Or - “Because I’ve Fallen Further Behind Than Ever Before…”

I have to tell you, two weeks of being unable to type without crying like a little girl really makes your work pile up.  The last couple of weeks of comics have been a tumultuous ride, with a whole lot of minor things happening that made me happy.  An old favorite disappoints, while a surprise contender impresses the heck out of me.  British vampires, time-lost Arcturans, underground civilizations, the chupacabra, and a fifty-foot stalk of marijuana await you, beyond the fold!

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Or - “In Which I Discuss The Changing Role Of The Limited Series…”

It’s difficult to remember that, in comics terms, the Limited Series has only been around for a few short years.  (Well, I should probably amend that statement to say the INTENTIONALLY Limited Series.  A lot of books ran 4, 5, or 6 issues and got cancelled due to sales, editorial caveat, or general sucktitude.)  Used to be that the point of the Limited Series was to showcase characters who hadn’t been seen in a while, or to finish off story points that didn’t have another venue.  These days it seems like the Limited Series is nothing but a backdoor pilot, a way of saying “we’re just not sure this concept has legs.”  And unfortunately, many of the current crop of limiteds suffers because of this mentality…  Is Last Defenders one of them?  Clickety click click click, dangolinternet!

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Or - “How DID Devil-Slayer And Son Of Satan Co-Exist, Anyway?”

I give Tony Stark a lot of crap, especially since he turned into Doctor Doom for our own good, but it’s obvious that the man doesn’t understand one whit what makes the Defenders tick.  The point of the Non-Team was always that it’s members CHOSE to associate with one another, and then events just sort of occurred AROUND them.  Far from being a low-rent Avengers, the Defenders were instead friends and associates who acted heroically in those situations where big-name teams couldn’t have gone or wouldn’t have even bothered.  To put it bluntly, the Defenders are the intuitive flip-side of the Avengers calculated heroism.

Which proves that Iron Man, frankly, isn’t nearly as smart as he wants us to think…

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Or - “This Just In!  Former President Kyle Richmond Is Alive And Well            
                                      And Under Tony Stark’s Thumb!”       

For the longest time in Marvel Comics, there were two tiers of heroes: those created by Stan & Jack in the ’60s and the rest of them.  If you read late 70’s/early 80’s Marvel, you know what I’m talking about…  The way the other Avengers kowtowed to Captain America, to Iron Man, even to the Scarlet Witch.  Or the way that the not terrifically interesting Cyclops just had to be the leader of a group of X-Men who were much more interesting than he.  This dichotomy was also on display in the Defenders, where 70’s mainstays like Nighthawk, Hellcat, Valkyrie and others had to play Greek chorus while Doctor Strange brooded, Namor simmered, and the Hulk ate beans.  Now that Marvel’s editorial staff are all men in their 30’s who grew up with the second wave of Marvel characters, they’re getting respect in a way they never have before.  But, will Nighthawk fare as well as Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman and Luke Cage?

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