War Machine

A Marvel Comics series written by Greg Pak

“And all of these characters, be they male or female, are strong, intelligent, and very, very good at their jobs. When the women are in danger, they’re saved due to the efforts of a mixed-gender team — as are the men. And if some non-white characters have shady criminal histories, they’re balanced out by those with impeccable records. These characters defy stereotypes and pigeonholing, and though their cultural backgrounds have obviously had an impact on their lives, as we see specifically in flashbacks to Rhodey’s childhood, their race isn’t their sole defining feature. … it’s a very well-written book even beyond its casting successes, and I encourage anyone with even a passing interest to give it a try.”
— Jennifer Smith, Fantastic Fangirls

“Throw in the Ultimo Virus, Norman Osborn and a knock-down-drag-out fight with Ares the God of War, and you’ve got yourself a gritty, action-packed, viscera-soaked solo arc that War Machine has deserved since the ’90s.”
— Wizard Magazine

IGN likes “War Machine” #6

Posted on by

Kevin Fuller has written a glowing review of “War Machine” #6 for IGN. Here’s an excerpt:

… this is a fun series that definitely qualifies as one of the best new titles to come out of Secret Invasion/Dark Reign. Instead of just being event aftermath filler, it has an original concept and direction that isn’t being met by any other titles.

Click here to read the whole thing.
“War Machine” #6 was written by Greg Pak with pencils by Allan Jefferson and Mahmud Asrar. The book hit comic book stores May 28.

Pak Talks Comics – Super Giant Reader Q&A!

Posted on by

By Greg Pak
Over the next few months, I’m reworking the format of my “Pak Talks Comics” column for BrokenFrontier.com. The new and improved column should appear towards the end of the summer. But in the meantime, I’ll continue the Reader Q&A portion of the column right here at PakBuzz.com, so keep those questions coming and read on for answers to the latest batch!
WARNING: Some spoilers ahead for a few recent issues of “Incredible Hercules,” “Skaar,” and “Magneto Testament.”
Hrungr: With the Olympians now on Earth along with the Asgardians, does anyone remember that the Celestials had ordered them to stop interfering with humanity? Or is it a case where humanity has grown to the point that the gods are simply another group of superpowered beings?
GP: Thanks for the question, Hrungr. As you’ll see, Bill has a similar question about the nature of the gods below – I’ll answer them together in a second. Also, since we’re on the subject, “Incredible Hercules” #129 hits comic book stores today — feel free to check out the preview!
Bill Frank: I just want to start out by saying that I am really enjoying your and Van Lente’s run on “Incredible Hercules.” You both seem to have caught the real feel for a mythological character that some writers miss. With that in mind, I was wondering a few things about your run that can be roughly divided into three sets of questions, if you don’t mind:
In universes like Marvel’s there are a myriad of super powerful beings with powers and abilities rivaling if not surpassing gods. Some beings like Eternals have been mistaken for gods in the past and have almost identical power-sets except they are science based instead of magic based. When writing a series like “Incredible Hercules,” what separates gods from other super powered beings? What distinguishes Hercules, an immortal super-strong man from other immortal super-strong men like Gilgamesh or Wonder Man or makes him different from being just some ancient superhero?
GP: I’m not saying this is the case, but it’s within the realm of possibility that all of the powers of Herc and his relatives could be explained via Marvel science; maybe they’re not gods, just immortal superhumans. But for millennia, Herc has been told he’s literally a god and has been worshipped as a god. So a huge part of his story is this struggle with questions of a god’s prerogatives and responsibilities. Characters like Wonder Man and the Hulk and Wolverine, who might be functionally immortal, haven’t had that millennia-long struggle with the question of godhood that Herc has, nor do they come from a family and culture of fellow gods struggling with the same issues. Those are major differences that create different animating themes for these characters.

Continue reading →

Marvel.com talks Skaar, Herc, and War Machine with Greg Pak

Posted on by

Marvel.com’s Kevin Mahadeo has interviewed writer Greg Pak about “Planet Skaar,” “Incredible Hercules,” and “War Machine.” Here’s an excerpt:

Marvel.com: PLANET SKAAR PROLOGUE #1 hits stores this week, probably both figuratively and literally as I doubt the comic page can alone contain the smashing. What can fans expect to see in this kick off issue?
Greg Pak: Skaar, Son of Hulk, hits planet Earth—and planet Earth hits back! The book follows through on the epic storyline we’ve been building since the last page of WORLD WAR HULK and through the previous 10 issues of SKAAR: SON OF HULK, but it’s also designed to be absolutely new reader friendly. All you need to know is that the Hulk has a big, green, furious, half-alien son who’s on his way to Earth—the rest is explained as we launch into the action of the story. And the story co-stars the Fantastic Four, She-Hulk, Norman Osborn, the Warbound, and, of course, Bruce Banner, aka the Incredible Hulk! We’re talking massive smashing and massive emotional payoff along with a shocking twist that will open up a whole new world for Skaar. So, don’t dare miss it!
Marvel.com: You mentioned the Fantastic Four appearing. We know Reed Richards is the one who discovers that the Jade Giant’s son is coming to town. Why does Reed take it upon himself to stop Skaar? Why not contact some of his former Illuminati buddies?
Greg Pak: Reed has a very direct answer to this question on page 13 of the story. He also has a theory that addresses some key questions about the Hulk post-World War Hulk that might be of great interest to Gamma fans.

Click here to read the whole thing.

Marvel.com interviews Greg Pak about “War Machine” #6

Posted on by


Marvel.com has posted an interview with writer Greg Pak about “War Machine” #6, which hits comic book stores on May 27. Here’s an excerpt:

“A pretty big chunk of the Marvel Universe is probably willing to turn a blind eye to War Machine’s extreme, extralegal interventionism as long as he’s poking around overseas in places like Santo Marco and Aqiria,” Pak remarks. “But once War Machine picks a target on American soil, conflicts with the Marvel heroes who defend the country become inevitable.”
The new storyline will also feature the return of Rhodey’s mom, a character who Pak describes as “a tough, unsentimental, church-going lady who did her damnedest to raise her kids the right way in the mean streets of South Philly. But as we’ll learn, her son may have learned some of her lessons a little too well.”

Click here to read the whole thing.

CBR likes “War Machine” #5

Posted on by

Timothy Callahan has reviewed “War Machine” #5 for Comic Book Resources. Here’s an excerpt:

Manco is a fascinating choice for this type of comic, because he can pull off the sensitive character moments and the big, ultra-violent action sequences, but he covers it all with a layer of grit and grime that makes it all seem sad and painful. This is an issue which opens up with Ares, the god of war, raging with glowing red eyes and decapitations occurring left and right. That’s all on the opening page, by the way. And the comic escalates from there.

Click here to read the whole thing.
“War Machine” #5 was written by Greg Pak with art by Leonardo Manco. The book hit comic book stores on April 29. Ask your local store to hold a copy for you today!

Comixtreme loves “War Machine” #5

Posted on by

An excerpt:

This was a very intense and very satisfying conclusion to the first story arc. Greg Pak really has Rhodey down and the flash backs he has been giving up during the story have been a really nice touch to the character. Seeing Jim’s relationship with Glenda in both the present and past really rounded the character.

Click here to read the whole thing.
“War Machine” #5 was written by Greg Pak with art by Leonardo Manco and hit comic shops on Wednesday. Ask your local store to hold a copy for you today!

Sequential Tart covers Greg Pak and “Secret Identities” at the NYCC

Posted on by

Sequential Tart has posted an extremely thorough pair of articles by Margaret O’Connell covering the “Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology” panels at the New York Comic-Con, which included Greg Pak, writer of “The Citizen.”
Just an excerpt:

During the related panel on “The Multicultural Mask” the next day, [Greg] Pak expanded on the theme of comics’ relative openness to prominent roles for nonwhite characters, pointing out that Marvel has a relatively long heritage of introducing ethnically diverse characters. Even if their initial portrayals now seem dated, as with the blaxploitation-tinged “Sweet Christmas!” 1970’s depiction of original “Hero for Hire” Power Man/Luke Cage, these characters are still established parts of the Marvel Universe who are already there available for use. Pak cited African-American longtime Iron Man supporting character James Rhodes/War Machine, who has recently headlined his own title, as a prime example of this phenomenon.

Click here to read Part 1
Click here to read Part 2
Click here to buy “Secret Identities” for 32 percent off at Amazon.com.