Fearless Defenders # 3 & # 4 Review

FEARLESS DEFENDERS # 3 & 4
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by Will Sliney & Veronica Gandini
Marvel Comics


FLIPPING THROUGH:

            Wow. Been a while since I went into Marvel. And what do I start with … freakin’ Doom Maidens! Yep. We get Caroline Le Fey has taken Dani Moonstar in order to bring about the Doom Maidens. And Caroline succeeds!

            Hela argues that Hippolyta should be dealing with the Doom Maidens to the All-Mother. Valkyrie takes offense against this as Misty and Annabelle just watch. Yet, the All-Mother puts Hela in her place stating that all 4 women must deal with this issue.

            Valkyrie, Warrior Woman (Hippolyta), Annabelle & Misty enter Harrowpoint Island (which seems to be a Ghost Town) and find Dani … and the revived Doom Maidens. And things go from bad to worse as after a brief battle & MAJOR revelation, the ladies retreat. Valkyrie ends up having Hippolyta and Dani go with her while she has Misty and Annabelle stay behind but Misty starts to play her own hand.


ART:

            Sliney bring a great energy to the book. His lines are sharp but he knows how to use them as we get some wonderful panel shots from him. Sliney brings out the best attributes of each character in both issues. Hippolyta is strong, arrogant and Sliney draws her as such. Valkyrie is also strong yet conflicted as  you see that in the panels as Sliney brings that out of her during her battle with the Doom Maidens and afterward. Misty has this strong yet agile look to her and Sliney expresses that well. And Annabelle looks out of her depth throughout much of the issue; which works well.

            Sliney conveys emotion well. While some people might be turned off by his attention to detail mixed to classic comic style, I feel that it really puts his stamp on it. Sliney presents dynamic action with few overly out there poses by our female cast. Gandini splashes colors, breathing life into Sliney work. And while the colors, I feel, are a bit subdued in panels where it should be more vibrant, Gandini’s color really give focus and breathes life into Sliney’s pencils and inks. A good job on both issues by this art tandem.


WRITING:

 

            Bunn is slowly working his way to becoming one of the greatest comic book writers in the industries history and Fearless Defenders # 3 & # 4 are proof of that. We get wonderful characterizations from all the characters. We have epic meeting mundane and Bunn encapsulates that so well with the reactions of Misty and Annabelle throughout both issues. We get a more vulnerable Brunhilde during both issues, which just adds more to this character. Warrior Woman is arrogant, powerful and has an ego the size of Texas … yet she is still fun to read. That is the power of Cullen Bunn.

            The dialogue feels real. The Asgardian “over dramatic talk” actual felt more natural here than I have seen in years during the conversations between the All-Mother, Hela, Warrior Woman & Valkyrie. Bunn seems to pace the dialogue and the events of both issues well. Nothing felt it took too long or too short as the events unfolded. The major twist that Valkyrie instituted also was extremely unexpected and played off well … adding to Valkyrie’s torment we see later.

            Bunn seems to really get these characters and focusing how they come from different worlds (sometimes literally) and being forced together to fight an enemy. Caroline Le Fey is one of the most haunting new foes I have seen from Marvel in a while. She deserves to be up there with Dr. Doom, Thanos and others as a major villain and I want to see more of her as well.  With more questions still needed to be answered and both the world (and other dimensions) in danger … Bunn stacks things against our heroines yet also gives them purpose. The Shieldmaidens HAVE to exist it seems. And that makes the book that much more important. Kudos to Bunn for making Fearless Defenders from just another team into an integral part of the Marvel Universe.


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

            These issues were epic, engrossing … full of action, emotion and, most importantly, fun. The danger is no less dire but this book is a fun read. Readers will be enthralled by the characters, the plots and action. Good art and superb story make Fearless Defenders a book that really stands out.


RATING:

            I have so much fun reading these issues and so will you. I give Fearless Defenders # 3 & # 4  a 8.5 out of 10. Pick up  Fearless Defenders today!

TV News: NBC's The Sixth Gun Gets Its Leading Lady

NBC just casted the lead for their upcoming series, The Sixth Gun - the supernatural western comic that takes place after the Civil War which is created by artist Brian Hurtt and writer Cullen Bunn. Taking the lead role of Becky Montcrief is none other than The Ruins actress Laura Ramsey.

  The Sixth Gun deals with six supernatural pistols of great power. The final pistol, which the title is based out of , ends up in the hands of  Becky Montcrief who is now being chased by people, alive & dead. Her protector is a gunslinger by the name of Drake Sinclair.

  Other confirmations on cast include a detective searching for the guns by the name of Mr. Mercer played by Aldris Hodge, an undead Confederate General named Oliander Hume played by W Earl Brown & teh General's liuetenant, Silas Hedgepeth played by Graham McTavish.

The series is set to debut this fall.

Laid Back Comics: Fearless Defenders #1

There was a time I wasn't sure how I could approach this title, you see When The Defenders title was canceled not too long ago I was a bit sad by it going. I Then saw this title pop up with the Marvel Now I crossed my arms and seemed to grumble at how this somehow might been the reason behind why the other was cancelled, like there couldn't be two ‘Defender’ titles out. After coming to the notion that idea was completely dumb I warmed up to Fearless coming in based on the first two characters showcased in Misty Knight and Valkyrie. Two characters that have been supporting roles in other books I have enjoyed so be reasonable the same will happen here.

The story is pretty much standalone so far, there is no lead in with other titles. It is a sight forward threat is being made and this group will have to be formed and face off with whatever it may be. Now the characters of Misty Knight and Valkyrie have two very different backgrounds and often face off with very different threats. Cullen Bunn knows this and actually plays around with the idea for some fun moments. For Misty, you first see her taking on some artifact smuggler somewhere on ocean which is something that she seemed just run of the mill for her to do. That is until rocket launchers are pulled out and used against her.

And while the smugglers did get away Misty did manage to bring back something for her friend and new character to the book in Dr. Annabelle Riggs an archaeologist who unknowingly reveals a secret that the artifact Misty brought back can raise the dead. And now Misty is facing off with several undead Vikings. And this of course brings Valkyrie into the book proper.

The opening book is very action oriented with just brief moments of exposition in between to give it a good breath before diving into undead bashing. I wouldn't call these things zombies just reanimated bones. This all seems to lead back to Valkyrie and the release of the Doommaidens rising. So in the opener of the series we get not only introduction of three main characters so far, but also the threat in a well-paced fun opening issue.

The art work though while looking well and nice, also carried with it the stigma of the female form that has been traveling around for a while now. Meaning there are moments you title your head and go that cannot be good for the spine. There was major fear with that as the series was first announced and it is a trend that we do see in the book.

The other major aspect of the book and one that got many headlines is this is an All-Female book, the first of Marvel NOW, and what was first thought of as just an all-female team, the book actually takes the All-Female to everything. Main cast is not only all female it looks as if the threat is as well with the Doommaidens. So in essence we are getting more than just a team, it could be an almost All-Female book period.

In the end the book is fun start to this new series that already has two very strong leads and is looking to expand on as the first arc continues, it is one of the better new books debuted under the Marvel NOW banner.

OVERALL: 7.5 out of 10

Bryan "BAC" Clendening is a comic book reviewer and sometimes video producer. You can follow him on Twitter Here.

Comic News: It's Ladies Choice in Bunn's & Sliney's Fearless Defenders

It was announced about a month ago that Cullen Bunn will be writing Fearless Defenders with art by Will Sliney. The main plot of Fearless Defenders revolves around Valkyries vow to the All- Mother at the end of The Fearless maxi-series: To make a new group of Shield Maidens. Well, she sets out to do so and ends up being teamed up with street level hero for hire, Misty Knight.

            In a press conference held by Marvel this past week, Bunn & Sliney divulged more details about the up-coming Marvel NOW book.  For instance, Misty and Valkyrie will be co-leaders of the Fearless Defenders. Bunn stated, “If there was ever an odd couple of characters who are fighting side-by-side, I cannot imagine a more odd of a couple than (Valkyrie) and Misty. They’re fun to write individually, but they are so much fun when they’re interacting with one another. They bring an interesting dynamic to this team and immediately set it apart as completely different from every other superhero group out there.”

            Bunn focuses on Valkyrie’s quest and goes into the core plot of the title: "The initial pitch for this goes back several months when I first put this idea out there as something I though would make a good book. I think it's the fact that it's such a different approach to a team or a 'non-team' as Tom said. A big part of what I wanted to show was Valkyrie choosing who she thinks would be worthy to be a Shield Maiden. Just even from that I started really thinking a lot about how different the challenges they faced would be and how diverse the group itself would be and how much fun it would be to see these very different characters -- presenting them in a different light and how we could see characters that readers might not be as familiar with. We could see them in a bigger way or in a different light."

            And Tom Brevoort promises that this team would be a non team: with no headquarters and rotating membership. Yet, there was some word on the core of the team.

            It has been confirmed that Dani Moonstar, former Mutant & Valkyrie, will be the second member to join Valkyrie on the team. Brevoort confirmed that she will be a core member alongside Misty & Valkyrie. Another big surprise is the resurrection of the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. Artist Phil Jimenez redesigns the character, who will be appear in issue #3 of the title and take the hero moniker of Warrior Woman. Bunn promises a new approach to the character who was NOT a hero last time readers saw her in Marvel.

            And the first major challenge is an unrevealed villain who uses the absence of Shield Maidens to her advantage during the first story arc. And while the villains of the series have not been revealed, Bunn did give one hint: "Her resources and her mile-wide mean streak is going to make her a threat for some time to come for these characters."

            And while Phil Jimenez handled design duties for Warrior Woman, Fearless Defenders artist Wil Sliney did freshen up the designs for the rest of the characters in the book. "As you can see from the covers, they wanted to keep those costumes quite traditional and they wanted me to match up with what Mark (Brooks) had already done. Where my design elements started coming in with the Doom Maidens and some of the villains that we see, because they tie in to Norse Mythology and Asgardians. I got to bring up a lot of the things that I was interested in. In Ireland, we have a lot of that kind of jewelry. That's where I was able to bring out my influence and style. Characters like Misty and Val, their looks are so strong already that we didn't want to go too far away from what we already had."

            With the all this, the Fearless Defenders set themselves apart from many other titles. Let’s see what this book has in store.

            Fearless Defenders # 1 will hit stores this February.

 

Comic News: Marvel NOW Gets Femme Fatales in FEARLESS DEFENDERS

 As revealed today after a week of teasing from Marvel, Cullen Bunn will be joined by artist Will Sliney to be the creative force behind the new, all female Fearless Defenders. The new book will feature Valkyrie and Misty Knight as leads as Val picks up her mission to create a new Valkyrior ... but for Midgard (Earth), not Asgard, as assigned by the All-Mother at the end of The Fearless maxi-series.

   Fearless Defenders will start with the unlikely duo of Valkyrie coming together with martial arts expert and former Hero For Hire Misty Knight. The two coming from very different worlds will form the core of the new team, according to writer Cullen Bunn in his interview on Marvel.com from Ben Morse.

Cullen Bunn stated to Marvel.com:

There will definitely be other characters joining the team. In the end, the Valkyrior will consist of eight team members. But this is not a book where we see the entire team, fully formed, on a splash page in the first issue. Rather, a big part of the story will be seeing the team come together logically. We’ll take our time getting there, but some characters will be fairly well known, some will be lesser cult favorites, and some will be introduced for the first time in this book.

In the meantime, though, there will be many guest stars appearing in the series.

In the end, this is Valkyrie’s dream team, and her vision sets the tone for the entire story—making it come true, seeing it sometimes fail, and learning to adapt when changes need to be made

More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/news/story/19674/marvel_now_qa_fearless_defenders#ixzz2BfIgpkt1

   There will be 8 Valkyrior in all but not all of them will come right away as the journey to form this team will be one of the driving forces of the book as it starts. Val and Mistry will also be treated with a semi-rotating cast of characters as they work on forming this new team. No other team members have been announced yet but here are some of the most likely suspects to either join or at least appear in this all new , all female incarnation of the Defenders:

Black Cat - She was a recent Defender and her luck powers and attitude would make a great fit for this team. Plus, she's already worked with Misty before in a short lived incarnation of Heroes For Hire that started during Civil War.


Red She-Hulk: She may be in BIG trouble but she was also a recent Defender. She's got strength and brains, like her ex-hubby Bruce. And she has a very big appetite for adventure. Plus, a Hulk on a team may be the best idea.

Clea - Once a student and even lover of Stephen Strange, Clea is a powerful sorceress that may .. . or may not be a key member in this incarnation of the Defenders.

Satana - Fresh from her stint with the Thunderbolts, if they don't have Clea, she'd make a great member. She 'd also bring a lot of trouble to the team: being the Daughter of Satan and all.

Dani Moonstar - She's the most obvious answer. Plus the most interesting. She's been a Valkyrie before. She's worked with Brunhilde several times in the past. With New Mutants now over, Dani does not have a place to call home. She's a former SHIELD Agent. A great marks man. Powers or not, Dani's a great tracker and leader and could really turn into the 3rd piece of this new Defenders (with Val as the body and Misty as the Brains)

Fearless Defenders #1, written by Cullen Bunn and art by Will Sliney will debut this February.