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Underground > Comic Books >

Paul Cornell's Wisdom // Captain Britain & MI-13.

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I'm The Goddamn Shonen Bat
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19:13 / 12.05.08

Reading my earlier contributions to this thread is a very weird experience for me., I re-read the seires recently and loved pretty much every second of it. Captain Britain and the Fucking-Awesome Squad is the first new monthly I'm buying since I dropped most of my pull-list at the end of last summer.

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
(prev. Papers Loves Patsy Walker)

19:27 / 12.05.08

I'm looking forward to it, although I want to find some samples of Kirk's artwork to amplify or dampen that, depending. He looks competent but we'll see how it goes.

What is so enticing about a group of misfits, working in some kind of semi-detached governmental fashion, solving weird shit crimes? Oh, and Captain Britain, who I loved from the minute I laid eyes on him back in the very first Excalibur special...

20:37 / 12.05.08

I'm properly excited about this series. That Wisdom issue with Shang Chi and the red dragon's one of the most enjoyable comics I've read in yonks. I think at least part of the appeal of Cornell's storytelling, and the whole Brit-Marvel Universe, is that it's a small corner of the MU where the weirdness is still slipping in.

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
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06:16 / 13.05.08

On rereading, the page with the history of the Skrull Beatles -- showing up on the Earth scene, the high times, that one panel when the gang splits up -- Gerry and the Skrull Pacemakers -- is just so bewilderingly funny. Tres Nextwave. I hope for more of that.

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
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20:04 / 13.05.08

Here's a preview, sans dialogue. With a Super-Skrull with all the powers of the original Avengers. Which is sort of awesome.

Deculture Decedent
(prev. Deculture Aquatripper)

21:06 / 13.05.08

Makes you wonder why we had the last two or three Excalibur series, really.

And I do love saying "John the Skrull" any chance I get. Just rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
(prev. Papers Loves Patsy Walker)

22:24 / 13.05.08

Yeah, none of that "Magneto and Charles on Genosha or Muir or whatever" stuff. Excalibur has to be (a) British, (b) preferably written by someone actually British, (c) including Captain Britain in some way, and (d) Batshit random & insane.

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
(prev. Papers Loves Patsy Walker)

22:58 / 11.06.08

Second issue of Captain Britain and MI-13 is out today, and I'm going to be very happy when the Secret Invasion schlock recedes into grim waters and leaves the title alone to actually develop some character. So far, we've got endless battle scenes with people and Skrulls. Which was cute the first issue but is now starting to chafe, just slightly.

I like the first story page, with the bit about how the British experience the loss of their hero in comparison to America's loss of their Captain. It surprised me because it was tinged with a bit more anti-American flavour than I would expect to get past Marvel Editorial, but it's interesting -- at first.

Spitfire manages to earn her place in the story by the end of the issue, talking about Churchill. I also like the implication of Britain's "secret history" in the Marvel Universe; it was hinted at previously, during Wisdom, and I like how little bits and pieces are dropped about why the government has MI-13.

The whole "magical beings can't deal with technology" thing has played out, Cornell, bite it. Seriously. As story logic goes, it shows terrible shortsightedness, and is only there to shoehorn in plot movements that serve a shoddy storyline.

Faiza has the potential to be quite interesting, but I don't like her ambiguous powers so far -- I like how conflicted she is, and how exemplary she is of how people would be in a world of super-beings. I think I would have actually liked to see her as a new Captain Britain, particularly since it is an official legacy, but they've tried to replace Brian before and it didn't go well.

Pete Wisdom is not worthy. Thank you. He's always on the bleeding edge of potentially being a Gary-Sue, so I liked that.

Dane Whitman makes me happy. Acknowledging all his history is a great step.

How is Skrull John not the keystone of this story right now? How it there not more comedy? I miss all the bitter comedy!

Tink!

16:56 / 12.06.08

Not been to the shop yet, so i've missed #1 and #2. Please tell me Captain Midlands is still on the team? Plz?

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
(prev. Papers Loves Patsy Walker)

18:04 / 12.06.08

I think so, but I can't be sure -- the first two issues have been fairly messy with Skrulls everywhere, sigh, and I think he may have been in the first one.

18:28 / 12.06.08

I believe he was mentioned in the first issue, but not seen. I haven't seen issue 2.

07:45 / 14.06.08

IS Cornell wriing more WHO eps for season 4? I just got/watched the first dvd set and was slightly underwhelmed by the first three eps (Pompei was cool). Nothing like Cornel and Moffat to breeze in and blow out the kinks...

13:16 / 14.06.08

Wrong thread, doood.

The whole "magical beings can't deal with technology" thing has played out, Cornell, bite it. Seriously. As story logic goes, it shows terrible shortsightedness, and is only there to shoehorn in plot movements that serve a shoddy storyline.

It really is, isn't it?

I really wanted Cornell not to go the route of magic being just another kind of technology that's not as good as real technology-with-lasers. Magic that can be shot at is, on the whole, boring, and totally wastes its narrative and conceptual potential.

I didn't hate the issue, but the skrulls need to fuck off.

15:06 / 14.06.08

I'm trying not to gripe over the fact that the Skrulls are invading a magical realm and collecting arifacts,and Doctor Strange, who should be watching over this sort of thing, is off polishing his Wand of Watoomb...

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
(prev. Papers Loves Patsy Walker)

18:39 / 14.06.08

Composite Magic Skrull dude is sort of awesome, though. Particularly the Devil-Head and vaguely Hindu God vibe.

I don't like the idea of "magic" being vulnerable to "technology," because technically that would mean you could smack a sorcerer around with, say, a piece of rock tied to a stick. Or even just a bone.

19:51 / 14.06.08

Maybe if you sneak technology into a magical realm, it "transforms"and becomes magical, or it begins to operate via magical laws of physics, etc.

Perhaps Doc Strange is off camping with Night Nurse and is therefore out of the SI loop.

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
(prev. Papers Loves Patsy Walker)

19:58 / 14.06.08

Strange's current M.O. seems to be avoid taking part in events at all, in fear of "upsetting the course of human development." Which is an appropriate response, honestly, and we should all do that with events.

(Actually, it reminds a bit of Alan Davis's JLA: The Nail, when all the mystics met in Fate's tower and the Spectre forbade them from interfering in human evolution).

You know, it occurs to me that between Hulkling, Xavin, and Skrull John, there are a number of hero-skrulls running around who could be doing more...

Janean Patience

20:32 / 14.06.08

WHY HAVEN'T WE SEEN ANY CONDEMNATION OF THIS INVASION FROM THE SKRULL HERO COMMUNITY thunders right-wing demagogue and former Avengers leader Henry Peter Gyrich in his column today

23:53 / 14.06.08

Nah, Papers, the awesomesness is all about the xtreme absurdity. I Laughed Out Loud.

00:41 / 16.06.08

Bought issue 2 of this. 1 was all sold out in London. Bit lost, but there's potential here. Just lose the fucking skrulls and allow the comic to breathe and carve out it's own unique identity.

Deculture Decedent
(prev. Deculture Aquatripper)

01:04 / 16.06.08

Hulkling, Xavin, and Skrull John

Am so glad I don't write fanfic, right now. Or, slashfic. (I only fan-plot. Totally different animal.)

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
(prev. Papers Loves Patsy Walker)

18:50 / 16.08.08

Dear Secret Invasion,

Please stop crossing over into fresh books I want to enjoy.

(Also, could you please fulfill my BSG dreams and have everybody be a Skrull, the human race having died out in 1973 only nobody remembered?)

Thanks!

00:32 / 17.08.08

Can't get past the decsion made by Character B in the latest issue. And Faiza is definitely drifting into "pet character" status.

Papers regarding Tlön & Uqbar
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00:37 / 17.08.08

Which decision?

Faiza could be interesting -- particularly once they had her dialogue sounding more natural, she seemed to take off a bit. Unfortunately her ability's vague and we haven't had any actual story space devoted to her.

02:54 / 17.08.08

All of the "no killing" stuff. It does make about half the team fairly useless...

Quantum - killed by hadrons

14:59 / 17.08.08

Can someone post here when the skrulls have fucked off so I can buy this again? After three issues, I hit my saturation point and cannot bear to risk reading it until they are gone.
Thanks.

15:02 / 17.08.08

They are offfically fucked in this issue, thanks to a fairly blatant homage involving Pete Wisdom and a magic wish,

Deculture Decedent
(prev. Deculture Aquatripper)

00:52 / 20.09.08

So, the racism in reviews, discussion, and interviews over this series is making me actually (pettily)) enjoy the thing more. Faiza's fun, for being the Kitty Pryde of the book, and there's always potential in a series where at least half the cast are deluding themselves in that blatant, awkward way.

And, alright, we all saw the Blade/Spitfire thing coming, but really, I thought they'd give it an issue or two. Because I was getting used to the movie-inspired less-crazy Blade, and Cornell's writing proper, classic, severe psychosis Blade. Which, means it probably won't link up very tightly with his recent MCP appearances, but well, so what?

Between this, MCP, and other recent series (The Order, The Last Defenders) there seems to be an unexpected (by me, anyway) resurgence of Invaders characters going on. Just hit me, that. Weird, but probably meaningless in the long term.

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