Shawn Hill: This issue is a step up in quality from the last few, enhancing crude action moments with more clever dialogue and more pointed attacks in general. It feels a bit less rushed, and starts to bring home some of the points hinted at in previous outings. We get to see more of Steve and Jarvis, who turn out to be especially key to advancing the plot. We also get to see a few unexpected revivals (as opposed to the surprisingly brutal murders in previous issues), at least one noble sacrifice, and some hints of where this story is actually heading.

The art doesn’t quite live up to the script, as though Yu’s panel layout is very dynamic, many of the players (especially the big strong guys) prove hard to distinguish. And while the witches (Wanda, Amora, Ororo) get some key moments, their poses are more static than dramatic. Still, feeling Thor, Loki and the Summers brothers are in character again (even if inverted) goes a long way.

axis 8 - big fight

Jamil Scalese: Yu’s sloppiness mars this otherwise great issue. The action in AXIS has been plentiful and this comic follows the trend, but it’s a fairly messy affair. For the second time in this series he has drawn a character so hollowly and flavorless it’s made the speaker indistinguishable. His art is a series of gnarly pin-ups but the sequential flow is notably bad. The whole Thor fight makes little sense, and there’s a bit with Kluh and Rogue that could have been way cleaner. Leinil Francis Yu is a great artist but I didn’t love his AXIS efforts. Then again, I feel like the general art direction on this series has lacked continuity and quality.

A lot of plot lines reach their crescendo here and I’m drinking it up. We scuttled through a lot of pages to see how the Inversions would reset the board and how exactly some of the bigger threats would be handled. I love how Remender has jumbled up the battalions, there’s a lot of indiscriminate smashing and thrashing going on and it stirs a confusing cocktail of emotions. Stark and Wilson murderously proactive, Creel throwing down with the heavies one-on-one, Cletus Kasady sacrificing himself for the greater good, there are a lot of good bits that give this event much needed definition.

axis 8 - voodoo

My favorite development is the return of Brother Voodoo, a move I’m betting the writer has been planning for quite a bit. I recently ran across the ill-fated Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural by Remender and Jefte Palo, and aw man, is that an excitable romp through the mystic realms.

Shawn: That revival of Brother Voodoo (whose time as Sorcerer Supreme was anti-climactic; but I’ll have to look up that Doctor Voodoo trade!) echoes the revival in Avengers World of another beloved character who was gone too soon (which you covered last week, and what a nice done-in-two story it was. If anybody “gets” Remender, it’s Nick Spencer). I’d say both events may be the most positive outcomes of this story, though I don’t know if I understand what deals were made to get Voodoo and his brother back. And it’s definitely a clever way to deal with the threat of Scarlet Witch, who apparently has an infinite source of chaos to tap into whenever her mood turns dark.

But Amora and Loki as allies using their intellects against a befuddled Thor, Creel taking on the biggest of the bad guys, and Carnage in his unlikely, even distasteful team-up with Spidey, all moments that show Remender had powerful character snippets for everyone this month, even Apocalypse/Evan, for a few brief seconds.

axis 8 - nothing to me

Jamil: The rotation of characters has kept the book fresh but also has hurt its focus. We’ll see if the ultimate result of the juggling act is a success on Christmas Eve. The big cliffhanger, Steve Rogers wearing a Captain America exosuit (a relic from the Mark Gruenwald era) while rescuing a suddenly pale Red Skull sets up the finale nicely. AXIS has not been perfect but it still holds a solid premise at the core and a knockout ender could save the day.

Tie-In Tie Up!

Revolutions #4

(John Barber; Guillermo Mogorron; Felix Ruiz; Howard Chaykin; Rochelle Rosenberg)
In the final installment of Revolutions we peek in on a couple Lee/Kirby creations to see how exactly Inversions has altered their day-to-day life.
In “Man of Ice” a hyper-emotional and comically dark Iceman, erhm, ICEHEART, attempts to save a damsel in distress from a perceived attacker. This was a bit of a weird one tonally, folks. First, Bobby is presented as an anti-hero of sorts, but given the loose rules of Inversion I’m not sure I understand his disposition. If Bobby was someone like Deadpool or Loki, who surely changed but given their already neutral(ish) status only had small personality shifts, it’d make sense. However, aside from a few dark patches (ahemChuckAustenahem) Drake is a hero, pretty much through and through, so his status here makes little sense, particularly because he’s looking to save a non-Mutant in this story.
The short decent, a partly satirical poke at dark heroes and their personal plights. The art Mogorron and Ruiz works for the most part as the style fits Iceman’s powerset and the mood of the script. Because of the tone I had a hard time diving into it. The term “mansplaining” probably has the same affect on me as how a women feels when they’re mansplained.
The second story is written and drawn by Howard Chaykin, a man who most comic readers know. (And if not, read up and sure to check out some his recent convention appearances. One of the best personalities in the field, for sure).
“Least Resistance” is a pretty good story that takes an interesting slant on Dr. Doom and Latveria but Chaykin’s pencils could be a lot tighter, even if his inks on are point. The plot follows two freedom fighters plot to assassinate Victor but the inverted dictator has other plans. The dialogue is mostly crisp and Chaykin does a really nice job capturing the look and aura of an Eastern European country.  For all his orneriness it’s nice to see the creator play nice with Marvel every once in awhile.
Thought not bad quality-wise both stories are pretty inconsequential and don’t hold up too well on their own. Last issue was great and this one barely good. Skip it unless you’re a Chaykin fanatic.

Carnage #3

(Rick Spears; German Peralta)
So I accidentally erased my write-up of the Carnage finale last week and the completist in me is compelling me to write something about it.
Succinctly, the conclusion of Carnage’s foray into heroism worked well on almost all levels. The series on a whole captured the fairly absurd premise of a psycho turned altruistic by mixing humor and drama while never featuring either prominently. Much like the protagonist this series knows it’s insane but sets out to do good work anyway.
carnage 3 - stretch
The journey of Cletus in this series matches up very well with what we saw out of the character in AXIS, and it does the best job of any tie-in of expanding on the roots planted in the core series.

Hobgoblin #3

(Kevin Shinick; Javier Rodriguez)
The Carnage mini and this one had a lot of common, most of all character (Spidey villain) and form (three issue mini), along with a humorous tone and some visual risks. The chief difference I feel was that Spears really made an effort to keep everything very non-intrusive and contained while Shinick had a much larger concept in place, a concept that didn’t fit too neatly into the format.
The final battle of the Phil Urich and Roderick Kingsley unfolds at a public rally for Hobgoblin and it features a few mild twists that sputter a tad. On the first page it’s revealed Kingsley’s “Hob-Heroes”, a superhero mentor program with a membership fee, has a rat amongst its crew and it all expounds from there.
 axis hob 3
The Hob-Heroes are a colorful bunch and Rodriguez pencils and colors them magnificently. His vibrant, bouncy style mixes well with some of the horror element inherent to a story about goblin cosplayers and the apparent storytelling ability marks him for a fast rise as a creator.
As much as the art pops the story sort of fizzles even though Shinick really does try to jumble things up in the climax. The overall story lacks a certain soul to it, Hobgoblin is still a creep in the end and I don’t feel like I learned anything about the character overall. However, it’s solidly structured and looks absolutely fantastic.
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