Still finishing my books...

I think Marvel Comics Presents (Issue 9 out this week) is being cancelled. I have no evidence yet, but all the stories end at issue #12 (let's hope they last that long) and I think the sales have been weak. Which is a shame because, much like the previous incarnation, you are guaranteed some good art and/or writing in each issue and they're all reasonably enjoyable. Again, I am biased toward the anthology format (I stuck with Spider-Man's Tangled Web until the bitter end), but this was a fun book. Sure, this issue is illustrative of the uneven nature of the book, but I still like it. To wit, it took two writers to write an incoherent ramble staring the Hulk (called Gammarag, maybe, or something, but at least Ed McGuinness's art is great (colored over pencils, I think, so none of Dexter Vines' inks). Then, there's Machine Man (here, more thoughtful and dour than the version in NextWave) drawn by Niko Henrichon, which is coherent, and brings in his unique history. Then there's two long-form stories that fluctuate issue to issue, but are generally pretty good. And it's probably all going to end once all those stories wrap. So sad.

More sad news: Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men has ended with a Giant-size special. And it was good. Don't believe the anti-hype. After a run that was less-than-stellar art-wise, John Cassaday nails every single panel in this issue. Plus, Whedon is in top form. Overall, this is a very good end to an excellent series. Now, Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi take over and, well, we'll see. But hopes are low, though.

Oh, and Matt Fraction is finishing up his run on Immortal Iron Fist. Issue #15 is an okay issue. I think the timing is off: the previous flashback issue had come right after a storyline that introduced and showed glimpses of the previous Iron Fists. This issue features a character that hasn't been mentioned for a year and, while decent enough, it fails to connect to the greater narrative effectively. Still, I liked it. Though, does anyone remember that K'un L'un is a land that exists in and out of time because of an extra-dimensional ship that crashed there and affected its synching with time and space and is inhabited by human-alien hybrids? Just curious...

And now, fun stuff:

Daredevil 107 reunites Ed Brubaker with Greg Rucka and they come up with a cliched plot that, in anyone elses hands, could easily veer into "hackneyed". But they pull it off. Good stuff.

Marvel 1985 is a surprisingly good book. I was expecting, well, "event" Mark Millar -- the one who wrote Civil War, Fantastic Four, and Wanted. Instead, this is more in line with, say Superman: Red Son: an attempt at an actual, literary comic from a guy who spent the last several years writing books about kicking people in the face (like next weeks Kick A--). Needless to say, I was surprised. Sure, as Matt said, this could all be a trite Twilight Zone with Marvel characters, but at least Millar is self-aware enough to poke fun at himself and the industry. There is a great scene of the main character buying books at his LCS and discussing crossovers and how they mess up the main storylines. Rather than rely on Wedding Singer-style "Hey, it's 1985, it's so lame but retro" jokes, he mixes genuine love and nostalgia for the books of 1985. So, while pointing out that Secret Wars started the comic speculation boom, he doesn't hate on Secret Wars; instead he talks about it and its corporate brethern with affection. So, yeah, I liked it. A lot.

And that's it for the day. Tomorrow, THOR! X-FORCE! FABLES!