Archive for the ‘Agents of Atlas’ Category
Or – “Why Long-Distance Relationships Don’t Work…”
Jimmy Woo and his Agents have crossed swords with tyrants, monsters, aliens, even the cyborg son of the villain known as the Mandarin, but nothing could prepare him for an opponent who shares his resources, who heads up an organization as pervasive and insidious as Atlas, who even has a bigger killer robot! Worse than that, his antagonist has been revealed to be his long-lost love Suwan… Fame. Ain’t it a b!+c#?
Or – “Most People Don’t Know That His Full Name Is Manuel Labór.”
So, I have completed my daily labors, overseeing the dozen fellers and gals what make up the current workgroup to call themselves Team RamRod (”See, you’re Arkot Ramathorn… Ram. And I’m Rodney Farva… Rod. Team RamRod!”) and I am preparing to have some spaghetti and hang out with friends, but first I wanted to catch up with some of the many titles that I’ve neglected over the busy last days of August…
RAPID-FIRE REVIEW TIME!
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Or – “Of Course I’m Serious. And Don’t Call Me Shirley.”
Oh say can you see…
By the dawn’s early light!
What so proudly we hail…
In the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose bright stripes and broad stars,
In the perilous night…
For the ramparts we watched,
uh, da-da-da-da-da-daaaa…
And the rocket’s red glare!
Buncha bombs in the air!
Gave proof to the night!
That we still had our flag!
Oh say does that flag banner wave,
Over a-a-all that’s free!
And the home of the land…
And the land of the – FREE!
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Or – “We Hold These Comics To Be Self-Evident…”
Today is American Independence Day, commonly referred to as July 4th, as it takes place on the 4th of July, hence the name, and that’s why the song is called Alice’s Restaurant… To all the faithful Spoilerites of the United States, Happy 4th of July. For those of you who are from elsewhere, sorry about all the hegemony and stuff. Either way, it’s time for another bout of our Rapid Fire Reviews, bite-sized chunks of comics that I either couldn’t write three paragraphs about, or ran out of time to cover. Give us your tired, your poorly drawn, your huddled masses of comics, yearning to be bagged in mylar…
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Marvel is trying to tempt readers to the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited service once again by offering up Agents of Atlas #0 and Agents of Atlas #1 for free.
Collecting three new-reader friendly short stories from Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust, Dark Reign: New Nation and Agents of Atlas #7, all written by critically-acclaimed scribe Jeff Parker, you’ll get the answers to your questions! Who are the Agents of Atlas? What role did they play in Secret Invasion? What’s their new mission during Dark Reign? And just what’s it like to take a peek inside the mind of the enigmatic Mr. Lao?
The link to Agents of Atlas #0 can be found here, while you can read Agents of Atlas #1 right here.
Or – “Off To Meet My Doom, Mom! See You After School!”
Comic book publishing schedules puzzle me. The Twelve hasn’t come out in what seems like a year, while Agents of Atlas is apparently on a bi-weekly status, and Spider-Man is coming out every sixteen minutes or so. Wolverine alone accounts for half the forests destroyed in the United States every month. The major publishers can’t seem to decide whether it’s a market for the celebrity auteur writer, or whether it’s the characters who sell the books regardless of creator. When Wolverine #73 came out a few weeks ago (before the publication of #72) it occurred to me that the entire industry is run by the pointy-haired boss from Dilbert, and that I should really just relax.
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Or – “OH, GNAAAAAAAAAAARRRRLY!!”
It’s so easy to blow up your problems, it’s so easy to play up your breakdown. It’s so easy to fly through a window, it’s so easy to fool with the sound. Life’s the same, I’m moving in stereo… Life’s the same, except for my shoes. Life’s the same, you’re shakin’ like tremolo. Life’s the same, it’s all inside you. Life’s the same, I’m moving in stereo… Life’s the same, except for my shoes. Life’s the same, you’re shakin’ like tremolo. Life’s the same, it’s all inside you!
Read the rest of this entry »
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Or – “Cameos. The Mark Of Staying Power In The Marvel Universe.”
Robert Grayson. The original Marvel Boy. Bob probably has the most visible track record of all the Agents, having had his own series back in the day, a high-profile return and seeming death in Fantastic Four some time later, and several other schmucks who have taken his name and run with it. Originally possessing the Quantum Bands that later fell to Wendell Vaughan, Bob now uses his superior technology and alien-rewired brain for the greater good, whether the world wants the greater good or not. But is even Bob’s telepathy and sheer weirdness enough to take down the artist formerly known as Bucky?
Or – “The Sensational Character Finds Of 1958… Give Or Take Half A Century.”
Namora of Atlantis. Serious biceps on a serious superhuman. The various Agents of Atlas each have their own special niche in life, and hers is “The Muscle.” More reasonable than her cousin, more powerful than her disintegrated daughter, she still looks pretty awesome in black leather and a crown of shells. Now, take this into account: She’s over 75 years old.
Kinda puts Grandma in a whole new light, doesn’ t it?
Marvel has announced that Agents of Atlas #2 sold out at the distributor level, and is sending the issue back to print with — wait for it — a variant cover by Chris Bachalo. And it is a really cool cover. Anything with a gorilla riding a motorcycle, and Gort from The Day The Earth Stood Still on the cover has got to be good.
Or – “Occasionally, Marvel Does Something Very, Very Right…”
Years ago, when I started reading comics, there were a few elusive issues that I sought out endlessly, but had trouble finding. Hulk #161. Marvel Spotlight #5. Power Man #1. But one of the hardest to find was What If #9, the first appearance of “The Avengers of the 1950’s.” It was an odd little tale, with pre-Stan and Jack heroes Marvel Boy, Venus, Namora, the 3-D Man, Gorilla Man and the Human Robot joining forces against… I dunno, Communist Alien Tranvestite Robots or something. These characters were reunited in Avengers Forever some years ago, and were again reunited to once and for all end the threat of the Yellow Claw to the Marvel Universe once and for all. Our assemblage of characters (minus the 3-D Man, who wasn’t actually one of Atlas Comics 1950’s heroes, but a ’70’s retcon) has returned to action in a post-Dark Reign world, and their place in that landscape is… NOT what you might expect.
Marvel is sending Agents of Atlas #1 back to print, complete with a variant cover. The variant cover features interior art by artist Carlo Pagulayan. The second printing arrives in stores March 11, 2009 and features a cover price of $2.99. UPDATE: Marvel let us know the second printing will actually be $3.99.
Marvel has a giant comic coming out featuring the Avengers and Agents of Atlas. The company has sent us a sneak peek at Giant-Size Marvel Adventures – The Avengers #1, which send the Avengers back to the 1950’s.
Or – “Goodbye, Yellow Claw Road…”
Wow, that’s a really terrible play on words, even for me. Sorry ’bout that. In the previous five issues of Agents of Atlas, we’ve seen everything but the kitchen sink: erstwhile gods, apes with guns, resurrections, insurrections, lost princesses of undersea kingdoms, evil corporate entities, even automotons with death rays, and each issue has been consistently excellent. Mostly shunning the industry-wide shift towards decompression, Agents of Atlas has been a high-speed tilt-a-whirl ride which takes all the old pulp and movie serial elements and put them together in a whole new matrix of awesome. But, does issue six uphold the standard of excellence?
Or – “What Exactly IS A Human Robot, Anyway?”
It’s a fine time to be a comics fan. Characters as wildly diverse as Detective Chimp, Spider-Woman, Machine Man, Nightmaster, and Animal Man are all back in the spotlight, and it seems like nobody’s favorite obscure character is going to stay obscure for long. Marvel and DC alike are delighting in revamping, reviving, and revitalizing guys that most people figured were long gone. Most impressively, they’re doing it in a way that manages to breathe new life without negating that which has gone before. Most of the cast of this comic is well over 5 decades old, but they’ve never been this good (some would say ANY good) before…
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