Issue #129

January 23th, 2008

    
Damn it, Marvel is trying to hook a Bodhisattva to their central storyline!

Black Widow? Sweet.

In my brief thoughts about Dark Avengers #1 I discussed my trepidation in involving myself with the future Marvel-epicenters, but I find myself more and more intrigued. Osborn is getting his Kobiashi on; the Thunderbolts, Dark Avengers, and that’s not even talking about the Cabal. The former’s title have had some very competent moments over the past several years, and some that could even claim to be even more with names like Busiek, Ellis, and Gage contributing their talents to the title. In issue#128, the Andy Diggle era team gets its leader, and like I said, sweet. It also spells out not only the level of authority that Osborn has gathered, but also the lengths he will go to accumulate more. In the issue the team goes on what is perhaps their first mission, and they are starting at the very top. The President, Doc Samson, and Norman Osborn all playing at power moves? Air Force One isn‘t big enough. Cue Lalo Schifrin.

There are some stretches in terms of even comic book believable dialogue, particularly in a scene where Osborn’s mental well being (or lack there of) is being discussed. The actual plan of the Thunderbolts also seem a bit hokey, but that doesn’t contradict the Osborn we see in Dark Avengers. It actually presented (for me) an interesting push and pull on how much do we want comic book-fun, and how much do we now expect from the ‘realism’ Marvel has made efforts to push at us ever since the sensibility of Knights came to the Marvel with Quesada. The whole plan is utterly ridiculous. No outcome (which we assume and essentially know will be in Osborn’s favor) would validate it to our rational side, but from ants in Russian headlights to another (again, Dark Avengers#1) cool appearance by Ghost, the issue ultimately comes of as one that, yes, we realize indeed does need some defending– and we find ourselves volunteering to do just that. In short, it’s on some Mission Impossible shit, and I’m talking that beautiful femm fatale Cinnamon, and Barney gadgetry shit. It takes itself seriously, even when bordering on ridiculous, and in some way, that’s optimal, mainstream, superhero comics.

I tend to be pretty easy when it comes to art excluding extreme cases either way (exceptional or awful) and what I (now) know about Roberto Del La Torre is all that I need to know: he’s not stopping me from reading the book. It seems to waver more than Deodato in Dark Avengers* but I do feel like I’m in the same world, and I appreciate that connectivity with these two titles – merely different facets of Osborn’s will.

One notion that struck me as reading both this issue and Dark Avengers#1 is that our own last President has sanctioned fiction to portray the American public as among the most daft people in the history of civilization, and does so while giving us little room to defend ourselves without looking at the other half of the people in any room we may find ourselves in. In some sense it’s sobering, but for half the room it does still seem almost too fantastic, even when discussing and loving a setting where you could look out the window and see a silver fellow flying in a surf board, not to mention a brother sporting orange and yellow skateboarding on buildings. For this reason, I like how Diggle portrays our (new) president as somebody who is most likely going to get duped, but isn’t somebody that we get the impression is practiced at it. We can take pride in this appearance, and we like the feeling that there wasn’t a good showing that we could get irritated, we could get defensive. We could call bollocks.

I think we can feel Diggle really start owning the title, but there is no doubt that this title (and this is absolutely intended) really is aided by the greater Norman story in other titles. I’d be interested on how long the title lasts, and to what degree of quality after Dark Reign passes, but to be fair that’s all irrelevant; now it’s a fun excursion, and while I’m not sure if I buy Osborn’s rise, I do have to admit that I like it– but would also admit I’d like anybody in the same position (we are just wired that way – we root for Soze), and his history as the green Goblin actually hinders me more than works as additive for appreciation. It’s also true that Diggle and Del la Torre are playing partially on house money as I’m at least tuning in until the impending Deadpool crossover. If they knock that out, they will probably have gained a reader for the rest of the ‘09.

_{*which I keep mentioning but I suggest that there are applicable thematic and historical circumstances for it beyond the fact that Dark Avengers #1 was a book I read just before I read this issue, and is still fresh in my mind.}

_{Jan-ken-pon is the time traveling, force-walking, multiverse crossing column of Jay Tomio, owner of 1/3 of everything you see currently on screen and the editor of Heliotrope. He is the man in the shadow. Some call him the Bodhisattva.}