Dish's Stack: Marvel and DC Comics 22/02/2012

After a conversation with my good friend Scott, I have decided to ween myself off Marvel and DC Comics in the coming months and support some of the other comic publishers, and do my part to support the industry!  So I'll be doing some research over the coming weeks/months, and then you can expect to see me writing about Image, IDW, Dark Horse, 2000AD etc. comics, rather than exclusively focusing on the 'Big Two'.

But until then, I will carry on my 'mainstream' ways!  This week I take a look at Deadpool; Fantastic Four; Superman and more!  Read on after the jump!

Deadpool #51

ComicBookResources

It was only two weeks ago, when I was writing about Deadpool #50, that I was really quite worried that this event wasn't going to be very good, after the debacle that was Deadpool #49.1  But now I have no worries whatsoever that these next couple of months are going to bring some of Deadpool's finest moments (in the mainstream Marvel line anyways).  I thought issue #50 was absolutely fantastic - I've never read two comics in a row from a single series that differed in quality quite this much.  The setup was done really well, clearly referencing things that had happened in the series previously but it was never confusing despite continuing pretty much (I assume) where issue #49 left off.
Deadpool is often seen as the lunatic running around the MarvelU, stirring up chaos wherever he sees fit/feels like; but in these early stages of the event he is manipulating people and pulling people's strings like an evil genius - in a great bit of dialogue he tells Hydra Bob, after being accused of not being able to play chess, that he can indeed play the game, he just doesn't know how to play by the rules: the perfect introduction to/summary of Deadpool (no matter what that mess of a 'Point One' issue has to say about it!).

Fantastic 4 #603

ComicBookResources

This latest Fantastic 4 arc has been, in a word, epic!  This is the sort of scale that MarvelU events should try to emulate, and even here things just keep getting bigger!
In a plot point not often covered when stories deal with threats just outside the Earth's atmosphere, the planet is being bombarded by the shrapnel and debris of destroyed ships from the space-battle occurring just miles above the surface.
In an effort to save the day, Reed and Sue called a certain cosmic entity, to fulfill a promise of aid, and at first Galactus seemed slightly confused as to why he had been called so soon (apparently hundreds of battling spaceships are a triviality to him).  But is not long before the true threat that Galactus predicted actually appears, leaving appetites suitably whetted in anticipation for this week's issue.
Jonathan Hickman and co. are still knocking this book out of the park every month, so I'm not really looking forward to the end of the arc as anything compared to this will surely feel muted and/or dull - hopefully I'm wrong!

The Mighty Thor #11

ComicBookResources

The idea of 'Tannarus' was an interesting idea, but I feel like it wasn't played with as much as it could have been and isn't going to last any where near as long as it could have, which would have made it very interesting - what if Tannarus and Thor coexisted for a couple of months?  That could have been cool.
But instead the arc is likely to be resolved either this week or in the next issue, and will have been a decent, if lacklustre, 'aftermath' story for 'Fear Itself'.  My problem is that Tannarus doesn't seem to have done an awful lot since his introduction, and the following comics have focused more on Loki trying to figure out what was going on and Thor's attempts to regain his identity - good enough stories on their own, but when combined with eachother and showing snippets of Tannarus' goings-on and the forming of 'Asgardia' by the All-Mothers has made the series very fractious the last couple of months.
I feel the apparent 'rush' will have been due to Marvel wanting Thor available for the AVX event in Spring and Summer, and for the inevitable movie tie-ins; but I can't help but think how much better this comic could have been this year without a marketing department breathing down the team's necks...

Venom #13.3

ComicBookResources

We are only halfway through the Venom event, and characters are dropping like flies - I normally try to avoid spoilers but I pretty much can't talk about this event without letting some things slip, so I apologise in advance.
Before the event began I wondered how the writers would manage to fit four character's worth of story into the one event, but even three issues in I already know I shouldn't have worried.  X-23 is off doing her own thing; Alejandra (Ghost Rider) is being given difficult choices to make that will, literally, change the face of the Earth; and Red Hulk and Venom have a pretty nice, if subtle, thing going on between them about duty and honour.  From the looks of the 'teaser' image in last week's issue, this week's comic is going to focus more on the sideline characters - Jonny Blaze, Doctor Strange and Daimon Hellstrom - though at this point I really couldn't guess quite how the series is going to play out for the final three issues:  Just the way I like it!

Aquaman #6

DC Comics

Being new to Aquaman mythos, I know pretty much nothing about Mera, his girlfriend(?), so that this next issue seems to have a great deal of her in it is pretty good for me, and anyone else who jumped on at issue #1 of the New 52 reboot.  Last issue alluded to her past in the form of dehydration-hallucinations Aquaman suffered while in the desert, suggesting she has some sort of dark secret and may not be as she appears - a loyal partner.  Also introduced last month was the premise of the new arc, which I reckon could last quite a long time - it certainly has the potential to do so.  A mysterious object was found among the 'wreckage' of the trench of the carnivorous sea creatures from the first four issues, and it was releasing a deafening sound that turned out to be a kind of hologram message when submerged in (Atlantean?) water.  The message was from the fall of Atlantis, and it seems the coming months will see Aquaman attempt to solve the mystery of just who could cause such an advanced civilisation to disappear into myth and legend...

The Flash #6

DC Comics

Forgive the pun, but I felt like last month's The Flash was a little bit rushed - almost like there wasn't quite enough material to fill a whole comic.  I feel like the arc would have been improved if they had figured out a way to make it only four issues, but it was a good story nonetheless and being 'too long' isn't (usually) too terrible a complaint.  I also felt the resolution and aftermath with 'Mob Rule' was a little odd and, unless I had completely misinterpreted what exactly Manuel was hoping for, I think a lot of readers will feel the same.
And so begins a new arc in issue #6!  A nice villain is here to torment Fla- sorry...  An ice villain is introduced in this week's issue as Barry attempts to solve a mystery murder over a century old!  Apparently we will learn more about the Central and Keystone cities, though just how interesting or relevant this proves to be remains to be seen.




Superman #6

DC Comics

The last Superman was a bit of an odd one if I'm being honest - Supes appeared to be losing his mind, turning into a Punisher-style vigilante and killing all those who had wronged the city of Metropolis, only doing it with superpowers, and the city had no idea how to stop him.
It was a cool idea showing villains who will, presumably, be showing up in Action Comics over the coming months but it was a little jarring seeing these characters and hearing about these plot-points that had happened but hadn't been shown yet, though I bet the payoff in Action Comics will be nice enough when they get around to showing us what happened.
The ending of last month's issue was also slightly ambiguous, but I'm not sure it was supposed to be.  This will likely be resolved very early on in the new issue, but I still thought it was a sloppy way to end the comic.
Despite this, if what I think has happened has happened, then this week's issue could be a very fun one - especially for fans of he Christopher Reeve films...

Also out this week:

Marvel

Avengers Academy #26

Avengers: Solo #5

Captain America and Bucky #627

Secret Avengers #23

Ultimate Comics Spider Man #7

Wolverine and the X-Men #6

DC Comics

All-Star Western #6

Green Lantern: New Guardians #6

Teen Titans #6

Follow me on Twitter for not-so-occasional insights into the geek world: @IFeed_Dish

Dish Out! 

Dish's Stack is where i talk about the comics i will be buying this week!  Judge my taste all you like, but that's what this is! I will normally focus on my thoughts of previous issues and possible developments, but nevertheless be wary of minor (or possibly major) spoilers if you do not keep very up-to-date with series or previews, but I'll do my best not to reveal anything too surprising