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Champions (USA) di Waid, Zub, AA.VV.

Aperto da Azrael, 13 Luglio 2016, 09:48:20

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Azrael

Champions #2

Written by Mark Waid
Art by Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba and Edgar Delgado
Lettering by Clayton Cowles
Published by Marvel Comics
Review by David Pepose
'Rama Rating: 10 out of 10

Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos' sophomore issue of Champions is a much more laid-back affair than their debut story, but it's also a far more engaging and character-driven installment. Taking the chattiness of Brian Michael Bendis's Avengers and somehow perfecting the formula, Champions #2 is a great way to get introduced to the next generation of Marvel heroes.

Stop me if you've heard this one before — the Avengers quip away over their breakfast table, largely just taking up time until the next superhero showdown arrives. That was a staple of Bendis's run on Avengers, but instead of the rapid-fire, Mamet-esque dialogue, Waid brings a deliberateness to the Champions' team-building camping trip that fleshes out their dynamic wonderfully. Kamala Khan, arguably the standard-bearer for Marvel's modern-day efforts, acts as the precocious team leader, Spider-Man and Nova are her everyman lieutenants and comedic relief, the Hulk is the team troublemaker, while Viv Vision is the intimidating mystery of the group. Waid settles nicely into the group's banter, but takes great care to ensure every character has their own unique voice and personality — in particular, Nova and the Hulk's back-and-forth generates some of the best sparks in the issue, while Ms. Marvel deftly avoiding genre cliche is a great beat, and Viv being an unexpected love interest is a particularly cool twist.

What keeps this largely action-free comic so engaging is that Waid recognizes he can't just talk his way out of this script — he still has to have his characters doing something interesting as well. As Kamala has the team introduce themselves and their powers, it's not only a good in-story mechanism to get readers up to speed, but it also allows artist Humberto Ramos to do something other than just have talking heads. Kamala gets to grow and shrink to demonstrate her power set, while Viv phases through a tree as she discusses her internal wifi system. (The password is "evenanandro1dcancry," by the way, mixing comics continuity with teen angst perfectly.) Even the brief bursts of action — like the Hulk leaping so high he literally is gone for a scene and a half, or Cyclops showing Amadeus that he's more than a match for even a gamma-powered titan — are engaging and character-driven enough to make the comic work.

And I think that's something that resonates with Ramos, who has already had a long and illustrious team-up career with Waid on their Impulse series. Ramos' enthusiasm shows here, and without a frenetic action sequence to cramp up his pages, his layouts are the most clean and clear I've seen them in quite some time. While there are the occasional panels rendered a little choppily by inker Victor Olazaba (or, in the case of the Hulk, rendered a little too heavily), there's so much character in these pages, even when it's just four teen superheroes huddled around a campfire. (And the less I say about the final page cliffhanger, the better — suffice to say it's one of the best single images from Ramos in years.) Ramos also seems to zero in on the unique physical characteristics that makes each character so interesting — Spider-Man with his ultra-expressive mask, Cyclops' thin and lanky physique, or the way that Viv's eyes suddenly narrow to ominous green dots when she feels snubbed — these beats keep this story visually interesting in a way that makes over-the-top action suddenly feel so unnecessary.

And maybe that's because Waid is dealing with a story that's all about character. The Champions aren't a team with a mission — instead, they're an age cohort, a meeting of the next great minds from the Marvel Universe. You don't need to have car chases when you've got Hulk-related drama. You don't need to have a bad guy trying to take over the world when you've got young superheroes in love. Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the roses in the comics business, and when you've got company as great as the Champions — not to mention the creative team behind them — this kind of getaway is exactly what readers needed.
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A team-building exercise around a campfire may not sound like the ideal setting for a superhero comic, but when it's written by a guy like Mark Waid rest assured you will be plenty entertained. With Ms. Marvel leading the way (of course), the Champions set off into the woods to get to know one another, and the resulting issue is far more interesting than that summary suggests. Waid has a great feel for his characters, with each having a moment to shine and let their voice be heard. The interplay between Miles Morales and Kamala Khan is particularly enjoyable, as is Hulk's playful teasing of Nova. Whether it's a laser-beam ambush or a Hulk-kabob, Humberto Ramos and his pencils are the perfect choice to illustrate this series. One sequence featuring Viv is particularly ominous, balancing well with several hilarious sight gags. Seriously, though. How high CAN Hulk jump? - Joe

Final Score:

8.9/10
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#19


CHAMPIONS #5
Mark Waid (W) • Humberto Ramos (A/C)
VARIANT COVER BY Joe Quinones
CORNER BOX VARIANT COVER BY JOE JUSKO
• Oh, great! Just when the Champions had a nice little movement going on, here comes Gwenpool to ruin – I mean, "improve" – it all, with her patented brand of consequence-less violence and disregard for human life!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99



CHAMPIONS #1.MU
JEREMY WHITLEY (W) • RO STEIN & TED BRANDT (A)
Cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
GWENSTER UNLEASHED VARIANT COVER BY DAVE JOHNSON
A MONSTERS UNLEASHED TIE-IN!
• An endangered habitat! A peaceful protest! And a team of freelance troubleshooters determined to end the work-stoppage at any cost!
• Sounds like a job for the Champions, right? Only, nobody mentioned anything about GIANT MONSTERS FALLING FROM THE SKY!
40 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ ...$4.99
We're all searching for enlightenment.
But what is light?
Different for everyone. But everyone looking.

See what we want to see.
No matter how small...or big we are.

Azrael

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Superhero comics are heavily rooted in power fantasies of the bullied rising up and giving their bullies a taste of their own medicine. Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos put a new spin on that old formula by sending the Champions to a Middle East village where a Taliban-like extremist group is terrorizing local women. Right here, the creators make it clear what separates the Champions from more traditional teams like the Avengers. And power fantasy or not, Waid shows the necessary amount of restraint and subtlety as these teen heroes defend the village. They recognize that simply beating up the bad guys doesn't solve the problem, and instead find a way to use their abilities to empower these women to take charge of their lives. Forced romantic drama aside, the general tone and direction series is shaping up nicely. However, Ramos' art style seems even more out of place than usual in this more real-world setting. Ramos' figures are too distorted and exaggerated to really mesh with the tone of the script. -Jesse

Final Score:

7.5/10
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CHAMPIONS #6
MARK WAID (W) • HUMBERTO RAMOS (A/C)
VENOMIZED VARIANT COVER BY MIKE DEODATO
Versus their counterparts, the Freelancers! And you'll be surprised to see who's left standing at the end of the battle!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
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Champions #4
Written by Mark Waid
Art by Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba and Edgar Delgado
Lettering by Clayton Cowles
Published by Marvel Comics
Review by David Pepose
'Rama Rating: 9 out of 10

There are a lot of superpowers amongst Marvel's Champions, but perhaps the most potent ability these kids share is their tremendous likability as both individuals and as a team. Writer Mark Waid and artist Humberto Ramos go beyond just forging a team whose power sets compliment one another — in the spirit of great comics super-teams like the X-Men or the Teen Titans, these Champions fit together magnificently in terms of personalities, backgrounds and points of view, resulting in one of the most engaging and endearing books in Marvel's catalog.

Part of the Champions charm stems from the kids' banter, even in the face of seemingly mortal danger. Rather than keeping things oppressive and tense, Waid instead uses adversity as a team-building exercise — when the Champions' plane is shot down, the team immediately springs into action, from Spider-Man holding the plane together with webbing for Viv Vision to weld shut with her heat vision to Nova acting as a one-man replacement engine for their rapidly descending ride. It's refreshing to see a team with such natural chemistry, that they can just intuitively coalesce into a single unit, and it speaks to the level of deliberateness Waid brings to his script.

But even outside of the action, Waid works wonders in giving each of his characters a distinct personality and a set role within the dynamic of the team. While Amadeus Cho brings a Hulk-sized ego to the mix (which leads to one of the funnier scene transitions I've seen in some time when one of his plans goes tremendously awry), the real stars of the book are Ms. Marvel and Cyclops, who get some great conversations about leadership and about bridging the mutant-Inhuman divide — sentiments that feel all the more inspiring given that they come from youthful characters. In an era of Civil Wars, Infinite Crises and other leaps into comic book cynicism, seeing characters like the Champions exemplifying tolerance and inclusion makes for a refreshing read.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating, just so Marvel doesn't pull him off the book — Humberto Ramos is the perfect artist for Champions, with his fluid and cartoony style portraying these teen characters with such expressiveness. Part of the success of the visuals has to do with the team's makeup — not only do these characters each have their own unique design to make them stand out, but the Champions' relatively small roster means that Ramos doesn't have to hamstring himself with claustrophobic crowd shots. Yet I'd be remiss if I didn't say that Ramos didn't make the most of his space here — particularly with the opening sequence, where he's able to sell small moments like Nova flying out of the crashing plane while still showing Ms. Marvel, Cyclops and Amadeus Cho struggling to keep their bearings. Occasionally Ramos and inker Victor Olazaba will render their characters a bit too sharply, but beyond these hiccups, the youthful energy of this book never subsides.

Marvel's Young Avengers concept has had plenty of legs since the days of Allan Heinberg, with each new iteration bringing a new theme to the table. Heinberg's run was about legacy, and about making time-honored traditions your own. Kieron Gillen's run, meanwhile, was about making your own way as a teenage superhero, rebelling against adults and authority figures on a long and winding road. And that's the baton that Champions takes on, in spirit if not in name — these kids aren't looking to prove anything to anyone, nor are they looking to prove anything to themselves. They're precocious, idealistic and eager to do good — and even though they've just met, you can tell this is a team that is already inseparable. So do yourself a favor and read Champions — because this is a team you're going to want to stick around with for the long haul.
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The Champions' growing pains continue in this new issue, as they experience a death-defying crash-landing and then find themselves captives of the mysterious enemy who shot down their ship in issue #3. Said enemy feels entirely arbitrary, as though any random villain in the Marvel U. could have filled the same role. But the emphasis right now remains on pitting the team's many clashing personalities against one another. Writer Mark Waid ensures that each character feels wholly unique and has their own perspective they bring to the table. This issue offers deep insight into many of the Champions, but always in a way that feels natural and organic rather than forced. And Waid always maintains a balance between lighthearted banter and bickering and deeper, darker drama (much of it surrounding Viv's tragic background). Artist Humberto Ramos brings his usual dynamic energy to the page. Ramos' distorted figure work will never be my cup of tea, but there's no denying that keeps the book humming along even in its more dialogue-heavy moments. -Jesse

Final Score:

8.3/10
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CHAMPIONS #7
MARK WAID (W) • HUMBERTO RAMOS (A/C)
RESURRXION VARIANT COVER BY MARCO CHECCHETTO
• THROWDOWN WITH THE FREELANCERS!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
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CHAMPIONS #7
MARK WAID (W) • HUMBERTO RAMOS (A/C)
RESURRXION VARIANT COVER BY MARCO CHECCHETTO
• THROWDOWN WITH THE FREELANCERS!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
We're all searching for enlightenment.
But what is light?
Different for everyone. But everyone looking.

See what we want to see.
No matter how small...or big we are.

Azrael

INSTAGRAM: AZRAEL'S CAVE

The Batman (2022) - Batcycle 🦇 REEL

The Batman (2022) McFarlane by Jim Lee 🦇 REEL 🦇



Fedele all'Ordine di Saint Dumas e al Pipistrello
Combatteremo le idee con idee migliori