Marvel Comics’ spring starts to sizzle
Written by Jim Beard | | news@toledofreepress.comThe time-honored tradition of the spring/summer comic book “event” rears its — in this case — ugly head in the form of Marvel Comics’ evil Red Skull … who just happens to be the baddie in this July’s “Captain America” feature film.
“Last week we were not only treated to the opening shot of Marvel’s summer extravaganza, ‘Fear Itself,’ But also a solo adventure starring the Red Skull’s evil daughter Sin, in ‘Fear Itself: Book of the Skull’,” said Monarch Comics’ Ed Katschke. “Sin, face scarred in approximation of her father’s hideous visage, has decided to follow in the Skull’s footsteps and be an even larger symbol of terror and perversion. To achieve this end, she seeks access to one of her father’s old bases and a book bound in skin contained within. Sin’s tale is used as a framing device to reveal an untold tale of Captain America’s WWII mission to stop a horrendous Red Skull plot.
“Writer Ed Brubaker continues to impress with his solid grasp of plot and dialogue, and artistic collaborators Scot Eaton and Mark Morales do a great job at switching back and forth between the modern era and WWII. If this is any indication as to how good ‘Fear Itself’ is going to be, then I can’t wait for the mini-series to start in April!”
Still in a Marvelous mood for spring picks, Katschke also recommends what he calls “one of the best X-Men titles out on the racks,” “Uncanny X-Force.”
“‘Uncanny X-Force’ is a secret team of mutant vigilantes who have banded together under the leadership of X-mainstays Archangel and Wolverine to deal with threats to mutantkind in a somewhat more … permanent fashion. In “Uncanny X-Force” No. 5.1, the gang tackles the mutant-hating cyborg threat of the Reavers along with their leader, Lady Deathstrike. Teaming up to destroy a bevy of nearly-indestructible half-man, half-robots would be tricky enough, but team members Wolverine and Psylocke have long and personal histories with these miscreants and this issue deals in part on how difficult it is to separate necessary violence from bloody revenge. Writer Rick Remender and guest artist Rafael Albuquerque are equally good at setting the stage for mutant mayhem or philosophical debates.”
Tags: Captain America, Comics, Jim Beard, Monarch Cards and Comics, Red Skull, X-Men
