Posted in: Comics, Review | Tagged: Comics, Mark Millar, vertigo

Wednesday Comics Reviews – Cinderella: Fables Are Forever 1 and Avengers Vs New Ultimates 1

Published Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:30:48 -0600

Last updated Wed, 09 Feb 2011 07:01:49 -0600

Yes, just because it's the first chapter of the Death of Spider-Man arc, don't expect it to actually have Spider-Man in it, in any shape or form.

Leinil Yu has returned to Mark Millar's four-series strong arc on the Ultimates books, replacing the previously unknown planned artist who dropped out. With Superior also shipping on a fairly regular basis, they've come quite the double act and Yu's apparent speed belies the amount of fan-favourite detail he drops in every page.

So, as we start the first issue of Avengers Vs New Ultimates with a snow covered rail line in Bulgaria facing down the Hammer Of Thor (and just that), the detail of teh scene does so much to draw us in. And then we're taken to pretty much the exact opposite of that. The book also kicks off with scenes that are reflective more of The Authority than The Ultimates, as the last arc saw Thor defeat vampires by teleporting the ship they were invading into the middle of the Persian desert in Iran in the noon of the day, killing them off. See, that's an Authority solution, as is the impact having a massive US warship in Iran, though it's very much in keeping with the gradual power grabs taken by the Ultimates in the decisions they make.

And so we see power plays across the world, both grounded in reality, yet making swoops into the fantastic, that seems to be Yu's unique selling point, and presumably why he was picked for Superior. This is nothing but big scale boombastic fantasy, but it's kept closer to us, something Steve Dillon failed to capture in the previous arc. But not even a mention of Spider-Man, save on the cover.

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #1 is also competing for the longest title for a debut issue this week. It's also all about the snow in Eastern Europe. But rather to contrast with desert or big explosions, this is all about the cold war. The spy via film-noir. So we get James Bond babes in bikinis in Russian hot tubs, but we also get slatted blinds for the light to shine through, illuminating our beautiful Cinderalla. And a silver slipper to set the bait for the thriller to come.

So yes, this is very much a thematic sequel to the team's previous Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love. And any excuse to enjoy Shawn McManus' art is welcome, whether its log cabins with TARDISes inside them or anthromormorphic large rodents, crystalline cats or silver spoons marching as to war. With Chris Roberson adeptly handling backstories strecthing across the decades and murders in the present, with so many scenes, I'm wondering how this book will cope if it moves from its current 22 pages to 20 pages. Seriously, what could you have cut or moved around here? It's a perfectly packaged piece of joy. And the identity revelation (yeah, you're not getting that here) starts with a wonderful piece of MacGuffin misdirection and opens up a whole new world of fairytales to the book. Seriously, I'm expecting the sound of eyebrows being raised to cross the continent as the book starts to feel all League Of Extraordinary Gentlemennish – or at least something close to that.