Fantastic Four, Vol. 2

Description

It seemed like a simple enough idea at the time. Now that their arch-enemy, Doctor Doom, had seemingly perished, the Fantastic Four would journey into his nation of Latveria, disassemble its war machine and set its oppressed citizens free. But what appeared to be a black-and-white situation quickly turns a murky shade of grey, and Reed Richards and his family find themselves besieged on all sides - both by those they thought of as their allies, and by the very people they are trying to save. And in the awful aftermath of their authoritative action, three of the Four must contend with the defenses of the afterlife - and storm the gates of Heaven itself to rescue a fallen teammate. They've faced Galactus, the destroyer of everything; now, they face the creator of everything, as the FF are reunited in the hereafter. Plus: The Fantastic Four have a lot to answer for - and when you're trying to regain the trust of cynical New Yorkers, is associating with a certain misunderstood wall-crawler really a wise move? Collects Fantastic Four #503-513.

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Customer Reviews

Half Great
First, the earlier reviews here are for the PAPERBACK vol 2 of Fantastic Four. The HARDCOVER contains different issues. The hardcovers contain several more issues of the single issues than do the paperbacks.

That said, the "Authoritative Action" storyline is simply excellent. It's an emotional, political and character-driven story that digs deep into team dynamic of the FF as well as pushing each of the individual team members (especially Reed Richards). It's beautifully drawn and smartly written.

The second storyline, "Hereafter", devolves into sentimentality, simple-minded Christian mythology, and lazy plot devices (involving and easy resolution to a fascinating Reed Richards dilemma). It's such a shame that the excellent first arc is followed and capped by this thin, simplistic look at the afterlife. A smart, science-fiction book should avoid this kind of cheapness. Fortunately, it ends with two shorter, and more personal, stories focussing on the relationship between Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman and the uneasy friendship between the Human Torch and Spider-Man.

The art by Howard Porter, Mike Wieringo and Paul Smith is all beautiful and bring warmth and add excitement to the stories and characters.

2008-03-16 | coolrobert (WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 3

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Brilliant
Arguably the best storyarc to hit the Fantastic Four in years, Unthinkable solidifies Mark Waid (Flash, Kingdom Come) as one of the best comic writers in the business today. Doctor Doom returns to face the Fantastic Four, but unlike every other time he fought them this time he is using magic as opposed to his scientific prowess. He starts off by sending Reed and Sue's son Franklin to Hell to be tortured, while giving similar punishment to the rest of the FF. All this while Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards tries to find a way to stop him and save his family. Waid's characterizations of the FF and Doom respectively are nothing short of brilliant; Reed isn't just the super genious as he is known for as we see him blaming himself for the events because he thinks he's too idiotic to work magic. Waid's characterization of Doom is great as well as we see how hell bent for vengeance against the FF he is, and the shocker of an ending is brilliant as well. The art by Mike Wieringo is great as well, even if it looks a little cartoony. All in all, Unthinkable is one of the best storyarcs to hit the FF in years.

2004-01-03 | Big Evil (Philadelphia, PA) | Helpful Votes: 5 | Rating: 5

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Unthinkably enjoyable
Well, where to begin?

I went into 'Unthinkable' thinking that Mark Waid, wahtever he had planned, was going to do this one just right.

I used to think Wieringo's art was too cartoonish, much like Ed McGunness, but then I wised up.

'Unthinkable' was by and far, one of the most wonderfully crafted Marvel books I've yet read. Ive only recently jumped on the Marvel bandwagon bgecause I realized that DC still writes stories that are ordained and meant fro children--despite the greats like Green Arrow's ward's drug addiction, the brutality of the Joker on killing Jason Todd and others. But Marvel's dogma is simply more adult.
Example: How many DC villains would voluntarily (much less inhernetly know how to) banish thier nemesis' son to Hell?
But all comparisons and contrasts aside, Unthinkable gave the reader a wonderful insight into the mechanics of Reed Richards mind--his disdain for magic, his analytical nature, his utter disgust at Doom. Waid himself said that 'Unthinkable' is one monumental character flaw--Reed Richards-wise.
Doom was, as always, impeccably well-written and drawn. Hard to believe his newest armor is made from his dead lover's skin!
The new spins on Susan, Ben, and especially Johnny were great. It's so nice to see Johnny and Ben just horsing around instead of actually fighting and ruining the good ol' Baxter Building. Plus, Ringo has a certain way of making Johnny look more...educated, yet adolescent...welcome additions all around.
Stephen Strange's presence was nice, and the segway by Grimm when the FF are on their way to Latveria is a good thing to establish character.

All in all, the arc that effectively puts Doom on the shelf for the forseeable future is a well-crafted piece of comic art. Mark Waid has done it again.

2003-11-28 | falcons04 (Springfield, OH, USA) | Helpful Votes: 12 | Rating: 5

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JLA Vol. 8: Divided We Fall

Description

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Customer Reviews

Mark Waid finds the perfect partner in Bryan Hitch
This book finally hits its stride with this volume. These are modern classics, truly epic-feeling stories that define favorite characters. It is illuminating to read Tower of Babel, featuring art by Howard Porter, and then Divided We Fall, with art (mostly) by Bryan Hitch. What a difference a great artist can make!

Bryan Hitch is an exceptional artist. Each panel is expressively composed to convey the story and the emotional content. The figures and facial expressions are carefully rendered. When the characters use their powers, you can feel the energy and drama crackle from the pages. The panels featuring "establishing shots" of the watchtower, or Earth seen from the moon, have true grandeur and scale.

Mr. Hitch also possesses a great creative imagination- his interpretations of fictional and mythic creatures, the characters of the "Into the Woods" storyline, are striking and fearsome. When rendering conflict on an earth-shattering, cosmic level, Mr. Hitch effectively conveys the scope and power involved, with dazzling light effects and dynamic compositions.

Certainly, the nuanced writing of Mark Waid also contributes to the refreshing feel of this book. As brilliant as Grant Morrison has shown himself to be, with his work on X-Men, Batman, JLA/Earth2, All-Star Superman, and of course his many works for Vertigo, he made a complete mess of his run on the JLA. He was not getting any help from the straightforward, clunky, even abrasive artwork of Howard Porter, either. I suspect that his writing on JLA might look a bit different if his blitzkrieg, go-for-broke style was tempered by an artist of greater subtlety than Mr. Porter.

This material by Mark Waid is what should really be getting the "Deluxe Edition" reprintings. No doubt the marvelous artwork by Bryan Hitch would look even better on glossy, oversize pages. These are great super-hero comics.

2009-05-16 (Washington, DC) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Awesome
I loved this book. Very satisfactory follow up to volume 7. I don't want to give anything away, go buy this book!

2008-04-01 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Graphic SF Reader
A schism within the JLA sees them without the assistance of Batman. This is a big problem, when the Queen of Fables comes calling and wants to use the League for her own ends, even somewhat literally.

Will Batman come to their aid? Even if he does, there is still the distrust to deal with later, and the vote.

2007-09-03 | - Research Finished | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Great split personality story, so-so fairy tale story
These were originally published as JLA #47-#54.

These stories happen right after "Divided We Fall", where Batman gets voted out of the JLA. The remaining JLAers are still dealing with that, when the Queen of Fables is freed from a book and attacks with all manner of fairy tales. With the exception of the very interesting twist of an Aquaman / WonderWoman relationship which continues in this story (see panel 32), and the appearance of Batman and his supposed betrayal of the team, I found this story tedious compared to the others.

The JLAers then start to become divided, with the three that sided with Batman facing off with the three that sided against. Here the story gets going, with the six of them going after Dr. Destiny, who is changing reality, while Superman confronts Batman. Dr. Destiny is seemingly defeated at the same time that Superman and Batman agree there will be no secrets. They call the six other JLAers to Batman's cave, reveal their secret identities, join Batman back to the team....and then meet their alter-egos suited up. Their split-personalities have truly been split!

The ensuing story, with the civilian identities of the JLAers trying to resume normal lives, the superhereo identities of the JLAers battling "fulfillment of wishes" problems full time, with WonderWoman and Aquaman in the middle (they have no secret identities), is one of the best in the series. Both sides, with some exceptions, realize they can't live without their alter-egos, and that the creature "If" has been fulfilling wishes, including theirs to be separated.

The fact that "Eel" O'Brien, Plastic Man's alter-ego who is a former criminal, somewhat reunites the team, is one of the best stories on him in the series.

Fav panel: pg 137, where Kyle Raynor obsessivly covers his walls with JLA cartoons.

2007-01-07 | author of Dusk Before the Dawn (Texas) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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The big seven are Back together again
This collection follows directly after the Tower of Babel storyline. This follows as the JLA comes to terms with Batman's betrayal and consequent expulsion from the group. The first story involves the Queen of Fables, who have escaped from a book of fairy tales and is suffering from the Snow White's Stepmother Complex and is intent on bringing down Wonder Woman (in her eyes, Snow White). The JLA battle all types of fairy tales monsters and modern horror-flick creatures (Jason and even the Terminator). There's even a scene where the Martian Manhunter is being shoved into a burning oven by a witch a la Hensel and Gretel. Anyways, the JLA overcomes the odds but they are at a major crisis, where those that voted for Batman don't seem to see eye-to-eye w/ those who voted against him. Superman sees this problem and has a conversation w/ Batman where it shows how his betryal has left the JLA vulnerable and uneasy due to the distrust growing between them. To remedy this problem, Batman calls them to the Bat-cave but there's one problem, every single super-hero and their alter-egos have literally split (except for Aquaman and Wonder Woman). The split takes it toll on the JLA, as Mark Waid shows how one cannot co-exist w/out the other. Superman looks more like the Kryptonian ruler he had been forseen to be by his father and Clark Kent is afraid of his own shadow. Batman seems to be simply a machine w/ no personality and Bruce Wayne is a psychotic fop. Anyhow, at the end Plastic Man (actually his alter ego) comes to the rescue and sorts out this entire metaphysical mess. The JLA returns to all its glory with Batman welcomed back into the fold. I really enjoyed this story, it was epic in the sense that it involved the near end of the World but to me it seemed to hinge more on the personal side of the JLA. This contrasts greatly from Grant Morrison's epic tales which involved a cartload of chracters. Mark Waid has hit a homerun wih this story and I would recommend it to all comic book fans.

2003-09-23 | rayhans1282 (Jamaica, NY USA) | Helpful Votes: 13 | Rating: 5

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Incorruptible

Description

Super villain Max Damage had an epiphany the day The Plutonian destroyed Sky City.  When The Plutonian turned his back on humanity, Max Damage decided to step up.  Now Max Damage has changed his name to Max Daring and turned from his formerly selfish ways to become... INCORRUPTIBLE.  The flip side of BOOM! Studios' break-out smash hit, IRREDEEMABLE, examines the hard, difficult road to changing your ways and making a difference in the world... 

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The Unknown

Product Details

• Fitness: NEW
• Notes: Label New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• ISBN13: 9781934506974

Description

She has solved every mystery known to man. But there is one mystery that remains... UNKNOWN! Revered as the smartest person alive, Catherine Allingham is the world's most famous provate investigator. Follow her adventures as she sets out to solve the one mystery she's never been able to crack-death! A new graphic novel series from Mark Waid ( KINGDOM COME) in the vein of RUSE with international superstar Minck Ooosterveer.

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Customer Reviews

Four issue mystery/adventure miniseries written by Mark Waid
This hardcover collects the four-issue 2009 Boom! Studios mystery/adventure miniseries from writer Mark Waid and artist Minck Oosterveer. World-famous private investigator Catherine Allingham has a brain tumor and six months to live. She hires bouncer James Doyle as her assistant (her Dr. Watson?) in pursuit of the ultimate human mystery: what happens after we die? The pair faces both man-made and supernatural challenges in their international quest. Allingham also battles disturbing hallucinations apparently brought on by her illness. Waid offers two appealing main characters, but after a strong start, the plot is eventually unsatisfying. This is the first American comic book series for Dutch artist Minck Oosterveer, whose artwork is sometimes appealing but often too cartoonish. Variant covers are included: Erik Jones' painted covers are the highlights. Boom! Studios' $24.99 is a very high list price for a 112 page hardcover (the four regular-sized individual issues were priced highly enough at $3.99 each). The Waid/Oosterveer creative team has combined for a second Unknown four-issue miniseries entitled "The Devil Made Flesh".

2010-02-15 (Conshohocken, PA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 3

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Empire

Description

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Customer Reviews

Chilling Distopia
I stayed up way to late last night because I couldn't put this down. I read the last three chapters after intending to only read one.

Mark Waid is one of the great storytellers in comics and as he says in his forward he gets to construct the whole world in this story.

The result is a "protagonist" who is a cross between Darth Vader and Julius Cesar. Golgoth runs a horrifying empire with an iron fist. This book really scared the hell out of me.

2009-02-11 (Tacoma, WA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Sloppy Construction, Maybe?
I won't post any spoilers, but there were at least three completely unnecessary and occasionally detrimental tangents taken in Empire, one of them happening so late and being so inconsequential to the events of the story that it was basically a waste of paper.

Also, I personally found it very hard to figure out what the story of Empire was supposed to be.

Taken at its word Empire is about the stresses a supervillain has to deal with after having successfully conquered the world, however, that premise is quickly negated in the comic (turns out he's still in the process of conquering the world), and further on it's completely ignored so that a series of fruitless subplots can take place instead.

These subplots focus heavily on the main character, Golgoth's, supporting cast, and in doing so serve only to turn Golgoth into little more than a bit player in his own comic. The subplots also resolve themselves quickly with little bearing on the main narrative, and do so ostensibly at the climax of Empire. This makes for a very disappointing climax, seeing as almost all of the conflicts died down rather than coming to a head.

In short Empire has gorgeous art but the story felt as if Waid was attempting to reveal the links in a chain one by one, yet ultimately the links didn't seem to be, err... linked.

2008-08-28 (Los Angeles, CA USA) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 2

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Graphic SF Reader
Waid decides to turn his hand to a villain, with th excellent Kitson doing the artwork.

Here, a superhuman dictator is the protagonist. This graphic novel is all about how far will he go to maintain control of his massive, far-spanning Empire.

The answer - a lot. Don't expect a lot of sweetness and light. When this man has to make ruthless decisions, he most definitely errs on the side of ruthless.

2007-09-03 | - Research Finished | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Enjoyed ... but left me hanging out there
Ok, I will be the first to admit that I am a sucker for a well written graphic novel ... and this is indeed one such well written graphic novel. Mark Waid has been a favorite of mine for quite some time, and so I anticipated reading this since the date I purchased it. And Kitson's art was pretty darn impressive. Yet, however interesting the story started out and continued to be as I progressed ... I just didn't feel a full "completeness" to the entire story arc ... and found too many loose threads for my taste in the end. Perhaps this feeling derives from the very core history in the story of how "Empire" came to be picked up by DC, but I would not re-read this title. Great escapist entertainment for an evening, but I am already looking to pass it on and out of my permanent collection. Thanks Mr. Waid/Mr. Kitson for the effort, just fell a little flat.

2007-02-10 (APO, AE Iraq) | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 3

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Awesome, awesome (re-read 8/10)
This story finally tells a superhero story from the perspective of the bad guy. Great concept, it's amazing how nobody thought of this before. Excellent execution, great story (even if you don't like superhero stuff), very unpredictable, and the ending will not let you down. I honetly feel like if this was cleaned up a little and a tad more ambitous, could have been as groundbreaking as Watchmen.

Re-readability: 8/10

*I always put re-readability in my reviews for people who like to keep their TPB to re-read*

2007-01-09 | Helpful Votes: 4 | Rating: 4

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Fantastic Four, Vol. 3

Description

This deluxe hardcover completes the collection of Waid and Ringo's run, re-presenting the stories from Fantastic Four Vol. 5: Disassembled and Fantastic Four Vol. 6: Rising Storm! In Disassembled, Manhattan is cut off from the rest of the world by a fleet of miles-high alien spacecraft - and that's just the beginning! With the Avengers in disarray, New York reluctantly turns to the disenfranchised Fantastic Four, the only heroes in town, to save them - but where to even start? And which member of the team will make a decision that will radically change the Fantastic Four for some time to come? Also: Witness the genesis of an all-new, all-twisted Frightful Four! And in Rising Storm, Galactus' worst Herald ever is running out of time! So far, Johnny Storm has been able to stall Galactus from sating his cosmic hunger - but that luck won't hold forever. What planet will be chosen as Galactus' next victim? The reintroduction of a fan-favorite Marvel Universe hero into the battle may have caused more problems than it solved, because not even he can save the Fantastic Three from Johnny's newfound might! Who will live, who will die and how will Johnny ever be the same now that he's tasted the Power Cosmic? Collects Fantastic Four #514-524.

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