I think of the three projects she's had writing them, this one is probs the most concise and even, which might have to do with the limited time she had to get the story across. Most of what happened makes sense as to why they happened, which is something I think Death's Head wasn't able to achieve. And since he actually gets panel time here, it works better than Strikeforce's portrayal of Billy imo.
I also read America gotta say already better than the other one though that wasn't a hard feat, hella retcons, but so far the Demiurge Utopian Parallel thing is still intact, it kept my attention, though I still argue the best version of America remains YA vol 2 but will see if this changes my mind as it progresses.
Between spoilers:end of spoilers, I thought Billy was pretty damn efficient, if not slightly overpowered. Like he could only go bigger if he did a spell to defeat Knull altogether
channeling the Enigma Force to defeat the symbiotes and doing a massive spell to organize people into evacuating the planet
edit: I'm dumb and spoilers:end of spoilers
that was probably just his original costume instead of the Enigma Force
Last edited by nandes; 03-03-2021 at 10:07 AM.
Didn’t a one shot that came after her series already say how she was raised by different people after she found herself in our dimension? It might have been in an anthology like Marvel Voices.
But I don’t think this is the first mention of her being raised as a little girl here.
The only thing is that Johnny and Ramone should be orphans when their Dora Milaje mother died, when they were 15. But I guess they could have gotten a foster family at 15 years old.
I like the ways Tini limits Billy (and I think they are consistent with a lot of his history pre-vol 2.). Characters being perceived as OP becomes a reason they get benched and a reason fans get annoyed at good storytelling (why is Billy not just completely fixing the problem with 3 words? well, we wouldn't have a book then lol).
Like I said no problem with limitations, I get we need it for plot but this particular method I just don't rock with, comes off somewhat arbitray like in Strikeforce he was done after 1 teleport she writes it in a way where its just convenient to her plot and I feel if she continues to write Billy the balance just needs to be more concise. Other than that I've enjoyed all her portrayals of him I like her voice for him.
KIB one-shot was cute. I wish it wasn't a tie-in to an event though, because I don't think it added anything to the event story. It was clearly just an excuse to give Billy and Teddy a story, so I would prefer if it was its own thing, without feeling the need to connect to a bigger thing, so more time would be spent on them and their development instead of Knull shenanigans. As it stands, it feels like this one-shot was basically a filler that doesn't really push their story forward much. Which is why, again, we need them headlining their own ongoing. I love the fact that they're going to be Guardians Of The Galaxy soon, but between the packed team and space narrative, I just don't feel like it's gonna be THEIR story. Plus, by the time Ewing leaves the book, there's a pretty big chance the next GOTG writer won't even want to use them. Marvel needs to give us a Wiccan & Hulkling or a Young Avengers ongoing book.
Some thoughts:
spoilers:end of spoilers
I really like those little moments of them in the throne, just doing basic king shit. I would honestly read an entire issue of just THAT. It excited me more than all of the action with the symbiotes.
Horny Billy was great. More of that please.
Lauri-Ell is fun and I want her to stick around as their bodyguard/third wheel. Also, she said GAY SEX RIGHTS in the end by finally giving them some alone time to do the dirty. Ally queen!
THEIR GLOW IN THE DARK SUITS WERE SO GOOD???????? It pains me that it's probably going to be a one-and-done look, because it was great. It could easily be their new, official cosmic designs going forward. Also, I loved that combination of powers; how Teddy could wield and use Billy's magic light with his own abilities too. I live for couple combos!
Their Champagne-bot was so cuuuute! And I LOVE the fact that it was a Sunspot creation. Roberto really is their sugar daddy, LMAO. I would say I wish they'd keep it as their pet going forward, but who am I kidding? It's probably going to be another forgotten robot Tini created just like Vee was...... I miss Vee.
Haven't read it yet, but I'm glad to hear they're keeping her ties to Billy.
Loved today's one shot, just bummed it was only a one shot
Didn't really liek the art though. I feel like they all looked too much like children and Teddy was too big. I just want them to go back to the beautiful art of Empyre!!
Agreed on the art. A bit too kidsy for me. I met them as young adults who looked more mature than this, and they've only gotten older and are *men* now, not boys. And it wasn't just the art, for me. The story itself felt a little too fanfiction-y, in that everything seemed to work a little too well. I obviously don't want them to fail or get hurt or anything, but it felt like the writing went a little soft on them and felt more like a scary amusement park ride than a life-or-death 'everyone on this planet is gonna die or get turned into Venoms if we don't do this exactly right!'
I do think we were spoiled by being introduced to them with that beautiful Cheung art, and now almost everyone is a downgrade by comparison.
And it was a delight to see champagne robot again, and the shoutout to Roberto, and their time together in the Avengers!
Echoing what others have said. Sad this is a one-shot, but since they're joining GotG in April this was a nice bridge between Empyre and that. But loved a lot about it.
spoilers:end of spoilers
The action was a bit stunted, admittedly. While I'm one that enjoys the interpersonal aspects of comics quite a lot. I do like seeing my boys mix it up every once in a while. They were so excited to fight dragons, and then we don't seem them slay a single dragon (it's done off panel).
That said, aside from Thirsty!Billy being a little TOO single-minded sometimes (I get it gurl, believe me), their overall interaction was definitely something I love to see. Just the constant physical way they were allowed to interact throughout the comic, to say nothing about dialogue was wonderful to see for a same-sex couple. More of them just being hot for each other please!
Also, Lauri-ell has definitely become a wonderful addition, and worked well with the pair. Adored the part where she and Billy bond (briefly) over being willing to die for Teddy. A bit extreme, but sweet.
Lastly, loved hearing Teddy's full list of titles.
WandaVision ends with spoilers:end of spoilers
the twins getting erased off-screen. In the post-credits scene we see Wanda, now fully the Scarlet Witch, reading the Darkhold and she hears the kids calling out to her for help before she closes the book, implying they're trapped in some other dimension and she's gonna' go get them. So it's true that they'll be appearing as kids in Doctor Strange 2.
I guarantee you that movie is gonna' end with their souls being "imprinted" or whatever on Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd. It'll probably be the post-credits scene in Doctor Strange 2 when we finally see teen Billy and then we won't even see him become Wiccan until the Young Avengers comes out as either a movie or a Disney+ series.
Every time I let myself feel even the tiniest sliver of hope to finally see a gay male character in a popular movie franchise I get burned and have to wait another God only knows how many years. I don't know why I still bother, wake me when the Eternals comes out.