THOR Vol 2. Well, Let's Just Say It Rocks.

When he's on his game, J. Michael Straczynski is fast becoming my favorite writer working in comics today. (Aside from Joss Whedon, but that goes without saying, and Whedon doesn't comics enough anymore, which is part of the problem. In THOR Vol 2., much as he did in the first volume, Straczynski has reinvented one of Marvel's great characters and is on his way to creating a masterpiece in the genre.

Vol 2. starts off with a bang. If you recall in Vol. 1 Thor raised Asgard in the sky above rural Oklahoma. It's still there, and Thor in his human guise as Donald Blake, tends to the natives of the nearby town as if they were his own Asgardians. But in re-raising the Gods, as in did in Vol 2. Thor intuits that something is wrong in Asgard. And he must separate from his human form and undergo the Odinsleep to find his father who dwells in the Norse equivalent of purgatory to find out what it is.

Where Vol 1. was the obvious set-up for the following stories, Straczynski doesn't disappoint, and while there is plenty of action in Vol 2., it is the complications of the relationships among the Gods that makes the book so intriguing. Of course Loki has a plan in motion to destroy Thor, and sending him/her (in this guise Loki appears as a woman) to Vegas to carry out the plan is a hilarious stroke of genius. Strazynzki gives us a brilliant glimpse into the back story of Loki's origin and his complicated relationship with Odin and Thor.

And, as a special treat, like in Vol 1. when Iron Man shows up to tell Thor he must 'register' under the new law, and Thor gives Iron Man the subsequent ass whoopin' he deserves, here Thor visits the grave of Captain America. In a touching scene, Thor calls back Cap's spirit to tell him how sorry he was and what an honor it was to fight as his side. He tells Cap there is a place for him in Valhalla, to which Cap's spirit replies "I never believed in Valhalla." And Thor then explains to Cap that it matters not what we believe but how we live that determines where we dwell in the afterlife and Cap's heroic life will assure his spirit dwells in Valhalla forever. It could have been clumsy and corny, but Straczynski's spare, lean writing makes it work.

There is a lot to love in this book, and the Informant is a 'non-spoiler' site so I won't unveil the big reveal in Thor Vol 2. But if you've ever wondered about the complicated relationship between Thor and Balder the Brave, let's just say you'll get more than a glimpse inside it, in Thor Vol 2.

This is a book that we definitely recommend. In fact, you may want to spring for it in hardcover and add it to your shelf, because I am sure it's one I'll be reading again and again. I'm guessing you will too.

There's a lot of stuff going on with spandex clad super heroes taking the dirt nap these days. Batman RIP. Captain America taken out during the Civil War fiasco. Goliath dying during the Civil War fiasco. It's a trend.

It's sort of like remakes in Hollywood. Now I don't mind when somebody takes a hero and does a reinvention or a retelling of their origin. Green Arrow: Year One is one of my most favorite recent examples.

But did anyone ever think Captain America was going to stay dead. Didn't we all, in the back of minds, think that the Barry Allan Flash might return someday. And you know Bats is coming back. It will be another "Biggest Comics Event of the Year". There's another Lazarus pit out there somewhere for the Caped Crusader.

I have a confession to make. I am an unabashed Captain America fan. Yes, he might be the cheesiest hero in the Marvel verse. He's corny sometimes. (Well, almost all the time). He's 107 years old thanks to the 'Super Soldier Serum'. But dammit, he's Captain America and I've been with him all the way. Even during the awkward Falcon years and that whole Nomad thing. (What was up with that?).

Because he's Cap. He stands for something. Doing the right thing. Not the easy thing. Defeating evil. Opening a can of whoop ass on the Red Skull even though he's also 107. And dang it now two bit, trussed up, fancy pants psychopath like Norman Osborn gets to say "Avengers Assemble!" That's Cap's line you sick bastard.

And furthermore the whole problem with the Civil War fiasco is Cap being taken out because Iron Man was an incompetent putz. I'm sorry. Tony Stark does not get to kill Captain America. Thank god Thor came back and whipped his ass for that. I'm so pissed that I have not and will not see the movie Iron Man because of it. Nor will I see it's sequel. As the song says. "You Have To Stand For Something, Or You'll Fall For Anything."

So we waited for the inevitable return of the Captain. You knew it was coming. You waited. It had to happen. You waited. And now it's here. Captain America: Reborn. And what do we at the Informant think about it?

We don't know. And truth be told the story is a little confusing. There's a former S.H.I.E.L.D agent involved in his death. Apparently, Doctor Doom has a time platform (or something) that snatched him away just as he was shot and Steve Rogers wakes up, but it's in World War II again. At least I think that's what happened. I'm not really sure.

Buy the comic if your must, because like I said, it's Cap. But as in the case of Flash: Rebirth, I think I'm going to wait until the trade paperback comes out so I can read the whole story all at once.

Maybe then I'll get it.

The Hood...doesn't suck

I love it when a (relatively) new character works. It's rare, like when you see a pileated woodpecker eating regular birdseed. Thank the comic gods Marvel let this supervillain eat the regular birdseed.

Readers, reach back into spacetime (2002) and check out the origin story of Parker Robbins. Brian K Vaughan (in my opinion the most consistently entertaining writer in comics today) sort of turned the Spiderman/Daredevil thing on its head and explored what happens when an asshole powers up. Despite Dormammu being involved, which usually predetermines a certain amount of suckiness, the Hood Vol 1-6 allowed for a more classical and deeper story.

Here's a guy who wants an easy way out, and here's a demon inhabiting him through a cloak -with all the Faustian twists and turns you can eat. Oh, and he's a gangster in Brooklyn. And his wife's pregnant. Powers: boots that allow him to fly, and invisibility so long as he holds his breath.

He's gotten a lot more powerful since Bendis got his hands on him. But back in the good ole days, he was just as down on his luck as Spidey, just on the other side of things.

They've just re-released the collection in hardbound, and you'd be an idiot not to add it to the library.

HAVE YOU HEARD? BRUCE WAYNE IS DEAD!

So Batman bites the big one. Bruce Wayne takes the ultimate dirt nap. At least we think so. So far, I've read BATMAN R.I.P three times and I still can't figure out A) How he actually died and B) If he actually did. But according to everyone else in the DC verse, even Big Blue, he's gone.

Of course, Bruce Wayne might be gone, but Batman has to live on right? At least the spirit of Batman, otherwise Gotham City is toast. You might as well just throw open the doors of Arkham Asylum and let everyone have at it.

So, in order to keep Gotham under the watchful eye of the Urban Legend that is the Dark Knight, DC has given us the Battle for the Cowl. If you have not read the Battle For The Cowl, it's kind of fun and basically has a bunch of pretenders vying for the throne of the Caped Crusader. No spoiler alerts here, but if you're a betting man, you'd know that if the Bat were to go down the smart money would be on Nightwing as the logical replacement.

And so that brings us to Batman & Robin #1 as told by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. And it's a good story. We watch Dick Grayson struggle with the very audaciousness of replacing his mentor. He knows the world needs Batman. But does the world need Dick Grayson as Batman? And more importantly does Dick Grayson need Dick Grayson as Batman?

You knew that DC would turn the 'succession' story over to a writer as gifted as Morrison, but one of he problems he, like all comics writers face, is there is very little you can do in the vein of character development. The characters you are writing are created and iconic all you can do is tell the story. And Morrison does that well.

However, when it comes to Robin, the choice of Damian is one that sets the teeth on edge. Sure you're the illegitimate son of a billionaire and the grandson of the founder of the League of Assassins. Boo freakin' hoo. Stop acting like a little punk and get over yourself. No one is going to buy you as Batman, you're barely a passable Robin. So just shut up and learn. And if you call Alfred "Pennyworth" one more time, here's hoping he takes one of his crepes pans upside your little punk ass head.

It will be interesting to follow this story where it leads, but there is a part of us that wants to say to DC "okay, you did the dead Batman thing, now please bring him back to life and let's get on with it."

Until then Batman & Robin #2 awaits.

Retrospective: whatever happened to 'the Other?'

Okay, if there's one thing we hate at the Informant, it's continuity issues. And why wouldn't we? Continuity issues make one question the whole affair; they leave us broken men; disheartened; disheveled and inconsolable months or years after internalizing back story.

And nothing drives the Informant crazier than continuity issues in the Spider-ouevre. It apparently wasn't enough for Marvel to shuffle Peter Parker through the Clone Saga. Nope. In the absolute SNAFU that was the Civil War and its aftermath, Parker is unmasked, gets an iron suit, has few if any snide come-backs, turns into Iron-Lackey, quits being Iron-Lackey, goes on the run for seemingly forever, and loses Mary Jane to a third-tier Dr. Strange villain in order to save Aunt May, who is about 100 years old at this point, from dying. All this when a slight breeze could probably kill Aunt May in a year or so (and Mary Jane is the hottest, most caring woman on the planet).

Not to mention: all the Other stuff didn't happen now, or something, or it did but we're waiting for some stupid dialogue-deus ex machina-explanatory speech from Reed Richards.

Please. Please, please.

The Other and surrounding events, in my opinion, brought back a slightly stale franchise (though it pains me to use the modifier). Spiderman finally got a villain that wasn't some type of animal, he found a slightly more corporate stand-in for Uncle Ben and he manifested more Spider-like abilities that weren't patently ridiculous. What's not to like? Were Spider-sales that anemic?

If you want to know what I mean, buy J Michael Stracyznski's run on Spidey and compare it to One More Day (hopefully at your library, since you shouldn't pay money for jibberish). Then, buy the Other and compare it to One More Day.

If you're smart, you'll learn:

J Michael Stracyznski's run on Spidey, especially the collection "Going Home" > One More Day

the Other > One More Day

In the immortal words of Meryl Streep, "That is all."

MARVEL ZOMBIES 4 No. 1

Okay, Zombies and Super Heroes! Perfect combo. Spiderman going all undead and chewing off some poor saps face? Comedy gold. And as Marvel is the master of proving you can never have too much of a good thing, they're back with Marvel Zombies 4, a four book mini-series.

Along with my firmly held belief that white chocolate cannot be classified as chocolate, I also believe you can never go wrong by adding Zombies to just about any literary form, and that includes comics. And having read the first three Marvel Zombies installments, I was pretty happy to find Marvel Zombies 4 on the shelf.

And then I read it.

And it's okay, but it's not what I was expecting. For one thing, Marvel Zombie 4 sort of tries to but not really, take it's self seriously. The main character is Morbius and the problem with Morbius is that he's always been A) a vampire and B) morbid. There's also werewolves and witches and you'd think: cool! But not so much.

First we get an angst ridden last will and testament from Morbius and the other characters where they talk about their feelings and concern for the other people and snacks in their lives. And it interrupts the action. When I pick-up a Zombie comic story, I want slashing and dashing. Less hashing and more clashing.

And one other thing, I want my Zombies created by a Zombie virus, not from some 'other dimension'. Lame. What worked well in Marvel Zombies 1 and 2 is that it was tongue in cheek, like Sean of the Dead, and it was fun to watch Wolverine complain about being hungry all the time.

That said, there are some fun parts in issue #1. Deadpool's talking head is hilarious and hearkens back to the original stories. But unless you're a big fan of Morbius, me thinks you're going to be disappointed.

Problem One: A Zombie story should just be a lot more fun.

Problem Two: See Problem One.

Dark Avengers Issue 4

How could a super criminal - they actually call them that, you know, in Marvel land - end up helming one of the world's foremost domestic and foreign intelligence agencies? How, how, how?

Well, the how's aren't answered and probably never will be (suspension of disbelief, anyone?), but issue 4 starts showing a little bit more of that Bendis magic. Maybe, just maybe, the whole ridiculousness of this Dark Avengers run might have some excellent moments:

• We have Doom, eyes aglow, rebuilding his Kingdom brick by brick, and he is - umm - mad at Tony Stark and Nick Fury. Real mad.
• The Sentry finally shows some of that Hulk-like dangerousness. He's like a crocodile - he doesn't move very often, but when he does, you're missing an arm.
• Norman Osborn suddenly looking even more like Tony Stark - wide eyed and feeble, swept up by that elusive thing called public opinion.

Problem 1: What's really not that interesting about this whole thing is the escapades. How many damn teams have their own jets? What the Informant wants to see more of is the Norman Osborn personality quirks, the unhinged moments when he runs some nobody through with a sword.

Problem 2: Sort of getting tired of the magic. But this problem is just a sub-layer of Problem 1. It seems like just seeing Norman in a Hellicarrier, or at a desk in Avengers Tower, or in a cabinet meeting with the president, or anything not all action-packed would be preferable.

Where it works: The Sentry, believe it or not.

Buy it: Yes, until further notice.