about a month ago, I talked about the sad state of Marvel’s limited series, here’s the update
Skrull Kill Krew #2 (Marvel – Felber / Robinson)
The creepy spin-off of Secret Invasion continues with the Krew leader Ryder’s attempts to take down a faction of surviving scions of the original Skrulls that Reed Richards turned into cows. Unfortunately he’s got to deal with the fact that his team is dead first.
Let’s start off with the ugly first. This series is neither gritty nor creepy, it’s poorly written and non-linear. First off, you have upstarts re-writing Marvel canon – Joe, what are you doing letting them add and twist the classic early Fantastic Four lore??? On top of that, add bizarre story bits like people with submissive bents paying to being “cow” slaves in a skrull rodeo, an undercover Wolverine in a cow costume, racist talking heads (no body) and lesbians with “monster-fetishes”. What is being aimed at is the edgy Grant Morrison inspirational original – what you get is a very weak, sad imitation.
This one is off my list!
story: F art: C
click below for Fantastic Force and Dark Reign: Fantastic Four
Fantastic Force #2 (Marvel – Ahearne / Kurth)
He’s a descendant of the Hulk and the stepson of Wolverine—but now, Banner’s mother the Harpy has appeared from nowhere and is out to destroy the Fantastic Force! Alex Ultron, the 16th generation, has a shock when he realizes his brand new paradise is run on android slaves and telepath Natalie X finds out what’s really on Logan’s mind. Taking down the Harpy costs half of the Fantastic Force just as they face three of the most powerful women in history who are here to destroy Nu-World…and the new heroes who defend it!
Well, this is better than the Kill Krew, but to be honest, almost anything would be. This is a great premise, follow the Last Defenders as they forge a new world. Sounds great, especially for those of us that caught the Death of the Invisible Woman arc in FF. One big problem, it seems as if the Last Defenders have been powered down for this series. These guys killed Galactus, owned Dr. Doom and handed the Fantastic Four and friends their butts in like 1.3 seconds. And now they are stymied by industrial tycoons in mech suits? Really? And that’s not the only thing raising eyebrows here – A great big green hypnotic harpy? Really? robotic rights? Really? Phoenix, Scarlet Witch and Polaris show up at the end? Really? borderline bizzare, but still interesting enough to follow,
Story: C+ Art: A-
Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #3 (Marvel – Hickman / Chen / Ruggiero)
Forced to fight their way through time, Sue, Ben and Johnny have to defend the Holy Land in the Crusades, Conquer the Wild West and beat back the Nazis while Franklin and Val are busy back in the Baxter Building preparing for the arrival of Norman Osborn. All that, and the return of the Illuminati!
Dark Reign: FF is a good blend of classic and modern Fantastic Four, a “serious” comic that stays with the Dark Reign / Secret Invasion storyline and a splash humor. Reed is traveling on his Dimensional Bridge throughout the multiverse, trying to find the right combination of factors that will make out Earth right again – some of what he is finding is very disturbing. This side of the story is classic Fantastic Four with just a tad of Doctor Who / Sliders thrown in there. The other half is where you have Val and Franklin ready to defend the Baxter Building from the H.A.M.M.E.R. goons all cowboy style and as it turns out Reed’s Bridge is collapsing multiverses into each other causing historical chaos. Good writing, good art – a want for the FF or Dark Reign fan.
Story: B+ Art: B+
