Where My Money Went - Dec. 4th

Every Wednesday, I push the limits of my budget for my comic addiction. This is where my money went this week:


Secret Invasion may be over, but the ripples it has caused will be felt in the Marvel Universe for years to come, or at least until the next event book. Stark returns to the battle field sporting an "old school' suit not attached to the Stark Tech main frame, and despite the throwback look, he's still seen as more of an enemy than a hero to his peers.

Skrulls are defeated, and everyone is looking at the Skrull Queen/Spider-Woman and ready to kill her, the heroes becoming momentary villains for the good of earth, when Norman Osborne shoots her in the head. The entire world sees this act and dude becomes the hero of the war, sorta like a Giuliani in 9/11, except people managed to forget Osborne was you know, the Green Goblin. Everyone goes their own way and it's revealed that Osborne has gathered together an intense group that mirrors the Illuminati, so much that Namor has joined up. Bringing the Prince of Atlantis back in as a bad guy is an idea that opens lots of doors. Emma Frost of the X-Men is also there, along with Dr. Doom, Loki, and The Hood. I can see what all of these people have to gain from an alliance with Osborne, but Emma Frost? What is going on in the world?


X-Men Noir feels half like an old pulp novel without the grit and half like Marvel 1602 where you know the characters are based on Marvel's cast, but you can't always place them. Someone's killing Xavier's "X-Men" who are hinted at being powered, but no one is giving it up, similar to Sub Mariner: The Depths in that it forces you to question if it's a fantasy book or not. It's not a very strong issue but it's not weak enough for me to write it off yet, right now it just feels like X-Factor but not as interesting.


What If?: House Of M should be an easy sell. What if instead of Scarlet Witch taking all mutants' powers away, she took all super powers away from all meta humans? Black Bolt would be able to speak but powerless, Namor wouldn't be able to breathe under water, Wolverine could be killed. Captain America ages in a matter of moments, becoming what we can only assume is dust. For some it'd mean a chance at normal life, but others it means losing the only life they ever wanted.

I have nothing but great things to say about the writing and story, the art however, was the worst thing ever. Imagine the cliche graffiti that every weird nerd in UFO pants does in your high school, but applied to super heroes. The artist ignores anatomy completely, arms and legs all different lengths, and the faces are even worse, contorting in ways only mud does. It's the kind of art you see in sad 90's independent comics and show your friends because you can't believe "Universe Extreme Comics" would even publish it.

It's simply amateur work that pushes you away from books you want to read. GURU eFX tries to hide the pencil's mistakes with digital coloring but just accentuates the problems, placing Liefeld shine and "ink" to cover blank spots. If it were hand inked some of the problems could have been corrected, even Liefeld used an inker. What was Marvel thinking here?