All-New Wolverine #8 - A Review

Laura Kinney (AKA Wolverine) is trying to establish a normal life her "sister" (i.e. younger clone) Gabby. Well, as normal as can be managed when you're raising your younger clone in Manhattan, you have a pet wolverine and you work as a freelance problem-solver whom the director of SHIELD has on speed-dial. So it is that Maria Hill has interrupted Laura's attempts to expose Gabby to the wonders of Chinese take-out so that Wolverine can sniff out some trouble. Literally.

Thankfully, despite the big THE ROAD TO CIVIL WAR II banner on the cover of this book, this issue is surprisingly free of pesky tie-ins to bloated crossovers I care nothing about. Tom Taylor keeps the focus firmly on Laura and Gabby, whose interactions are both cute and hysterical as they cope with the general insanity that dealing with SHIELD tends to require. While not as over the top as series like Howard The Duck or The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Tom Taylor still delivers comedy on the sly amid the excellent action sequences one expects in a Wolverine book.

Artist Marcio Takara proves capable of matching the manic pace of Taylor's scripts. There is a sense of dynamic action to Takara's work, with the characters always seemingly in motion. The color art by Jordan Boyd also matches this sense of high-energy.

Ant-Man The Movie - A Spoiler-Free Review

Visually, Ant-Man is an amazing film. There are a number of stunning shots taken from the perspective of an ant-size man throughout the feature that are unlike anything ever before seen on the big screen. It's clear the filmmakers poured over the artwork of Jack Kirby, drawing inspiration - if not replicating specific scenes - from the original Ant Man stories in Tales To Astonish.

At the same time, the story is as trite as the visuals are uncommon, following all of the usual cliches. The villain is a lunatic with no motivation beyond being crazy and greedy. There's a grizzled mentor who sees the would-be hero as his last hope to make good on his own mistakes. And there's a dismissive, hyper-competent love-interest who whips our protagonist into shape, despite being far better suited to be the hero herself.

That being said, two things manage to save the movie despite the formulaic story and a few minor plot-holes. The first of these is an amazing ensemble cast, who make the material work in spite of itself. The other is the moments where the movie breaks the standard Hero's Journey rules to create something uniquely fun. Like the movie being just as much a heist picture as it is a superhero movie.


It's also worth noting that this movie may be the smartest film Marvel Studios has ever made and not just because of all the information about various species of ants and how they might be useful in a fight! This movie takes the trouble to explain why Dr. Hank Pym doesn't just call The Avengers or SHIELD for help regarding the main conflict. And just why Dr Pym chose to give his Ant-Man suit to ex-con Scott Lang in the first place.

Speaking of explanations, I will say that for those fans annoyed at The Wasp not being included in this film... well, trust me, you'll want to see this movie.  And everyone should be sure to stick around for the credits. All the credits. There's two hidden scenes this time and the final one is a preview of what's to come in the next Marvel movie.

Bottom Line: Ant-Man is a fun movie and a worthy addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's not without its little flaws but it's a good movie if one looks at the big picture.

Avengers: Age of Ultron - A Spoiler-Free Review

When the first Avengers movie came out three years ago, I was in the midst of a boycott of all things Marvel following Spider-Man: One More Day. I relented only because of my love of Joss Whedon's writing.  Afterward, I agreed to limit my boycott to Spider-Man related materials, since it wasn't fair for me to punish myself by avoiding the works of creators I liked in the name of proving a point against a single publisher.

I mention this because the thing that astonished me most about The Avengers was how accessible it was. Despite my not having seen Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger or anything after the first Iron Man movie, I was still able to follow the plot without any issues.  Whedon took care to introduce all the players and relate all the information we needed quickly and subtly.



Age of Ultron doesn't manage the same feat. How can it?! At this point, The Marvel Cinematic Universe is fast becoming as complex as the comic books that inspired it and to miss one movie is to lose a piece of the puzzle. In this respect, it is a weaker film than its predecessor because it cannot stand on its own merits.

That being said, it does have a lot of merits and the good far outweighs the bad.  In fact, I'd say it does improve upon the first film in one respect by giving Hawkeye and Black Widow some much needed definition. Ironically, the newer heroes don't get that much development in comparison but that may be rectified by the longer director's-cut that has already been promised for the Blu-Ray release.

This is a Joss Whedon movie, so you should all know what to expect: witty dialogue and lots of humor amidst the action. Unfortunately, a lot of the best moments have already been spoiled by the trailers but there are some good moments that aren't. One of these involves the greatest Stan Lee cameo yet and I shan't say a word beyond that.

Well, I will say one thing.  There is a mid-credits scene to wait around for.  There isn't anything at the end of the credits, apart from a note that The Avengers Will Return.

In the end, the best thing I can say about Age of Ultron is this. I had a royally bad day before I went into the movie theater.  Two hours later, I had forgotten my troubles. And once I remembered them on the drive home they didn't seem quite so worrisome.

This movie lightened my heart at a time when I needed a pick me up. And when you get right down to it, isn't that the mark of all good escapist fiction? I think it is.  And Age of Ultron is very good escapist fiction.