Two issues that finish multi-part stories, one of them for good. Both on the stands today.
Whad’ja think?
PAD
71 comments on “WHAD’JA THINK? CAPTAIN MARVEL #6, YOUNG JUSTICE #55”
Sorry, I have to agree with those who disliked CM#6. I’m a new CM reader, jumping on board with the first issue of the relaunch. Every other issue has blown me away, got me excited about where things were going next. I knew we were building to something big… I just expected we would actually see it.
I see what PAD is saying about the theme of the story arc, and that there is no need to show Marv destroying the universe because it is really about what happens next. On the other hand, how is this different than the Buffy episode this season where we leave the SITs about to fight it out with a vamp and then cut to them later talking about the battle? Like PAD said himself after that episode came out: don’t tell us about it, show it.
I left #5 wondering how in the world Rick was going to make good on his threat to kill Marv and save the universe. Cutting to the aftermath and hearing about how he tried but failed was very unsatisfying.
All of this aside, I’m glad it didn’t end with Marv suddenly becoming insane because I think he’s been a fascinating character throughout the first 5 issues of the series. I’m looking forward to #7 and where things go from here.
On YJ, seeing some of the themes and character goals that PAD has been driving toward all these months suddenly brought into (of necessity too hasty) focus made me rue even more the cancellation of this book. While I’m not planning on boycotting anything, I suspect any TT book will pale in comparison to this, and not stay on my subscription list for long.
On CM#6, I didn’t find the “suddenly the action leaps forward” bits distracting. I thought the story, the characters, the art, the overall package was quite satisfying — for this particular incarnation of the title.
That said, I still prefer PAD’s work on the pre-this-volume CM.
yeah, i was kinda bummed about issue #6 of CM too. i think it was too impersonal and abstract for me (which makes sense since most of it took place in an empty void of nothingness). #2-4 really grabbed me as we started to really see how ruthless and cold CM was becoming. all these really intense moments snowballing: like when he killed his father’s trainer and when we learned that his mistress is pregnant and when he committed suicide and when he smashed his own father into mush…issue 6 just left me dissatisfied. no super smart-ášš lines either which i always look forward to in a PAD comic. maybe it’s just me. i certainly can’t think of a way to have written it to top the tension that was forming in issues 1-5…maybe alot of it had to do with the fact that crisscross wasn’t illustrating. his own approach to the storytelling may have changed things. i’m sorry to see him go. he was brilliant at the humor scenes. his facial expressions and hand gestures told so much. anyway, PAD, i really enjoy your work and i’m sad to see your DC titles çráppìņg the bed. supergirl was great. i’ll be sticking around with CM till the end. thanks for your time and efforts.
>>maybe alot of it had to do with the fact that crisscross wasn’t illustrating. his own approach to the storytelling may have changed things.<<
I hate to say it, but yeah, I very much agree. Having worked with Cross for two years, I’ve come to know what he’s best at, and had been designing much of the entire story arc to play to his strengths. Issue #6, particularly so, his strengths being nuance, gesture, conversation, subtle bits of visual timing. Slam bang action and expansive backgrounds, he’s not as strong, so I tried to minimize it. That’s why the “fight” in #5 was such a one-sided slaughter; I knew that Cross could carry that off with no trouble. Otherwise, #5–which everyone loved–was pretty much just people standing around and talking. And #6 was pitched right in his wheelhouse…except we had a sudden change of batter that I wasn’t expecting. The fill-in artist, while perfectly capable, wasn’t a visual match for what I wanted to do in the story, and I think it hurt.
PAD
Like everyone else I loved YJ and will miss it. This final issue was a excellent ending to a fine series. My only problem has been with Slobo. I never liked the Lobo character in the regular series and really found him out of character in YJ. What Peter did with him was very enjoyable but not understandable (character wise). Still I liked the way it ended. I hope that Supergirl ends as well.
Captain Marvel was interesting and just a bit predictable. I really thought the Peter would come up with something more unusual. However it won’t put me off of reading more issues.
Soulsearchers is still going strong and if anyone is not reading it I recommend you give it a try. There are not many of Peters fine titles left and you shouldn’t miss any of them.
I enjoyed YJ #55. It’s a shame it has ended. You could tell that PAD originally intended this story to take place over at least five more issues, but had to cut it short due to the cancellation. Tis a shame, would have liked to have seen how it would have originally played out. I really liked the YJ One Million moment at the end. Young Justice will live on.
And I haven’t gotten my hands on my brother’s issue of Captain Marvel yet…
I’d just like to swim against the flow and say how much I enjoyed Captain Marvel 6. I didn’t mind the leap forward, simply because we’ve all seen enough battles to save/destroy the Universe in Infinity Pyjamas and the like. The personal impact in this story was so much greater. I’ve never seen Rick simmering with so much hate, resentment and helplessness before.
And the ending. Wow. Just when I was expecting the “reset” button, with Genis back on an even keel, having learnt from his experiences, Mr David hits us with an unexpected ending. I can’t wait to see where this story goes next.
It is sad to see YJ go. That series has consitancely sp? been good. I really enjoyed that series and am very very sad to see it go. I thought that the series ended on a nice touch with the Secret thing. (not going to spoil it for people that haven’t read it yet) And for Captian Marvel that title has been one of my Favorites since issue 0 and I really hope that you continue to do GREAT things with that title. later
I’ll miss YJ. No doubt about it. I don’t agree with the decision to end it and I it’s been very clear to me that Marvel and DC are playing games with your “comic” writing career in the Big 2.
To me, YJ ended with a “well, okay if you say so” type conclusion. Slo-Bo/Lobo-Lite/Lil-Lobo went out with a bang taking on the baddest of the bad. That was appreciated. The Red Tornado gets the funniest/coolest line in the end as he did when YJ started. We finally see the Cass and Kon heartache issue settled. See, I’m surprised Dark Secret even listened to Tim. She wasn’t all to eager before and she was madder this issue than ever before. I assume the honesty and lack of any costume (to show her the real Tim) was a shock to her. Empress and The Ray were backgrounded in the last YJ group photo was a little symbolic. Too bad Empress and Slo-Bo couldn’t have gotten together. I really liked what you did with Lobo. Best characterization he’s ever had, period.
Again, I’m sorry to see YJ go.
As far as Captain Marvel #6 goes, I’m glad you went the route you did by leaving the battle out between issues. This does put him on a level of insanity that would make Thanos say “Son, you need some help.” It’s just so strange to see Marv like this. How can he recover from this and still have his sould intact? Heck, Rick is so screwed. I’m surprised he hasn’t gone insane yet. He’s the real Banner now. His alter-ego truly is a monster. You’ve made this work Pad. Great book. I don’t see somebody coming along and making this work for me as well as you did.
Many words on the resolution of the Captain Marvel six-parter. (I hope it doesn’t seem long-winded. The attempt is to give some detailed criticism, as I presume one would find that more constructive than a brief “Way to go!” or “That sucked.”)
As a preface, I’ll note that I’m one of those fans who liked the comic book before the re-launch. I liked the fact that it was long on humor and short on Starlin-esque cosmic-ness. As for the complaints that the series focused too much on Rick and not enough on the title character… I know I’m not the only one who thought that a better solution was not to focus more on Marv, but to simply change the comic book’s title to “Rick Jones.” (I’d still support that move, by the way. Ditch Genis and let’s have a PAD-scripted comedy book about the adventures of a Rick who isn’t shackled by Nega-Bands to a bland Fabian Nicieza creation. However, I deviate.)
I stuck with the “new” CM because 1.) the new computerized art was pretty fresh-looking, and 2.) I admired PAD’s attempts to “give the people what they want” even though it was the opposite of what I personally wanted. So, I stuck it out. I thought the first issue was reasonably exciting, and it had one great scene (the bit with the “fanatic” on the bus and the mother). The death of the Divine Inaugurator of the Age of Miracles struck me as really heavy-handed, but it made its point.
Issues 2 and 3 didn’t move me all that much; the problem I have with Marv still persisted, which is that he has a generic personality. It seemed to be one of PAD’s stock characterizations: the somewhat-witty-and-condescending-psycho — without much to distinguish him.
Issue 4 was the first since the re-launch that really made me go, “Wow.” Though it began dubiously, with a painfully forced woman/guitar analogy, it quickly became fascinating. Rick was no longer stuck in a cave– he’s suddenly the Microverse’s answer to Elvis. I thought that was great! Fascinating questions were brought up: Who’s Epiphany? What’s her interest in Rick? Meanwhile, we suddenly had a Genis whose dialogue had been divested of irony and sarcasm (extremely rare for a PAD character). No more “Am I a hero? You mean in the sandwich sense?” No more, “I’m not forcing you to do this… oh wait, come to think of it, yes I am.” That stuff just wasn’t working for me at all. Instead, we had a Genis who didn’t make jokes, wasn’t condescending, wasn’t speaking in self-conscious ironies. He genuinely seemed to have become more disciplined in the month between 3 and 4, as was his goal, and that was *great.* He always obeyed orders, never lied, and when he was ordered to kill his girlfriend at the end, he didn’t try and trick his way out via verbal ambiguity, but instead made a point of clearing up said ambiguity so that he was certain to follow the order correctly. Again, great! So when he disobyed the order, it was truly a surprise, both to the audience and to him. Thus we got more questions: Is Genis in love with this woman? And if so, did he just realize it in this moment? And is it all moot, now that he’s just killed himself (!) ?
In short, I liked issue 4 a lot. Sadly, issue 5 brought back the things I wasn’t too keen on. Genis digs his way out of the grave after having been “dead” for a month. His first words? “Well, THIS is annoying.” Sigh. We’re back to the ironic, witty, sarcastic psycho. When Genis launched into his umpteenth speech about how much he hates his life and how hard it is living up to Mar Vell’s name, I was already out of it. Meanwhile, however, Rick’s half of the mystery was getting more intriguing. We still don’t know Epiphany’s agenda, but we do know she’s connected to the now-revealed villain of the piece. And we learn that said villain, Entropy, wants to use Genis to destroy the universe. And Rick has vowed to stop him. All right, we’re set for an exciting climax.
On to issue 6. So, here’s what I liked: Beginning the chapter in the aftermath of the battle. I note some people on the board didn’t like that. I’ve seen PAD’s reply. I agree with his assertion that we’ve seen big, apocalyptic battles before and that it wasn’t necessary. And that, indeed, to begin this chapter with the battle already having taken place bucked expectations completely, and for that reason alone it was great. I also enjoyed that the resolution in which Entropy becomes Eternity was almost belabored until Genis interrupted with, “We get it, already!” (I know, I said I wasn’t a fan of the sarcastic Genis, but in this case he spoke for the reader, and prevented things from getting too heavy-handed, and so I found it forgivable.) The final few pages had me nervous… I kept thinking about the recent discussion here of the facile conclusion to the first Superman film — sparked by the addition to the BID archives of PAD’s review — and was like, “Well, dámņ it, PAD’s doing the same thing. Genis gets to go back and make it all better? Seems a little trite…” Thus, I was happily thrown for a loop when it turned out that Genis’ new decisions led to the exact same conclusion as they did in issue 1. It reminded me of one of my favorite moments from the sitcom “Scrubs,” in which the lead character says something really tactless to another character and immediately wishes he could turn back time so he could do things differently. Magically, he’s allowed to do so, so he turns time back a few minutes, back to the point where he originally said something stupid… and he says the exact same thing the second time. I loved that; I love that theme: we are who we are, and given the chance to be someone else, we’d probably still just be who we are. That’s (partly) what those final pages of CM #6 conveyed to me, and I wasn’t expecting it. It was ironic, surprising, thematically appropriate… overall, it gave a nice sense of closure to the arc. Plus, the bit about the age following the “Age of Miracles” relieved — in my mind — the aforementioned heavy-handedness of the original bit from issue 1.
And after PAD has turned everying on its ear, what does he do on the very last page? Turns things on their *other* ear! Genis morphs back into his Kree army outfit while laughing maniacally, and the reader is left asking, “What the hëll just happened?” Which was great. The reader now has no way of knowing what’s going on, and is left wondering until issue 7. Definitely a great cliffhanger.
What I didn’t like: Okay, yes, for the most part, showing the apocalyptic battle wasn’t necessary, except for one little glitch that I perceive in the plot mechanics… which is, why did Entropy need or want Captain Marvel to help him undo the universe? Is it simply that Entropy felt a kinship with Marvel because they both resent their fathers, and they both hate the universe? Maybe, but still… what could Genis really contribute to Entropy’s mission? This wasn’t really all that clear, and yet it was important, because the whole plot hinged on the fact that Entropy was messing with Marvel’s mind because he needed — or at least wanted — his help. And since we didn’t see the big, apocalyptic battle, we still don’t know what Genis did, or how he helped. I see the same problem with the Epiphany plot thread. It’s implied in issue 3 that Entropy would have killed Rick, but Epiphany for some reason wanted him alive. Again, why? Was it because she found him attractive? Possible, but again… we don’t know. Epiphany’s agenda was a big part of the mystery, in my mind, and a major part of what made this arc compelling. But at the end, we learned nothing about what she wants. It wasn’t really made clear even how she feels about Entropy.
So, that part, I didn’t like. Of course, if Epiphany is not gone after issue 6, but instead now a regular member of the comic’s cast, then the fact that we still don’t understand her is actually a plus. However, as it is, judging these six issues as a standalone story, while the whole father/son theme was ably concluded (parts of it anyway) and the “Genis-goes-insane” thing — though left unresolved — hit a definite benchmark, the motivations of Epiphany and Entropy — vis a vis their respective interest in Rick and Genis — stick out as big questions left unanswered at the conclusion.
The other major untied loose end is Genis’ pregnant lover, whom he cared enough for that, when ordered to kill her, he killed himself instead. Again, if this is meant to be fodder for later issues, that’s cool. But for me, the fact that this thread was abandoned after issue 4 was another thing contributing to issue 6 feeling less “conclusive” than it probably should have.
So, to sum up. CM 6 is a good issue on its own. As a conclusion to a lot of the father/son stuff… great. As a progression of the “Genis is insane” plot… fabulous.
As the tying off of all the plot threads introduced in 1-5? Less than satisfying. But it succeeded in getting me psyched for upcoming issues, wherein presumably these threads will be picked up again.
I’m sorry to say that I was disappointed by CM#6. It seemed like one big pointless use of the reset button. I kinda figured there would be some of that, since Genis couldn’t stay dead after offing himself, and couldn’t stay a psychotic bad guy, but this seemed so arbitrary. The succession of a new Eternity was somewhat interesting, as did the way it played into the Father/Son theme, and the idea that there is no easy answer for Genis regarding whether to save the Messiah or whatever was good, but sticking CM back where he was in his Kree uniform and cackling dementedly seemed like “Oh, here we go all over again.” I also agree with Anthony that finding out HOW Entropy and Genis killed Eternity was something we should’ve seen on-panel, but didn’t.
And how could Genis kill Eternity if Genis himself is a part of the multiverse? Shouldn’t Eternity have been able to stop him? And along the same lines, for that matter, why is Entropy “beyond” the cosmos, as he tells him at the end of #5?
I have to say that Captain Marvel #6 is by far one of the most enjoyable comics I have read in a long, long time. Everyone seems to say that “the end of everything” should be on panel. To what I say… uh… seen it. What else can you do excately without repeating everything?
I really, really enjoyed the father/son dynamnic of the series so far. It was about time it was addressed! And an ending to die for… not everything is okay in the end. Too often a radical charecter trait is written off by the end of the current storyline… as if it never existed in the first place. It is refreshing to see that this has not happened here, and I am amazed that the editors let Peter do it in the first place.
Overall.. it is the one the few bright spots in Marvel right now. Cetainly better then Marville and Ultimate Adventures.
So Peter, what do you get for winning the contest?
>>Overall.. it is the one the few bright spots in Marvel right now. Cetainly better then Marville and Ultimate Adventures.
So Peter, what do you get for winning the contest?<<
A price increase, a trashed reputation, and very likely a canceled title.
PAD
By “trashed reputation” do you mean professional reputation at Marvel, rather than reputation with the readers? I don’t think that the whole fiasco has done much to alienate us readers…
I just read Captain Marvel #6 recently and it was my first Captain Marvel issue!
I’ve been meaning to check the series out for awhile now, but didn’t have the chance till now.
I saw the #6 at my local comic shop & decided to get it.
And WOW. Great issue! Thanks to the re-cap at the beginning I was not lost at all! I read the re-cap and then dived in.
And it was great! I really enjoyed the issue. From start to finish, the book was very interesting, complex, funny, and it had a twist at the end: And I love twists at the end!
So will I be back? I’m sure going to try! I definitly want to know what will happen next.
Oh and as soon as I can I’ll go back issue hunting for CM.
So, looks like you have another new reader. 🙂
DF2506
The problem with Captain Marvel is it is lacking relationships. It starts with them but then we get the whole ‘a month passes’ thing and we don’t see any of the stuff that makes a good story. The characters developing. So… okay the plot was a high brow plot and Peter gets points for pulling that off but in doing so he sacrificed the flow that gives the comic medium its life. Even the main duo isn’t doing a lot of interacting. So what we’re getting is Genis interacting with throw away characters that we never get to know or care about while Rick does the same.
And I wanted to care about the side characters but I wasn’t given any reason to do so.
And now we have a “everything is back to square one” and I’m hoping that Bill Murray will do something entertaining this time around because I definitely feel cheated with the first six.
Head and shoulders above anything else in the U-decide debacle but still a disappointment.
I’m afraid that I didn’t like CM 6. Not showing the fights was fine – the dialogue and character interaction is what I like about the book. Unfortunately, I feel that the storyline has veered dramatically away from characters I’m interested in. Genis doesn’t seem like a character to me anymore, just a plot device. An insane Genis just doesn’t have the charm that he did before, so I’m not as jazzed about reading about him.
I also really dislike the “Universe is destroyed and restored exactly the same” being played out in the Marvel Universe. The first time I encountered the idea was in Steve Engelhart’s Dr. Strange series. I enjoyed it then, but it was the first time I encountered the idea and I was 11. In a series that wasn’t tied to Marvel continuity, I might appreciate its thematic value more – here it just struck me as empty hyperbole.
OK, things I did like — you tried something different. That’s cool. The story was “heavy,” which is needed every now and then to underscore the humor (and vice versa of course, which many comic writers don’t seem to understand). I’ll be picking up future issues to see how (if?) you’ll redeem Genis and make him likeable again.
When I ask for that, by the way, I’m not asking for everything to magically go away. Lasting change due to these events is definitely needed, but I do want a character I can relate to again.
Thanks for the chance to comment.
Great job with YJ! I didn’t see the resolution coming at all. I’m glad to see closure with many of the characters that most likely will not be featured in any DC titles for the forseeable future. I shall greatly miss this book as it was one of my favorites.
Captain Marvel was also an excellent issue but I was really confused at first. For about half of the issue I thought I had forgotten to read #5 since I didn’t recall any of the events they were talking about. So, the beginning of the issue didn’t really work well for me since it felt like you had skipped part of the story and we had to play catch up. However, I loved the ending and I thought that if that had been the last issue because of the contest, it would have gone out with a bang.
Peter:
Since the disengagement of “week-to-week” and “book to book” continuity over in the Superman titles, the last three issues of Joe Casey’s ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN have been excellent.
We’ve had # 612’s “Superman vs. the Golden Age Superman”, # 613’s “Funky Flashman’s Super-merchandising blitz”, and # 614’s “1950s era Heroville”. All this, while advancing the ongoing subplot of the mysterious HOLLOW MEN.
So, what’s all this got to do with YOUNG JUSTICE? Well, one of the Hollow Men’s victims in # 614 was THE RAY — mere days after YOUNG JUSTICE # 55.
Geez, Peter… they didn’t even let the book “go cold” before commiting attrocities to its characters. Oh well, that’s comics in the 21st century!
Joe Torcivia.
Write more Buzz…
Write more Snapper…
PAD on TMNT? I love Laird’s work, but PAD TMNT would so rule… but putting on him on one based on the new cartoon series is iffy. I like the cartoon, but if you’re going to get on of the best writers in comics you might as well put him on the canon book. Put him on the hopeful volume two of Tales of the TMNT.
Lastly, is the JLA destined to stay pìššëd at Snapper? Doesn’t the guy deserve a break. In the end, his judgement call turned out better than Tornado’s.
I went to the comic shop and picked up Captain Marvel 1, 3, 4, & 5 today (the shop didn’t have #2 but they are ordering it for me).
I went ahead and read the issues (even though I’m missing that one issue) and I thought they were all great.
From the amazing-never-know-what’ll happen next storyline, to the great artwork, to the awesome covers: it was all great.
These issues really make me want to go back and read some of the last volume. I would like to see how Captain Marvel was when he was sane! lol!
• 
Sorry, I have to agree with those who disliked CM#6. I’m a new CM reader, jumping on board with the first issue of the relaunch. Every other issue has blown me away, got me excited about where things were going next. I knew we were building to something big… I just expected we would actually see it.
I see what PAD is saying about the theme of the story arc, and that there is no need to show Marv destroying the universe because it is really about what happens next. On the other hand, how is this different than the Buffy episode this season where we leave the SITs about to fight it out with a vamp and then cut to them later talking about the battle? Like PAD said himself after that episode came out: don’t tell us about it, show it.
I left #5 wondering how in the world Rick was going to make good on his threat to kill Marv and save the universe. Cutting to the aftermath and hearing about how he tried but failed was very unsatisfying.
All of this aside, I’m glad it didn’t end with Marv suddenly becoming insane because I think he’s been a fascinating character throughout the first 5 issues of the series. I’m looking forward to #7 and where things go from here.
On YJ, seeing some of the themes and character goals that PAD has been driving toward all these months suddenly brought into (of necessity too hasty) focus made me rue even more the cancellation of this book. While I’m not planning on boycotting anything, I suspect any TT book will pale in comparison to this, and not stay on my subscription list for long.
On CM#6, I didn’t find the “suddenly the action leaps forward” bits distracting. I thought the story, the characters, the art, the overall package was quite satisfying — for this particular incarnation of the title.
That said, I still prefer PAD’s work on the pre-this-volume CM.
yeah, i was kinda bummed about issue #6 of CM too. i think it was too impersonal and abstract for me (which makes sense since most of it took place in an empty void of nothingness). #2-4 really grabbed me as we started to really see how ruthless and cold CM was becoming. all these really intense moments snowballing: like when he killed his father’s trainer and when we learned that his mistress is pregnant and when he committed suicide and when he smashed his own father into mush…issue 6 just left me dissatisfied. no super smart-ášš lines either which i always look forward to in a PAD comic. maybe it’s just me. i certainly can’t think of a way to have written it to top the tension that was forming in issues 1-5…maybe alot of it had to do with the fact that crisscross wasn’t illustrating. his own approach to the storytelling may have changed things. i’m sorry to see him go. he was brilliant at the humor scenes. his facial expressions and hand gestures told so much. anyway, PAD, i really enjoy your work and i’m sad to see your DC titles çráppìņg the bed. supergirl was great. i’ll be sticking around with CM till the end. thanks for your time and efforts.
>>maybe alot of it had to do with the fact that crisscross wasn’t illustrating. his own approach to the storytelling may have changed things.<<
I hate to say it, but yeah, I very much agree. Having worked with Cross for two years, I’ve come to know what he’s best at, and had been designing much of the entire story arc to play to his strengths. Issue #6, particularly so, his strengths being nuance, gesture, conversation, subtle bits of visual timing. Slam bang action and expansive backgrounds, he’s not as strong, so I tried to minimize it. That’s why the “fight” in #5 was such a one-sided slaughter; I knew that Cross could carry that off with no trouble. Otherwise, #5–which everyone loved–was pretty much just people standing around and talking. And #6 was pitched right in his wheelhouse…except we had a sudden change of batter that I wasn’t expecting. The fill-in artist, while perfectly capable, wasn’t a visual match for what I wanted to do in the story, and I think it hurt.
PAD
Like everyone else I loved YJ and will miss it. This final issue was a excellent ending to a fine series. My only problem has been with Slobo. I never liked the Lobo character in the regular series and really found him out of character in YJ. What Peter did with him was very enjoyable but not understandable (character wise). Still I liked the way it ended. I hope that Supergirl ends as well.
Captain Marvel was interesting and just a bit predictable. I really thought the Peter would come up with something more unusual. However it won’t put me off of reading more issues.
Soulsearchers is still going strong and if anyone is not reading it I recommend you give it a try. There are not many of Peters fine titles left and you shouldn’t miss any of them.
I enjoyed YJ #55. It’s a shame it has ended. You could tell that PAD originally intended this story to take place over at least five more issues, but had to cut it short due to the cancellation. Tis a shame, would have liked to have seen how it would have originally played out. I really liked the YJ One Million moment at the end. Young Justice will live on.
And I haven’t gotten my hands on my brother’s issue of Captain Marvel yet…
I’d just like to swim against the flow and say how much I enjoyed Captain Marvel 6. I didn’t mind the leap forward, simply because we’ve all seen enough battles to save/destroy the Universe in Infinity Pyjamas and the like. The personal impact in this story was so much greater. I’ve never seen Rick simmering with so much hate, resentment and helplessness before.
And the ending. Wow. Just when I was expecting the “reset” button, with Genis back on an even keel, having learnt from his experiences, Mr David hits us with an unexpected ending. I can’t wait to see where this story goes next.
It is sad to see YJ go. That series has consitancely sp? been good. I really enjoyed that series and am very very sad to see it go. I thought that the series ended on a nice touch with the Secret thing. (not going to spoil it for people that haven’t read it yet) And for Captian Marvel that title has been one of my Favorites since issue 0 and I really hope that you continue to do GREAT things with that title. later
I’ll miss YJ. No doubt about it. I don’t agree with the decision to end it and I it’s been very clear to me that Marvel and DC are playing games with your “comic” writing career in the Big 2.
To me, YJ ended with a “well, okay if you say so” type conclusion. Slo-Bo/Lobo-Lite/Lil-Lobo went out with a bang taking on the baddest of the bad. That was appreciated. The Red Tornado gets the funniest/coolest line in the end as he did when YJ started. We finally see the Cass and Kon heartache issue settled. See, I’m surprised Dark Secret even listened to Tim. She wasn’t all to eager before and she was madder this issue than ever before. I assume the honesty and lack of any costume (to show her the real Tim) was a shock to her. Empress and The Ray were backgrounded in the last YJ group photo was a little symbolic. Too bad Empress and Slo-Bo couldn’t have gotten together. I really liked what you did with Lobo. Best characterization he’s ever had, period.
Again, I’m sorry to see YJ go.
As far as Captain Marvel #6 goes, I’m glad you went the route you did by leaving the battle out between issues. This does put him on a level of insanity that would make Thanos say “Son, you need some help.” It’s just so strange to see Marv like this. How can he recover from this and still have his sould intact? Heck, Rick is so screwed. I’m surprised he hasn’t gone insane yet. He’s the real Banner now. His alter-ego truly is a monster. You’ve made this work Pad. Great book. I don’t see somebody coming along and making this work for me as well as you did.
Many words on the resolution of the Captain Marvel six-parter. (I hope it doesn’t seem long-winded. The attempt is to give some detailed criticism, as I presume one would find that more constructive than a brief “Way to go!” or “That sucked.”)
As a preface, I’ll note that I’m one of those fans who liked the comic book before the re-launch. I liked the fact that it was long on humor and short on Starlin-esque cosmic-ness. As for the complaints that the series focused too much on Rick and not enough on the title character… I know I’m not the only one who thought that a better solution was not to focus more on Marv, but to simply change the comic book’s title to “Rick Jones.” (I’d still support that move, by the way. Ditch Genis and let’s have a PAD-scripted comedy book about the adventures of a Rick who isn’t shackled by Nega-Bands to a bland Fabian Nicieza creation. However, I deviate.)
I stuck with the “new” CM because 1.) the new computerized art was pretty fresh-looking, and 2.) I admired PAD’s attempts to “give the people what they want” even though it was the opposite of what I personally wanted. So, I stuck it out. I thought the first issue was reasonably exciting, and it had one great scene (the bit with the “fanatic” on the bus and the mother). The death of the Divine Inaugurator of the Age of Miracles struck me as really heavy-handed, but it made its point.
Issues 2 and 3 didn’t move me all that much; the problem I have with Marv still persisted, which is that he has a generic personality. It seemed to be one of PAD’s stock characterizations: the somewhat-witty-and-condescending-psycho — without much to distinguish him.
Issue 4 was the first since the re-launch that really made me go, “Wow.” Though it began dubiously, with a painfully forced woman/guitar analogy, it quickly became fascinating. Rick was no longer stuck in a cave– he’s suddenly the Microverse’s answer to Elvis. I thought that was great! Fascinating questions were brought up: Who’s Epiphany? What’s her interest in Rick? Meanwhile, we suddenly had a Genis whose dialogue had been divested of irony and sarcasm (extremely rare for a PAD character). No more “Am I a hero? You mean in the sandwich sense?” No more, “I’m not forcing you to do this… oh wait, come to think of it, yes I am.” That stuff just wasn’t working for me at all. Instead, we had a Genis who didn’t make jokes, wasn’t condescending, wasn’t speaking in self-conscious ironies. He genuinely seemed to have become more disciplined in the month between 3 and 4, as was his goal, and that was *great.* He always obeyed orders, never lied, and when he was ordered to kill his girlfriend at the end, he didn’t try and trick his way out via verbal ambiguity, but instead made a point of clearing up said ambiguity so that he was certain to follow the order correctly. Again, great! So when he disobyed the order, it was truly a surprise, both to the audience and to him. Thus we got more questions: Is Genis in love with this woman? And if so, did he just realize it in this moment? And is it all moot, now that he’s just killed himself (!) ?
In short, I liked issue 4 a lot. Sadly, issue 5 brought back the things I wasn’t too keen on. Genis digs his way out of the grave after having been “dead” for a month. His first words? “Well, THIS is annoying.” Sigh. We’re back to the ironic, witty, sarcastic psycho. When Genis launched into his umpteenth speech about how much he hates his life and how hard it is living up to Mar Vell’s name, I was already out of it. Meanwhile, however, Rick’s half of the mystery was getting more intriguing. We still don’t know Epiphany’s agenda, but we do know she’s connected to the now-revealed villain of the piece. And we learn that said villain, Entropy, wants to use Genis to destroy the universe. And Rick has vowed to stop him. All right, we’re set for an exciting climax.
On to issue 6. So, here’s what I liked: Beginning the chapter in the aftermath of the battle. I note some people on the board didn’t like that. I’ve seen PAD’s reply. I agree with his assertion that we’ve seen big, apocalyptic battles before and that it wasn’t necessary. And that, indeed, to begin this chapter with the battle already having taken place bucked expectations completely, and for that reason alone it was great. I also enjoyed that the resolution in which Entropy becomes Eternity was almost belabored until Genis interrupted with, “We get it, already!” (I know, I said I wasn’t a fan of the sarcastic Genis, but in this case he spoke for the reader, and prevented things from getting too heavy-handed, and so I found it forgivable.) The final few pages had me nervous… I kept thinking about the recent discussion here of the facile conclusion to the first Superman film — sparked by the addition to the BID archives of PAD’s review — and was like, “Well, dámņ it, PAD’s doing the same thing. Genis gets to go back and make it all better? Seems a little trite…” Thus, I was happily thrown for a loop when it turned out that Genis’ new decisions led to the exact same conclusion as they did in issue 1. It reminded me of one of my favorite moments from the sitcom “Scrubs,” in which the lead character says something really tactless to another character and immediately wishes he could turn back time so he could do things differently. Magically, he’s allowed to do so, so he turns time back a few minutes, back to the point where he originally said something stupid… and he says the exact same thing the second time. I loved that; I love that theme: we are who we are, and given the chance to be someone else, we’d probably still just be who we are. That’s (partly) what those final pages of CM #6 conveyed to me, and I wasn’t expecting it. It was ironic, surprising, thematically appropriate… overall, it gave a nice sense of closure to the arc. Plus, the bit about the age following the “Age of Miracles” relieved — in my mind — the aforementioned heavy-handedness of the original bit from issue 1.
And after PAD has turned everying on its ear, what does he do on the very last page? Turns things on their *other* ear! Genis morphs back into his Kree army outfit while laughing maniacally, and the reader is left asking, “What the hëll just happened?” Which was great. The reader now has no way of knowing what’s going on, and is left wondering until issue 7. Definitely a great cliffhanger.
What I didn’t like: Okay, yes, for the most part, showing the apocalyptic battle wasn’t necessary, except for one little glitch that I perceive in the plot mechanics… which is, why did Entropy need or want Captain Marvel to help him undo the universe? Is it simply that Entropy felt a kinship with Marvel because they both resent their fathers, and they both hate the universe? Maybe, but still… what could Genis really contribute to Entropy’s mission? This wasn’t really all that clear, and yet it was important, because the whole plot hinged on the fact that Entropy was messing with Marvel’s mind because he needed — or at least wanted — his help. And since we didn’t see the big, apocalyptic battle, we still don’t know what Genis did, or how he helped. I see the same problem with the Epiphany plot thread. It’s implied in issue 3 that Entropy would have killed Rick, but Epiphany for some reason wanted him alive. Again, why? Was it because she found him attractive? Possible, but again… we don’t know. Epiphany’s agenda was a big part of the mystery, in my mind, and a major part of what made this arc compelling. But at the end, we learned nothing about what she wants. It wasn’t really made clear even how she feels about Entropy.
So, that part, I didn’t like. Of course, if Epiphany is not gone after issue 6, but instead now a regular member of the comic’s cast, then the fact that we still don’t understand her is actually a plus. However, as it is, judging these six issues as a standalone story, while the whole father/son theme was ably concluded (parts of it anyway) and the “Genis-goes-insane” thing — though left unresolved — hit a definite benchmark, the motivations of Epiphany and Entropy — vis a vis their respective interest in Rick and Genis — stick out as big questions left unanswered at the conclusion.
The other major untied loose end is Genis’ pregnant lover, whom he cared enough for that, when ordered to kill her, he killed himself instead. Again, if this is meant to be fodder for later issues, that’s cool. But for me, the fact that this thread was abandoned after issue 4 was another thing contributing to issue 6 feeling less “conclusive” than it probably should have.
So, to sum up. CM 6 is a good issue on its own. As a conclusion to a lot of the father/son stuff… great. As a progression of the “Genis is insane” plot… fabulous.
As the tying off of all the plot threads introduced in 1-5? Less than satisfying. But it succeeded in getting me psyched for upcoming issues, wherein presumably these threads will be picked up again.
I’m sorry to say that I was disappointed by CM#6. It seemed like one big pointless use of the reset button. I kinda figured there would be some of that, since Genis couldn’t stay dead after offing himself, and couldn’t stay a psychotic bad guy, but this seemed so arbitrary. The succession of a new Eternity was somewhat interesting, as did the way it played into the Father/Son theme, and the idea that there is no easy answer for Genis regarding whether to save the Messiah or whatever was good, but sticking CM back where he was in his Kree uniform and cackling dementedly seemed like “Oh, here we go all over again.” I also agree with Anthony that finding out HOW Entropy and Genis killed Eternity was something we should’ve seen on-panel, but didn’t.
And how could Genis kill Eternity if Genis himself is a part of the multiverse? Shouldn’t Eternity have been able to stop him? And along the same lines, for that matter, why is Entropy “beyond” the cosmos, as he tells him at the end of #5?
I have to say that Captain Marvel #6 is by far one of the most enjoyable comics I have read in a long, long time. Everyone seems to say that “the end of everything” should be on panel. To what I say… uh… seen it. What else can you do excately without repeating everything?
I really, really enjoyed the father/son dynamnic of the series so far. It was about time it was addressed! And an ending to die for… not everything is okay in the end. Too often a radical charecter trait is written off by the end of the current storyline… as if it never existed in the first place. It is refreshing to see that this has not happened here, and I am amazed that the editors let Peter do it in the first place.
Overall.. it is the one the few bright spots in Marvel right now. Cetainly better then Marville and Ultimate Adventures.
So Peter, what do you get for winning the contest?
>>Overall.. it is the one the few bright spots in Marvel right now. Cetainly better then Marville and Ultimate Adventures.
So Peter, what do you get for winning the contest?<<
A price increase, a trashed reputation, and very likely a canceled title.
PAD
By “trashed reputation” do you mean professional reputation at Marvel, rather than reputation with the readers? I don’t think that the whole fiasco has done much to alienate us readers…
I just read Captain Marvel #6 recently and it was my first Captain Marvel issue!
I’ve been meaning to check the series out for awhile now, but didn’t have the chance till now.
I saw the #6 at my local comic shop & decided to get it.
And WOW. Great issue! Thanks to the re-cap at the beginning I was not lost at all! I read the re-cap and then dived in.
And it was great! I really enjoyed the issue. From start to finish, the book was very interesting, complex, funny, and it had a twist at the end: And I love twists at the end!
So will I be back? I’m sure going to try! I definitly want to know what will happen next.
Oh and as soon as I can I’ll go back issue hunting for CM.
So, looks like you have another new reader. 🙂
DF2506
The problem with Captain Marvel is it is lacking relationships. It starts with them but then we get the whole ‘a month passes’ thing and we don’t see any of the stuff that makes a good story. The characters developing. So… okay the plot was a high brow plot and Peter gets points for pulling that off but in doing so he sacrificed the flow that gives the comic medium its life. Even the main duo isn’t doing a lot of interacting. So what we’re getting is Genis interacting with throw away characters that we never get to know or care about while Rick does the same.
And I wanted to care about the side characters but I wasn’t given any reason to do so.
And now we have a “everything is back to square one” and I’m hoping that Bill Murray will do something entertaining this time around because I definitely feel cheated with the first six.
Head and shoulders above anything else in the U-decide debacle but still a disappointment.
I’m afraid that I didn’t like CM 6. Not showing the fights was fine – the dialogue and character interaction is what I like about the book. Unfortunately, I feel that the storyline has veered dramatically away from characters I’m interested in. Genis doesn’t seem like a character to me anymore, just a plot device. An insane Genis just doesn’t have the charm that he did before, so I’m not as jazzed about reading about him.
I also really dislike the “Universe is destroyed and restored exactly the same” being played out in the Marvel Universe. The first time I encountered the idea was in Steve Engelhart’s Dr. Strange series. I enjoyed it then, but it was the first time I encountered the idea and I was 11. In a series that wasn’t tied to Marvel continuity, I might appreciate its thematic value more – here it just struck me as empty hyperbole.
OK, things I did like — you tried something different. That’s cool. The story was “heavy,” which is needed every now and then to underscore the humor (and vice versa of course, which many comic writers don’t seem to understand). I’ll be picking up future issues to see how (if?) you’ll redeem Genis and make him likeable again.
When I ask for that, by the way, I’m not asking for everything to magically go away. Lasting change due to these events is definitely needed, but I do want a character I can relate to again.
Thanks for the chance to comment.
Great job with YJ! I didn’t see the resolution coming at all. I’m glad to see closure with many of the characters that most likely will not be featured in any DC titles for the forseeable future. I shall greatly miss this book as it was one of my favorites.
Captain Marvel was also an excellent issue but I was really confused at first. For about half of the issue I thought I had forgotten to read #5 since I didn’t recall any of the events they were talking about. So, the beginning of the issue didn’t really work well for me since it felt like you had skipped part of the story and we had to play catch up. However, I loved the ending and I thought that if that had been the last issue because of the contest, it would have gone out with a bang.
Peter:
Since the disengagement of “week-to-week” and “book to book” continuity over in the Superman titles, the last three issues of Joe Casey’s ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN have been excellent.
We’ve had # 612’s “Superman vs. the Golden Age Superman”, # 613’s “Funky Flashman’s Super-merchandising blitz”, and # 614’s “1950s era Heroville”. All this, while advancing the ongoing subplot of the mysterious HOLLOW MEN.
So, what’s all this got to do with YOUNG JUSTICE? Well, one of the Hollow Men’s victims in # 614 was THE RAY — mere days after YOUNG JUSTICE # 55.
Geez, Peter… they didn’t even let the book “go cold” before commiting attrocities to its characters. Oh well, that’s comics in the 21st century!
Joe Torcivia.
Write more Buzz…
Write more Snapper…
PAD on TMNT? I love Laird’s work, but PAD TMNT would so rule… but putting on him on one based on the new cartoon series is iffy. I like the cartoon, but if you’re going to get on of the best writers in comics you might as well put him on the canon book. Put him on the hopeful volume two of Tales of the TMNT.
Lastly, is the JLA destined to stay pìššëd at Snapper? Doesn’t the guy deserve a break. In the end, his judgement call turned out better than Tornado’s.
I went to the comic shop and picked up Captain Marvel 1, 3, 4, & 5 today (the shop didn’t have #2 but they are ordering it for me).
I went ahead and read the issues (even though I’m missing that one issue) and I thought they were all great.
From the amazing-never-know-what’ll happen next storyline, to the great artwork, to the awesome covers: it was all great.
These issues really make me want to go back and read some of the last volume. I would like to see how Captain Marvel was when he was sane! lol!
Great book PAD. I’ll continue reading.
DF2506