Every Wednesday we take turns to delve into our trusty longboxes, pluck out a dusty back issue at random, and give you our thoughts. We’ll also try and place it in the context of the time it was originally published.

Now this is an odd beast that you don’t see a lot of nowadays - a fill-in issue. For those of you who started reading comics after the year 2000, a fill-in issue is one that is run in a comic when the regular art and writing team are unable to meet their deadlines. Sounds bizarre, I know - couldn’t they just delay the comic for a few months? Haha. That’s just a little satire for you. Still, in this case, regular team of Bagley and Busiek do contribute a framing device, and it’s likely any delay was built-in to allow then to get ahead on the extra-sized Thunderbolts #12, so we won’t be too hard on them.

At this point in time the Thunderbolts were operating under their original gimmick - Villains masquerading as Heroes in the wake of the Onslaught disaster that “killed” most non-mutant heroes - though actually sent them into a bizarre pocket universe of gritted teeth, unusual postures and tiny little lines (good lord, take that Image! I’m on fire today!) In this issue, a suspicious Black Widow - one of the surviving Avengers - confronts MACH-1 (the Beetle) and Songbird (Screaming Mimi) and tells a story (written by Roger Stern and illustrated by Ron Frenz) about the early days of the original “new” Avengers, comprised largely of former villains (Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch) and their difficult path to acceptance as heroes. As an interesting footnote, the Avengers fight Radioactive Man, who later joins the Thunderbolts himself.

The issue ends with the Widow cautioning the other two - she doesn’t have the evidence she needs to take them down - yet. Despite being a fill-in, it’s an important beat in the redemptive arc of the Thunderbolts as they consider the Widow’s words, and it’s just a pity that the Heroes Reborn story/business arrangement with Image was ending as this issue was released, thereby truncating the Thunderbolts’ deception. In fact, the heavy rain depicted throughout the issue is actually a reference to the Heroes Return limited series (which brought the Heroes Reborn lot back into the regular MU) that was incorporated into almost all Marvel Comics that month. Now that’s the kind of detail that makes the Marvel Universe worth loving.

Anyway, in issue 10 the Thunderbolts are revealed to the public as the Masters of Evil after achieving their goal of getting the security levels they needed, in issue 11 they take over the planet (er…really) and in issue 12 they fight the newly returned Avengers/Fantastic Four. As a result, #9 ends up feeling too much like a fill-in, as the events of the issue don’t really have any time to cement in before the jig is up. Had the Image/Heroes Reborn deal not ended so soon, you can be sure it would’ve had more importance.

As it is, Thunderbolts #9 is a nice little issue, though it’s fair to say that the absence of the regular team is felt - Busiek and Bagley were doing stellar work this first year of Thunderbolts, so an issue of what amounts to a piece of Avengers history isn’t the best use of the pagetime - but it’s certainly not a bad one.

The Ultimate universe is in such a state at the moment that it’s quite suprising to see a series like Ultimate Human come out – given that it actually fits in much better with the original Bendis/Millar era than it does the current Dark Days Of Loeb, and almost washes the nasty taste of Ultimates 3 out of the mouth. Almost.

After all, while the Ultimate line wasn’t exactly supposed to be “superheroes in the real world” in a Watchmen sense, there was certainly a movie-esque, let’s-attempt-to-justify-the-superhero- weirdness-with-actual-theoretical-science feel to the original triad of Spider-Man, X-Men and The Ultimates that has sadly been lost amid crossovers with Supreme Power and zombie universes. Warren Ellis later brought quite a lot of it to his run on Ultimate Fantastic Four – a title to which he was far better suited than he’d probably care to admit – as well, and he does exactly the same here. So we finally get to see a Banner/Hulk transformation happen (instead of conveniently cutting away), and we get lots of trademark Ellis technobabble making it all sound as if it might actually be possible, kinda.

A dichotomy that The Ultimates has never really examined in any great deal is thrown up here – Banner and Stark as two geniuses at completely opposing ends of the superhero game – and this should hopefully give a bit of dimension to the eventual slugfest between the two characters that the series is being pushed as. In the meantime, though, there’s not a great deal of action in issue #1, but it builds nicely, and throws in a secondary plot layer involving Ultimate versions of the Leader and Pete Wisdom (er – as the same character). Cary Nord’s art comes off quite like a painted version of Stuart Immonen, but for someone new to Ultimate he does a good job – even if his Bruce Banner is a little inconsistent with and without glasses.

The last Ultimate miniseries to start this promisingly was the ill-fated Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, a book that shares a lot in common with Ultimate Human – both stories that expand upon Banner’s character and nature, and which feel like they could be actual issues of The Ultimates rather than a spinoff series. Where they differ, though, is that Ellis’ story should at least see it through to the finish – and for an imprint so badly in need of a shot in the arm, that can be no bad thing. It’s not going to rescue the whole mess, not by a long shot, but at least it’s a reminder that good stories can still be told within this framework.

Chapter eleven of thirteen, and I have to admit I’m starting to get a bit worried about where the Predator-X story is going. It’s supposedly been tracking the “messiah” baby, to the point where its masters pointed the Predator at the mansion and it just ran the other way to find it, so… why is it now back at the mansion and about to eat the cast of New X-Men? Hilariously, the X-Men are so worried about whether there’s going to be a next generation of mutants, they’re not paying attention to the fact that the current one is about to get ripped into bacon.

The connection the baby has to Bishop’s future is revealed and, even though it requires a bit of continuity fudging based on what we already know about him, I welcome the attempt to simplify the X-Futures into what appear to be the “bad” future, where Bishop grew up, and the “good” future, where Cable grew up. The specific identity of the baby messiah isn’t identified yet, but at this point it’s hard to imagine it being especially relevant. If it’s not Phoenix, they’ll need to come up with a really good alternative because that seems like the most logical choice right now. 

There’s a nice nod to continuity where the Professor and Cable reminisce about the events of a previous crossover, the X-Cutioner’s song, a story this specific crossover owes a fair amount to. The reason why Cable didn’t go to the X-Men is fairly believable - Rogue’s team was full of Marauders - though with Mystique and Gambit apparently working outside of Sinister’s command, it seems that they might’ve been a good choice after all - it’s a nice reversal of the marauders infiltrating the X-Men, if so.

At the moment, the question worrying me most is how Layla’s going to get back from the future. At least readers of X-Factor do have a fair amount of the regular cast show up in this issue. To Peter David’s credit once again, he makes it feel almost like an issue of X-Factor, albeit one embroiled in a crossover. With the end for Messiah Complex now well in sight, one can only wonder what revelations are coming.

Finally! A comic we can enjoy on its own terms. Good old Hulk. The story of mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner, caught in gamma bomb explosion and mutated in the rampaging green monster, the Hulk. Yeah, Hulk Smash! Simple enough for anyone to understand and gloriously timeless to boot.

What’s that you say? He’s RED now? Well, that’s sort of interesting. Oh, and he’s not Bruce Banner? That’s… well that’s a bit weird, but okay. Sorry? He’s NOT rampaging anymore, but instead he’s shooting the Abomination in the head with a pistol? Excuse me, I think I may have picked up the wrong comic, just let me check the cover a second. Nope, nope, definitely says Hulk #1 on the front… What’s that smaller word there?  Something like lo…loed…aha! It’s LOEB. This comic is written by JEPH LOEB!

Oh.

Yes, friends, the man who recently brought us a solid contender for the most widely mocked comic of 2007 has somehow found time to work his magic on the Jade Giant (or should that be Crimson Colossus?) Much like Ultimates, it’s hard to list Hulk #1’s faults because it’s so brainless. Perhaps the funniest thing is that Loeb has used the same assassination mystery in both Hulk and Ultimates, as both titles now set about investigating who just shot their long-standing cast member. One assumes Loeb simply phoned the scripts in during coffee breaks on the Heroes set.

Even John Byrne’s famously stalled reboot (the last time we saw a Hulk #1) was better than this - trust me, I was there. When the next Hulk movie comes out this year and people flock to the stores to buy the latest Hulk collection, they are going to find the TPB that starts with this issue, and then they’re going to come back the following day and punch their bookseller in the ear.

The mystery behind the red Hulk appears to relate to the Cold War. Well, as Calvin Harris once said, it was acceptable in the 80s. The new Hulk is red like a Soviet Socialist and chances are he’ll be a Russian Super-Soldier of some kind, hence the appearance of Marvel’s generic Russian superheroes, the Winter Guard. In fact, the new Hulk isn’t even IN this issue, only the supporting cast. That nonsense might fly over in Captain America, but Loeb’s no Brubaker.

The good? Well… Rick Jones is back, and he’s been absent for too long. Okay, last time we saw him he was speared through the gut, but I assume that’ll be addressed. There’s some nudging for us to infer that he’sthe Red Hulk, but I’m not buying it even a little bit. McGuinness’ art may not be to everyone’s taste, but it is pleasingly chunky, which is good for a title that relies on the sheer scale of its lead character’s appearance.

And… that’s about it. This is indeed a rare thing - a Hulk comic for people who don’t want to read about the Hulk. Loeb spent most of 2007 demolishing his reputation with some high-profile misfires and only one genuinely decent series (Fallen Son) to his name. 2008 isn’t off to a good start.

Well, judgement day is here. We’ve all had our pops at Quesada, at Marvel, but now it’s time to accept the reality and move on with our lives. For some of us, that means no more Spider-Man comics. For the rest of us, that means getting to grips with the new, thrice-monthly Spider-Man comic. It’s here now, so what’s it like?

Well… It’s pretty good. Actually, it’s very good. Entertaining. Funny. Good - no, GREAT art. Is it a perfect comic? Well, no. But it is way above average.

As a fan and critic I’m torn. I admit, I didn’t want to like it. In my weaker moments, I wanted it to crash and burn. Unfortunately for me, Slott is a brilliant writer of comedy and drama, and McNiven is nothing short of fantastic - there’s no denying that this is a technically excellent comic, and I have to admit… I had fun reading it.

Yes, that’s “fun” - you know, like comics occasionally are when they’re not making you angry, or disgusted? Slott’s gift for comedy certain shines through the pages - Peter turning up shoe-less at a Soup Kitchen (after a spot of roof-running) only for Aunt May’s friends to think he’s become homeless was a particularly comedic moment, and demonstrates well how people are worried about Peter’s situation, being jobless and poor. The new cast of friends and villains shows up (and they’re actually pretty intriguing) and Jonah’s attempts to sort out the Bugle is a definite source of intrigue with a great soap opera-style cliffhanger.

But like I say, it’s not totally perfect. The spectre of One More Day hangs over events like a dark, sucking void. Harry is entertaining - if you don’t stop and think about why he’s there. There’s also terrible 2-page backup explaining the “revised” continuity. Surely if this information was important, it should’ve been incorporated into the story?

There’s also the nagging feeling that the reason this comic read so well is just because it’s the first “real” Spider-Man story in years, as the title has bounced from one status-quo redefining crossover to another. Ironically, Brand New Day is the first time in a long time that the title hasn’t been attempting to redefine the status quo, but simply operating within it.

In order to justify the dramabomb they’ve dropped on the character and fandom, there’s one real question that Marvel needs a positive answer to. Is Amazing #546 better than the title has been in the last 5, 10 or even 20 years?

Well, yes, it may well be. And that’s why I’ll be back next issue.

Every Wednesday we take turns to delve into our trusty longboxes, pluck out a dusty back issue at random, and give you our thoughts. We’ll also try and place it in the context of the time it was originally published.

Ah, early-90s DC crossovers. They tend to come in for a lot of flak these days for being big, flashy, all-style-no-substance events. And you can sort of see the point. But I’ve got a bit of affection for them – partly because they’re the sort of thing that served as my childhood introduction to comics, and partly because… well, as crossovers in the technical sense, they’re a damned sight better executed than most of the ones Marvel and DC tend to do nowadays.

You see, in the current climate, if there’s a big crossover going on, you have to read everything if you want to keep up. You can’t just read the core series, because big events might be happening in the regular titles. And if you’re a subscriber to some, but not all, of those regular titles, then your reading is severely compromised – the titles you read will only be giving you an incomprehensible part of a story, and they might as well be blank paper and staples for all they’re worth to you.

But the likes of Armageddon 2001 and Eclipso : The Darkness Within are reader-friendly in the extreme, following the classic template: have your core miniseries, which – if so desired – can be read without having to refer to any of the monthly titles; and have those titles, meanwhile, interact with the story to varying degrees, also serving as standalone vignettes in their own right (and, in the case of the ’91 and ’92 DC summer events, actually published in special Annuals so as to impact on the regular titles even less). Case in point: Detective Comics Annual #5.

Written by 2000AD stalwarts Alan Grant and John Wagner, it’s essentially a story about the Ventriloquist and Scarface breaking the Joker out of Arkham so that he can discover the whereabouts of a twenty-five million dollar haul. The crossover elements, meanwhile, are simply that a handful of the gems that contain supervillain Eclipso’s essence have found their way to Gotham, spawning a revenge-fuelled monster via Commissioner Gordon – busy brooding on the anniversary of the Joker paralysing his daughter - and thus forcing Batman to actually try and protect his arch-nemesis. If anything, though, it feels like the Scarface/Joker story was one they had ready to go, before deciding to make it the crossover issue – the Eclipso elements are quite separate from the main story until the third act, when admittedly they do throw a big purple monster into it – but aside from that, don’t impinge on the story in any negative way.

As it happens, it’s a fairly entertaining yarn, whose main strength is a healthy dose of humour – the Joker is on particularly fine form, but there are also some nice (if obvious) ventriloquism gags around Scarface, and even a chucklesome little moment with henchman Rhino enchanted by some clockwork kids’ toys. It feels like just the sort of self-contained story that, really, Detective should be doing all the time (and, indeed, at which Paul Dini is having an admirable stab at the moment). If there’s any real criticism, it’s that Batman is very much a passenger in his own title (and gets some moments of poor dialogue, to boot). Oh, and the cover is pretty lousy, but it’s not a reflection of Tom Mandrake’s art, which is fairly standard fare, taking some of its cues from then-supremo Norm Breyfogle.

Eclipso wasn’t the strongest of summer crossovers – it was a story seemingly designed solely to serve the purpose, which is never a good sign – but the flexibility of the format at least meant that creators of the calibre of Grant/Wagner (who really should have got more American work in the ‘90s) could still tell decent – and non-compromised – stories like this.