Hey, look, an actual post! Yeah, this blog is still up and running, although very slowly. It's not that I haven't been reading, of course, just that I've had so much else to do that I haven't had the time to write any reviews. Still, here's something.
So, what have I been reading in this time? Well, I picked up plenty of Love Hina omnibuses, which is a series from one of my favorite mangaka; I'll write a full review of that series later, although it's an older one. I've also been reading the Dresden Files books, which I've found quite entertaining, although I doubt I'll review any of them any time soon.
I've also been following plenty of comics, aside from my last post about Throne of Atlantis. So before I get to the main review, I'll do a quick glance at some of those.
Hawkeye: an excellent look at the life of Clint Barton when he's not wearing a mask and acting as an Avenger, showing a more vulnerable and human side to a man without powers who fights among supers.
Swamp Thing and Animal Man: While Rotworld ran for quite a while, it had some excellent moments (Green Lantern Frankenstein, anyone?), and the conclusion that came out this week brought about a nice end. So much so that I think I'll give the series a break for now.
Cable and X-Force: I have mixed feelings about this one. On one hand, I don't really care about Cable (at least when he's not teamed up with Deadpool) and I'm not fond of the new outfits. But it has Doctor Nemesis, and the good doctor is awesome in so many ways; that's what's been keeping me reading.
Thunderbolts: Surprisingly better than I expected; maybe it's just Deadpool's presence, but it's been entertaining enough to keep me reading.
Justice League of America: The first issue proved interesting enough to keep me on for at least another issue; a nice introduction to a promising team, with the settings for a big showdown later on.
All-New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men: the fallout after AvX continues, with the X-Men of old looking upon their future selves and getting freaked the hell out. Meanwhile, Cyclops continues to go off the deep end, but things are looking interesting as new mutants emerge.
Wolverine and the X-Men: If you need me to tell you how great it is, that means you haven't been reading it. Why aren't you reading this comic? Go out, get the paperbacks, catch up with the comic, and start following it. Seriously, it's great.
Deadpool: Same as WatXM.
Okay, now that I've given you a brief overview of some of the titles I've been following, time to take a look at the first issue of Marvel's newest event: Age of Ultron. For those unfamiliar with Ultron, I'll give a quick overview: Hank Pym built a robot, the robot is super-powerful and super-evil, and it occasionally stops by to try and wipe out and/or enslave humanity. That's the very short version of it, but frankly, I don't know enough about Ultron myself to give you a more complete version.
Issue 1 features a nice and shiny cover, featuring a pile of defeated heroes, with the reflection of Hawkeye in Ultron's shiny face as he readies an arrow. Will the purple archer be the hero this time around? Well, judging by the role he plays, it could very well be.
The story begins "in media res." That is, we start off in the middle of the story, with no idea how it reached that point. It's a storytelling device used to build intrigue and mystery before offering an explanation. We see a world in shambles, where society has crumbled and only the ruthless remain.
This is a world that has reached such a low point, the heroes of it are doing one of two things: either hiding away in shame and fear, or taking lives. Hawkeye, in this case, is one of the latter; he's unafraid to kill if it means getting to his goal, although in this case, that goal means rescuing a friend.
We also see Hammerhead and The Owl, two villains who are typically C-list at best, running gangs and making deals with Ultron in order to survive just a bit longer. If these are the villains still alive, one can only wonder what happened to the rest.
The world is policed by robotic drones, content to wipe out any and all organics. There's also a threat of being infected by something, although whether it'll make the victims go Matrix Agent on everyone or just plain die has yet to be explained.
This is a "darkest hour" story. Spirits have been broken, and heroics are no more. Even the unbreakable have fallen, whether physically or spiritually. It is not a light and happy story about heroics.
So what is it that makes Hawkeye the best character to follow in this world? How is it that he can continue to fight when even the bravest now cower? I believe that it is because Hawkeye is "just human" that allows him to do this.
The other heroes tend to have powers to back them up. Even Iron Man has his suit and his mental link with electronics; all Hawkeye has is a bow and arrow he can aim well with. To him, every super villain who he has to face overpowers him as much as Ultron overpowers the others. He is used to the odds being stacked against him, and that is how he has the strength to keep fighting even now.
That said, we still don't know how Ultron wrecked the planet, unless there's a comic that I missed leading up to it, in which case, please let me know. Hopefully this will be shown in detail later, but until then, I'll casually follow this, just to keep in the loop.
There are also plenty of Age of Ultron tie-ins, but each of them are marked with "AU," which would indicate "alternate universe," unless I'm mistaken. Feel free to speculate as to what that means, but my assumption is that things will get wibbly-wobbly and timey-wimey before the reset button is hit and everything returns to normal.
Whether or not you'll like Age of Ultron depends on your taste in comics. If you like hopeless, last stand, gritty sorts of comics, you'll probably enjoy this; it's well-written, for what it is, and the artwork is fine. If you prefer to have some fun with what you read, though, then you'll probably want to give this a pass.
Until next time, this has been whatever I read.
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