Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been buying the big event titles that Marvel and DC churn out every year. These titles weren't on the shopping list, but I changed my mind. I’ve become jaded with these types of storylines. It’s basically the big two’s answer to summer movie blockbusters. The very first event storyline I remember reading is Secret Wars back in the 80s which in my mind sets the standard for big events.

First up is Fear Itself which mainly focuses on Thor and Captain America ( for obvious movie reasons) as the pair and the rest of the Marvel folk square up against the Serpent, an ancient Asgardian god of fear who is Thor’s uncle, don’t you just love family reunions! The Serpent obviously a bit peeved off that his brother Odin imprisoned him he decides it’s payback time. The Serpent lives up to his title, by sowing the seeds of doubt and turning the worst fears of the Avengers against each other.

Having being freed by the daughter of the Red Skull, Sin who is now possessed by the Herald of the Serpent, Skaadi which sounds like an Indian channel on Sky Digital. The duo wreak havoc in the Marvel Universe using hammers which are similar to Thor’s they use them to transform heroes like the Thing and Hulk and various villains like Titania and Juggernaut into the Worthy who are the Serpent’s generals.

With a massive event like this, there’s been one big fatality; the death of James Barnes the current Captain America which leads to Steve Rogers donning the star spangled suit again. It’s also made Iron Man quite desperate, as his alter ego, a well known alcoholic; Tony Stark hits the bottle once again in an attempt to strike a deal with Odin. The events prove too much for Spider-Man as he cracks under the pressure and decides to spend time with his family awww...

The creative team of FI, writer Matt Fraction and artist Stuart Immomen, are riding shotgun and are having a ball of a time working on a book like this. I didn’t expect to like this but so far it’s been quite gripping and entertaining. I haven’t read many of the tie in books but what I have seen doesn’t interest me at all especially when in FI, a possessed Hulk is about to take on the Avengers this crossed over into the recent issues of the Avengers, unfortunately, writer Brian Michael Bendis opts for a talking heads instead.

But over at DC there’s none of that malarkey going on. DC literally wants to clear the decks with Flashpoint. Once again, DC have opted for yet another alternate universe storyline that they do so well written by Geoff Johns and pencilled by artist Andy Kubert it sees the Flash trapped in an alternate world created by his arch rival the Reverse Flash.

The upside to it is the Flash has his mother back who was murdered, the downside to it, actually there’s a lot of downsides is Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war with each other and have decimated London in the process(there you go looters!) Superman is a lab rat, as for Batman he’s actually Thomas Wayne who’s taken the path of vengeance as opposed to justice after his son Bruce Wayne was killed.

(Flashpoint#1 interesting story, so-so artwork.)

Unlike Fear Itself, the artwork in Flashpoint is really bland. Adam Kubert really puts a damper of Johns’ engaging storyline, what is worth buying is the brilliant spin off, Knight of Vengeance mini by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Rizzo which focuses on the Flashpoint Batman. I’ll still buy FP but I do think they should put another artist on the book. Towards the end of the month, DC will only release the last issue of Flashpoint which paves the way for the comics giant to release new comics starting from #1 the following week after.

They’ve pulled this kind of stunt when they re-launched books like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman more than twenty years ago, DC have picked up a habit of redoing their main characters over and over again. Some of these new #1 issues look quite interesting i’ll definitely be buying the first issue of Batman though.

Back to big events, what I’ve always wanted by the two companies is some kind of stability within the DC and Marvel Universes. I’d have these event storylines within the characters own books and stop having needless spin offs and then have a giant event a few years later. I’m sure that I’m not the only one who feels the same way, but at the end of the day these type of books sell and for retailers and publishers that what matters.

Posted: 11/8/2011
Categories: Initial / Thoughts

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