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The Weekly Pile February 18, 2009: Dark Avengers #2, Four Eyes #2, Uncanny X-Men #506

Feb 23, 2009 Comics, The Weekly Pile

Unlike last week’s disappointing entry, there are actually comic books in today’s Weekly Pile!  The pile this week includes a pair of #2 issues and a series that has made it all the way to issue #506.  Enough exposition; time for new comics!

Continue on for Reviews of:

Dark Avengers #2
Four Eyes #2
Uncanny X-Men #506

Dark Avengers #2
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mike Deodato

The 2nd issue of the this new (Dark) Avengers comic picks up where the initial issue left off.  Now that the new team has been introduced to the public, Norman lays down the law.  For real.  Osborne lets each and every member know that he is the one pulling the strings and that if any one of them steps out of line, they are done.  Done as Avengers.  Bendis does a brilliant job in this scene of portraying all the Dark Avengers’ feelings towards what Osborne is presenting to them.  It is not a case of a man speaking to a mass of non-descript people, but to a group of various individuals.  Each with a unique personality that is made evident through their conversation.  This issue is packed with the Bendis brand of snappy dialogue, especially during this section.

The story itself moves pretty quickly as the newly formed group are hurled into their first mission early on.  The surprising (Dr. Doom?) rescue mission turns ugly as the Sentry is let loose by Osborne and the results are truly shocking (at least for a few pages) as he does not hold back.  These actions culminate in a last page that serves as a sufficient cliffhanger until issue #3 hits the stands.

Quick bits I liked about the issue:

- “Kiddie Von Doom” dodging the bullet… er, sword.
- Ms. Marvel (Moonstone) asking who Wolverine (Daken) is.
- “Verily”.

 

Four Eyes #2
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Max Fiumara

A solid 2nd issue of an amazing new series.  It really is too bad that so much time has passed since the first issue was released.  Hopefully fans will remember enjoying part one of this story (as I did) and will remember to grab this follow up as it continues a unique story of dragon fighting during a time of great depression.  There are not a lot of comics like Four Eyes and it would be a shame to see it disappear due to lack of interest based on an erratic shipping schedule.

I found myself reading this issue quite quickly so that I could find out what was coming on the next page.  The dragon fights depicted throughout the high quality paper stock pages are something to see.  These battles are BRUTAL.  You can see every rip, tear, bite and gouge as the dragons literally fight for their lives against each other.  And Max, the adolescent main character of the book, cannot get enough after viewing if for the first time.  Max believes dragons to be the cause of his father’s death.  Therefore, he want sto see as many dragons die as possible.  This one-track mind thinking leads him to a face to face meeting with the man who can help him accomplish this goal.  A man who oversees the dragon fights and who formerly employed Max’s father.  Max needs a job from this man to see dragons die and he gets it.  The final page of this comic definitely suggests that Max may not have made the correct decision…

Quick bits I liked about the issue:

- The Dragon “Vet”.
- The back cover.
- “My eyes sting because I will not let them blink.”

 

Uncanny X-Men #506
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Terry Dodson

Colossus is an interesting character who never seems to get enough to do.  That’s why it’s so pleasing to see him get a piece of the spotlight during the current arc of Uncanny X-Men.  After the loss of Kitty Pryde in the pages of Astonishing X-Men, Peter has been searching for something and that search had taken him to Russia.  During his travels, he has gotten to release some serious aggression along the way and this issue is no different.  After threatening to break a thug’s jaw for spouting some morals-lacking comment, Colossus replies with “…I’m going to break it anyway” following only a moment of pondering.  And then he does…

Writer Matt Fraction crafts a beautiful exchange between Emma and Peter near the end of the book in which Emma explains that she likes to get her hands dirty in the field as well.  The point being that she can do more than read minds.  This leads to a last page heralding a Colossus and diamond-form Emma Team Up next issue!  I will most definitely be picking that up.

Quick bits I liked about the issue:

- Hank and the boys fighting giant crabs.
- Terry Dodson art.  He is a stellar X-Men artist.
- Was that Godzilla?…

 

The Pick of the Pile this week goes to Uncanny X-Men #506.  If for no other reason than the Emma and Colossus dynamic.  I could have read an entire comic with just the two X-Men enjoying a discussion over coffee.  Fraction understands these characters and we’re lucky that Marvel pegged him for the writing gig on this X-Men book.  Keep it up, Matt!

See you next week!

Tags: 2, 506, bendis, brian, dark avengers, deodato, dodson, fiumara, four eyes, fraction, image, joe, kelly, marvel, matt, max, michael, mike, pile, terry, uncanny xmen, weekly