Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t, and the devil is in the details this week. Few in number but not in greatness, the cream of the comic crop brought no shortage of gems. The dinner table in Asgard is looking tenser, brains lose to brawn, and Thor finally gains the sister he never had in this week’s selections. All the while, Image holds its head high as its stroll through Wayward evokes its own hard choices. Yours is thankfully the easy one: read and enjoy.
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Original Sin | Thor and Loki: The Tenth Realm #5:
Odin rides to war! No, The All-Father has wisdom to match his temper. The All-Father seeks peace. In the meantime, Thor’s being a badass as usual. “Before I put your immortality to the test, tell me of my sister,” he demands to the angel queen (to paraphrase a rather long monologue). She taunts him further saying she cast his sister into a reactor of a war ship but, ah, we see that the infant survived being knifed and an angel took pity on her rather than destroying her. Lucky that.
Thor loses it and starts to put some hammer to face, but Angela intervenes and some rather epic dialogue on both sides is delivered. If you need proof Angela and Thor are related, look no further than the “thees” and “thous” rolling off the tongue and those sexy battle poses. *wink, wink*
Odin arrives just in time to stop Thor from barbecuing his own sister in spectacular fashion. There was no tearful reunion however, Angela or Aldrin, if we are to know her birth name…retreats from this hard truth. The three Asgardians leave her to figure out her own life and the angel queen seems to know better than to try besting Odin standing shoulder to shoulder with both of his sons.
The issue closes with quiet contemplation on previous events by all involved. This issue was well done and I’m honestly sold on her being an Asgardian. I’m not pleased with her being in the Marvel Universe, but I can’t see her fitting in any other way. I can’t wait for “Angela: Asgard’s Assassin #1”
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Superman Doomed #2:
At last this tale is (mostly) over and comes to its tired, convoluted conclusion in the mind of one Clark Kent on a telepathic battlefield, but it’s the literal thought that counts.
Lois is still imbued with Brainiac’s telepathic powers and contacts Clark inside Doomsday. She and Lana join forces to try and help him control Doomsday by showing him how hard everyone he cares about is fighting. Together they shower him with their admiration and let him know how much they care and believe in him. Above all else, they impart the need to beat Brainiac swiftly. The rest is up to Clark, though, and while Doomsday wreaks havoc on Brainiac’s body and his ship, Clark battles him in his mind amidst a flood of more dialogue than action.
It’s well written and thought provoking, but reviewing a debate is not only difficult; but also boring. If you want to see how Clark bests Brainiac in his mind buy the issue. Doomsday, of course, defeats Brainiac with ease. The aftermath issue coming soon will hopefully explain how everyone moves forward from here.
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Wayward # 2:
The saga of Rori continues as school starts and the cast expands in this issue. Zub manages to keep the clues trickling in slowly enough to maintain a mystery about all the events transpiring, but at the same time keep me glued to the book and interested. Many writers get boring or dry when doing this. Not Jim Zub…bravo sir!
Rori’s life is rather stressful. She needs to adapt to her new school and the uniformity of it all. Last issue, Kappa tried to eat her and she’s got a new found ability to see patterns in all things. Things that stand out to her she investigates. A young man sits alone at lunch and her pattern senses start tingling like crazy. After following him to a shrine after school she spies upon him physically eating a spirit there. After an awkward chase scene and conversation between the two, they come to an understanding. Both of them are freaks inside and out of school, but “two freaks together and better than one all alone…” as Wayward tells us.
It’s a march of house cats that ends the issue, adorably and mysteriously following the duo into the distance. Drama, art, and impeccable storytelling all blend together beautifully to make a classic rivaling Rat Queens, and all praise that comes from a Marvel fanboy, mind you.
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In case you hadn’t noticed I’m really enjoying “indie” books lately. I think the future of comics is with them and bringing in new talent. New talent and new stories will bring in new readers. If you haven’t tried a comic published by anyone but DC and marvel…you may be doing yourself a disservice. Don’t forget to comment and talk comics on out forums!
