Avengers Spotlight #29

The 'Acts of Vengeance' have come to a close. In the aftermath, Hawkeye is tasked to rescue the madcap anti-hero Madcap from a group of thugs seeking payback with Daredevil. Meanwhile, back at the Vault, as the prisoners start piling in, Iron Man completes the training of the security force with some new Stark powered armor and tech.

It's interesting seeing Madcap before he became a thorn in the side of Deadpool. Compared to how the character is now, this 30 year old plus version is way less powerful and nowhere near as nutty.

I loved how the story about the Vault takes the Acts of Vengeance full circle. Dwayne McDuffie started that huge story line in the humble pages of this Avengers spin-off. And the first issue was almost 100% contained within the walls of this super villain prison. And I loved how the story closed. True, the ending was very similar to stories of police violence that we're seeing way too much these days. But I think only McDuffie could pull it off. 

Dwayne McDuffie was a black man and so his views on how the police operate is a completely different view from mine. The ending to this story is one that we the reader roots for as it's a good guy getting revenge on a baddie. But, when you think more about this, you realize that a prison guard getting their own personal form of justice and blaming the injury of the prisoner of being clumsy, is still an action of injustice. No matter how much the villain might deserve what he's got coming to him. 

A great issue with a poignant layer hidden deep under the superheroing and zany antics.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars. 

Avengers Spotlight #28

Hawkeye and Mockingbird travel to Denver to investigate reports of the both of them committing a series of robberies in the Mile High City. Meanwhile, the Mad Thinker must take action to prevent the passing of the Superhero Registration Act, lest the new law spoil plans that the fiend has been putting into place for years. 

That mysterious guy in the trench coat I mentioned during my review of issue #26 pops back up in the Mad Thinker story. Based on clues laid in the Mad Thinker's dialogue with him, I think I've got this mystery man's identity figured out. Upon a later Wiki search, I discovered I was right!

What I've been reading so far, a minuscule amount of course, I've really enjoyed. So much that I'd really like to read the entire Acts of Vengeance story line. There are 4 MASSIVE omnibuses out there. But they're all out of print. And they aren't cheap. There's also some smaller collections. I'm just not sure if the extra time to find the non-collected stuff is worth the money saved. 

At least I've got one more AoV themed book to read. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Avengers Spotlight #27

Hawkeye is treated for an infection after being bitten by a villain in a previous story that occurred before the Acts of Vengeance. After just one dose of antibiotics, the Avenging Archer is ready to take on yet another baddie. Like that! Really?

I tell you what, Clint Barton must be made of tougher stuff than I. If I'm so ill that I need antibiotics, it will be 24-48 hours before you can expect my butt back at work. So forgive me if out of 45 years of being an avid reader of comics, this is the plot point that I am just unable to suspend my disbelief! 

Meanwhile, Stingray, Moondragon, Black Widow and several other Avengers reservists are clearing the rubble of the recently destroyed Avengers headquarters when they are attacked by the Awesome Android.

Howard Mackie joins Dwayne McDuffie on writing duties here. If this was a contest, McDuffie would be the winning section writer by a mile. Mackie's story isn't terrible. I just disagree with how able Hawkeye is to take on a super villain and rescue countless others from a burning building after being diagnosed with a bladder infection. Which, I must ask, just where did Hawkeye get bit on his body to end up with a bladder infection? 

Oh well, they can't all be Dwayne McDuffie, I guess. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Avengers Spotlight #26 (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Acts of Vengeance; Marvel's massive crossover that occurred in books dated December 1989-February 1990 begins here! 

These first two chapters (this issue is broken into 2 parts) of the beginning of Acts of Vengeance were crafted by the great Dwayne McDuffie (DC's Milestone imprint, Marvel's Damage Control). Acts of Vengeance itself was a company-wide crossover that focused on the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. The previous 3 summer crossovers were mutant heavy and Marvel's editors felt it was time for a shift in focus in order to not get stale. 

Along with this issue, the following 3 editions of Avengers Spotlight highlighted the Acts of Vengeance story line. Each issue was broken into 2 parts with Howard Mackie (Ghost Rider) spinning his tales around featured character Hawkeye and his lady fair, Mockingbird. McDuffie would feature other Avengers members, usually ones who didn't have their own series or would be considered B or C list material.

In the super-villain maximum security prison, The Vault, new procedures and protocols have been enacted as the result of Tony Stark's 'Armor Wars'. No longer equipped with Stark Tech, the guards at The Vault are armed with far less superior Stane machinery. As a result, new inmate The Wizard is able to overload the armor of the chief of security and initiate a full inmate escape! (Though to be honest, the mysterious guy in a trench coat might have also helped with the outbreak...)

Avengers Spotlight wasn't the only entry Dwayne McDuffie made to the Acts of Vengeance story line. Because of the widespread destruction that occurs in the Big Apple, McDuffie utilized the resources of the superpower disaster repair company Damage Control. Created by McDuffie in 1988, Damage Control was a tongue-in-cheek miniseries that continues to operate in the Marvel Universe to this day. The Acts of Vengeance 4-issue mini was the second volume of Damage Control.

Dwayne McDuffie is considered a pioneer to other black writers and creators in the comics field today. Though others came before him, McDuffie opened a ton of doors due to his amazing career. Shortly after Acts of Vengeance, McDuffie along with several other comic creators of color established Milestone Media to create a line of books that features a more honest representation of minorities in the comic book industry. 

During this time, Mcduffie created fan favorite Static, a black teen who gains electric based powers after being accidentally doused in chemicals during a gang war battle the youth was caught in the crossfire of.  After Milestone folded, McDuffie brought the character back with his own Cartoon Network series Static Shock! Static would even have crossovers with members of the Justice League in both the Static Shock series and Justice League Unlimited. Though not the first cartoon to star an African American, the show, which ran for 4 seasons, has been cited as an influence for other minority focused animated series like Boondocks and The Proud Family.

The legacy of Static and others lives on as in the past couple of years, DC has revitalized the Milestone universe with several new series, albeit slightly rebooted for a 2020's audience. Sadly, Dwayne McDuffie did not get to experience this new found revival of his Milestone. McDuffie passed away due to complications from emergency heart surgery in February, 2011. He was 49 years old.

Completing this review completes Task #9 (From an African American author/artist) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 

Damage Control (Series 2) #3 of 4

The new management of Damage Control has rejected the latest contract of its construction workers and thus the blue collars are on strike. Without anyone to man the bulldozers and hammer the nails, the Big Apple lies in ruins. With most of the Marvel elite superheroes missing or indisposed, there’s very little chance of their help. However, the Avengers have managed to allow the Sensational She-Hulk to help out with some excavation rescues. But when a new pair of robotized super villains arrives on the scene seeking revenge against Damage Control for their past failures, it seems like the Green Goddess isn’t going to get any work done.

The mystery as to who, how, and why the new management of Damage Control is out to ruin the company deepens. Many of your favorite characters are left without jobs. I must say that I found it interesting that the intern at DC has been given a paid assistant executive job while the entire R&D department is laid-off. Would that happen in the real corporate world? DC also gets a new intern, but they’re often unpaid, so I can understand that move.

Speaking of DC, I think the powers that be at Marvel decided to take some pot shots at their rival comic publisher. Many of the strikers brandish signs that say “DC Sucks” or “DC is Lousy.” Sure, Damage Control can be shortened to DC like I’ve done in this review. But, I think the editors and artist Ernie Colon took advantage of that fact and used it to stick it to their opponents.

I’m not sure if I applaud that or think it’s a low blow. I’m still pondering that and that may affect my rating of this issue in the future when I come to a final decision.

Worth Consuming.

Rating (as of 7/12/14): 8 out of 10 stars

Damage Control (Series 2) #2 of 4

The new CEO of Damage Control, Robin, is in the Punisher’s sights after she goes to the office of the Kingpin. Robin has gone to meet with the villain to announce that his stranglehold on the company will not have a bearing on the repairs to New York City in the aftermath of the Acts of Vengeance storyline. Frank Castle can’t hear what they are saying but in his warped mind, any dealing with a known super villain makes you a villain as well.

I like that the Punisher finally gets a taste of his own medicine in Robin. She’s a take no prisoners (or crap from anyone) type of gal. So, when Castle points a loaded machine gun at her noggin, she brushes it away not out of fear for her life, but that he might ruin her furniture. It’s a very clever take on an anti-hero that I think has been given way too much credit. Bravo Dwayne McDuffie for not kowtowing to Marvel and making the Punisher the comic foil instead of the over bloated-ego hero for once.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damage Control (Series 2) #1 of 4

This volume of Damage Control begins during the ‘Acts of Vengeance’ storyline where all of the Marvel Universe villains have teamed up and laid waste to the Big Apple and those costumed heroes who protect it. The Mayor of New York is clamoring for Damage Control to begin immediate repairs. However, with a shift in upper management comes a new owner of Damage Control- one of which looks to trim the fat from what they deem ‘unnecessary expenses.’ So unless the crew of Damage Control can justify spending millions and millions of dollars on man hours, construction materials, and heavy machinery, Manhattan will have to lie in rubble.

Meanwhile, as Gotham burns, John Porter and a crew of security experts have been called to the Cage, a maximum security prison designed to keep the worst of the worst super villains off the streets. Thanks to a prison riot during  the Acts of Vengeance, the Cage is far from secure. Now with the Damage Control repair crew trapped with the riff-raff the prison is designed to keep out of society, only Captain America can be spared in hopes of quelling the riot and bringing our construction crew heroes out safely.

So there are essentially 2 stories in this issue- the shakeup at Damage Control and the prison riot. I liked the prison riot part of this issue. It captured the fun, the thrills, and the off-the-wall laughs of the first series. The buy-out of Damage Control was something I felt like I could do without. I am of the maxim “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Yes, that rule of thumb makes me hate change, but I really felt like Damage Control was perfect as it is. Hopefully life for the employees will return to normal by the end of this series. I would hate for this new boss to be on staff permanently.

Thus, this makes for an uneven tale. I liked the great sketchy art of Ernie Colon and the prison scenes prove that writer Dwayne McDuffie still has it. Maybe this first issue was like a pilot on TV. It’s going to get better, you just have to work the introductions and kinks in the plot out before it becomes an instant classic. God, I hope so!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.