All*Star Reborn: Update 5/21/2010

Here you go the very first update of the new year and the new decade! Originally Hellcat was to be part of this update but I lost the issue and I'm waiting for it to be sent back into me by Jan. In the meantime enjoy these four new issues. When reading the Avengers series read them in the following order: Avengers, Mighty Avengers, and Caterpillars. All three issues take place after one another.

Avengers #1: Homeland Security Part 1
Written by Justin Santos
This issues has most of the scenes from the previous issue, only the American Fraud storyline is gone. I have added scenes with Iron Man, Captain America, Falcon, and Beast. Someone has attacked the Unites States and its up to the Avengers to find out who and prevent a possible second attack. [read here]

Caterpillars #1: The Initiation
Written by Laudo
A sorceress from L.A. An honor-role student from Chicago. A Princess from an under-water world. A young New Yorker with low aspirations. A brother and sister with a secret as old as time. What do these individuals have in common, and what does enigmatic organization known as The Caterpillar Group want with them? Tread lightly, because the answers will only bring you more questions... [read here]

 

Doctor Strange #6: Colors Part 2

Written by JanO 

Stephen considers his own desires versus his reponsibilities. How can he convince himnself that he can travel to the past to meet with Leonardo da Vince & Cagliostro? And what is so damn important about that anyway? Also: Clea and Arana... have tea? [read here]

 

Mighty Avengers #5: Homeland Security Part 2
Written by Justin Santos & Laudo
Namor has burst into UN headquarters demanding to speak with the Mighty Avengers, what is his reasoning behind this? When the United States is under attack can the team stay together or will they break apart? The road to Red Dominion begins here. Guest-starring Captain America and his Avengers. [read here]

Edited by Justin Santos - 21-May-2010 at 10:08am

Mighty Avengers #5
This was an awesome kick-off to what promises to be a great partnership. I loved working with you, Justin, and can't wait to get started on the next arc. The scenes you wrote were brilliant, and I think our styles work well together.

Also thank you for the kind words about Caterpillars. And it's not like you missed some big thing, because I pretty sure only like 10 people besides me read ClanDestine. If you do pick it up though, you still won't know what to expect from Thad, as he appeared in a flashbook in one issue, and had no dialogue. He's the closest to an original character that I have on the main cast.

I have some rather violently conflicting emotions about Mighty Avengers #5. I have some very positive things to say and some much more negative things. However, rather than post some rambling unstructured words now, I think I will sleep on it and get back to you in the morning. One quite simple thing though is that it would have been very good to have a note at the beginning of the issue indicating that "This issue takes place after Avengers #1", something similar for Caterpillars would also have been good.

To be perfectly honest, I hardly know any of the cast from Caterpillars. I've never read Runaways, which, I assume, is where most of the cast come from. There wasn't a lot to comment on here though. I don't know whether or how you've changed the cast from their 616 iterations and there's little plot beside the establishing of basic backgrounds for characters, which makes it difficult to say anything of any constructive nature at all regarding this title.

Still, I don't read any of those titles.

I do know who Namorita is, and I am vaguely familiar with Speedball (owing to his pivotal Civil War role) though I hadn't realised this was him, but I don't really know much about either of them other than what could be picked up from guest appearances and things. I guess I mostly have interest in the "classic" Marvel stable more than the recent introductions.

Edit:
Okay, Mighty Avengers #5.
Let's get the bad news out the way first. IMHO, most of the cast of this issue, by which I refer to both teams of Avengers, lacked individual 'voices'. In part, I've no doubt this is a result of half the cast rushing abruptly in and overcrowding the main fight scene - perhaps this did pay off in part by creating a bigger fight scene, but even before the visiting Adjectiveless Avengers stormed in, the bulk of the MA team seem to all be the same character just in different bodies. Too much of the time, the dialogue sounds like either Spider-Man or Joey from Friends is speaking. This is particularly apparent in Jen's dialogue - she's a trained lawyer, it's wholly unbuyable that she would gawp, "Nazis? They still exist?" As if she were a teenager who gets all their world information from whichever soap teenagers watch these days. Although, to your credit, Luke Cage's response to that awful line is a very good one.
While, for me, the majority of the issue was unfortunately overshadowed by the homogenisation of most the cast into an army of 'Joey Parker's there were some very good things in this issue. For one, the meeting of the two Avengers teams has finally provided the All*Star Reborn imprint with a solid grounding in the Avengers/Heroes branch, giving us a great fight and an increased sense that the stories do interlace.
The use of Nick Fury (a character unaffected by the homogenisation) was very good and well reasoned through. The differing aims and responsibilities of the two teams are becoming more solidified now, which is a very good thing.
The narrative does read very smoothly in the sense that you cannot tell who wrote which bits. I did think before reading that you two have quite complimentary writing styles, though I had expected to be able to tell easily who wrote what, it turns out though that it's not easy to tell who wrote what at all, so you've done very well at integrating into a team.
My absolute favourite thing about this though is what you've done with Black Panther. Panther is one the characters I think has best retained their individuality this issue. You guys haven't written him the same as I think LCF would have done, but I like what you've done with him. The scene where the whole MA team turns their backs on BP is one I'm certain LCF's version of Panther would never have allowed, yet somehow I'm convinced that it happened smoothly and naturally without feeling forced or that the character had been fundamentally changed. As the story progresses from this point, we see T'Challa's behaviour change believably as he seems to feel alienated from the rest of his group and practically clings to his fellow royal, Namor, whom also seems to have retained his individuality, as if he's looking for some moral support from the Atlantean. Prospects for T'Challa's character development seem to grow exponentially throughout the whole issue, and, as Captain America enters, one can sense the Wakandan King feeling slightly inadequate next to Steve, particularly as it is Cap who rallies both teams behind him to a united effort.

Overall in this issue you've done a lot for the team's establishment and cementation of their role within the continuity. There's some good plot points and a lot of potential leads to follow up on for T'Challa's characterisation, but there's otherwise a general lack of character development. A sense that the number of cast members outnumbers the of actual individual characters pervades the story. That said, you can be sure that I'm still not in favour of rushing in new cast members just because they're in the title's dibs list. Next time out I really want to see each character have something set them apart from their team mates, otherwise they're just window dressing. I hope you don't take the criticism too harshly - I know it's within both your abilities to write characters as individuals as you've both done so much more effectively in your other titles. Yes, it's tricky to work with someone else's cast of characters, but you can do it. I know you can.


Edited by Grantrs - 05-Feb-2010 at 4:56pm

I forgot to look back here to see your feedback Grant. I really don't think you were too harsh. This is actually my first time ever writing all five of these characters so there's bound to be characterization problems. I do like where we were going BP. T'Challa is used to people following his rule but now he's dealing with four members who's loyalties are with the US (well Thor was just following Jenn). I still gotta work some more on the others to get their own personalities for the series, I'm sure I'll get it down.

Will try to get some feedback for Jan soonish. For a change I'm reading an actual published book at the moment (among other things) which is taking the time I would normally spend on reading ASR.

Should I do feedback for Justin? I don't know, probably Justin has a good idea of what I thought was good in his writing on X-Men 2, so it would just be for the benefit of outside parties if I did do feedback. For what it's worth though, I think Justin and I have much more contrasting writing styles than Mackers and I so I'm intrigued to see if anyone, particularly Jan though, thinks that we've managed to mesh our writing styles together at all. I have a suspicion that it probably looks obvious as to who wrote what, but then I also suspect that some of those 'obvious' seeming bits may actually be rather misleading. We shall see though.

Don't worry about it :), next update is just fine. I should have the next issue done by then so then it can be released the one after that and I might be able to have steady output lol.

Will be catching up on ASR stuff with reviews in the next few days.

Thanks for the FB on Hellcat. Nighthawk used to be a Defender back in the seventies, and you may have noticed my all-star line-up is littered with seventies-stuff. Expect some more Defenders to show up in some capacity. And yeah, Patsy does have a bit of a Batman-vibe, feeling it's her responsibility to do ehat she does. Why? Keep reading!

Well, as I think most of us here really put an effort into creating something that people will enjoy reading, not just in terms of plot but also in terms of our actual writing, so that is what I like to comment on. I have much firmer grasp on what makes Justin's stuff unique, from having gone over Arana in much detail to get her just right for her guest-spot in Dr. Strange. Grantr's style is much more difficult to pin down exactly, at least for me. You have a flair for narative and descriptive prose, but very different from say, Mackers. I truly feel I could pick his stuff from a jumble of stories, because of the way he manages to describe stuff in such detail without it feeling forced. Grantr's is more subdued, leaving room for interpretation while at the same time conveying meaning. It's a good style, which I personally strive for. I sometimes have a tendency to describe too much, and then I loose myself while reading.

:D

I think the rumours are ture: most Dutch people are better at the English language than the English are. It seems to apply to Belgians too, but I'd be getting sidetracked if I said that.

I sometimes have a tendency to describe too much, and then I loose myself while reading.

You know, I often have this feeling about my own writing. Lately I've been trying to write more like Justin than I have been doing in the past, in the sense of avoiding exactly what you said above. This collaboration was/is an excellent opportunity and facilitator for me to try that. Not only is it very enjoyable to co-write with other people, but I feel, in that sense, this is also a learning opportunity for me. When I eventually get my next solo issues done, we'll see, or at least the more observent people here will see, whether it's made an impact at all.

I can't thank you enough, Jan, it's absolutely riveting to read your impressions here.

Edit:
Okay, let's see if I can remember how to post feedback myself: Hellcat #2:
Spelling: customers not costumers. That was kind of critical because it came up twice when Patsy was in her shop and I was thinking you were referring to other costumed heroes or bounty hunters who were wearing costumes. At one point before figuring out the spelling confusion I was asking myself what kind of bookstore is this? Some kind of specialist RPG cosplay type store?
Other than that minor setback, I hardly feel worthy of commenting. As with your Doc Strange, there are mysteries and surprises at every corner. The mystery of who is actually trying to help and who isn't is a delightful torture, if you understand my meaning. The action scenes are to the point with clear description and of comfortable detail. Elsewhere detail levels and paragraph length push a little further toward upper limits, but even for my perhaps restrictive taste don't overstep the lines.
The potential brewing here for crossovers and cross references is almost literally mouthwatering and certainly inspirational from a personal point of view. You made a handful of references yourself, so rest assured that they are appreciated, and have my congratulations that they all feel so natural.
In fact, speaking of how natural it is. Very little seemed forced. One snippet of dialogue “Yeah, that isn’t creepy!” the exception. To me, that line sailed very close the fourth wall, which would be fine for a light-hearted Spider-Man or Deadpool style title, but here stood out. In my experience people only speak like that in fiction, save for very rare moments, but it depends what you're going for in terms of mood.
I must say, I'm a big appreciator of what you've been doing with the Daimon Hellstrom character. For me, this is the driving force behind the story and it's what would make me come back for more. Patsy herself has been a little bit more of a passenger this time out, almost solely reacting and not starting any initiatives. I can almost imagine a yet unrevealed villain to be orchestrating the whole thing.
Very, very good. Bravo.


Edited by Grantrs - 04-May-2010 at 9:24pm

Here's the May update, hope everyone enjoys reading.

Araña #8: War of the Arachnids Part 1 (Spider Society: Reborn Tie-In)
Written by Justin Santos
The flashbacks are over. It's time to move forward. For the first time Araña meets Spider-Man and he's not exactly what you'd expect, he's not even Peter Parker. Meanwhile, Goblin must deal with the Wasp Hunter that is starting to control Llamarado. And while our heroes are mixed up with their current problems, new ones begin their plans for the city. Zebediah Killgrave has Felicia Hardy and the Tribe of the Scorpion is after the Spider Hunter. It's nothing but craziness as we enter "Spider Society: Reborn!"

Fantastic Four #1: Origins and Endings Part 1
Written by Scott Redmond
Reed Richards is one of the world's smartest men. Had his first patent by ten. Graduated from M.I.T with highest honors by thirteen. Owned his own company by fifteen. The sky is the limit for Richards, but that's the problem. There is only one last frontier for him to explore, one last mountain to climb: Space.

Thanks for the feedback, I'm really liking where things are going right now. lol to your last comment, I guess I'm slipping.