N2YCBD: A-Force TPBK
Recently, I have been enjoying the “Last Avenger” story line that has been running throughout Captain Marvel. So much so that I have decided to take a walk into the past to find out more about the deus ex machina of the whole piece: Singularity. That means going back to a a couple of Marvel events; one that divided comic fans and one for which there wasn’t any real need. First up then we are heading to a war zone in A-Force’s first outing as part of the newer Secret Wars
A-Force: War Zone TPB
(W) Marguerite Bennett & G. Willow Wilson (A) Jorge Molina (I) Jorge Molina, Craig Yeung & Walden Young Wong (C) Laura Martin with Matt Milla (#1) (L) VC’s Cory Petit
The place is a little island called Arcadia, part of the mismatched Battleworld. As part of Secret Wars, continuity is thrown out of the window in an effort to piece together an all female team of Avengers. The main cast features She-Hulk, Captain Marvel, Medusa, Dazzler, Loki, Nina Minou and a yet to be identified individual who will become something of a focal point for the team. When a megladon attacks the island, the quick actions of Chavez America, whilst saving a number of people, breaks one of the fundamental laws of Lord Doom. This threatens to break up the team, before they realise that there is something worse than a thundering of Thors to be concerned about.
The collected issues are written by Marguerite Bennett & G. Willow Wilson, the former at the time enjoying critical success with InseXts from AfterShock Comics and the latter working wonders on the all-new Ms. Marvel. Between the pair, strong characterisations are key. The all female cast works well, with friction and angst being driven by Medusa. She-Hulk is probably one of the stars of the show, as the pair move away from the all powerful Captain Marvel. This then is the small fly in the ointment in proceedings; With so many powerful characters on show,even in odd panels including ladies such as Storm, Phoenix Jean Gre, shouldn’t things have been easier to deal with? As I say, this is a small thing that, truth be told, only hit me after reading the book, so it be no means detracts from the fun and energy of the book.
Art is provided by Jorge Molina, who goes for a simple line style of art that looks to create a level of dynamism. In large parts, this works well, especially in the crowded fight scene in the final issue of the collection. The art, at times,has a lack of details allowing Craig Yeung and Walden Young to embellish where needed, though the lack of details can hinder some of the faces, leading to inconsistencies. The colors by Laura Martin and Matt Milla (the latter on the first issue only), go some way to further maintain the energy level, whilst also giving some clues early on as to the real enemy of the piece. Finally, Cory Petit gets to have fun with fonts as you would expect when there are Thors involved.
This is fun read, that shows the strength of the Battleworld idea, whilst not dealing with the main story.
Overall – 4 Stars
A-Force: Hypertime TPB
(W) G. Willow Wilson & Kelly Thompson (A) Jorge Molina and Victor Ibanez   (C) Laura Martin (#1-#2, #4) and Matt Milla (#3) (L) VC’s Cory Petit
Never ones to let the end of a universe stop them selling comic books, Marvel brougth back A-Force, in this collection featuring issues #0 and #1-#4. An energy surge brings the “boss of space”, Captain Marvel, out of her Alpha Flight space station. Of course, this being the opening gambit of the book, she gets her ass handed to her. During this time we are re-introduced to Singularity who not only managed to survive the destruction of Battleworld, but she also remembers A-Force! Unfortunately, this universe is far from her own and she finds her friends are as disparate as you could get. Still, where there is powerful pocket universe capable of teleportation herself and others around the world, there is way and it’s not too long before the gang is back in action once more. This time however, to save the world, the team may lose one of their own.
With the addition of Kelly Thompson, Captain Marvel becomes more of leader in this series and as such, this trade collections feels more like the type of thing you would expect from a superhero team. She-Hulk is kind of set as comedic relief, which works well especially with Medusa who probably is the most consistent from the previous book. Singularity becomes the reason why the team reform(?) in a similar way that Raven was the reason the New Teen Titans started. Other parallels are less so obvious, it depends how much of the benefit of doubt you want to give the writers. The interactions between the cast make this book work; it can’t be the pacing. After all, the group try the same approach several times before coming up with a plan that has unforeseen ramifications.
The art pretty much works as it did previously, though this time around Molina inks his own work. The result actually detracts from the movement of the characters, though on the flip side, it does create stronger profiles in quite a few panels. There is nothing overly distracting, with the exception of the panel where a number of characters are talking and it seems they all have their eyes closed? Martin are Milla are again top form, though early doors the book is quite dark. With a character like Singularity around, they both get a chance to explore a number of dimensional aspects. Petit delivers on letters, his work with the Antimattter character looks great. However, I did read this as James Spader from Age of Ultron.
Another good read. Singularity is the sort of character that you people will either lover or hate, which may either increase or decrease your enjoyment of this trade.
Overall – 4 Stars
A-Force: Rage Against the Dying of the Light TPB
(W) Kelly Thompson (A) Ben Caldwell (#5-7), Paulo Siqueira (#8-#10) and Joe Bennett (#10) (I) Scott Hanna (#6, #7) (C) Ian Herring (#5-#7) and Rochelle Rosenberg (#8-#10)(L) VC’s Cory Petit
This book sees Kelly Thompson becoming the main writer. With that comes a change of pace in form and structure. Following the demise of Antimatter, the saving of Singularity means that there are tears in the fabric of reality, through which great dangers and evil lurks. Luckily, Singularity can sense these and before you can say “stop beaming everyone without permission”, we are at the battle between the Countess and a Dazzler Thor, who for the rest of the review I will call DazzlThor! With the apparent beating of the Countess, a night of ale, food and possibly pie leads the team to awaken in jail, without their powers and Nico turned to the dark side by a now rejuvenated in female form, Countess,
Whilst the relationships within the team are still layered with fractures and fissures, with Thompson now the sole writer, the book becomes even more Carol-centric as she becomes the leader. With that in mind, Thompson does well to give us a nuanced DazzlThor, replete with all the Agardian trappings that you would come to expect. For all the hope that the inclusion of Singularity can bring to the story, it is the relationship between the Ali’s that makes the story work. The second half of the book is tied into the awful Civil War II story line. This means, that there is exposition to wade through, spoiling the normal flow of the banter. Thompson somehow undermines Carol’s thought process and reaction to this “war” as it becomes clear that knowing the future is nothing, if you do not know the context! There are some great character moments; Medusa and Ali’s conversation about loss,the impact and fault of the Terrigen Mist is easily the peach of the story. I do wonder if Thompson has a problem with She-Hulk; in the first half Jen is reverted to “Hulk Smash” and then in the second half, she is comatose following a battle with Thanos.
The art for the first half of the book is by Ben Caldwell who gives the book a somewhat “Batgirl-ed” effect. Remember, this was beck when Batgirl of Burnside first appeared, courtesy of Babs Tarr and there was a push to go the same way for a number of characters. This is certainly not my favourite style at all. I still have a gap in my Batgirl collection thanks to this style! However, Cadlwell’s styles fits the flights of whimsy that occur within this book. Maybe Scott Hanna was brought in to make this half look more like the standard expectations for an Avengers (in everything but name) book. The second half of the book is the standard super-heroic fare with Paulo Siqueira providing strong panels, filled with strong poses and action, albeit with a touch of Adam Hughes thrown in for good measure. Certain additional character work well within the “monster of the month” settings. Joe Bennett helps out on the final issue, presumably using this as his resume for taking the Hulk through his more recent nightmarish stories. Colorists Ian Herring and Rochelle Rosenberg are as different as Caldwell, Siqueria and Bennett yet both meet the need for the story; Herring using a paler scheme with Rosenberg’s dark scheme alluding to the slippery ethical slope that was Civil War II. Mr Consistent, Cory Petit, again delivers fonts that are easily read, whilst battling the ever moving panels structures.
Not my favourite volume. At times it fells like the way is lost. This isn’t helped by the chaotic nature of the first half of the book and the tie-in that is only required thanks to the book featuring Captain Marvel.
Overall – 3.5 Stars
So there you go. A N2yCB that features a raft of fan favourite characters, that you may have missed the first time around, in the then Marvel event laden recent years!
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Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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