Pick of the Brown Bag
April 25, 2018
by
Ray Tate
Salutations. Welcome to a brand spanking new Pick of the Brown Bag. I'm your weekly comic book reviewer Ray Tate. Today I'll critique All-New Wolverine, Batgirl, Jupiter Jet, Mera the Queen of Atlantis, The Mighty Thor, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man, Scooby-Doo Team-Up, Sheena and The Titans Annual. If you need a stroke of midnight decision at the comic book store, check me out on Twitter: #PickoftheBrownBag.
Congratulations to Michelle Wolf who skewered all the right people at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. It takes great skill to piss off so many with witty honesty and fact. I particularly liked her deathblow to professional liar Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her reminder that the news media contributed to Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House. I still remember Matt “sex button lock” Lauer and his alleged interviews. Lauer degraded Hillary Clinton while fawning over Trump like he was a bottle of discount Rogaine. Since the "election" I do my own research to discover what's fake news, what's ratings-sweep news and what's actual news, the majority of which coming unsurprisingly from The Daily Show, Seth Meyers and Last Week with John Oliver.
The Empire Strikes Back of modern times.
The cover to The Mighty Thor suggests it's curtains for Jane Foster. Don't be so sure.
Everybody familiar with the Pick of the Brown Bag knows I'm a feminist. I loathe maiming, crippling or killing female characters. There is a caveat. A heroic death.
Jane Foster died majestically battling Mangog, the God Killer. In so doing, she saved the Norse Deities. Thereby shaming them in the process.
Odin is an honorable god. He killed a Frost Giant in battle, but adopted his son. He acted out of love when attempting to cool Thor's early romance with Jane Foster. Thor is an immortal. Jane's lifespan a midge. Odin took time out of his busy schedule to testify at Reed Richards' trial and bequeathed a hammer to Beta-Ray Bill, when the alien bested Thor in combat but saved the Odinson.
Modern writers muddied Odin's history and character. I choose to ignore these unnecessary changes. However, Odin behaved like a sexist, horse's ass in Jane's entire run as the Mighty Thor. So, it's a fine thing to see him humbled and Jane's defiance, to the very end.
Odin's demeanor lightens considerably in this final issue of Jane's impressive stint as the Thunder Goddess. The alleviation proves to be important in the plot, which as well hinges on the worthiness of Odinson.
I credit The Mighty Thor's success to the creative team. Jason Aaron didn't come up with the idea of another taking Thor's place, but it seemed that he did. Jane Foster as Thor appeared to be an entirely novel amendment. His partner in crime Russell Dauterman provided art nouveau delicacy in line work combined with Kirby bombast in action. Together, Aaron and Dauterman clicked to reignite the whole concept of Thor, and they made Jane count. Jane wasn't just a substitute for Thor. She was Thor.
The future is so bright in All-New Wolverine. Wear some shades. Doctor Doom on the other hand is a dark spot in the shiny that Laura Kinney, the Queen of Madripoor, intends to cut out.
Laura sees her dictator tourism as her last mission. Despite her strength and healing factor, Laura is dying. Doom is still one of a kind in the present. A despot that needs to be put down beyond. Writer Tom Taylor imagines a scenario in which Doom tramples the freedom of Latveria making Laura's last hurrah that more difficult to voice.
In the opener of the story, Laura, Gabby and cyborg Mariah Hill already infiltrated the boundaries of Latveria, imprisoned naturally in a force field. They decide to swim under the dome. One problem.
No technology other than Doomsoft works in the territory. Hill's new Deathlok accoutrements therefore won't tip the balance.
Fortunately, Gabby nipped and tucked at Laura's plan and called in the backup of Kate Bishop and Captain Marvel. Other guest stars check in for added plot twists, comedy and outright enjoyment.
Artist Ramon Rosanas punctuates the humor of Taylor's story with priceless expressive images. The result is about as far away from the dystopia "Days of Future Past" as you can imagine.
Nothing in the story actually matters. That means you can be even more analytical about the technique and the fun factor. Taylor's dialogue and character interaction is bouncy. The plot elegant. He demonstrates a shorthand to describing the future with Rosanas' able assist. All-New Wolverine is almost sunny, even when this group of dangerous ladies plot a regicide.
Laura sees her dictator tourism as her last mission. Despite her strength and healing factor, Laura is dying. Doom is still one of a kind in the present. A despot that needs to be put down beyond. Writer Tom Taylor imagines a scenario in which Doom tramples the freedom of Latveria making Laura's last hurrah that more difficult to voice.
In the opener of the story, Laura, Gabby and cyborg Mariah Hill already infiltrated the boundaries of Latveria, imprisoned naturally in a force field. They decide to swim under the dome. One problem.
Fortunately, Gabby nipped and tucked at Laura's plan and called in the backup of Kate Bishop and Captain Marvel. Other guest stars check in for added plot twists, comedy and outright enjoyment.
Artist Ramon Rosanas punctuates the humor of Taylor's story with priceless expressive images. The result is about as far away from the dystopia "Days of Future Past" as you can imagine.
Nothing in the story actually matters. That means you can be even more analytical about the technique and the fun factor. Taylor's dialogue and character interaction is bouncy. The plot elegant. He demonstrates a shorthand to describing the future with Rosanas' able assist. All-New Wolverine is almost sunny, even when this group of dangerous ladies plot a regicide.
This week Sheena is all power and emotion. Last chapter, Sheena met an important party that warred against Cadwell Industries, the despoilers and exploiters of the jungle. An away team of Cadwell's men subsequently tranquilized Sheena and her friend Lirio. For the onset, Sheena awakens with a splitting headache and a mad on to kill a crazy doctor.
Jungle men and women always end up in cages. It's a time honored tradition. Few furthermore escape the formula of having the Big Bad leader, usually a man in a suit, come along and start up the torture. It's the age-old question of who's the real savage.
Sheena as you can see is no different and unsurprising in that respect. Still, you can present these scenes listlessly or with verve, and artist Maria Sanapo definitely chooses energy over ennui. Writers Marguerite Bennett and Christina Trujillo also script some witty dialogue for Sheena and drop Lirio into a subtextual plot point. Together the entire talent make Sheena's break out thrilling and emphasize just how strong and ferocious Sheena can be when she wants.
Jungle men and women always end up in cages. It's a time honored tradition. Few furthermore escape the formula of having the Big Bad leader, usually a man in a suit, come along and start up the torture. It's the age-old question of who's the real savage.
Sheena as you can see is no different and unsurprising in that respect. Still, you can present these scenes listlessly or with verve, and artist Maria Sanapo definitely chooses energy over ennui. Writers Marguerite Bennett and Christina Trujillo also script some witty dialogue for Sheena and drop Lirio into a subtextual plot point. Together the entire talent make Sheena's break out thrilling and emphasize just how strong and ferocious Sheena can be when she wants.
The Ocean Master learned of Atlantis' turmoil on the news and immediately sought out Mera the newly enthroned Queen of Atlantis. He was also unaware of this new development. His visit proved to be a mere courtesy.
Orm intends to shove his trident up usurper Corum Rath's ass and seize the throne. Surprisingly, this is not a course he chooses but sees as necessary. He's not the villain of the piece. Since the advent of the new 52, Orm never has been. Vulko duped Orm into becoming a reflection of his historical past. Orm's every action against the surface world in "The Throne of Atlantis" meant to protect his domain.
Orm does not bear malice to Mera nor to his brother Arthur. His current design simply must be carried out for the good of the realm and the dry land. Complications arise for Orm not just from the ailing Mera's badassery but also from the life that Orm forged for himself.
Last issue was pure fight and superpower mastery. This issue of Mera Queen of Atlantis is all about diplomacy and peerage.
Kings and queens once were seldom free. Marriage between royals existed as a means to ally nations, preclude war, and to maintain the integrity of the bloodline. In fact wedded bliss seldom affected any of these aspects. Secret and not so secret mistresses and lovers became the norm. So did bastard children. Nations broke treaties and went to war anyway.
As in real life, the actual bloodline of the royals is incidental to the fealty. Orm is a true Atlantean. Mera of another water-dwelling species known as the Xebel. Both remain dedicated to Atlantis and its people.
Some action can be found in Mera's reverie, but Mera is filled with a lot of sitting down and hashing things out. Such inertia normally would indicate boredom, yet writer Dan Abnett's strength in the chapter arises from the motivations of Mera and Orm. It also doesn't hurt to have such an empath as Lan Medina on board. Medina pays attention to the faces and reactions of the situation. Such organic detail facilitates the meaningful discussion.
Mera and Orm are both on the same page. Corum Rath needs to go. Both incidentally wouldn't mind shoving a trident up his ass. Orm was a King. Mera is the Queen of Atlantis. That sense of station caused the friction between them, but it also unites them in a common cause. They also harbor another similarity.
Mera broke free from her chains long ago even before she fell in love with Aquaman. The Xebelians are a patriarchal society. She would have have been subservient to the husband her father arranged for her. This barbarian saw the people as his pawns, and Mera always stood out as a defender of the innocent.
Orm now treads Mera's path. He found true love, and that love makes all the difference. Abnett contrasts the larger than life heroes and villains, kings and queens with the down to earth, mad as hell human single-mother Erin.
Orm and Mera recognize a sense of duty in each other. They try to explain "the call of Atlantis" to Erin, and she in turn offers a simple solution that satisfies duty. The obvious answer strikes as a punchline, and the repercussions travel like ripples as Orm hatches an even deeper idea that will benefit his and Mera's aims. At a cost.
Orm intends to shove his trident up usurper Corum Rath's ass and seize the throne. Surprisingly, this is not a course he chooses but sees as necessary. He's not the villain of the piece. Since the advent of the new 52, Orm never has been. Vulko duped Orm into becoming a reflection of his historical past. Orm's every action against the surface world in "The Throne of Atlantis" meant to protect his domain.
Orm does not bear malice to Mera nor to his brother Arthur. His current design simply must be carried out for the good of the realm and the dry land. Complications arise for Orm not just from the ailing Mera's badassery but also from the life that Orm forged for himself.
Last issue was pure fight and superpower mastery. This issue of Mera Queen of Atlantis is all about diplomacy and peerage.
Kings and queens once were seldom free. Marriage between royals existed as a means to ally nations, preclude war, and to maintain the integrity of the bloodline. In fact wedded bliss seldom affected any of these aspects. Secret and not so secret mistresses and lovers became the norm. So did bastard children. Nations broke treaties and went to war anyway.
As in real life, the actual bloodline of the royals is incidental to the fealty. Orm is a true Atlantean. Mera of another water-dwelling species known as the Xebel. Both remain dedicated to Atlantis and its people.
Some action can be found in Mera's reverie, but Mera is filled with a lot of sitting down and hashing things out. Such inertia normally would indicate boredom, yet writer Dan Abnett's strength in the chapter arises from the motivations of Mera and Orm. It also doesn't hurt to have such an empath as Lan Medina on board. Medina pays attention to the faces and reactions of the situation. Such organic detail facilitates the meaningful discussion.
Mera and Orm are both on the same page. Corum Rath needs to go. Both incidentally wouldn't mind shoving a trident up his ass. Orm was a King. Mera is the Queen of Atlantis. That sense of station caused the friction between them, but it also unites them in a common cause. They also harbor another similarity.
Mera broke free from her chains long ago even before she fell in love with Aquaman. The Xebelians are a patriarchal society. She would have have been subservient to the husband her father arranged for her. This barbarian saw the people as his pawns, and Mera always stood out as a defender of the innocent.
Orm now treads Mera's path. He found true love, and that love makes all the difference. Abnett contrasts the larger than life heroes and villains, kings and queens with the down to earth, mad as hell human single-mother Erin.
Orm and Mera recognize a sense of duty in each other. They try to explain "the call of Atlantis" to Erin, and she in turn offers a simple solution that satisfies duty. The obvious answer strikes as a punchline, and the repercussions travel like ripples as Orm hatches an even deeper idea that will benefit his and Mera's aims. At a cost.
Batgirl begins innocently enough for a crimefighting dare doll. Batgirl attempts to break up a nasty domestic dispute that involves a mad genius.
The simple altercation in fact is anything but. The story plays out as Hope Larson's greatest hits, and it's a clever means to retrace her steps on Batgirl. Savvy readers won't be fooled by the narrative, but even those suspecting trickery will admire how Larson attempts to hide the plot twists beneath harmless reacquaintance as well as superhero tropes.
The simple altercation in fact is anything but. The story plays out as Hope Larson's greatest hits, and it's a clever means to retrace her steps on Batgirl. Savvy readers won't be fooled by the narrative, but even those suspecting trickery will admire how Larson attempts to hide the plot twists beneath harmless reacquaintance as well as superhero tropes.
Another masterful Scooby-Doo Team-Up by Sholly Fisch and Dario Brizuela, by my reckoning one of the luckiest artists around. He gets paid to illustrate every character in the DCU and the Hanna-Barbara stable for Scooby-Doo Team-Up. He furthermore cashes a check for rendering these characters in quintessential form. His partner Fisch gets to write every hero in character. Surely if there's a heaven, Scooby-Doo Team-Up must be it.
Scooby-Doo Team-Up as you can see spotlights Supergirl and her mythology.
I always have been and always will be a Supergirl fan. So, I know a helluva lot from every era of Supergirl. Fisch explores each period with judicious streamlining. He also relies on readers like me to home in on the most reasonable conclusion explaining the ghosts of Argo City.
Brilliant Zor-El, brother to Jor-El, saved Argo City from Krypton's destruction. However, Kryptonite poisoning forced Zor-El and wife Alura to rocket Supergirl to safety. Argo did not die. Instead, the Kryptonians voted on a desperate save. To project themselves into a Phantom Zone like sector of space-time.
The Gang's brilliant deductions quickly eliminate the impossible. What then is the improbable? As Mystery Inc. investigate, Supergirl's cat Streaky shows up at a most fortuitous moment.
Supergirl's cat catalyzes more hound humor. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby take Streaky's temporary powers as a bonus mystery to solve. Perhaps it's all connected. In any case, Streaky's power source allows Shaggy and Scooby to become the detective stars, not just scared rabbits or bottomless stomachs.
The truth of the puzzle lies in the corrosive heart of one of Supergirl's Rogue's Gallery. The presence of the miscreant also creates an opportunity for some political commentary rooted in realism. This fair play mystery with such brilliant writing for Supergirl is another perfection in the growing number from Scooby-Doo Team-Up.
Scooby-Doo Team-Up as you can see spotlights Supergirl and her mythology.
I always have been and always will be a Supergirl fan. So, I know a helluva lot from every era of Supergirl. Fisch explores each period with judicious streamlining. He also relies on readers like me to home in on the most reasonable conclusion explaining the ghosts of Argo City.
Brilliant Zor-El, brother to Jor-El, saved Argo City from Krypton's destruction. However, Kryptonite poisoning forced Zor-El and wife Alura to rocket Supergirl to safety. Argo did not die. Instead, the Kryptonians voted on a desperate save. To project themselves into a Phantom Zone like sector of space-time.
The Gang's brilliant deductions quickly eliminate the impossible. What then is the improbable? As Mystery Inc. investigate, Supergirl's cat Streaky shows up at a most fortuitous moment.
Supergirl's cat catalyzes more hound humor. Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby take Streaky's temporary powers as a bonus mystery to solve. Perhaps it's all connected. In any case, Streaky's power source allows Shaggy and Scooby to become the detective stars, not just scared rabbits or bottomless stomachs.
The truth of the puzzle lies in the corrosive heart of one of Supergirl's Rogue's Gallery. The presence of the miscreant also creates an opportunity for some political commentary rooted in realism. This fair play mystery with such brilliant writing for Supergirl is another perfection in the growing number from Scooby-Doo Team-Up.
Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man borrowed a time machine to take he, his maybe sister Teresa Durand and J.Jonah Jameson to an alternate timeline where they can uncover vital information that will save their world from the Thinker and his alien cohorts. This task falls upon the shoulders of former secret agent Teresa Durand. She incidentally comes clean with her origins in this issue. So, this is a big deal.
As a side dish, Spidey takes his younger self under his wing and starts messing with this world's history for the better. The altruism bears unintended consequences.
Spidey writer Chip Zdarsky uses the bat-shit crazy Norman Osborne to demonstrate the recapitulation of history. He is utterly obsessed with throwing people off the George Washington Bridge, and there's no reason for it. He just gets his kicks this way. Zdarsky sagely reveals his insight through the trash-talking young Peter Parker. He becomes an instant fashion critic. His subject the Green Goblin. The story draws to a close on numerous uplifting notes that frame the credo: "with great power, comes great responsibility."
As a side dish, Spidey takes his younger self under his wing and starts messing with this world's history for the better. The altruism bears unintended consequences.
Spidey writer Chip Zdarsky uses the bat-shit crazy Norman Osborne to demonstrate the recapitulation of history. He is utterly obsessed with throwing people off the George Washington Bridge, and there's no reason for it. He just gets his kicks this way. Zdarsky sagely reveals his insight through the trash-talking young Peter Parker. He becomes an instant fashion critic. His subject the Green Goblin. The story draws to a close on numerous uplifting notes that frame the credo: "with great power, comes great responsibility."
Annuals are strange beasts. They can be self-contained, or add extra pages for a special chapter in a serialized story. The Titans Annual concludes Dan Abnett's tale in the ongoing title. The Brain and Monsieur Mallah strike out at their arch-enemies the Justice League using a weather controlling device straight out of hell.
The Brain's real goal is to increase his intelligence beyond the capacity of humanity. To facilitate his goals, he introduced a drug on the street dubbed Bliss. It's really a gateway drug. A literal gateway.
Titans Annual is the big dukeroo combined with multiple apologies to Roy Harper, who figured everything out when he accidentally fell atop on his former lover Cheshire. The Brain and Monsieur Mallah paid Cheshire to spread the drug on the streets. She also dosed Roy, a recovering addict.
There's not much to say about Titans Annual because though Abnett uses the book to strengthen the bonds between the heroes, he lets artist Tom Grummett and Tom Derenick to do most of the talking via explosive scenes of superheroes kicking the gears out of the Brain's robots.
When the smoke clears, the Titans reunite to kick Monsieur Mallah's furry butt, and the enhanced ape sees something in the Titans that makes him regret his actions. The Brain of course dismissed the Titans outright as mere children, but anybody who reads comics knows that when you underestimate your opponent, you end up with egg on your faceplate.
The Brain's real goal is to increase his intelligence beyond the capacity of humanity. To facilitate his goals, he introduced a drug on the street dubbed Bliss. It's really a gateway drug. A literal gateway.
Titans Annual is the big dukeroo combined with multiple apologies to Roy Harper, who figured everything out when he accidentally fell atop on his former lover Cheshire. The Brain and Monsieur Mallah paid Cheshire to spread the drug on the streets. She also dosed Roy, a recovering addict.
There's not much to say about Titans Annual because though Abnett uses the book to strengthen the bonds between the heroes, he lets artist Tom Grummett and Tom Derenick to do most of the talking via explosive scenes of superheroes kicking the gears out of the Brain's robots.
When the smoke clears, the Titans reunite to kick Monsieur Mallah's furry butt, and the enhanced ape sees something in the Titans that makes him regret his actions. The Brain of course dismissed the Titans outright as mere children, but anybody who reads comics knows that when you underestimate your opponent, you end up with egg on your faceplate.
Jupiter Jet at first flows the way you expect it. The Flying Girl takes on Praetor Pluto and his robot minions in the sky for a daring-do lesson in aeronautic acrobatics courtesy of artist Ben Matsuya.
The scenes are pure escapist fun, but writers Jason Inman and Ashley Victoria Robinson have one more unexpected twist for their faithful readers. It's a doozy. The value of the surprise derives from the fact that all the clues were blasting away on the pages from the very beginning.
The scenes are pure escapist fun, but writers Jason Inman and Ashley Victoria Robinson have one more unexpected twist for their faithful readers. It's a doozy. The value of the surprise derives from the fact that all the clues were blasting away on the pages from the very beginning.
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