ISSUE #1Well, Kinda of what I thought this would be like. Me wanting it to be more than it was. I wanted greatness, I got a book that was okay.
Robinson's love for the old characters is evident, which is great, but sometimes that "love of old" translates into his dialog or captions being in the tone and style of the Silver Age. It's like reading a '60's comic. His tendency to be overly descriptive is like reading Stan Lee scripts back in the day. Over explaining what is happening in the panel instead of allowing (or trusting) us to get there on our own, while at other times, just trying to be too poetic. Things like -
"The thing about this memory ... apart from it being new, I mean ... it's different in another way too. It's like I'm actually here, woven into the fabric of what's happening like a tapestry. Wait, not just me... Sub Mariner too. He's here. The Namor from the present looking on with me somehow."
Ugh.
That part of Robinson's writing just drives me insane. He also almost forces the past on us too quickly in an effort to get us (or those that do not know) up to speed on certain characters past (almost all of one characters powers and history in one panel), while totally glossing over the event that just transpired recently with the main character of this issue.
He mentions, or has Jim Hammond ... the android Human Torch, describe how recently the A.I.s he encountered thought of him as one of their own, but for humanity, he made them burn. That's it. Doesn't go into anything further detail about what he meant by that. For those not in the know, in Secret Avengers, a bunch of androids, including Hammond, tried to take over the human race or some-such and he put a stop to it after he thought about it ... basically ... that may be a total over simplification of events but that is more info than ya get out of this comic. I mean, if you're gonna bring it up, be a little more clear about it, right? Nope. Not here. Just a bunch of androids thought of me as one of them and I screwed them. That's what we get.
Now it's not all slop and retro, there is some interesting things going on as well. There seems to be a mystery as to why Hammond is remembering events differently than he originally thought, so that could be a cool set up ... I think. And it looks like Robinson is going to do what he did with EARTH 2 ... bring characters in slowly, issue by issues, at first, which is fine. I mean, there is good stuff here too. I just wanted to express my exasperation towards Robinson at times. A guy who I really like to listen to and a guy that can write his ass off when he is on, but damn he can go under pretty fast for me as well.
While I am saddened by this first effort, I can still see promise and I am once again trusting this writer to pull me in and make me love this title. But for now ...
5 outta 10 guys that still should be burned when being carried by an android made of flame, even if that android's arm is not aflame.