I know, I know--no post in over a month. But I've not been excited about comics for a while: the DCU relaunch left me cold, and Fear Itself was largely a disappointment, redeemed only by the fantastic epilogue issues 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3. (Try to explain to the Wiley copy-editors why some comics citations now have ".1" at the end of the issue number--it's a new world, folks.) Mark Waid's Daredevil and Kieron Gillen's Journey into Mystery are the highlights of my month, along with select DC titles such as Scott Snyder's Batman, Kyle Higgins' Nightwing, and Geoff John's Aquaman.
But Ed Brubaker's relaunch of Captain America has gotten off to a slow start, forced to be an autonomous title parallel to but disconnected from the Cap-centric Fear Itself and therefore missing out on the post-Fear Itself "Shattered Heroes" theme. On the other hand, two titles closely linked to the aftermath of the Serpent War, both written by Matt Fraction, are forging ahead: The Invincible Iron Man and The Mighty Thor. (Maybe Cap needs an adjective?)
Both titles continue directly from their respective Fear Itself 7.x issues, and while Fraction can certainly be criticized for the somewhat glacial pace of his previous arcs on these two titles, Iron Man #510 and Thor #8 (if I may dispense with the adjectives) both race ahead like Guy Ritchie films shown at double-speed.
MILD SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP...
In Iron Man #510 we see Zeke Stane and the Mandarin in full-on attack mode against Tony, while Tony deals with returning home from Asgard, bringing my nomination for Best New Character of 2011, Splitlip along with him to work at Stark Resilient (and to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting). Naturally, Tony is tripped up at the end of the issue by a process server in the guise of a beautiful woman, all part of Stane and Mandy's latest gambit against him: public relations (shades of Brian Bendis' "Out" arc in Daredevil). I'm happy to see Tony's lapse during Fear Itself will not be overlooked, and also that it doesn't look like it will lead to another lengthy bender--the ramifications should be more interesting to see when they play out in the public eye, especially in the context of the recent Skrull invasion, and not just in front of Tony's bedroom mirror.
While just a couple weeks ago Fear Itself #7.2 introduced us to the full extent of the coming of Tanarus--including a complete in-story retcon of the history of the God of Thunder on Earth--Thor #8 already starts unravelling it. As construction on the new Asgard begins under the careful watch of the All-Mother (all three of, uh, her), we see Kid Loki (Best Kinda-New Character of 2010) struggling with both his conviction that Tanarus is not his brother and his inability to remember who his brother is supposed to be. ("Kill you, I will, when I figure-- when I figure all thus out.") But he is Loki, and Loki does not give up--and we see his machinations start in this issue. (If you didn't read his tales in Journey into Mystery during Fear Itself, you're missing out--Kieron Gillen has done amazing work with that book.)
But that's not all, no no. We also get a glimpse of the Silver Surfer's post-herald life, the return of Donald Blake and Jane Foster, the secret of Tanarus, and the answer to "What Happened to Thor Anyway?"--all in one 20-page comic (albeit a $3.99 one)! Quite a relief after the gorgeously-rendered but slow-paced "World Eater" arc that started this latest iteration of Thor, as well as the year-long "World's Most Wanted" arc in Iron Man from last year.
Far be it for me to play the comics cynic, but of course no one thought that Thor would be out of the game for long, what with a movie coming out next summer, nicely timed to coincide with a certain book
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