TALES OF SUSPENSE: COMMEMORATIVE EDITION.
© Marvel Comics

Mania Grade: D
Issue: 1
Authors: Ed Brubaker, Warren Ellis, Steve Epting, Adi Granov
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $3.99

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TALES OF SUSPENSE: COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

I can only assume that this ridiculous misuse of the English language is meant to enhance the sales of this book. Why else would anyone pick up a reprint of two books released only thirty days ago? Perhaps the price would do it at $3.99, it's still about two bucks cheaper than the individual books together cost. (I've seen it listed in some of the advance publicity for $5.99, so obvious some brain over at Marvel decided to lower the cover price to avoid myself and other critics heaping even more well-deserved scorn on them.) Honestly, though apart from the fact that Marvel has two writers that are finally, finally doing Cap and Shellhead right, there's nothing at all "commemorable" about this book.

Don't be confused by my near-failing grade above, though. It's not the books themselves I'm taking to task, it's the packaging and for those of us who managed to miss the first issues of both these new titles, we might even be willing to cut a little bit of slack for that (grumble, grumble). The books themselves would be worth a four-dollar price of admission individually, anyway: Brubaker handles Cap better than he's been handled since his last "reboot" just after September 11th; and Warren Ellis gives us a Tony Stark who's believable, intelligent, and even more human than his previous incarnations. While Brubaker keeps some of the baggage that comes with working in Steve Rogers' world (the Red Skull, S.H.I.E.L.D., Sharon Carter), he uses all three elements in new ways, especially the terminally-tired character of the Skull. Ellis, on the other hand, opts to keep none of Tony Stark's baggage not even a handy attaché case and the book moves along much more smoothly for it. Add to the mix two instantly arresting storylines, ably drawn by two of the best artists working these days, and you have the débuts of two brilliant new series.

All of which still doesn't excuse passing off what amounts to a reprinting (from a company that claims not to do reprints, despite all those sporadic MARVEL MUST-HAVES and gold foil editions that crop up here and there) of two books barely a month old. Commemorate this, Marvel.