Marvels: Eye of The Camera #3 Review

Writers: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Art: Jay Anacleto
Colorist: Brian Haberlin
Letterer: Richard Starkings and Comicraft

Phil is on Newsbeat with Sam Reuther promoting both “Marvels” as well as his new book, which he clarifies will be about the heroes’ deeds that are sometimes misunderstood. However, Reuthers pushes the point out how recent heroes that lack the flair and attractiveness of silver age heroes – i.e. The Punisher, Wolverine, Ghost Rider – and also resemble villains in their methods, and therefore notes why Phil doesn’t just call the book “Villains.” Phil leaves the studio disgusted, but then runs into his old assistant, Marcia Hardesky, now an employee at the station after taking Sheldon’s advice on video documentaries. She supports his stance on the heroes and notes how he’s lost weight; Phil keeps his illness to himself, having subjected to 30 sessions of chemotherapy over a period of six weeks.
At the hospital, he remarks at a magazine cover of marital problems between Reed and Sue, and a Daily Glove cover story of Cap’s return from retirement to rejoin the Falcon, as well as a TV ad of Thor calling out all prospective Avengers to expand their ranks. Phil sees this as the media sticking it to Reuther’s comments. His oncologist comes in and informs him he’s doing extremely well and assures Doris that Phil’s focus on the book is a positive outlet for his energies.
On the street, Phil is enthralled by a boy describing the exploits of another new superhero calling himself Iron Fist. He notices flowers being put in front of Avengers Mansion’s gates in light of the Wasp being injured in a recent attack, and rumors swirl of spousal abuse involving Yellowjacket and disdain for the new addition, the blue-furred Beast, due to his connections to the X-Men. As for Yellowjacket himself, he next is found unconscious outside the hospital growing beyond his physical limits. Phil is there as Beast’s serum is administered into Yellowjacket’s system by the Vision, which simultaneously validifies Beast in the public’s eyes. Still, the comment one spectator said about “one more monster on our side” gets Phil thinking about the Thing. At home, Phil looks at photos of the Thing and sees that he is only accepted because he fights the uglier monsters.
The next day, at the breakfast table, Sheldon’s disgusted by the Globe’s sensationalism of recent appearances of werewolves, vampires, and demons. His shock is intensified by the Bugle’s cover story of the Falcon on trial. Again, the opinions on the street are mixed. One person couldn’t care less because of how a recent fight between Daredevil and the Torpedo  tore through his home and how he and his family are now living with his sister because of it.  Weeks later, as he leaves the subway the story’s still on his mind and makes Phil reflective of how the fight between Namor and the Torch cost him his eye. Commotion prompts him to the street and sees people raving mad as the result of a “madbomb.” Captain America was present, as was the surprise appearance of the Falcon, trying to contain the devasation that took place. In his darkroom, Phil then recieved a report about a fight at JFK airport involving the X-Men. While some claim to not remember it, one of the mechanics provided both sketches and details of how Cyclops and Eric The Red were blasting each other back and forth on the tarmac. His partner disagrees and says it never happened. However, the mechanic claims he heard Marvel Girl’s telepathic voice instructing the crowd to forget what they saw, but he couldn’t on account of a metal plate in his head.
At the Masthead with Ben, he and Phil discuss the possibility that the X-Men were involved in a cover-up, and Urich would be inclined to believe it. Urich says nothing surprises him anymore, and describes how he’s been trying to get a beat on this new guy called the Punisher and how he’s rumored to have killed members of the People’s Liberation Front, a group Jonah’s slammed in the Bugle. The bartender tells Ben there’s a call for him. A second later, he informs Phil that Jonah’s been kidnapped right out of his office.
After chasing down leads, Ben and Phil pay off a boatman to get them to Liberty Island. From what they could piece together, the PLF hired The Hitman to kidnap Jonah in retaliation for his anti-PLF articles, and comandeered the Statue of Liberty in order to destroy it with Jonah on top of it. From binoculars and telephoto lens, both men see the Hitman battling both the Punisher and Spider-Man while the web-slinger holds Jameson in midair with one hand. Phil’s in panic at seeing his lifelong friend fearing for his life. The Punisher manages to get shots off of the Hitman but they don’t phase him, either due to body armor or because they were rubber. Punisher aids Spider-Man hoist Jameson back onto the top while Hitman dangles in midair off of Liberty’s crown. Just when they think he’s next to be saved, Hitman lets go…and Punisher and Spider-Man do nothing to prevent it. Phil can’t make sense out of it, referring instantly back to the Spidey-Goblin fight on the Brooklyn Bridge that killed Gwen Stacy. The stress of the confusion causes Phil to collapse in Ben’s arms.
TO BE CONTINUED…

Likes:

• The balance of focus on both Sheldon’s work and his health problems
• The inserts of classic Marvel moments again and bronze age characters
• Phil getting vocal and creative in his stance regarding Marvels
• The examination of his feelings towards Jonah

Dislikes:

• still trying to get used to it being a Ross-less comic

Additional Notes:
Again I must praise Busiek in his ability to balance the events of Marvel continuity with those of Phil the observer. we’ve moved from silver age to Bronze Age, with the introduction of cult heroes like Ghost Rider and antiheroes such as the Punisher. Sadly Frank Castle, as well as the other heroes, including Wolverine, fall so easily into the role as Phil’s Hancock (as in “along comes Hancock”; you had to see the Wil Smith movie to understand). These guys are the antithesis of the heroes that he photographed and has struggled to vindicate, and have become as much a blemish on the superhero community as Phil once remarked mutants as being. I like the fact that while the anti-sentiments aimed at these “monsters” have only briefly been touched on during their careers, Phil’s combatting them head on and at the same time spotlighting them for the viewer. It’s just honesty; who would trust a guy with a flaming skull for a head? Or a man with three claws that pop out the back of his hand? Of course there would be skepticism and backlash based on these characters religious or biological ties and how their involvement would make the public view those categories. I also like the introduction of the blue-furred Beast, especially considering how far back Phil goes with the X-Men. Bringing Ben Urich in to the mix was one right out of left field in my opinion. Busiek has set it up that Urich is the younger version of Sheldon; while he himself was injured by the Torch-Namor battle in the original series, Urich had recieved similar injuries at the hands of Daredevil’s enemies. As for the immediate threat to Jonah’s person, I confess that – and this is embarrassing since I’m a huge Spidey-fan – I have never heard of such an incident. It’s not hard to draw comparisons between this incident involving the Punisher and Jonah’s assassin and the Gwen Stacy affair years before, and I think having Sheldon reflect on it is overstating the obvious. The idea of Phil succumbing to the aftereffects of his chemotherapy, as well as the confusion of what is going on, is a great cliffhanger
Again, Jay Anacleto’s art, while GOOD, is still a major adjustment for me. I know I’m being biased, but whenever there’s a sequel to a highly popular miniseries, it usually works BETTER if they retain the original creative team. I’m not knocking Jay’s style; the painted comic look is STILL retained, but at certain points it’s like he’s still trying to keep it in the realm of line art, esp in terms of coloring. It’s gotta be one or the other, man.
Anyway, all in all great work and can’t wait for the next part.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Webs

Cover: 5 out of 5 Webs
This cover carries a lot of impact, and it symbolically picks up from the last panel in #2. Great job!