Agents of Atlas: Dark Reign, Jeff Parker

"The heroes of the 1950s are back with big plans for the 21st Century! When Federal enforcers under the hand of Norman Osborn burst into an armory under control of the Atlas Foundation, Jimmy Woo's Agents go head-to-head with the new powers that be. How it all goes down will make the playing field of the modern Marvel Universe more volatile than ever! This edition comes packed with extras, including a 1950s flashback to the Agents of Atlas' first savage encounter with the man now known as Wolverine! Plus, the Avengers must enlist the help of the Agents to help take down Kang the Conqueror! And discover the key role the Agents of Atlas played in Marvel's blockbuster event of 2009 in Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust?!

Collects Agents of Atlas #1-5, Wolverine: Agent of Atlas, Giant-Size Marvel Adventures Avengers, and material from Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust? and Dark Reign: New Nation."



Agents of Atlas is another of those books like The Defenders or Heroes for Hire that appears on the periphery of the Marvel Universe every now and again, and contains some great little all-ages stories without ever getting a long running ongoing book. This collects the Dark Reign tie in issues, which is a great fit for what is essentially the heroic Thunderbolts - a team of heroes pretending to be villains so as to create a peaceful world using the resources of a criminal empire.

Like Thunderbolts it allows for the lesser known heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe to get a look in; these books feature Temugin (son of The Mandarin) and everyone's second favourite bear themed character, Grizzly. It also showcases some more prominent characters from the Avengers era, including Bendis' New Avengers, The Sentry and Norman Osborne, and Wolverine. It's a broad cross section of popular and unknown characters that makes the book a joy to read. As someone who loves the one-page cameo and the intricacies of continuity an appearance from Man Mountain that ends with him being eaten by a dragon is a thing of joy.

There's a real light hearted ness to the book. One of the things that it succeeds in so well is telling a range of different stories. The Agents of Atlas as a whole are a collection of broad archetypes; a Spaceman, a Spy, a Gorilla, a Siren, a Robot and an Atlantean in a series of crime super heroics that owe as much to James Bond and Jackie Chan as to anything else. It means that as well as the exploits of the agents in the Dark Reign era you can have missions set in 1958 (yellow peril and red scare spy-jinks) absurd Kung-Fu battles or sic-fi invasions of revolutionary Cuba. Absurd, but wonderful.

It channels the same structured chaos of NEXTWAVE, and whilst it never reaches the heights of that comic, a book that is the single defining extrapolation of all comics ever, it does a good job of bringing in the wider reaches of a super heroic world.

Basically, it's crime and spy stories featuring a super hero team up in which a talking gorilla fires machine guns whilst a robot shoots a death ray from its head. If that doesn't sound like the kind of book you want to read then, Brother, you've got no business reading comics.

Also Read:

Warren Ellis; NEXTWAVE: Agents of H.A.T.E

Jeff Parker, Thunderbolts

Brian Michael Bendis, New Avengers

Matt Fraction and David Aja, Immortal Iron Fist

Invincible Ultimate Collection Volume 8: Robert Kirkman

"Collects issues #85-96 of the greatest super hero comic in the universe! In the aftermath of the Viltrumite War, friends become enemies, enemies become allies, and Mark Grayson's future as Invincible ends here!"
















I love this book so much guys. Invincible is just such a solid concept, and now nearly 100 issues into these hardback collections it just shows every sign of running and running. What started off as just another super hero comic has grown into a Universe spanning meta-commentary on super heroics. This isn't Animal Man or anything. Don't get me wrong. It's not meta in the sense of self-awareness in universe, but simply in the construction of a superhero epic putting its own spin on everything from team-ups, sidekicks, legacy characters and summer events, all kept to the confines of a single book.

There's something beautiful about the seeming simplicity of Invincible. It's never a comic that feels like it overreaches itself. The character development and passage of time are given the weight required, meaning the characters change considerably from inception. Compare Mark and Eve to their first appearance, and their status is significantly altered, even as his morals, values and perceptions have changed. It's fantastic to see a character mature and grow in a way that rarely feels forced, and never excites fear of slide back. It's one of the best things about creator owned comics for a reader; there is real significance to events. Continuity won't be changed or abandoned, there is no danger of editorial redress to reset to the status quo. Every consequence is felt, dealt with and remembered.

At this point, with the Viltrumite War almost over and the threat of The previous 50 issues seemingly removed, or at least forestalled, this is a chance to change the focus a little. We see some of the fallout of the decisions made during the war, and especially the way it ended, that lead to major shake-ups for the heroes. It also allows for the development of some of the huge supporting cast, in particular an explanation for the breakdown of Monster Girl and Robot's relationship. Between this and the increased presence of Bulletproof as the new Invincible, it's great to see some of the smaller character given their day in the sun. Much like the issues featuring the Guardian reserves against the Lizard Legion these are often the emotional heart of the supporting cast, and the time spent focused on them leaves the impression of a fuller world. It has always been a strength of Kirkman's work on Invincible, and it's one of the reasons why these long run collections work so well - the brick jokes started issues before are given time to mature and flourish before they bear fruit.

As well as the usual great art from Ottley we get the return of Cory Walker, original series artist and co-creator of Invincible, to illustrate the alternate world issues. These are excellent, and it's one of the few times when sharing an artist makes sense. Unlike many anthologies or split art duties the two styles complement each other nicely, whilst still being noticeably different enough to suggest a different aesthetic in each reality. Considering how great Ottley has always been this is a laid back collection - nothing exceptional to talk about. Then again, the most mundane of pages are excellent, and Dinosaurus against Thragg is particularly incredible. Definitely pick this up.

Also Try:
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead
Kieron Gillen, Young Avengers

Morning Glories, vol 3, Nick Spencer

"The critically acclaimed, smash-hit series rolls on with this collection of the blockbuster third arc, "P.E.!" The first days were just the beginning - when the faculty cancels classes and sends the students on an outing in the nearby woods, all hell breaks loose, sending the Glories on a mysterious journey through time and space. Nothing is what it seems to be as Academy's hold on the kids collapses and new threats emerge!"











Morning Glories is an incredibly frustrating comic to read, one that I picked up the first few volumes of as individual comics before dropping a few years again. There were a couple of massive issues that I had with it - initially sketchy artwork was a problem, but the deft characterisation and fantastic myth-arc were enough to keep me hooked. The major fault, the thing that eventually killed it for me, was the fact that the plotting eventually ran away with itself, ending up as less a Kudzu plotline and more an utter mess.

This volume then picks up where I left off, and more than anything I was hoping that some of the thirty or so big questions that were brought up would get answered. Sadly, this goes totally the other way. Much like Lost, something cited as an influence, this is a series that asks more questions than it answers, and it rarely seems as though Nick Spencer quite knows what should be happening next. Revelation follows revelation, but little of it adds any extra depth to a series that's swimming in extraneous details. It all adds up to a book that 20 issues in seems to be treading water.

Some of the blame for this has to lie on Joe Eisma, an artist who has little credit to his name other than Morning Glories, and who struggles to differentiate his cast from one another. Whilst the six main characters are obviously distinguishable, any time a new character is introduced they roll too much into the rest of the cast. With the rolling focus from Spencer on each of the characters there's little time to invest in new characters, especially when they don't show up for a while.

Every good thing about this book, and there are many, is undermined by the fact that the plot twists make so little sense - an engaging series about pupils at a mysterious school has turned into a plot ball about time travel and magic.+

Those things are great - I'd just rather not be confused every time I read a comic that I like.

Also Try:
Brian K Vaughan, Runaways
Jonathan Hickman, Manhattan Projects
Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim

Watching The English, Kate Fox

"In WATCHING THE ENGLISH anthropologist Kate Fox takes a revealing look at the quirks, habits and foibles of the English people. She puts the English national character under her anthropological microscope, and finds a strange and fascinating culture, governed by complex sets of unspoken rules and byzantine codes of behaviour.

The rules of weather-speak. The ironic-gnome rule. The reflex apology rule. The paranoid-pantomime rule. Class indicators and class anxiety tests. The money-talk taboo and many more . . .

Through a mixture of anthropological analysis and her own unorthodox experiments (using herself as a reluctant guinea-pig), Kate Fox discovers what these unwritten behaviour codes tell us about Englishness."




This isn't the kind of book I normally read, but it was one that JJ picked up a year or so ago to read for her cross cultural studies class, and then when I went to America it got bought for me for Christmas, so with recommendations and a spare copy, it was pretty inevitable that I would end up getting through it. It's been a slog though - I started this before any of these reviews, it was the first book I began reading (pre-Christmas 2012) and I only just finished it.

That's not because it's boring, or a bad book, quite the opposite. It's more that I found other things to read, and it's certainly not the kind of book I find it hard to put down. At any one time I may have two or three non-fiction books and a couple of fiction books on the go. I'll read a book in a day and then move back onto whatever I was reading beforehand. This book was always one that kept getting abandoned in favour of something else.

Whenever I did read it though, it was fascinating. Whilst it overstays its welcome a little (especially since Fox is trying to define the rules of Englishness, which inevitably means a lot of finding similarities, and thus repetition) for the first two thirds it's an incredible run through of what makes people English - something which had me chuckling throughout, and frequently reading sections aloud to anyone who would listen. Usually JJ, who never seemed that impressed - possibly because she had already read it once.

It's a book that will probably resonate as much with the English as with any foreigner who wishes to understand them. Unlike Bryson, who is always more interesting when writing about other places, Fox manages to locate those things which are common currency in every English persons life - their privacy issues, their dislike of communication, their love of humour. Much of it can seem oversimplified, or a reach, but there's no doubting that it's often revelatory - whole sections revealed character traits (flaws?) that I had never realised I had but which it turns out JJ had been dealing with for months. Not just from me, but from the entire country, all of whom are engaged in an unwitting cultural pantomime of one-downmanship and keep-away.

It's the kind of book that is perfect to dip in and out of, which is conveniently what I have been doing. Whilst I can't imagine reading it all in one would be too pleasent (it's not always as fun or interesting a read as at its best, especially when it focuses on the anthropology of other classes, or anything that wasn't specific to my Englishness) it's certainly something that will make you think. In fact, it's been enough to cause arguments about anthropology in my family, something I never ever thought would happen.

Also Try:
Jeremy Paxman, The English
Bill Bryson, Neither Here Nor There, Shakespeare
Paul Cornell, Captain Britain and MI13

After America, John Birmingham

"March 14, 2003, was the day the world changed forever. A wave of energy slammed into North America and devastated the continent. The U.S. military, poised to invade Baghdad, was left without a commander in chief. Global order spiraled into chaos. Now, three years later, a skeleton U.S. government headquartered in Seattle directs the reconstruction of an entire nation—and the battle for New York City has begun."








After America is one of the most ridiculous books I have ever read, and bearing in mind that I've just posted a review of a comic that features a superhero who replaces his head with that of a ghost cow, after an undead boxer smashes his to smithereens, that is saying quite a bit.

This is the second in a series called 'The Disappeared', the plot of which is that in the run up to the Iraq war, with most of the American military about to step into a war in the Middle East, an unexplained wave of energy hits America and reduces its population to a few million. In the last book the fallout from the near total destruction of America was the near economic destruction of the world, and a pre-emptive nuclear attack by Israel on every neighbouring nation.

Having set up a new democratic Government, and prevented secessionist Texans from declaring military rule, the new President is having a hard time, due to the fact that New York has been occupied by an entire terrorist force.

Focusing on the battle to retake the city, as well as the struggles for various characters in Europe and southern America, it basically becomes a lovingly detailed book of military hardware. Much like Birmingham's other series, Weapons of Choice, this is a book that loves to go overboard on the intricacies of weaponry. What it lacks in sense, or explanations, it more than makes up for in embellished characterisation of the military.

It's a great book, don't get me wrong, in the classic mold of an airport page turner. It's not smart, it's not clever, and it's rarely all that well written. Above all, it's not good Sci-Fi. Not since 1632 decided it could just dump a modern town into history because 'aliens' has a major plot point been quite so sketchily planned. The wave is a catalyst, but it isn't ever explained. There's no attempt to analyse it. Like King's 'Under the Dome' it's just something that happens to start the plot. Reactions to it vary, but all accept it and move on.

Everything that comes after is tinged with the sense of that; people accept things and move on. People do things that don't make sense, and it's chalked up to the wave. It's bad sci-fi, and it's a shame that it's unexplored (and unexplained). At least in Weapons of Choice Birmingham attempted to rationalise an explanation.

It shouldn't bug me in a book about the invasion of New York by the US army to fight the evil forces of Islam, but it does. It's not helped by the portrayal of anyone outside of America as either evil (and Muslim) or cold and aloof (and English). These are the defaults of outside America. Not all Americans are good, but all non-Americans are pretty bad. And that's a pretty problematic world when America is quite so reduced in status and size.

Also Try:
John Birmingham, Weapons of Choise
Eric Flint, 1632
Brian Wood, DMZ
Brian K Vaughan, Y: The Last Man

Battle Scars, Fraction, Eaton and Yost

"Spinning out of the incredible events of Fear Itself, Battle Scars introduces a man in the crosshairs of the world's most deadly super villains. Who is he? And what does his existence mean for the future of the Marvel Universe? This major new title ties directly into the Marvel Fear Itself event and stars the Avengers."















Battle Scars is a pretty average book that sets up a lot of better books, and achieves its key aim of introducing a black Nick Fury and Agent Coulson to the mainstream 616 Marvel Universe, to tie it into the movie universe more easily. It's not pretty, but it does the job, and frankly on those grounds it's probably considered a win.

It's the very obvious definition of a comic that Marvel doesn't intend anyone to actually read. It's just there to be a part of continuity, so that they can point back to it as having happened. Marcu Johnson and 'Cheese' are two characters that feel wholly out of place in the Marvel universe - the stakes that they go up against (fighting Deadpool and Taskmaster) undermine those characters by association.

They aren't on the level of Johnson and Cheese. They shouldn't be at the same level. Putting them up against villains who have regularly taken on entire Superteams isn't just jobbing; it's stupidity.

Also Try:
Mark Millar, The Ultimates
Gail Simone, Agent X
Fabian Nicieza, Cable and Deadpool

Blast Furance: Recreational Thief Vol 1, Ryan Browne

"Ryan Browne's painfully sweet improv comic created a page a day, an hour per page, with no preplanning for six whole months. Booyah!"








If God Hates Astronauts was nuts, this is totally insane. It's brilliant, on a whole different level, but at times it can veer too far into scatological tangents, especially once the flashback within flashbacks kick in.

The difference between the two books is clear; this isn't plot driven, it's a series of events trunk together in order for characters to reach a page later in the book. There's no clarity of drive or motive, for long periods the focus shifts to side characters as we hear their stories, which detracts from the overall story, such as it is.

It's a mistake to think of this in the same way as a weekly comic though. It's not a sitcom, it's a sketch show. For every bit that misses, there are three that work. The jokes are great, and the humour is all over the place, but the way it's written, as a page a day black and white comic, comes through to create a totally different reading experience.

It was a free thank you for kickstarting God Hates Astronauts, and it is an excellent read. Will it ever be finished? Who knows, and even if it is, it's unlikely to make sense. But still, it's worth taking a look at just to see what a great writer can do with some free time and some bonkers ideas.

Also Try:

Ryan Browne, God Hates Astronauts http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/

Captain Britain and MI13, Paul Cornell

"The Skrull Invasion isn't restricted to the US - when the Skrull Invasion his England, only Captain Britain and MI:13 stand in their way. With the fate of Britain hanging in the balance, can the heroes find out what the Skrulls are after before it's too late? This thrilling graphic novel ties in with Secret Invasion."
















I LOVE this book. I'm currently reading a bunch of books about Britishness, and what it means to be English.

I'm reading a book on anthropology, a history of the English, and a book on popular English traits. And none of them, none of them, make me feel quite so proud to be British, or quite so happy about my country as this book. It's a bizarre source of patriotism, but if any comic can do it, it's this one.

This isn't a Captain America style patriot bash, it's definably British. And it's wonderful.

There are a couple of scene here that make this comic essential, and whilst its definitely a series that got better post-Secret Invasion (the Dracula war that comes up at the end of the run is exceptional) its a truly strong start. Compared to the last Cornell book I read, this is a world apart.

There's a strong current of Britishness through it, from its treatment of the army and government to little throwaway characters such as John the Skrull or Tinkerbell. But it's the scenes of ordinary people that's stand out, from the death of Captain Britain, to the way the army makes its stand against the Skrulls on Westminster Bridge.

It's a book that has Britishness through it, to its very core, just as Knight and Squire for DC is a book that translates common American superheroics to a British setting. It takes those tropes and without ever undermining them, it builds on them to an extent that elevates everything that was previously there.

Compared to the main thrust of Secret Invasion this is almost throwaway. What it sets up for future arcs (the return of a single Captain Britain, the release of all evil in the British Isles) is totally confined to this book, this isn't something which spills over to others. In fact, the only time we see any of the main Marvel players is in the final arc; this isn't a series that needs to prove itself in relation to its American cousins. It doesn't need to be. It's great as it is.

If you're British and a comics lover (or even if you're just one of those) then this is a book to read, and re-read.

Also Try:
Paul Cornell, Knight and Squire
John Cleese, Superman: True Brit
Chris Claremont, Excalibur

God Hates Astronauts, Ryan Browne

"6 years in the making, the web-comic GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS is finally published in one big awesome 180 page hardcover graphic novel!"









Despite the fact that it can be read online in full, I made the fort to help get this book Kickstarted because it's freaking amazing. The story of an invincible superhero whose head get destroyed in a fight, and is subsequently abandoned by his team due to his hideous disfigurement, and their continued adventures and battles amongst themselves, it's about as far from mainstream superhero comics as you can get.

It is frequently hilarious, mostly thanks to Browne's love of puns (fights against Owl Qaeda feature namechecks for bosses Adolf Hootler and Owlsama Bin Laden) or bizarre sound effects - a full page of a head being punched repeatedly has the air of Invincible's art, with the added bonus of Hercules style lettering.

An insane mash up of genres, styles and influences, it's perfect for anyone who loves Axe Cop, or Battle Pope, or anyone who just wants a fun read featuring Men with gorilla arms, boxing bears, jet pack cat lawyer or cowboys haunted by ghostly cow heads.

Frankly there isn't anything like this out there. It's an absolute riot, and it's totally worth reading.

Also Try:

Ryan Browne, God Hates Astronauts http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/

Alan Moore, Top Ten

Robert Kirkman, Invincible

Malachai and Ethan Nicolle, Axe Cop http://axecop.com/

Ultimate X-Men: Return to Weapon X, Mark Millar

"Now pawn of the mysterious weapon X program, the mutant heros' only hope lies with the one team member to evade capture: the enigmatic, unproven Wolverine! Can Logan go it alone against the shadow-ops organisation that transformed him into one of the worlds most lethal killing machines."













I remember pretty clearly the first time that I read this book. It was at an Ottakers around the corner from my school and I was captivated by a scene in which Wolverine daydreams his slaughter of the rest of the X-Men. That's the kind of book this is. One in which the heroes hate one another, and wish they could kil one another. It's Mark Millar's X-Men, and its an excellent second Universe book.

This is not how I want all my X-Men books to be mind. The Astonishing, or All New , or Uncanny books at their best over the last few years have blown this out the water. But it's an unbelievablely good way of introducing the X-Men in a new way, not just as victims of prejudice, but of state sanctioned murder, persecution and rendition.

It's an extraordinarily political book, just as the Ultimates is a celebration of the power of the US, this is a deconstruction of the vagaries and dissembling of state power. The framing of the Weapon X programme as a black ops group operating through SHIELD removes the ridiculousness of Department H and the Canadian super-soldier programme, introduces a raft of new characters (Rogue and Nightcrawler stand out) and adds depth to the Wolverine and X-Men relationship.

There's a lot to love here, and its another one that sworn a read. It can get dark at times, so if you prfer your superheroes light and bright, I would avoid it, but if you like some dysfunctional, unusual ideas with a side helping of mutant on mutant conflict, this is your book!

Also Try:

Mark Millar, The Ultimates
J Michael Straczynski, Squadron Supreme
Peter David, Young Justice

Ultimate X-Men: The Tomorrow People, Mark Millar

"Star writer Mark Millar delivers Marvel's mutant heroes in a streamlined, character-rich adventure perfect for fans of their smash hit movie. Brought to life by the talented Kubert brothers, the X-Men fight for the future in this break-neck thrill-ride.Mutants, those born with strange powers, through genetic mutation, are not only hated and feared, but brutally murdered in the streets by U.S. sanctioned killing machines. Driven by a dream of peace, Professor X gathers his mutant soldiers, his X-Men, to try and bring sanity to an insane world. But can he forge his band of misfits into a strike force capable of defending the Earth from the evil Magneto and his Brotherhood and even from the very humans they seek to protect."







The Ultimate line was a great idea, an attempt to create an Earth 2 style spin-off line of continuity free, newly restarted heroes that welcomed new readers and retold classic stories in an updated setting. Spearheaded by Mark Millar's Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men it was an uncomplicated method of trying to take people who had seen the super movies of the early '00s and translate them to comic sales.

Over a decade later it has developed its own vast and sprawling myth arc and is as undeniably complex as the mainstream Marvel Universe (or Reality 616), despite attempts to reduce and simplify the cast through mega crossovers like Ultimatum, in which roughly half of all introduced heroes were killed off (including 90% of the recognisable X-Men). The Ultimate Universe has become a series of diminishing returns, with the notable exception of Ultimate Spider-Man, which has enjoyed a creative resurgence since killing off original Spider-Man Peter Parker and introducing legacy character Miles Morales.

But back in the day these were some of the best comics around, especially as an introduction to the wider Marvel Universe. They emerged at a perfect time for me to get into them as I started to read comics, and are fully responsible for my love of Marvel over DC. In reselling classic stories and reintroducing classic heroes and villains, they name dropped enough that I actively sought out those characters more.

Tomorrow People serves as a particularly excellent introduction to the X-Men, complete with teenage angst and the perils of being unwelcomed defenders of humanity. Much like the animated series, it opens with the sentinels rather that Magneto, leaving the reader in no doubt about who the real villains of the comic are: humans.

It also distils the original lineup down to a few of the more interesting characters: no Angel, Banshee. Havoc, Polaris, Sunfire or Thunderbird in this line up, so we're left with the pick of the original line-ups. Most of these will be introduced within the following few books, including Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde, but the distiller adaptation of everything X-Men, from films to TV, and ever some comics lore, means that you have a potently crafted mix which brings together the best line-ups and origins.

If you want to know where to start with comics it's hard not to suggest this - its a stand out first read, often funny and relatively realistic in comparison to the 60s X-Men, or even their 616 counterparts.

Also Try;

Brian Michael Bendis, Ultimate Spider-Man, All New X-Men

Grant Morrison, New X-Men

Joss Whedon, Astonishing X-Men

Mark Millar, The Ultimates