoy this.

Clayton Crain certainly has horrific art DOWN. It’s creepy, it’s gory, and it fits perfectly with a comic like Carnage. Take for example these panels showing Carnage absorbing (or eating, whatever) a baby and it’s older bro. Kind of chilling, kind of gross, but awesome. At times the art is a little weird to me, as it looks like the characters are badly photographed action figures BUT most of the time, it’s pretty kick ass.

Carnage U.S.A. was interesting. I’m going to pick it up again but I’m iffy on how long I can take cheesy insults at The Thing. I’ll make up my mind for sure after reading issue #2.