Skrulls for Christmas?!

I mean, really?!

Let me start by saying Marvel Holiday Special isn’t all that bad. In fact, it’s good that Marvel continues to put out a tradition DC has all but forgotten (last year’s Infinite Christmas Special was great, if not superior to its Marvel counterpart, but they dropped it this year. Instead we got a Halloween special . . . and David Arquette’s Color Coded Werewolves. Yay.)

The first story - Piece of Cake by Andrew Farago and Shaenon K. Garrity - is probably the best in the whole book, as Wolverine and Spider-Man face off against an unemployed mall Santa and his Sentinel while trying to deliever a cake to Aunt May. This one never loses footing, striking the proper balance between action and comedy, and never letting one do away with the other completely. Plus, it also has the best line - “Look! It’s Spider-Man! And he’s got CAKE!”

Fred Hembeck’s Merry Christmas, illustrating a whole bunch of characters in Santa suits, was a somewhat disappointing filler. It’s amusing for all of about five seconds, and then you’re done.

Secret Santa is a bit hard to read unless you’ve read C.B. Cebulski’s Loners. I was a big fan of all the characters involved, so I really didn’t mind, but on the other hand, there was so much reference to the events of the previous series, I was kind of lost. It had a heartfelt Christmas message though, so that what counts.

And finally, we’ve got The Meaning of Christmas by Mike Carey. The story of a down-on-his-luck Bugle reporter who teleports across the Marvel Universe to find the meaning of Christmas, this one is filled with all the tongue-in-cheek humor Devin was talking about earlier. The problem is it holds itself be semi-in-continuity, and fails miserably. First off, no one - not even the writers of Marvel - seems to remember the Inhumans are fallen under the control of Maximus post-Silent War. But the episode ends with the reporter getting his raise, as his editor is replaced by a Skrull!)

Now did we really need that? That’s the problem with the doom and gloom of the many crossovers - it cuts into the holiday cheer. Just like the steller “Piece of Cake” is undermined by the knowledge by Aunt May might die and M.J. and Peter’s marriage might be erased by Mephisto. We find harder and harder to pause and have a good time. And that’s really turning people away from BOTH Marvel AND DC!

Sinbad: Rogue of Mars from the Ray Harryhausen Presents line presents a John Carter take on the popular mythical hero. I like the religious themes placed within the titular character, as well as several references to the classic stop-motion movies of the good old days. There’s not real mention how Sinbad would up on Mars, but I suppose that’s a tale for another time.

Justice of League of America #16 contains the closest thing to a DC Christmas, with a Red Arrow back-up story written by Dwayne McDuffie’s JL colleague Alan Burnett. The story of Red Arrow chasing down an old foe from the early Teen Titans day in a soup line, the story is short and sweet with simple Christmas cheer while paying a slight nod to the events of Salvation Run. Unlike “The Meaning of Christmas”, its themes are elevated by the continuity events instead of muddled by them. On the other hand, the rest of the book is a bit confusing. The story heralds the return of the Flash, but instead of Wally West we get . . . some blond girl from an alternate universe. Great. We also get the Atom . . . but not the Atom (Ray Palmer), but - yes - another guy from a parrallel universe. Great.

I also picked up the previous issue of New Warriors. It occurs to me the one thing that makes Marvel so cool is that sometimes the man on the street is just as much a hero as the man in tights. In this issue, powerless Sophia Mantega tangles with a murderous supervillain named the Zodiac. Shot from behind, Sophia goes down - and paramedis arrive on scene to get the unregistered Sophia out before the Feds show up. The unexpected gesture here is one of the great things about the Marvel Universe - and its something Joe Q. should take note of.

The second issue of Angel: After the Fall is better than the first. The humor is more prevalent, and the characters more well-rounded than the shock tones of the previous issue. On the plus side, Spike is downright hilarious in role reversal of Angel in the fifth season - while Angel started out a lapdog of Wolfram and Hart, Spike is now seen as a has-been primadonna overlooking Beverly Hills. Surronded by beautiful women chanting “Bloody Hail”, its a role Spike plays particularly well. Still, I can’t say the same about the now-vampiric baddie Gunn, who supposedly fell from grace during the series-ending suicide run. For all his huffing and puffing, he sounds just like Jason Todd - whine whine whine.

And lastly, Gail Simone’s Wonder Woman is great. Though not as funny as last month, the issue provides great details on Diana’s birth as well as her mother’s ultra-devout honor guards - who appear to have turned against her during Diana’s birth. Plus, there’s more of her gorilla warrior roommates - a troop of characters I hope Gail Simone keeps around!

Next week sees the conclusion of One More Day in Amazing Spider-Man #545. I’m probably not going to pick it up . . . and in fact, since the general rationale is that MJ and Peter Parker will sacrafice their marriage to keep Aunt May alive, which has to be one of STUPIDEST THINGS I’VE EVER HEARD.

New Warriors #7 involves the fully-formed team after their first story-arc, as well as what the rest of the old New Warriors (is this getting confusing or what?) think about the exploits of their successors. I’m more or less hooked at this point.

And X-Men #206 is the next Messiah Complex - I’m so behind after the Midwest snow - revealing a traitor somewhere in the ranks. There’s also a Mutant Files out, detailing the powers of the various characters.

That’s all for next week! Have a happy holiday and see you next year!

If you liked that, try...

1. Comic Rundown: Green Mists, Green Lanterns and Green Skrulls
2. Comic Rundown: So Far, Messiah Complex Lives Up to Hype
3. Comic Rundown: Has Angel Fallen?
4. Comic Rundown: Nova Still Rocks and Captain Marvel’s a Skrull
5. Comic Rundown: Hellboy and What the Hell is up with Green Arrow?

3 Comments »

1. 
   Shawn M.
   December 20, 2007 at 6:40 pm

   Shaenon Garrity, ‘eh? Is that story a freelance deal, or has she landed a steady gig at The House that Stan Built?

   [Reply]

2. 
   Migo
   December 20, 2007 at 7:56 pm

   Sacrificing a marriage for the sake of a life that’s already 300 centuries old? Brilliant!

   As for the holiday special, I’m definitely surprised to see a webcomic name pop up in the world of print comics. Shaenon, for those who don’t know, is the creator of Narbonic. You’ve also made my entire day with “Look! It’s Spider-Man! And he’s got CAKE!”. Priceless, simply priceless.

   [Reply]

3. 
   Richard
   December 20, 2007 at 9:18 pm

   Yeah, I think Shaenon did a story for Marvel Holiday Special last years, so it seems like the Narbonic creator may just be getting a semi-steady gig at Marvel, but I don’t know its just season or if there’s more projects coming down the road.

   And yes, Migo - I think Aunt May would pluck the life support from her veins if she could. She’s lived a long life - she’s pushing the most elderly character in comics - and this deal is just stupid to begin with! It’s just Joe Q. - vehemently opposed to the Peter/MJ marriage - trying to make it so Peter won’t be a divorcee or widower, because, you know, that might make him less sympathetic. I know - let’s make him a Faustian! That’ll really make him sympathetic!

   [Reply]

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