Written by Brian Reed. Pencils by Roberto De La Torre, Aaron Lopresti. Inks by Jon Sibal, Matt Ryan.
Colours: Chris Sotomayor. Letters: Dave Sharpe. Editor: Bill Rosemann.
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Ms. Marvel: Operation Lightning Storm 2007 (HC & SC TPB) 178 pages
Written by Brian Reed. Pencils by Roberto De La Torre, Aaron Lopresti. Inks by Jon Sibal, Matt Ryan.
Colours: Chris Sotomayor. Letters: Dave Sharpe. Editor: Bill Rosemann.
Reprinting: Ms. Marvel (2nd series) #11-17 (2007) -- with covers.
Rating: * * * (out of 5)
Number of readings: 1
Reviewed: April, 2011
Published by Marvel Comics
Modern comics can be a dizzying mass of continuity references, where stories don't just connect to their own previous issues, but are interwoven with everything else going on in a comics company's "universe". This follows on the heels of Marvel's cross-title "Civil War" saga, in which the super hero community was divided and turned upon itself by a government edict that all super beings must register with the government. A lot of bridges were burned between those as complied, like Ms. Marvel, and those that didn't.
Fortunately this collection -- particularly in the hardcover edition -- is accompanied by some "previously" recapping text pieces that actually makes it a bit easier to just jump into, and scripter Brian Reed writes some of the scenes with a clarity (when making backstory references) a lot of writers don't these days. And as a collection of stories, this works as a decent arc involving the recurring terrorist group, A.I.M., with -- more or less -- a beginning and an end. Along the way, Ms. Marvel is fully recruited by the spy agency SHIELD and given her own little strike team and flying airship, to act as a kind of proactive strike force (hence the title Operation: Lightning Storm).
Reed writes some solid dialogue, mixing human introspection with glib quips. Yet there is feeling that we've seen it all before, without the reprising of old themes and old villains really being embellished with clever plotting (heck, even the idea of a "super strike team" is hardly new, from The Legion Espionage Squad, to Justice League Elite, and a bunch inbetween).
Take the opening two-parter. The basic plot has the villain The Doomsday Man (a villain she'd fought before) escaping A.I.M. (ditto), involving a zombie plague (ditto, again). Doomsday Man's plan/goal/motive is just to get revenge on Ms. M. And then after a long, protracted fight, in which we are continually told how tough and unbeatable Doomsday Man is...Ms. Marvel punches him out...um, 'cause she got really mad...or something. Not much of a "plot", not much of a "denouement", and nothing much original -- certainly not stretched over two issues. It isn't that it's terrible -- it clips along, and isn't uninteresting, but nothing much really stands out, either.
Then we get another two-parter (A.I.M. becoming a sub-plot) where Ms. M., feeling bad after having previously arrested an ex-superhero (Arachna) and separated her from her daughter, wants to make amends. There's actually not too much action in this story...but, arguably, there's not too much else, either. Part of the problem with editorial enforced storylines like Civil War that are imposed on the entire line of comics is that it kind of falls to the regular writers to try and get their characters back on track, to explain, justify, or nullify what the characters did. But the problem also here is that Ms. Marvel basically starts out feeling bad...so it's not like the story acts as a character arc, where we see how Ms. Marvel arrives at her decision. And because she now has the full backing of SHIELD...there aren't really any plot complications, moral or legal, she can't overcome simply by pulling a few strings.
Reed may have a decent ear for dialogue...but his understanding of plot, whether it be the action-thriller of The Doomsday Man story, or the character dilemma of the Arachna story, seems weak.
Then we get to the three part A.I.M. battle where Ms. Marvel and her Lightning Storm team (which includes fellow super hero Wonder Man, as well as a few SHIELD agents) get caught up in A.I.M.'s internal conflict, the terrorist group having splintered into opposing forces fighting it out over a lethal gene bomb. It's briskly paced and decent enough without quite gelling into anything that great. Sure, the different factions can keep you on your toes trying to keep track of who's who. But the basic plot (and plans) are pretty simple...and a mite confusing (why does arch foe MODOK act almost as though he's winning when he seems to be getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop?) At one point Ms. Marvel is presented with the dilemma of maybe allying herself with one branch of A.I.M., choosing the devil you know...but it never really becomes a moral issue, or progresses to the point where it's actually relevant to the plot.
It does, at least, build to a climax -- admittedly a wishy-washy climax, clearly opening the door for future conflicts. But at least it's enough of a resolution that the three issues -- and this seven issue collection -- can satisfy as an arc.
Sometimes super hero comics can excuse thin plots because our real interest is in the character/soap opera and brewing sub-plots. Yet for all that Reed can write a fairly talky script...it's not like there's a whole lot else going on.
Ms. Marvel is one of those characters who is sufficiently marginal that, I suspect, her personality isn't set in stone as solidly as, say, Spider-Man. She started out as a security specialist and romantic interest in someone else's comic (Captain Marvel), then became her own super hero...while working as a magazine editor. Along the way her powers and costumes have been tweaked here and there. Reed tends to write her as a bit, um, girly. Despite wanting to take charge of a strike team, and being made leader of the Avengers, she doesn't really seem like a veteran strategist and combatant. She's likeable enough, but tends to mope about, pining for a boy friend like a teenage girl. .
Instead of a supporting cast providing a human grounding for the super heroics...it's a cast that is mainly comprised of fellow super heroes (Wonder Man, teen heroine Arana, and Iron Man in a few scenes) and SHIELD agents, with Ms. Marvel herself relocating to a SHIELD mini-carrier, further removing her -- and by extension the series -- from a real wold/civilian footing. Ms. M doesn't have a civilian job or a secret identity anymore. And you end up with a comic that doesn't really seem like a solo Ms. Marvel series anymore...without giving the others enough to do that it seems like a team book (the SHIELD agents don't really become characters).
The opening two-parter involving Doomsday Man is drawn by European artist Roberto De La Torre, and he has a nice, beautiful, realist style -- moody, with good facial expressions and body language. My main quibble, ironically, is that he's not as strong drawing Ms. Marvel herself, of making our beautiful heroine...beautiful. But even then, it's not bad. The rest of this collection is drawn by Aaron Lopresti, a solid artist, with clear storytelling. He tends to have a style (or blame the inker) that tends to give everything a bit of a plastic sheen, rather than flesh and blood. Ms. Marvel's hair seems to gleam more than flow. Still, even if my preferences lean a bit toward De La Torre, the art is better-than-average throughout.
So, ultimately, as a pick-it-up-and-read-it-for-itself book, or as sampler of Ms. Marvel's current run, its a decent book, with some plot threads carried from, and into, surrounding issues, but enough of its own complete-in-itself story(ies) to make for a perfectly comprehensible read just for a casual reader. The visuals are good, and Reed's dialogue is solid, even if like a lot of modern comics writers, he seems to stretch out talky scenes longer than they need to be, the characters talking a lot without necessarily saying anything more. The plotting is pretty rudimentary. It's a decent book...but doesn't maybe instill in me any great desire to follow her monthly comic.
Cover price: $__ USA
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