The Man Who Will Save Comics!

Well, maybe not quite, but I’m now definitely a fan of Jeff Parker. I got the next issue of Spider-Man Magazine for my son, and Parker had another story in it; this one an Avengers tale. Not sure exactly what title it’s reprinted from, or how this fits in continuity — it seems to be a recent iteration of the team (Cap, Iron Man, Giant-Girl, Spiderman, Storm, Hulk, Wolverine), but it’s clearly for kids. Could it be Ultimate Avengers or something like that? I just don’t follow this stuff closely enough anymore…

In any case, the point is that this is just way, way better written than I’ve grown to expect from my mainstream titles. Parker’s dialogue is crisp and witty, and he’s got an idiosyncratically charming sense of pacing. Basically, there’s very little in the way of traditional suspense or cliff-hangers; villains and heroes all chat with each other, and, instead of panicked melodrama you get crisis which unfold with a friendly leisure. In the initial sequence, for instance, the heroes fly to a prison to stop a jailbreak by the Abomination, whom they defeat with anticlimactic ease — the cheerful warden’s threat to have them stay for lunch generates more real worry than the battle itself. (Also, they keep referring to the Abomination by his real name (Emil, I believe) which is just exceedingly cute.) Later, the Avengers are captured by a consortium of super-villains, and there’s a long discussion between Ultron, the Leader, et. al., about what they should do with the heroes — if we take out Storm’s brains will her powers still work? They eventually all decide that, even if the other heroes might be useful, Spider-Man is really completely useless. Spidey himself takes this conclusion in remarkably good stride. Eventually, of course, the villains end up bickering and the heroes escape — all except Wolverine, who has to get the others to free him after the baddies have all been disposed of (a pretty darn funny conclusion if you’ve read any of those old Claremont X-Men where it’s always the super-tough, super-male Wolverine who resists and breaks free to save the day.)

I mean, I’m not claiming that this is a staggering work of genius or anything. But it is smart and winning, and it manages the neat trick of creating a story that’s appealing to both kids and adults — and which relies on comics history, but seems like it would be quite accessible to new readers. The banter, the goofiness, and the relaxed nuttiness remind me a little of Ranma 1/2 or other manga, actually. Even the art isn’t that bad –it’s not good, or anything, but it’s clear and not offensively ugly. Basically, this just doesn’t give off the whiff of decadence that you get from Frank Miller, or all those horrible crossover titles, or even from Grant Morrison’s efforts to revive a sense of nostalgic wonder. Marvel’s to be commended for finding this guy and giving him a platform. I hope he’s around for a good long while.

0 thoughts on “The Man Who Will Save Comics!

  1. Told ya! Yeah, Parker’s pretty good. I’m not sure if you care (and I generally don’t, but you mentioned it), but I expect this story was from the Marvel Adventures Avengers title, which is in Marvel’s “younger readers” line. I don’t think it’s supposed to fit into any other continuity, and the lineup is only for that book. And all the stories last one issue. So you don’t have to worry about how they fit together or whatever. Just read them and have fun.

    I used to read that series regularly because Parker’s stories were so enjoyable (one of them was that issue that was a big deal in certain parts of the comics internet for a while, where all the Avengers got turned into MODOKs), but I eventually dropped in when I was cutting down my pull list. I would probably keep getting it though, if I had a kid around your son’s age; it’s perfect for reading to kids, but the humor works for adults too, and there are some sly references to comics history for longtime fans. It’s a great balance, and in all the issues I read, Parker pulled it off wonderfully. Yeah, he’s good.

  2. Parker’s work on the Marvel Adventures line is really, really solid. (Just ask my 9-year-old.) He wrote MA Fantastic Four 1-12, including the wonderfully titled “Doom, Where’s My Car?” and MA Avengers 1-4, 9-16, 24-27 plus an oversized special featuring the Agents of Atlas. The Avengers story about “Ego, the Loving Planet”, in which a sleazy Ego comes to the solar system to hit on Earth, is hilarious. Parker’s just-ending X-Men: First Class, about the Lee/Kirby team, is in the same vein, and just as good.

    The guy really ought to be considered in the same ranks as Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction. He completely gets the absurd, kinetic fun of early Marvel without being overly retro. All of his stuff is absolutely worth seeking out; much of it is reprinted in digest form.

  3. You can find Jeff Parker in your library too…They library-bind that Marvel Age/Marvel Adventures Avengers title….741.5 in your kids section