Punishers, Moon Knights, and Daredevils Oh My!
By From the Booth-er: Ken
It’s no secret I’m a Marvel guy. But despite the fact that I think Marvel is the best of the major publishers (yes, with Image nipping at its tail), I’ve been underwhelmed so far this year. I really expected Sue Storm to die but it was *only* Johnny Storm and we never actually *saw* him die. Spider-Girl was canceled before we ever got a chance to know her. Most of Wolverine’s 30-odd ongoing series kinda stink. Bendis’s awesome Spider-Woman book was ended by issue #7. The Punisher became a lumbering Frankenstein monster. Daredevil was replaced by the Black Panther who will now become the American Panther. Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine took a left turn into the Mojoverse.
Don’t get me wrong, there was still a lot to love about Marvel. The X-Men foreshadowed a schism among their already shrinking numbers. The Age of X recalled memories of the Age of Apocalypse. Silver Surfer reminded me why I loved characters I had almost forgotten about. The Avengers stories have been largely excellent and now with Nick Spencer can only get better. Fear Itself shows promise. Spider-Man’s Brand New Day successfully rebooted the most popular and iconic figure in the universe without taking away anything from the character. All the major titles have talent to boot but the smaller books seemed to be all but forgotten.
Then all of a sudden, out of C2E2 there came awesome news. Moon Knight would have his own solo series helmed by Bendis, Punisher would be relaunched under Rucka and Daredevil would be in Waid’s capable hands. Even Ghost Rider was coming back under Rob Williams. All four characters could use a new beginning, and the creative teams all seem up to the task. Bendis taking on Moon Knight seems a stroke of genius by tagging the high profile writer to an underrated but nonetheless great character. Rucka’s work on Batman and Detective Comics should translate well to the dark character of the Punisher. Waid’s Irredeemable is a book I’ve been told I need to read but all I’ve heard about it has been positive. Williams wrote the Ghost Rider as he should be in the Shadowland one-shot and is mostly known for his work on 2000 AD (too bad Dr. Andy is lost in time, I’m sure he could tell me more about Williams. Maybe he’ll leave a comment if he can piece together a Commodore 64 from his blacksmithing gig).
Summer 2011 is definitely going to be a great time to be a Marvel fan. Be sure to update your pull list before you leave for summer vacation. I have a feeling that some of these #1s might be sold out by the time you get back from the beach.
Rob Williams rulz.
1337 Commodore skillz!!!!111