Mark's Comic Book Review Center

Quick Comic Reviews - December 8th, 2011

2011-12-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, yeah, bit behind. Go figure. But I’ve got a ton of Marvel issues here from this week. Tomorrow at some point I’ll get the DC stuff out. Honestly, you didn’t miss much last week, it was a way light week. Nothing terrible this week from Marvel, so that’s a plus! Some good stuff to check out too.

X-Factor #228 – Written by Peter David and Art by Leonard Kirk. Madrox Prime has just been killed by an dead and possessed duplicate. The demonic Bloodbath is proving himself unstoppable, so X-Factor needs to put an end to his carnage. This is, yet again, another fantastic, balls-to-the-walls issue. Bloodbath is a complete douche of a demon who apparently understands modern things like match.com. But anyway, the story starts giving us answers to things that have happened recently and are setting up for an even bigger plot unfolding here. David has so many layers of things going on, it is really quite magnificent. This is the best x-title out there and one of the worst selling. Which is sad, the writing is amazing, the artwork was just fine here, the comic is great. The development with Strong Guy and Monet continues to be very interesting. Layla is going to be a huge part in the future and a worrisome future at that. I’m totally excited for next issue. It can’t come out quick enough.
Rating – 9/10
Avenging Spider-Man #2 – Written by Zeb Wells and Art by Joe Madureira. The Moloids kidnapped JJJ while Spidey teams up with the Red Hulk to stop them. Not that he wouldn’t love flat-top getting some well deserved whoopings. The Rulk and Spidey have been swallowed by some big worm thing and drug into Subterranea. Meanwhile, JJJ doesn’t shut his mouth when he needs to. There’s quite an awesome action sequence at the end that was excellent. I love how Red Hulk and Spider-Man work together and the interplay between them. These little team-ups are wonderful and this really brings back the feel of the old Marvel Team-Up type titles. So far, the story is going really well. Zeb has been telling a fun and entertaining story that gives us a shocking finish where you want to get to the next issue immediately. Joe Mad’s art is deep and involved. I’m not sure the color art is the best, but I think Joe Mad showed why he’s one of the greats in my book. Everything is easy to follow, the action brings you in, very good stuff. I highly recommend checking this title out.
Rating – 9/10

The Defenders #1 – Written by Matt Fraction, Penciled by Terry Dodson and Inked by Rachel Dodson. Somehow, Nul the Breaker of Worlds has separated himself and is tearing up Europe. Hulk, feeling like he’s partly responsible and partly pissed, gathers his old friends to take out Nul. The issue really follows the formation of the group. This time we have Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Namor, Hulk and Red She-Hulk. Not too different a group from what we’ve seen before, just some minor tweaks. There are some things I didn’t like about this issue. Namely, we see two of the characters sleeping around and it just totally did not seem in the realm of Doctor Strange. I had a problem with the characterizations here. I’m a bit confused on if this Hulk is in continuity with what’s going on in the Incredible Hulk series as well. The entire story just feels a tad hokey and the art lends to that. Not that Terry Dodson is a bad artist, but his style is a bit more over-the-top for a “serious” series. I think Fraction may be trying to blend in some nostalgia, but I’m not totally feeling it. It was pretty much just ok, nothing too special here. I feel almost like I could jump into issue two and wouldn’t have missed anything important. Guess I’ll know next month. Meh.
Rating – 5/10

X-Club #1 – Written by Simon Spurrier and Art by Paul Davidson. The X-Men: Utopia team and the X-Club (aka the scientists of X-Men) are working with Stratocorp to develop an Space Elevator. Why do we need an elevator to space? Good question, never really found myself needing one. But, of course, something bad happens and there’s a tad bit of a mystery. This is a five issue limited series, but I’m not sure how they’ll stretch this one out as the plot so far seems a bit thin. Dr. Nemesis is his usually snarky self and talks over everyone. Danger is strange, Madison Jeffries is barely used and Dr. Rao is just a foil for Nemesis. Cyclops comes off as lame in this and it really isn’t all the interesting. By the time it was over, I didn’t care whether the project failed or not. The guy in charge of Stratocorp came off as a huge shyster, which makes it even more unbelievable that the X-Men would help. There’s a mysterious person behind it all, but it could be Arcade for all it matters. I didn’t really need another series of the X-Club. They just aren’t interesting enough for me to read a series about. The art was ok, but there were some confusing sequences where I couldn’t tell quite what was going on. Nothing truly terrible, but nothing good either.
Rating – 4/10

The Amazing Spider-Man #675 – Written by Dan Slott, Penciled by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Inked by Klaus Janson. The Vulture sends his young vultures out on a heist as Carlie Cooper and Spidey try to figure out what is going on. Pretty decent storyline, it is good to see the Vulture out there again. There’s some moments in here where it felt like Seinfeld. You know, when they would try to make all these things tie together when they really didn’t need to. Like MJ going out to the exact same club that Vulture is running. Eh, oh well. The story was fine, but I just didn’t like the pencils in this one. I’m not a big fan of Camuncoli and his fight scenes are way to confusing. I just don’t like how he draws people for the most part. Daken was a better fit for him and even then I didn’t care for his art. His Vulture was actually pretty good though. The best part of this issue is the complex relationship going on with Cooper and Parker. The development of that relationship gives the writer a bit more of a long term arch to work on while Peter goes on his merry adventures. That’s a good thing. I just didn’t think Giuseppe was the best choice to pencil this one.
Rating – 6/10

Villains for Hire #1 – Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning and Art by Renato Arlem. Purple Man is running this group after escaping the Raft. He sends them out on a mission that quickly goes awry after intervention by another unknown group of villains. Needless to say, Purple Man is not at all happy about this. I thought the point one issue of this was awful, but this was much better. It had a plot that was going somewhere, which is terribly important. It was interesting to see all these villians working together in this issue and provided some fun. This was nothing too deep, but in reality, it’s picking up where Heroes for Hire left off. I still can’t figure out why they would end that series and then goes to this limited series. Five issues, I can pretty much tell what’s going to happen and fear it will end up being a run-of-the-mill storyline. The art was pretty good too. Nothing to really complain about here. Slightly above average, but barely.
Rating - 6/10

The Punisher #6 – Written by Greg Rucka and Art by Matthew Southworth & Matthew Clark. The Punisher is almost healed up four months after his battle with the mutate Vulture and now he knows where the Exchange is going. Unfortunately, Rachel Cole-Alves, the ex-Marine is also tracking down the Exchange. What follows is a nail-biting romp of revenge and vengeance served cold. Rucka tries to keep things somewhat realistic with the Punisher. He clearly is a vulnerable character, but he’s damned smart and extremely patient. Some of the tricks he uses are clever and makes you feel like you’re watching a darned good movie. The two Matts do an excellent job with the artwork and the snow suit that the Punisher wears is awesome when it is revealed. Their snow scenes in general I thought were well done. There’s a bit of slow build for a few pages that lead into a lot of great action as the suspense climbs to a crescendo. Then when all the shit hits the fan, it is on. Rucka does a superb job with Frank Castle that hasn’t been done in years. He makes Garth Ennis’ crappy run seemingly disappear and makes us forget the awful Punisher MAX series (sorry, it’s just nudity and gore folks, no substance). Thank goodness for Greg Rucka!
Rating – 9/10

Hulk #45 – Written by Jeff Parker and Art by Patch Zircher. Hulk of Arabia continues as they try to figure out more about Dagan Shah and where he got his power from. Dagan, meanwhile, attempts to ice Hulk and Machine Man and then let the Mideastern Conference Delegates know his intentions. I really want to like this issue and there’s some good stuff here. Namely the artwork, even though there are some slightly confusing scenes, but that’s mainly due to the alien technology. I like that they are using the Machine Man finally. I also understand that they have to make a tough Hulk level bad guy, but it just seems forced at times to create a new bad guy to fight him. The character seems fairly uninspired, there’s nothing really defining about him and I’m not entirely sure what his powers really are. The character seems to need a bit more fleshing out and maybe they will, but at this point he’s just a cardboard cut-out villain-of-the-week. Overall, I thought the issue was just average. It really didn’t hold my attention all that well. Another meh issue.
Rating – 5/10

Technorati Tags: hulk,jeff parker,patch zircher,punisher,greg rucka,matthew southworth,matthew clark,villains for hire,dan abnett,andy lanning,renato arlem,amazing spider-man,dan slott,giuseppe camuncoli,klaus janson,x-club,simon spurrier,paul davidson,defenders,matt fraction,terry dodson,rachel dodson,avenging spider-man,zeb wells,joe madureira,x-factor,leonard kirk,peter david

Quick Comic Reviews - December 1st, 2011

2011-12-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Sorry about no updates last week. A stomache flu pretty much derailed everything for me. I’m WAY behind on just reading comics now, so I’ll have to catch up as I go this week. Luckily, almost no releases by DC this week and very few by Marvel. That means I should be able to catch-up from last week. Anyway, here’s today’s new stuff from Marvel!

Herc #10 – Written by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente, Penciled by David Hahn and Inked by Roy Richardson & Rebecca Buchman. So Zeus has been turned into a mere mortal by Hera. Let’s just say she was kind of pissed at his infidelity and constant carousing. But he and Herc need to stop Baba Yaga from doing bad stuff, so what else is new? With a guest appearances again from the Kingpin and Elektra, Herc and Zeus have to work together and that rarely goes well. I really liked Zeus’ bumbling and Hercules having to show him what it means to be a mortal. A lot of funny stuff in here and a fast paced tale to boot. The art was subpar, but they artist got across the basics of storytelling. I just find the style lacked detail here. The most disappointing part of this issue is the fact that it is the last one. Marvel has cancelled the series, so this is it. Too bad, this was the first issue I wanted to read this week because it is always good. This title will definitely be missed, but I’m sure they’ll work Herc into something else.
Rating – 7/10

Daredevil #6 – Written by Mark Waid and Art by Marcos Martin. In this issue, Daredevil gets his second round with Bruiser. Bruiser could best be described as a giant luchadore who gets sponsorship from evil henchgroups like A.I.M. and Hydra. In fact, he wears those endorsements on his outfit. Bruiser is working to protect a potential breach of information for his sponsors as one of the people who knows too much tried to run last issue. This brings this little storyline to a conclusion. The artwork by Marcos Martin is, once again, simply fantastic. His minimalist approach is utterly perfect for Daredevil. I never feel confused with him at the helm when it comes to figuring out what is going on on the page. He just has zeroed in on Daredevil’s essence. Sadly, this is his last issue on Daredevil, which is too bad. His work with Waid has seemed to be very in-synch. Time will tell what happens here. I thought the story was decent enough, a tad anti-climatic, but getting out of the final showdown was very smart and thought out. Mark Waid does great work with Daredevil and has brought much needed life back to the character. This is a good issue, maybe not great, but definitely enjoyable.
Rating – 7/10
Uncanny X-Men #2 – Written by Kieron Gillen, Penciled by Carlos Pacheco, Jorge Molina & Rodney Buchemi and Inked by Cam Smith, Roger Bonet, Walden Wong & Jorge Molina. Mister Sinister is back with a vengeance. He’s stolen the head of a Dreaming Celestial and now the Celestials are pissed. So the only thing to do is to try and negotiate a deal with Sinister before it’s too late. Of course, that’ll never go over well. I liked that Gillen brought Sinister back and continues to expand upon that character. I’m still a little annoyed that the optic blast from Cyclops knocked off the helmet from Colossus. Did that ever happen to Juggernaut? Not that I recall. Cyclops continues to take a much harsher, killing is okay, stance and that could be interesting if they ever go into it. I wasn’t too big on the artwork here besides that of the flashback. It just seemed to be really inked too heavily in spots as well. Not the best issue, but somewhat entertaining. Who am I kidding? At the end I was just kind of “meh” about the whole thing. If that’s not 5/10, I don’t know what is.
Rating – 5/10

FF #12 – Written by Jonathan Hickman, Penciled by Juan Bobilo and Inked by Marcelo Sosa. After the events of Fantastic Four #600 (which is fantastic, no pun intended, run out and get it) the Future Foundation has translocated (not teleported according to Val Richards) to avert the Foundation getting killed by some of Annihilus’ rejects. Now they end up in Latveria, a chance to ask Doctor Doom for help. However, Nathaniel Richards and the “evil” Reed Richards are there and there is something they need out of the kids first. I will give Hickman this, he’s ambitious. Sometimes he has been so ambitious that he has outright confused the hell out of me. Now he is finally giving us moments of payoff. Nathaniel, being a time-traveller, is always very cryptic but you get the feeling that Hickman always knows what Richards knows and how it will all work together. This issue had some very good moments going for it and you can just see Doom seething silently and pissed. The artwork has it’s moments, but the artist does not do a very good Dragon Man at all. The characters are a bit hard to pick out who is who in this issue. It had it’s charm though, but it was slightly off. Rather good issue, but nothing too amazing.
Rating – 7/10

X-Men: Legacy #259 – Written by Mike Carey, Penciled by Khoi Pham and Inked by Tom Palmer. As Rogue tries to decide which X-Group to choose from, she instead finds something else. A mysterious presence seems to have attached itself to her and all the cast of the last several issues. It’s up to the X-Men to solve this mystery. Guess what, surprise at the end! Carey has been trying to lead up to this for awhile now and at the end you’ll know who it is. My initial reaction was one of not caring at all. But who knows, maybe it’s a good thing, but I was almost completely unfamiliar with the character. The whole issue leads up to that and somewhat on Rogue deciding, but that never happens. The art was fairly good in this issue, nothing too confusing here. The last few issues were marred with way too many scenes where I couldn’t figure out what was going on at all. This one was much better, Khoi’s pencils do a solid job here. One of the better X-titles in the Regenesis storyline so far, not that that’s saying too awful much.
Rating – 6/10

Wolverine #19 – Written by Jason Aaron and Art by Ron Garney. Wolverine, Gorilla Man and Immortal Weapon Fat Cobra take on Jade Claw and her goons. At the end of the last issue, they let dragons swallow them whole so they could perform a sneak attack. And as this issue shows, a very disgusting sneak attack. There’s a lot to like in this issue as it’s a straight forward fight through most of it. Also, Wolverine’s girlfriend gets a job writing for the Daily Bugle. Plus there’s a great scene at the beginning where this old bar as Salem Center closing up, until Wolverine returns (tying into Regenesis) and immediately they change their minds about closing now that their number one customer is back. I love that they put Gorilla Man in this as he is one of my favorite characters from Agents of Atlas. The art is fantastic in this as well. You feel like you know what’s going on fairly well and it has a gritty feel like Wolverine should have. A pretty solid issue, nothing spectacular, but definitely fun. Might be worth checking out, especially for all those Wolverine fans out there!
Rating – 7/10

Ghost Rider #6- Written by Rob Williams and Art by Dalabor Talajic. The artist’s name is spelled incorrectly in this issue. Guess now that this series is cancelled they aren’t bothering to proofread much. This tale takes us down to the Bayou for a deep dark mystery as Ghost Rider is drawn in for some unknown reason right before a Hurricane hits. A lot of nice creepy stuff going on that gives you the old eerie feeling the series used to have. The story is self contained, which is another plus for those looking for just a nice one-time read and a chance to get to know the new Ghost Rider, Alejandra. I really wish we had a chance to get to know her character a little better. Right now, she’s a tad bit of a shallow husk, having been brought up for the sole purpose of being a Ghost Rider and never living outside of the life she was put into. The character is very curious about some of the world out there and experiencing things, but she is very much no-nonsense still when it comes to dealing with people. Dalabor’s art was pretty good, nothing too special, but did a good job. Part of the “witch/voodoo” part seemed a bit old fashion and nothing too out there. It still gave you the feel of “horror” that Marvel could have used in their comics. Too bad this series ends with issue 9, because I think Rob Williams had something going here. Another very good issue, worth taking a look at.
Rating – 8/10

Technorati Tags: ghost rider,rob williams,dalabor talajic,wolverine,jason aaron,ron garney,x-men: legacy,mike carey,khoi pham,tom palmer,ff,jonathan hickman,juan bobilo,marcelo sosa,uncanny x-men,kieron gillen,carlos pacheco,jorge molina,rodney buchemi,cam smith,roger bonet,walden wong,daredevil,mark waid,marcos martin,herc,greg pak,fred van lente,david hahn,roy richardson,rebecca buchman

Quick Comic Reviews - November 18th, 2011

2011-11-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

Well, I’ve finished a good batch of DC titles and this week DC is coming out much better than Marvel. Not a lot of expectations for the DC stuff this week and it surprised me with almost every issue so far. In fact, out of everything I reviewed, I don’t think anything was bad and there was some entertaining stuff. Let’s take a look!

Nightwing #3 – Written by Kyle Higgins, Penciled by Eddy Barrows & Eduardo Pansica and Inked by JP Mayer, Paulo Sequeira & Eber Ferreira. Nightwing now owns a circus after the former owner’s death. Nightwing has to hunt down the assassin and try to juggle the circus he was apart of creeping back into his life. Ok, this all takes place only five years after leaving the circus? Or even less? What the hell happened in the meantime? Ugh, it just doesn’t make sense. I’m sick of trying to figure out how the hell this new continuity works. That being said, I’m a bit mixed at times about this issue. Really, the continuity thing is what is irking me right now. Taking this for what it should be, it was pretty good. I like the upgraded Nightwing costume and that they paid a little homage to the old one in here as well. Trying to figure out who hired the assassin seems to be the main focus right now. Although, it’ll be interesting to see where his relationships go from here and what the hell will he do now that he owns the circus. I see him giving ownership to like the performers in some sort of stock option. I thought this was an ok issue and is showing some positive momentum and giving Dick some growth as a character in a somewhat new role.
Rating - 6/10

Batman #3 – Written by Scott Snyder, Penciled by Greg Capullo and Inked by Jonathan Glapion. The Court of Owls is out to get Bruce Wayne, even though Bruce doesn’t believe they even exist. This issue is full of new mythology for the character and brought on an interesting development. The whole 13th floor not being in buildings or left empty due to superstition leaves for an interesting set of circumstances here. Anyone who has ever heard of that rumor will understand why it makes sense here. Snyder really starts bringing the story together in this issue as things are tying together a bit and making more sense. I love Capullo’s version of Batman. It is very much Frank Miller-esque and he does just a wonderful job here. There were some moments in an action sequence though that was a tad confusing and I couldn’t figure out what was going on for sure. This was an overall good issue. I don’t know if I would call it great, but very solid and fun. Take that for what it’s worth.
Rating - 7/10

Blue Beetle #3 – Written by Tony Bedard, Penciled by Ig Guara and Inked by J.P. Mayer. Jamie “Blue Beetle” Reyes is missing from home after his tussle in the last few issues. Jamie has to struggle with getting his slightly damaged costume under control and make it listen to him. Meanwhile, the evil Beetles enter Earth’s orbit and look to lock in on the young man. The main thing about this title is fun. It seems geared towards a slightly younger audience as it should be. I think that the Jamie Reyes Beetle is important and relevant for a couple of reasons. The design of the costume is fantastic! And we also have a young hispanic character with his family encountering life through an interesting new set of eyes. The typical teen gains awesome powers and how does he deal with it comes alive here. And the evil head of the Spanish Mafia is fun as well. She’s pretty cold hearted when it comes down to it. Guara’s style is very exaggerated in spots and it fits well. He gives the story a bit of energy and youthful feeling to it. He just fits this title very well. I thought this was an excellent issue and keeps the character interesting, I liked it a lot.
Rating - 8/10

Red Hood and the Outlaws #3 – Written by Scott Lobdell and Art by Kenneth Rocafort. The Hood and friends have to find out what happened to the All Caste and what killed them and why. In order to do that, they need to have S’Aru the Proctor let them into the Chamber of the All. That doesn’t come easy either. Lobdell does some excellent things in this issue. Mainly, he has the Hood giving us a bit of narrative as we go along so we know what’s going on without having to have read the first two issues. This storytelling technique just isn’t “cool” anymore, but probably explains why people were always complaining about comics not being accessible anymore. Great job Scott! Second, he makes this comic much more interesting in this issue. I thought the first issue was a total bomb. This issue shows MUCH hope for the series. I’ve got to admit, Jason Todd is starting to grow on me. The only thing I didn’t care for is the fondest memory of Arsenal. I just don’t seeing it being that, nobody is happy about wanting to die, nor are they fond of it. But that being said, I thought the bit of history we starting getting here was definitely interesting. The end of the issue of utterly fantastic, I thought. The art was good, Rocafort’s style takes some getting used to and I don’t like his noses he draws. This isn’t going to be a popular opinion, but I thought this was just a fabulous issue. One that could spell very good things for a title that started just the opposite.
Rating - 9/10

Catwoman #3 – Written by Judd Winick and Art by Guillem March. Selina is captured by a mob leader know as “Bone” and has to deal with the loss of her friend who harbored her for so long. This is a very emotionally driven episode that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s a rollercoaster ride and we’re given quite a view of everything going on. The back story that unfolds really takes this story to the next level and gives us an understanding of why this is all important. A lot of things in this that happen make a lot of common sense, which is sometimes missing in comics. My only real gripe with the issue is that I wish they wrote Bone even more strongly. I could see this guy being a great recurring character. I thought the art was excellent and the scene where Selina is pushed to the edge and lashes out with sheer brutality was excellent. I love how we get closer in to see the sheer rage and hatred in her face. Once again, this series started out in controversial fashion and wasn’t so hot out of the gate. This proved that Winick has more tricks up his sleeve and that we’re going to get a lot more out of Selina Kyle than just sex appeal.
Rating - 8/10

Captain Atom #3 – Art and Story by J.T. Krul and Freddie Williams II. As Captain Atom tries to find himself he encounters a situation in Libya. What he doesn’t realize is that there’s about to be a major issue caused during his presence that will no doubt give him even more problems. I love the Flash cameo here and it gives us a view as to how the Meta community views Atom. The whole thing feels very Solar: Man of the Atom to me, so maybe that’s why I’ve been liking it so far. This guy shows nearly omnipotent power, so where does it end? Will he go a tad too Doctor Manhattan? You can see a bit of disconnect going on with him as well. You really wonder what the extent of this character is and his “controllers” level of involvement is a little confusing. I was also a bit confused at first as to who caused the nuclear explosion. Did Atom somehow accidentally set it off? Did he feel it about to go off and as a sort of second sense just naturally attract to it and try to absorb it? How did he survive it and how is he standing there when it looks like he flew off into the sky? So those points muddled it a bit. Of course, maybe Krul wants us to ask that. I just found it confusing. I loved the old Solar stuff from Valiant, so this is definitely scratching the same itch. Like a mixture of that and Doctor Manhattan is the best way I can put it so far. Of course, at the end of the issue, it looks like things might change. Good stuff, but a lot of people don’t like poor Captain Atom. Tough, that doesn’t make it bad.
Rating – 7/10

Technorati Tags: nightwing,kyle higgins,eddy barrows,eduardo pansica,J.P. mayer,paulo sequeira,eber ferreira,batman,scott snyder,greg capullo,jonathan glapion,blue beetle,tony bedard,ig guara,red hood and the outlaws,scott lobdell,kenneth rocafort,catwoman,judd winick,guillem march,captain atom,J.T. krul,freddie williams ii

Quick Comic Reviews - November 17th, 2011

2011-11-17T16:16:00.000-08:00

New releases are out and today is Marvel day! Tomorrow should be DC day. So let’s see what Marvel has on tap for us this week. Some good stuff and some meh stuff. Let’s see what I thought!

X-Factor #227 – Written by Peter David and Art by Leonard Kirk. The team tries to save The Hangman’s son Terry from the evil, demonic bloodbath. But of course, with X-Factor on the case, nothing ever goes exactly to plan. And there’s some really good stuff in here. We’re further learning what Layla knows and can do, but she’s still shrouded in secrets. There’s a part with Strong Guy that makes me say, “Ah ha, he did lose his soul!” Just a lot of great stuff that’s tying together from past issues. That’s one of the things Peter David does in such a masterful way. He can keep building on these characters and past events and still give you a forward moving story. It is this progression that makes X-Factor one of the best books out there. And leave it to Peter David to give you a “holy crap” finish that makes you want to come back. The guy is great when it comes to these cliffhanger endings. Leonard Kirk’s art is good, but there are parts that look a little rushed and lacking detail. If a character is further away, he doesn’t make it so you can see their face, which at times seems cheap because most artist can give you more than a couple of dots where their eyes are. But his up-close stuff is excellent. Maybe he’s just heavily inking things to where it doesn’t look good if he does. But anyway, besides a little nagging thing like that, this is an outstanding issue. Every issue seems to be like this when you’re dealing with Peter David though. If you aren’t onboard, this title is great and will continue to consistently give you the best bang for your buck!
Rating - 9/10

The Amazing Spider-Man #674 – Written by Dan Slott, Penciled by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Inked by Klaus Janson. A crew of new Vultures is flying about the city. A city that is still reeling from the events of Spider Island, and even celebrating it to get past it. Everyone thinks the murders and apparent suicides are a part of the Spider Island incident and that someone didn’t get cured. Nothing too special here though. Following up a huge event is hard to do. There’s still some fall-out going on, but they’re also trying to move to the next chapter. That’s a hard transition to do. Slott does his best with it and this is a decent story. With Giuseppe’s pencils, I can’t help but thinking Daken now. So no matter what he does here, the art is distracting to me and half his characters seem to look a tad like Daken. I’m going to have to take 1 point for the art. His style just wasn’t meshing very well here. But that’s just my perception of it. Decent enough stuff, nothing spectacular.
Rating – 6/10

Generation Hope #13 – Written by James Asmus and Art by Ibraim Roberson. Hope deals with a secret that’s been hidden from her team. There’s another light out there and they have to go to the rescue again. This issue focuses mostly on the fabric of the team and them finding out a bit more about themselves. Velocidad is rapidly starting to age as he uses his powers and this could be a big story down the line. Pixie being on the team offers an interesting dynamic with her having smooched Velocidad who had a thing going with Hope. Zero continues to be a deeply interesting character as well and he has a new and surprising relationship budding in here as well. The initial fight with the X-Men was a bit cliché and not too interesting, but it did get much better from there. The art of Ibriam Roberson was good and the overall look of the comic is excellent. This series might get skipped over by some, but it's actually one of the more interesting X titles, even though it doesn’t have an X in it.
Rating - 7/10

Captain America #4 – Written by Ed Brubaker, Penciled by Steven McNiven and Inked by Jay Leisten. So Cap is in some strange alternate reality world that he got sucked into last episode. Nick Fury and Sharon Carter need to find a way out for him before, apparently, the whole World gets sucked in. Yes, this is a Captain America story. Normally I like Ed Brubaker, but this isn’t his best work. I never felt like I was engaged in the story. The alternate reality world that Codename Bravo can control just seems hokey. I didn’t like the set-up and I don’t particularly like the story being told. It seems a tad too far out there for Captain America. I also get tired of the constant rewriting of history from World War II. I’m starting to feel like Captain America was in that war for about fifty years based on everything that’s ever happened to him during it. I really thought McNiven’s art was the bright spot of the whole issue. I particularly like the way he draws the Falcon. One redeeming thing. The story didn’t interest me in the least, but I guess mileage may vary on this one.
Rating - 4/10

Avengers Academy #22 – Written by Christos Gage, Penciled by Sean Chen and Inked by Scott Hanna & Rebecca Buchman. Hank Pym tries to figure out who killed (obliterated) Jocasta. In order to do this, he needs the help of Magneto. So the X-Men make a visit and makes way for some more interesting interactions. Of course, there’s a fight when the young Avengers jump the gun… AGAIN! Sorry, but that ploy is getting to be a bit old. I’m tired of them being young and impulsive enough to keep getting into fights. Seriously getting old. And then of course, everyone is so “oh, that’s ok, you’re still young, blah blah blah.” Put them in detention or something. Make them mow the entire yard of the complex. Punish them for being stupid! I love Christos Gage’s work usually, but this seems lazy to me. It wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t happen almost every issue or so. Because of this, it really drops my approval of this issue. This is also Sean Chen’s last issue. He has done a solid job and this issue is no different. There are times he draws things a bit awkward of under-detailed facially, but you get used to it. It will be sad to see him go as he has been an integral part of the success of this series.
Rating - 4/10

X-23 #17 – Written by Marjorie Liu and Art by Sana Takeda. First off, I love the cover. And the story is titled, “Misadventures in Babysitting” so I was already looking forward to this one. The premise is that X-23 has to babysit Reed and Sue’s kids from the FF. Laura also has some relationship issues to work through with Hellion that has been put on the backburner recently. But when she goes to babysit Valeria Richards and her brother, nothing good can happen. Mainly because Val never behaves when it comes to technology. So you can see where it is all leading. I honestly didn’t care for the whole part with Hellion, but it wasn’t awful. I guess what bugged me the most was the art. Too much dark and moody with Hellion and way too anime-style for me. I just didn’t care for it. I thought the stuff with the Future Foundation was fine because it was brightened up a tad. I just don’t care for Sana drawing X-23, I think Sana is better suited for maybe some other titles. This just doesn’t hit the spot for me. I really wish this issue was better, the cover was setting it up to be grand. However, it looks like we’ll have to wait until next issue for more of the fun to happen.
Rating - 5/10

X-Men #21 – Written by Victor Gischler and Art by Will Conrad. Some rinky dink country that borders Latveria and Symkaria has Sentinels now. Last issue, Domino was apparently killed by one. In the meantime, War Machine was doing battle with Storm and crew. This issue, War Machine teams up after Symkaria breaks the no fly zone. Why the hell was War Machine here in the first place? The ultimate goal seems to be having the Sentinels be able to attack anyone, not just mutants. How utterly sinister! Not that it really makes the Sentinels any more intimidating. There were some good things in this issue, namely the stuff with Domino and then with Psylocke and Jubilee. But overall, I felt like this was just more uninteresting stuff. I’m looking to figure out what the writer is trying to tell us here. Is this story really worth telling? I’m not so convinced yet. There isn’t a convincing enough reason here to want to buy this title on a regular basis. There’s just nothing there. Gischler’s run on X-Men has been very spotty and I think that maybe moving him to another project might be wise. The art was pretty decent, Conrad does a very nice job. I like his fight scene with War Machine as it captures a lot of the essence of the heroes involved. Really, the writing is the weak spot and this was nothing special. Oh, and it may say Regenesis, but don’t expect it to have really anything to do with it besides being a Cyclops team.
Rating – 3/10

New Mutants #34 – Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Penciled by David Lopez and Inked by Alvaro Lopez. This issue focuses on two things. FIrst, the New Mutants are on their own, trying to live as much like normal people as mutants can. Bobby “Sunspot” has a ton of money and would really like to spend it to posh up their pad, but Dani won’t allow that. In the meantime, Blink has been brought back and she’s apparently dealing with some bad mojo that’s floating around. The New Mutants are trying to figure out where she’ll appear next and also what is going on. A lot of good stuff involving the characters as we get to see them try and act “normal”. Dani presents a very strong female character that is just trying to make this whole thing work. Probably the funniest part is when Magma is trying to get a real job and ends up being called out on an emergency in the middle of the interview. There’s a bit of mystery going on as well. In a way, this almost feels like X-Factor-lite. Which isn’t a bad thing as it seems these X teams really need to go their own way sometimes. And to try and make the characters more relatable is another good thing. I liked Lopez’s art and particularly how he draws Dani. He makes her seem like a strong Native American more than most artists can get across. He did a great job here. I really liked this issue and hope that Abnett and Lanning continue to give this comic a lot of love and a consistent hand that it has been needing. I’m tired of them switching creative teams on this one.
Rating - 8/10

Technorati Tags: new mutants,dan abnett,andy lanning,david lopez,alvaro lopez,x-men,victor gischler,will conrad,x-23,marjorie liu,sana takeda,avengers academy,christos gage,sean chen,scott hana,rebecca buchman,regenesis,captain america,ed brubaker,steven mcniven,jay leisten,generation hope,james asmus,ibraim roberson,amazing spider-man,dan slot,giuseppe camuncoli,klaus janson,x-factor,peter david,leonard kirk

Round-Up from Last Week's Comics

2011-11-16T09:31:00.000-08:00

Well, need to do a super quick round-up from last week. Wanted to give a good overview of what was out there, because there was some good stuff. There was also some absolutely awful stuff. Namely Deathstroke! But anyway, let’s get going before we get to the new stuff for this week!

Ghost Rider #5 – This issue dealt with the new Ghost Rider finding her place in the world and understanding what it means to be a Ghost Rider. She gives plenty of doses of vengeance and keep this issue interesting. I really liked the story and thought it was worthwhile. It’s all one self-contained issue, which means you can join in, read just on the one issue and be done. Great jumping on spot for new readers. Felt like a good Ghost Rider story should feel.
Rating - 8/10

Deathstroke #3 – How do I phrase this… complete and utter shit. The first issue started off with a bang and made you think this would be a series full of sudden twists and turns. Instead, it’s one pointless bloodbath after the other. We get that he’s a paid hitman with no remorse. The artwork is once again confusing as hell. The script is straight-to-video quality at best. This is one of those rare titles that if you took a crap on the pages you would only improve it’s value. This stuff is even bad toilet paper.
Rating - 0/10

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #3 – On the other hand, we have a DC title that is jam packed with fun and suspense. I’m totally interested in this new mummy character they have. They’re on a monster planet that’s about to jump out of a lake. Well, there’s more to it than that. Lots of witty banter and the feel of what a fun action packed romp should be. Plenty of “oh crap” moments that leave you feeling fulfilled. The artwork is fantastic in this one and should be on the top of your buy list.
Rating - 9/10

Penguin: Pain & Prejudice #2 – This is an interesting title. We get the background story of the Penguin and it’s a very worthwhile tale. You feel moments of true sadness for the character and find out that he does all these thefts (for the most part) to make his mother happy. The only one who ever really cared for him his whole life. You get to see the events that turn him into a monster. A villain you actually might have some sympathy for and understand why he is the way he is. Now that’s storytelling folks. My only complaint is that art is completely confusing as hell. Not really pleased with that and could definitely turn away new readers. If not for the art, I would rate it higher.
Rating - 8/10

Fear Itself #7.2 Thor – Interesting little story that recaps a lot of things. The Aesir women return, Freyja, Idunn and Gaea. You get the feeling that there is something not quite on the up & up with them though. You get the bonfire for Thor, of course, during which they burn his corpse. Then you get this Tanarus schmoe who those females most likely have a hand in. I liked that the heroes were having to deal with another loss that turns into a celebration of this new guy. Loki smells some major crap is going on. I loved the artwork, but Idunn’s outfit defies all normal laws of physics and just screams, “Hot blonde with boobs!” But that aside, pretty decent issue. Much better than 7.1 was.
Rating - 7/10

Suicide Squad #3 – The Squad has to wait for an evac from their latest situation. That leads to some interesting moments between the characters and gives us some interesting character development. They prove in this issue exactly why this is called Suicide Squad, because not everyone will make it out in one piece. Lots of intense moments as they encounter Mad Dog, who you may remember from his 1980’s series. The use of King Shark is once again great stuff. Deadshot is definitely an interesting character and getting more so. You can tell he’s getting tired of the crap he’s being asked to perform. Situations in this comic seem to go from bad to worse. The art was pretty solid in this issue as well. Awesome stuff here! Definitely not for kids though.
Rating - 9/10

The New Avenger #18 – This focuses on Norman assembling a new Avengers team of pure evil. He never gets sick of that trick. So this is just him recruiting people and talking to the A.I.M. and Hydra folks who rescued him in the first place. So this ends up being a basic set-up issue and will probably continue into the next one. This could lead to an interesting run, but I wish they would have waited a tad longer to do this. Sometimes you just go back to the same stuff, sometimes you have to let the well fill up again though. I feel it’s too soon, but oh well. It should still be interesting now that Norman is getting the backing of all those bad guy groups that have been floating around forever. Plus, we get more Gorgon and that guy is just bad ass. But this issue is nothing to spectacular. Very good artwork though.
Rating - 6/10

Journey into Mystery #631 – Portacio’s artwork improves in this issue and he does an excellent job! Loki has to deal with Idunn, Gaea and Freyja back in the fold. He seems to be seeing right through them and knows there is something going on. However, they know exactly all the bad things he was doing during Fear Itself. I loved how they juggled this issue and tied up the consequences of what Loki was doing. You keep waiting for Loki to prove himself to be the bad guy he was, but this time he really seems to have a sense of honor. Maybe not the same sense of honor as everybody else, but nonetheless. I was totally into this issue, maybe the best job Gillen has done with Loki yet. Can’t wait to see what they have down the pipeline for this one.
Rating - 9/10

Huntress #2 – Am I the only one sick of woman being sold for sex slaves ALL the time in comics and movies and etc. I mean, seriously, this seems a bit overplayed. I really want to like this comic and it isn’t bad, but I feel it isn’t bringing anything all that interesting to the table. I hate her new mask, it just doesn’t seem to mesh very well. The story isn’t inspired at all, but it isn’t awful by any stretch. Nothing about this screams must have. It doesn’t scream much at all. If you’re looking for a good Huntress story, you might as well just wait. This certainly isn’t it.
Rating - 4/10

Demon Knights #3 – The Knights prepare for an invasion and try to rally a village to defend itself. I’m still a tad confused about the characters, but this gave us a bit of a glimpse into them. The Demon proves his nickname is more than just a nickname. The relationship with Madame Xanadu is a tad odd, but that definitely makes it more interesting. I have a hard time figuring out what they’re going for here besides classic medieval mixed with magic type stuff. It does well for what it is, but I’m just waiting for everything to click for me. It hasn’t really yet, but this issue was definitely a step in the right direction. They give a great surprise ending, but once again, I had no idea that was a bad guy in the last few pages until re-reading it to try and get it again. So this is either the fault of the artist, the writer, or both. If they could give us a better background on these characters, it might be more accessible. That’s the problem with the series so far, it doesn’t seem all that accessible to new readers. It’s like you’re expected to know about these characters. That’s a problem.
Rating - 6/10

The Incredible Hulk #2 – First, buy it for Marc Silvestri’s art if nothing else. His work is just fantastic, although there’s a really confusing panel where it appears that Bruce Banner is where the Hulk should be and that’s very confusing, but maybe on purpose. I’ll explain why it was confusing. Banner and the Hulk and have finally managed to split themselves from each other. Apparently, someone else was involved too, but they aren’t revealing that just yet. Banner is going over the edge though without the Hulk. Which leaves a very interesting question. Is Hulk actually Banner’s better side? This question will become one that needs answered after reading this issue. Jason Aaron has made this a much more interesting than Greg Pak did. I’m really getting into this one. Great job Marvel! This is a MUST HAVE series!
Rating - 10/10

Technorati Tags: incredible hulk,demon knights,huntress,journey into mystery,fear itself,thor,new avengers,suicide squad,penguin,frankenstein agent of s.h.a.d.e.. deathstroke,ghost rider

Quick Comic Reviews - November 10th, 2011

2011-11-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

Well, DC has a lot of issues out there this week. Only one has really stood out sadly. But there’s still hope later in the week. We’ll see what else is coming down the pipe as I hope to get one more set of reviews out. Please leave comments and I’m always open for suggestions. If there’s something particular you want me to review, let me know and I’ll see what I can do. Hope you enjoy!

Green Lantern #3 – Written by Geoff Johns, Penciled by Doug Mahnke with Inks by Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin, & Tom Nguyen. Let me get the bad out of the way. Doug Mahnke’s facials for Sinestro and Hal Jordan. REALLY dislike the way he draws face and lips and the fact that Jordan’s mask always looks shiny when he draws it. If you haven’t figured out that I’m not a huge fan of those things by now… anyway, let’s move past that. His storytelling skills are pretty good, so I can’t argue there. Now, this issue focuses on Sinestro and Hal teaming up to try and take out the Sinestro Corps. Sinestro has decided that he needs to because the Corps enslaved his home world in his absence. Jordan has to deal with the fact that Sinestro created his ring and can take it away. The banter back-and-forth between Hal and Sinestro is great in this issue. It really is hilarious to watch these two bicker and some of the jabs that Sinestro takes are great. This story is becoming very entertaining and this issue was the best one yet. Now, I’ve always been a big Green Lantern fan, so this one hits pretty high marks for me. If I liked Mahnke more I might give it a 10, but I won’t. However, anyone who’s a Green Lantern fan should love this issue. This is some of Johns’ better work!
Rating - 9/10

Legion Lost #3 – Written by Fabien Nicieza and Art by Pete Woods. The Lost Legion members are trying to find a cure for a Hypertaxis Plague (something that apparently is giving humans alien dna) and this Alastor dude that they can’t catch. Basically, so far, so little for the team. However, when a new potential Hypertaxis infected shows up and causes problems at a nearby mall, it’s Timber Wolf to the rescue. I’m still a tad confused about what all is going on here, but Fabian always does a good job of working a recap in. However, a lot of times, when you give things these fancy names that we can’t relate it, it’s hard to remember what the hell they’re talking about. I do like the dynamic of them having to figure out how to get a foothold in a world of the past. I thought the pace was pretty decent and there was a great surprise at the end. Pete Woods does a decent enough job with his art, but nothing too impressive, but a solid job. A decent enough issue and it is becoming more interesting. I just wish it wasn’t so confusing to me at times. Maybe some things are just too over my head.
Rating - 7/10

Resurrection Man #3 – Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning with Art by Fernando Dagnino. Back we are for our hero being killed again. Of course, he resurrects as usual. Except he’s temporarily held in a sort of Limbo where a demon tries to collect his soul. The Body Doubles then continue trying to apprehend him and we’re no further along by the end of this issue than we were before. Frankly, it’s starting to piss me off. I had high expectations for this as the original series was so good. This, however, is just making a mockery of it. There’s nothing really interesting going on in this issue. Instead we get cheap TnA from the Body Doubles and that’s pretty much the issue as a whole. Dagnino’s artwork is sloppy and confusing at times. Especially the last page, is that guy just floating there? There was a scene where the Body Doubles were facing this old dude and then all the sudden she has a gun behind the guy’s head. A lot of bad storytelling going on here. And the senior citizens SHOULD be running for their lives, instead their just gawking around. Ok, maybe not running, but hobbling out of the way at least. Nope. What a waste of time this issue was.
Rating - 2/10

Grifter #3 – Written by Nathan Edmondson, Penciled by CAFU and Inked by Jason Gorder. Grifter’s brother joins the fray and attempts to bring him in for justice. However, more aliens show up and botch things up bad. Yay? So far, nothing that I really enjoy about this series. I thought this issue might be better, but I was wrong. I’m not sure if it’s the writing or if the artwork brings it down. Why do people like this CAFU guy? I find his scenes so stiff and confusing. His pencils have no energy to them, no flow. Overrated is the word that immediately comes to mind. Of course, maybe he’s just bored with the monotonous and tedious script he gets. I’m trying to figure out why I should care about these aliens and why they are even here. Apparently they only want Cole Cash. In which case, they can have him. Next month it looks like a guest appearance from Green Arrow. Might as well suck the life out of that title too while we’re at it. Can we abort this mission to bring Wildstorm titles into the fold, because, nobody cares. At least Voodoo has some interesting moment. This? None. Good day!
Rating - 1/10

Batwoman #3 – Written by W. Haden Blackman & J.H.Williams III and Art by J.H. Williams III. Batwoman (Kate Kane) has an encounter with the Weeping Woman, which I’m not sure I get, but whatever. Kate proceeds to be bitchy the rest of the issue while Black Mask attempts to figure out who she is. And the best part, Kate stands up her date, gives no explanation, starts crying and BAM! They’re kissing! Because, in case you didn’t know, she’s a lesbian. That’s how it goes, that’s how it goes. I have no idea what this series is really going for and I’m not very interested in it. And I’m sorry, no woman could be as pure white as Kate Kane. Her costume is excellent, but that’s pretty much it. They seemed more focused on the “she’s a lesbian and therefore deep” part than actually making it deep. Amazing artwork though. Just beautiful to look at. Sadly, there isn’t really anything interesting about it, but I have to give it props for the art. That’s all you’re getting out of me. I’m trying to enjoy this, but it just hasn’t hooked me.
Rating - 3/10

Batgirl #3 – Written by Gail Simone, Penciled by Ardian Syaf and Inked by Vicente Cifuentes. Batgirl is sent on a chase by Mirror to attempt to save some lives on a train he has set to detonate. However, he doesn’t really even want to give Batgirl a chance but for some reason decides to be sporting. Can’t really understand that, but oh well. The motivation of the character is that miracles spoil the balance of life and death and that some people are unfairly left alive instead of being dead. Well, there’s a bit more to it than that, but I like the concept of the villain. The problem I had with this issue is that we’re dealing with Mirror and then suddenly we’re dealing with Batgirl’s relationship with Nightwing. Not that I’m against it, it just seemed to be strangely placed. I couldn’t figure out why they threw it in there except to give us a bit more background on how this was “different” from the pre-52 Batman. Unfortunately, placing it where they did threw the pacing of the story off. You’re hoping that Batgirl gets involved in maybe another scenario and instead you get to know about her and Dick Grayson’s relationship. I could go into why I think Barbara Gordon should still be Oracle and why Stephanie Brown should have just stayed Batgirl. However, we don’t have the luxury. Barbara’s character is interesting enough, but I don’t buy that she could beat Nightwing in a fight. Just things like that bugged me. I really like Syaf’s art and definitely thought this was another great issue on his part. Overall, the story just felt a little too blah. I liked the art a lot, but the story just didn’t shine through.
Rating - 5/10

Technorati Tags: green lantern,geoff johns,doug mahnke,christian alamy,keith champagne,mark irwin,tom nguyen,legion lost,fabien nicieza,pete woods,resurrection man,dan abnett,andy lanning,fernando dagnino,grifter,nathan edmondson,cafu,jason gorder,batwoman,w. haden blackman,j.h. williams iii,batgirl,gail simone,ardian syaf

Quick Comic Reviews - November 9th, 2011

2011-11-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

Well, starting off with a 5 shooter of Marvel titles and we’ll switch over to some new DC releases tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a good week and I hope some of you enjoy some comics this week!
Avenging Spider-Man #1 – Written by Zeb Wells and Art by Joe Madureira. There was a lot to like about this issue. Just to see them acknowledge that Spidey is on a ton of teams and has to juggle things was nice to see. There was plenty of action and great one-liners in this one too. I laughed several times during this issue. The basic story is that Spider-Man is out of New York City helping out the Avengers. When he gets to New York, he finds the NYC Marathon being invaded by Moloids (mole people) who are running amok. So an exciting fast paced story here. The art by Joe Mad is GREAT! He does a great job of telling a story for the most part and the scenes were excellently drawn. I felt like this was a good comic for him to be a part of. However, the nitpicks. Was this issue really as short as it felt? I was done with the issue way too quick and left wanting more. Also, isn’t the Hulk like King of the Moloids right now too? Continuity hasn’t been a strong point for Marvel recently and this shows why. Just some minor nitpicks, but this is definitely a highly fun series so far. Hope it keeps going like this!
Rating - 8/10

Uncanny X-Force #17 – Written by Rick Remender and Art by Jerome Opeña. The Dark Angel Saga is running full speed here. I’m remiss to say that this Saga really would have been better as a crossover because you would think it would affect the entire “X Universe”. The fact that only X-Force is dealing with it makes it seem less important, when really, this should be a huge event that was really in the making ever since they had Angel become Archangel. Boy, does this issue got hot and heavy. As Archangel tries to kill off all humanity on Earth, Fantomex brings a surprise of his own to play. Psylocke has to try and fight off becoming an angel of death as well. Next month we will get the conclusion and I must say, I find it gripping! There is a lot of history being used here in this comic and Remender does a great job of putting together a lot of X-History. Remender has done great with his run on this so far and now we get to see exactly what he can do with an 8 issue blow-off. Should be a good one. As far as Opeña’s art goes, very sleek, very deep stuff. With as many lines as he uses, it can’t be all that easy for him to ink. Yet, he gets it out every month. The way he uses so many lines gives it a deeper and darker feel, which works well with the story being told. The only thing that’s getting tiring is Fantomex constantly creating illusions. It’s getting to the point where you just start assuming any time it looks like he’s going to die is just an illusion. So, maybe a bit of overkill. Otherwise, a really good issue here!
Rating - 8/10

Battle Scars #1 – Story by Chris Yost, Cullen Bunn & Matt Fraction, Script by Chris Yost, Pencils by Scott Eaton and Inks by Andrew Hennessy. This story is based on the events that occurred during “Fear Itself” and focuses on Major Marcus Johnson. Marcus comes back from Afghanistan when his mother is found dead, apparently killed during rioting. Of course, nothing is that simple in the comic book world. The Taskmaster, who is supposedly in Canada helping Alpha Flight at the same time, makes a guest appearance here. Sorry, but continuity police need to arrest some folks at Marvel. Anyway, the artwork isn’t all that great. The beginning sequences in Afghanistan are just damned confusing. I’m not sure, but I think some of the Taliban are also trained ninjas from what I saw. Maybe I’m confused. The art got better as we went along, but nothing all that good really. Not so sure about the story, but at least it’s more interesting than DC’s Men of War comics that have ruined Sgt. Rock. So that being said, I’m pretty meh about this issue. I’m slightly interested in what goes on with this character. Not so much because of the issue, but because Marvel swears that he’s going to be a major character. Of course, that doesn’t mean much if the story continues to be mediocre with mediocre art. Not too impressed, but it could be worse.
Rating - 5/10

Avengers Origins: Vision #1 of 1 – Written by Kyle Higgins & Alec Siegel and Art by Stephane Perger. So, I think Marvel is doing this to get people updated on the origins of some of the lesser known Avengers. Which then makes me think, what the hell is Vision doing here? Okay, he was dead and then came back during Chaos War and blew himself up and now he’s back again with no explanation that I’ve seen. Confusing much? Marvel needs to do a better job of making sure that we know how characters suddenly came back from death. But anyway, the Vision has his origin story where he was created by Ultron and then turns against him when the Vision feels empathy for the humans. Such a classic story and it’s really whittled down to the bare essentials. The art itself is a poor man’s Alex Ross really. Which is still pretty decent, but nonetheless. It felt more like a “prestige” title with really pretty pictures and not a whole lot of content. Could it be worth it if you’re interested in Vision’s origin? Sure, absolutely. So if you’re not one of the 30 people out there interested in this origin, you’ll probably past. Otherwise you could probably just read the Wiki page on him and be done with it. Honestly, with so much other stuff out here, why are we wasting our time with this? Good call Marvel. Most should probably just skip it.
Rating - 3/10

Magneto: Not a Hero #1 – Written by Skottie Young, Penciled by Clay Mann, and Inked by Seth Mann with Norman Lee. So Magneto goes ballistic on some redneck mutant haters and kills a bunch right? And Magneto is supposed to be a good guy now, right? Ok, so you can see where this is going. It’s a Who Framed Roger Rabbit set-up here. Now the ending of the issue brings back someone who will probably bring some groans from some fans. Others might not mind it. I’m more on the lame side. The issue was ok as far as story goes. Having Captain America and Iron Man in it was alright and of course, Magneto doesn’t like Tony Stark. Go figure. The pencils of Clay Mann were better than I thought they were in Legacy. Sometimes I felt like he left spots feeling incomplete or feeling empty. This issue was really some of his better work. Overall, there weren’t enough bright spots in this one for me. It’s okay, just nothing really special that says I need to buy this comic. That alone can be a problem for a new title and possibly a harmful one. We’ll see what next issue brings.
Rating - 5/10

Technorati Tags: magneto: not a hero,clay mann,skottie young,seth mann,norman lee,avengers origins,vision,kyle higgeins,alec siegel,stephane perger,matt fraction,chris yost,scott eaton,andrew hennessy,battle scars,cullen bunn,uncanny x-force,rick remender,jerome Opeña,avenging spider-man,zeb wells,joe madureira

Quick Comic Reviews - November 4th, 2011

2011-11-04T20:28:00.001-07:00

Another night, another batch of reviews. This will probably be all until Monday, which I actually have off this week. Gotta love floating holidays. Hope you enjoy!

Avengers Academy #21 – Written by Christos Gage, Penciled by Sean Chen and Inked by Scott Hanna. This issue focuses on the group dealing with Veil leaving the team. Also, Hawkeye, Luke Cage and Captain America make a visit to the training compound. I’m really glad they’re using the old West Coast Avengers facility. I absolutely loved the West Coast Avengers, I thought it was a great series. So add that into a series I already highly enjoy is just another bonus. Christos Gage is easily one of my favorite writers, he gets a lot out of his stories and keeps them entertaining. Sean Chen is his usual self, nothing too spectacular, but it works pretty well. I really like some foreshadowing in here, Hazmat and Mettle’s situation is always interesting, and Striker just being a total douche is great. They add on two new team members and I’m glad Lightspeed is one of them. She hasn’t done anything since “Loners” and she’s a really good character. I’m not familiar at all with White Tiger, but we’ll see. I thought there was a great moment in this comic where Reptil says he doesn’t see why he should be a “Hispanic super hero who’s a HISPANIC super hero”, he just wants to be known for a super hero. I think that has a lot of depth in that statement right there and can be one of those debate type things. Should a Hispanic politician be known as a Hispanic politician or just a politician? Yeah, I’m not going to go into all that, but it was interesting.
Rating: 8/10

Batwing #3 – Written by Judd Winick and Art by Ben Oliver. Batwing attempts to save an old African hero Thunder Fall from the warpath of Massacre. Batwing is badly injured and has to use guile to try and survive this one. Very interesting how they had him use his brains here and come up with ways to survive. A very good fight, a lot of fights in comics are just throwing punches and have little common sense involved. This one did a great job of giving us a bit of thought process and giving the feel of desperation for the main character. Plus a few surprises in here as well, including some good backstory that I felt was interesting as well. I will say that Winick is making me like Batwing, a character I couldn’t have cared less about at the beginning. Ben Oliver does the usual artwork, which is largely devoid of background if possible. However, the overall effects of the artwork is beautiful. I’m just no sure if it’s because of Ben Oliver or the excellent coloring involved. I would just have to see the original pencils I guess. However, a very good comic this month and hopefully continues to pick up steam.
Rating: 7/10

Villians for Hire #0.1 – Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning with Art by Renato Arlem. Well, this is an introduction issue that doesn’t feel like that until the last few pages. You get a bit of a set-up with Misty Knight calling all her heroes on a mission and then it ends up showing you who some of the Villians for Hire will be right at the end. I guess they stole some artificat and the best part is Lady Stilt-Man or Stilt-Woman or something. Not a whole heck of a lot here. Heroes for Hire can be good but is sometimes hit or miss. This felt like a miss to me. Plus Renato’s artwork wasn’t all that great. His Paladin was truly awful, it didn’t really look anything like Paladin. I just wasn’t impressed with anything in this one. Just feel like this is a Point One issue truly worth skipping completely because you won’t miss ANYTHING!
Rating: 2/10

Detective Comics #3 – Written and Penciled by Tony Salavador Daniel and Inked by Sandu Florea. The Dollmaker has Commisioner Gordon and Batman has to try and save him. Classic mystery style Batman story here. He has to attempt to find Gordon before it’s too late and find clues as to who the Dollmaker is. I will say that this Dollmaker definitely has some of the more interesting minions I’ve seen in awhile. I hope they continue to use him in the future. The end is a bit hokey, but nothing bad. Daniel does a wonderful job with the art in this one as well. At times it’s a tad hard to figure out a few things, but not a whole lot. I think he’s improved as he’s gone along and is now in a groove. This has improved each issue and is a pleasant surprise. A lot of people don’t care for Tony’s work, but I think it is just fine. The elements of good storytelling are all here and there’s the ever climatic finish. While it isn’t amazing stuff, it’s pretty decent for what it is. Might be worth checking out.
Rating: 7/10

Red Lanterns #3 – Written by Peter Milligan, Penciled by Ed Benes and Inked by Rob Hunter. So Atrocitus gives Bleez more intelligence in this issue and we get a ton of background story on Bleez. It was nice to get some background on Bleez and see what she’s all about, I like that part. There were times, however, that things didn’t quite fit together. At one point, Atrocitus says that they have no time to be sentimental as Red Lanterns. If that’s so, what the hell were the first 2 issues? Apparently he doesn’t practice what he preaches. Not only that, but the writer points out his own hypocrisy, so is that what his character is or is it just poor writing of a character. The next thing, I hate how Benes draws Atrocitus and Bleez, so this was another subpar issue. I really wish they had a better artist on this and it might bring it up a notch or two, but yuck. The story was ok, but I’m not sure we have a complete handle on Atrocitus or what the heck he wants to accomplish. What the hell is the goal of all we’re seeing? Seems so far we’ve just been getting background stories. When’s the real story going to begin?
Rating: 4/10

The Amazing Spider-Man #673 – Written by Dan Slott with Art by Stefano Caselli. Well, Spider-Island is over and this issue does a great job of wrapping things up and tying up those loose ends. It’s an Epilogue and it does what it should here. I like Spidey’s interaction with MJ in this issue and there’s a few sad parts. It is interesting to see where they go with Kaine from here as well. And Eddie Brock, no longer Anti-Venom, what’s up with that? I’m putting my money on him eventually becoming Venom again. Once again, Dan Slott shows his love for Spider-Man and has been hitting on all cylinders. I’m telling you folks, this is the best run on Spider-Man in YEARS! I love the story that is told here. Epilogues can be boring, but Slott uses this as a set-up to future stories as well. I that Stefano did excellent artwork on this issue, which adds to the overall feel. Ramos has been doing a decent job, but this is much better artwork. I would like to see him work on Spider-Man more often. Or anything for that matter, because he’s just darned good! One of the best epilogues I’ve ever read, which is rare for a major Marvel crossover. Most of the epilogues are slow moving, this one had a lot of good stuff.
Rating: 9/10

Technorati Tags: amazing spider-man,dan slott,stefano caselli,red lanterns,peter milligan,ed benes,rob hunter,detective comics,batman,tony salavador daniel,sandu florea,dan abnett,andy lanning,renato arlem,villians for hire,heroes for hire,batwing,judd winick,ben oliver,avengers academy,christos gage,sean chen,scott hana

Quick Comic Reviews - November 3rd, 2011

2011-11-03T20:59:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I’ve been out of the loop for a few weeks, but I’m back and ready to go! Switched to a new schedule at work that should allow me a bit better turn around on reviews going forward. We’ll see how that works! I’m also giving a star rating system a go and see how I like that. If it works, sweet. If not, I’ll do something else. Let me know what you think! Onto the reviews!

X-Men #20 – Written by Victor Gischler and Art by Will Conrad. “Regenesis” is here and we get to see what’s going on with Cyclops’ side. So there’s Russian style smuggling of Sentinels going on here, but the shipment gets hi-jacked at the hand-off point where Domino happens to be watching. So this is a track down and find the Sentinels, which are always bad. It felt kind of an introduction to Cyclops’ team more than anything. We have Domino, Storm, Warpath, Jubilee, Colossus (with Juggernaut fighting action now), and Psylocke. Not a bad issue, the artwork was pretty decent here. Nothing too spectacular in any phase, but a decent X-Men-type adventure that this magazine really hasn’t had yet. It has some continuity going for it, which was sorely missing from the X-Men series. That being said, it felt like there was nothing here I hadn’t seen before. You would expect more coming out of what was supposed to be a big event. Overall, just a good enough issue, but nothing all that spectacular.
Rating: 5/10

Animal Man #3 – Written by Jeff Lemire and Art by Travel Foreman. This strangely fantastic voyage continues. This month, Buddy and Maxine encounter agents of the Rot while being in the heart of the Red, which is the lifeline for all life apparently. Buddy’s wife and son also get a nasty encounter. Let me tell you something about this book. It is nail biting, enthralling, edge of your seat action and horror! This should go on to be a great horror/superhero movie. Not too many mix the genre, but almost none mix it so well. Foreman’s artwork gives you a gritty and surreal feel that creeps you out! The agents of the Rot are comical at times in this issue and then go into full bug out, creep out mode. My only complaint is that the book isn’t longer. One of the true gems of the New 52. Plus it ties-in to Swamp Thing quite a bit as well. Talk about fantastic! May not be for everyone, but it sure is an amazing read so far. I just love how it isn’t really about Buddy, it’s about Maxine and the rest of his family as well and they balance it oh so well!
Rating: 10/10

Justice League International #3 – Written by Dan Jurgens, Penciled by Aaron Lopresti and Inked by Matt Ryan. I like the fact that the JLI has started off with them retreating in defeat. This leads us to a chance at redemption for them, less they become the laughing stock of the superhero world. Jurgens does a fantastic job of raveling a lot of trouble together and dividing the heroes up into groups. This gives us a bit of time to meet and learn a tad more about each character. What Jurgens does is very basic storytelling and he’s excellent at it. You aren’t going to find anything super deep with him, but he’ll give you a comic that reads like a comic. Lopresti does a fair job here as well. I’m not confused as to what is going on in the panels. This is why this combination works so well. The writer and artist both have a story to tell and they work together perfectly. I’m not completely confused by what is going on, everything is easy to follow. Just some really good stuff here.
Rating: 8/10

Hawk & Dove #3 – Written by Sterling Gates, Penciled by Rob Liefeld and Inked by Adelso Corona. This issue is a gigantic fight issue that doesn’t end. A bit of story development as we almost learn more about Condor and Swan. So a big fight scene that doesn’t end. Pretty much sums this one up. Here’s Sterling’s script he sent to artist Rob Liefeld. “Rob, please give me 20 pages of fighting and I’ll just write some dialog. Oh, please make sure everyone looks like they’re gritting their teeth again. Thanks!” And Rob sure does deliver just that! I’m not sold on Rob’s artwork here at all. There’s a scene in the splash page with Hawk leaping and I have no idea where one of his legs even begins. There are times when Hawk just looks like a ridiculous lump. He sure doesn’t draw him liked he used to. I do rather like his version of Dove and thought those were probably Rob’s best scenes. But after 3 issues, I’m sick of all the grimacing his characters do, non-stop. The cover should say, “All Teeth Gritting Action on EVERY Page!” Liefeld has been gearing towards doing at least two comics a month, but man, the quality isn’t quite there yet. And please Rob, NEVER draw Deadman again! Talk about massacring a character!
Rating: 2/10

X-23 #16 – Written by Marjorie Liu and Art by Phil Noto. Guest appearances with the Fantastic Four (or FF) again. Val Richards is possessed by the King of the Whirldemons. I guess they’re big on hula-hoops maybe? No, they seem too nasty. But anyway, the main part of the story is that X-23 (Laura) goes all Captain Universe on the bad guys. Cosmic X-23! Can’t wait for Heroclix to do that one! Anyway, a decent story with some characters you wouldn’t normally associate with X-23. The art is the main thing that draws you into this. Phil Noto’s facials on Sue and Laura alone is impressive. They’re very distinctive in their looks and facial expressions. They give Laura a slight empty, almost soulless green eyes. I can always tell what’s going on and there is some subtle stuff going on at times in the artwork. Good stuff there. Overall, my impression is this is a decent comic. Nothing too special, but I really do like Noto’s art, so that pushes it up a tad.
Rating: 7/10

Technorati Tags: aaron lopresti,adelso corona,animal man,dan jurgens,hawk and dove,jeff lemire,justice league international,marjorie liu,matt ryan,phil noto,rob liefeld,sterling gates,travel foreman,victor gischler,will conrad,x-23,x-men of war

Quick Comic Reviews - October 18th, 2011

2011-10-18T12:20:00.001-07:00

Read a LOT this week. Sadly, not a LOT of reviews finished. Just one of those weeks. But I figured I better get these out before new release day tomorrow. Hope you enjoy this installment!

The Amazing Spider-Man #671 – Written by Dan Slott, Penciled by Humberto Ramos and Inked by Carlos Cuevas & Victor Olazaba. Spider-Island is roaring towards a grand conclusion and this issue does not disappoint. So far, the Spider-Island story has been really good and a ton of fun. This issue has more action and surprises then you can shake a stick at. It plays out like a good movie should and leaves you cheering on the heroes as they frantically try and stop the Queen of Spiders and Jackal from taking control of New York City. In fact, it was so good, you would be hard pressed to find a better Spider-Man issue in the past five years. Slott has really amped this up as we build towards the conclusion. I would try to describe what happens in this issue, but there’s constant surprises and I don’t want to ruin it for anybody who’s interested in it. Ramos’ artwork starts off a tad weak but gets better later in the issue. Spidey seems far too blocky early on, but like I said, later in the issue it irons itself out. Might have something to do with the two inkers they have working on it, not sure there. However, I highly recommend this issue as it is absolutely (no pun intended as Mister Fantastic and the Thing are in this) FANTASTIC!

Resurrection Man #2 – Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning with Art by Fernando Dagnino. Ok, so the second issue involves the main character finding out his father is dead, but uncovering some of the past he’s forgotten. Then there’s two “hot lesbians” armed to the teeth with guns. Ok, well, that part really just seemed gratuitous for absolutely no reason. I had high expectations for the second issue since the first one was so good. However, there seemed to be very little that happened besides the confrontation at the end of the issue. It just seemed like there wasn’t much here in this issue, you really end up wishing it had been a tad longer so you could figure out a few things. Part of the fun of the series will be uncovering the mysteries, but this issue just wasn’t up to par. Maybe it isn’t fair to compare it to the original series, but the original seemed to have a tad more depth there. But I still think it was ok, Dagnino’s art work was fine, just nothing special. There were a few clever moments, but just not enough for me to recommend this one. If you skip this issue, you probably won’t miss a whole heck of a lot.

FF #10 – Written by Jonathan Hickman and Art by Barry Kitson. I haven’t been too high on this series lately, but this one really had a decent Fantastic Four-ish feel to it. Doom is plotting something but we aren’t sure what. The alternate universe Reed Richards is plotting something too. We get the FF going to where this door the Inhumans have sends them and we’ve got some stuff tying in from all the recent Inhumans – Kree stuff that was going on. Ronan is back in charge of the Kree and off he goes with Crystal making an important decision. A lot of stuff going on here, but easy to understand for once. Hickman does just enough explanation that a new reader shouldn’t be too confused. The art by Kitson is great, he helps things not be confusing. It is clear that what the actions of the characters are and everything is well detailed. The issue finally just works. I love Nathaniel Richards’ interaction with his son from another universe. It ends up being very entertaining. Overall, a pretty solid issue and it’s about darned time. I really enjoyed this one and it is a good catching up issue that has some heart to it!

Punisher #4 – Written by Greg Rucka and Art by Marco Checchetto. Punisher hasn’t really changed so much, but he seems to be a bit of a mystery to people in this one. Norah Winters helps him escape after a severe ass whuppin by the new Vulture. The whole story seems to center around more the people he’s affected than anything else, which is a refreshing change from the old Punisher stories that just grow old after awhile. Rucka is more about the essence of the character. That being said, there wasn’t a whole lot accomplished in this issue. Norah Winters sure talks a lot about her encounter and that’s pretty much most of the issue. It wasn’t bad, it was pretty entertaining overall. Don’t expect a ton of action in this issue though. Checchetto does a great job of giving us a nice dark ambience to the whole environment that the Punisher lives in. The blood gives us, at times, the only color in another dreary and drab world. We still don’t get much from the Punisher himself, he’s barely said anything since the series began. Like I said, it isn’t as much about Punisher as it is about the people he’s affected and I like that take. Pretty good issue, don’t go into it expecting a crazy action filled romp and you won’t be disappointed. I like it, not sure it’s for everybody though.

Mister Terrific #2 – Written by Eric Wallace, Penciled by Gianluca Gugliotta and Inked by Wayne Faucher. There’s nothing like following up a boring first issue with an even more boring second issue. There’s a lot of “blah blah blah” in this issue that I can’t make sense of. Anyway, the main character Michael Holt has his brain invaded and now he’s after the villain that almost causes a major incident. I don’t care about this character, we’ve got NO connection with yet ANOTHER Billionaire in the DC Universe. Maybe in the DC Universe it’s the 2% instead of the 1%. Maybe we need to set-up an “Occupy Metropolis”? There’s just so much not to like here. The art doesn’t match the mood/theme, it feels too hokey, there’s a lot of (apparently) scientific terms that don’t mean shit to your average reader. I could go on and on about why this comic sucks. Wallace hasn’t done much for me with any of his recent work. His Titans comics only got interesting in the last 3 issues after a year of build-up. You just can’t do that if you’re going to obtain new readers. They don’t get the premise of basic storytelling, trying to set-up a grand stage for us all, they leave out those little things that are important. Jim Shooter always told his people that every comic is somebody’s first. Well, why do I feel like the second issue was designed for somebody who’s only read the first issue? That’s a mistake. Just a truly terrible comic that you should pass on.

Deathstroke #2 – Written by Kyle Higgins, Pencils by Joe Bennett and Inked by Art Thibert. To say I was expecting more of this issue would be an understatement. Last issue it seemed somebody had set-up Deathstroke. We don’t know what’s in the brief case, but it was supposed to be part of a nuclear device from what I understand. Nothing is revealed in this issue. We got a prolonged over-the-top fight sequence and then BAM, the issue is over. I thought the art was ok, but a tad hard to follow exactly what was happening in spots. A lot of it was blood for the sake of blood. I’ve really told you about everything that happens in this issue. Oh yeah, and there’s some big dumb bad guy called “Road Rage” who is totally laughably stupid at best. Last issue’s premise devolves this issue and makes for a totally bad follow-up. I absolutely hate what they did with this issue and wish they had gone a different route. It started out well enough and then just went all downhill from there. Not a good issue at all, a total disappointment, and sadly a comic that you should not be wasting your money on.

Technorati Tags: deathstroke,kyle higgins,joe bennett,art thibert,mister terrific,eric wallace,gianluca gugliotta,wayne faucher,punisher,greg rucka,marco checchetto,ff,fantastic four,future foundation,jonathan hickman,barry kitson,resurrection man,dan abnett,andy lanning,fernando dagnino,amazing spider-man,dan slott,humberto ramos,carlos cuevas,victor olazaba,spider island

Quick Comic Reviews - October 11th 2011

2011-10-11T21:03:00.001-07:00

New comics are out tomorrow, so I guess I better finish up on some of last weeks! Yeah, I didn’t review them all, sorry! I probably won’t ever get to that point, but I figure we’ll just make do!

Huntress #1 – Written by Paul Levitz, Penciled by Marcus To and Inked by John Dell. Huntress has long been one of my favorite characters to spawn off from Batman. Paul Levitz has also done some great work with the Legion of Superheroes. However, I just don’t think the two worked together really well in this one. I can’t quite figure out who told her to go to Italy. I can’t quite see her motivation. All I know is that she beats up people who do bad things. That’s really all I know about her besides she’s Italian. Disappointing characterization here, she seems rather two dimensional, all business. And the art didn’t help either. First, the changes to the costume didn’t see that huge except to the mask. I hate the mask. I liked it much simpler like it was. Also, Marcus To did a decent job drawing here face, but he just has leaps of logic in how a human can bend and move. At one point, Huntress must turn her bone in her leg into rubber to somehow do the splits and reach back behind her to kick a thug. Really, his art was nothing special in this one. As much as I would love to say this is a book you should consider, it’s probably not worth it. Pass!

Deadpool #44 – Written by Daniel Way, Penciled by Carlo Barberi and Inked by Walden Wong. In the last several issues, Deadpool has become the object of affection for one Dr. Whitby who served as psychiatrist at a prison. Now she’s trying to gain his love by killing people like he would. Except he can’t stand her, so that doesn’t work out too well. Yes, another dark and twisted and often fantastically hilarious tale. Dark humor indeed. Not always high brow humor either if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s Deadpool though, so you know about what you’re going to get. Through this run, Way has done a great job of keeping the humor high right along with the gore. Barberi just draws this great campy style that gets across the point that it isn’t completely serious and is just great storytelling. Barberi gets that you have to get across the emotions and feelings of a guy with a mask on and does a superb job. If you like mayhem and non-stop humor (albeit darker in nature) then this comic is pretty damned good. It has been very interesting since he got back from space, which was ok, but not the greatest. This is another excellent issue but maybe not the best jumping on point, but next issue should be. Still, a good comic that shouldn’t be ignored.

Static Shock #2 – Written Scott McDaniel & John Rozum, Penciled by Scott McDaniel and Inked by Andy Owens. The second issue is a bit better than the first. The recent news that Rozum is leaving the series makes me wonder if he didn’t care for some of the characterizations going on with Scott McDaniel. There were some things that I found questionable in here. I liked the memorial to Dwayne McDuffie and the issue was a tad more interesting. There were just gaps in logic and reasoning and it felt like some things had the shortcut taken on them. I had no idea Static’s sister was apparently cloned. I didn’t catch that from last issue for some reason. Why would you not have explained that? Talk about absolutely confusing. I think the artwork in this issue is a bit better, but there are still times in some panels where you question what’s happening. Even though this issue made some improvements, there isn’t a whole lot of good things happening here. I really wish there was, but sadly this isn’t happening.

Thunderbolts #164 – Written by Jeff Parker, Penciled by Kev Walker and Inked by Terry Pallot. So the once again totally evil Thunderbolts are transported accidentally back in time to World War II. They meet Namor and Captain America who are trying to rescue the Human Torch from Baron Zemo. Ah yes, and the Thunderbolts volunteer to help. Oh, the irony is abundant here. Jeff Parker writes this one expertly and gives a great tale taking place in the past. Meanwhile, the good half of the Thunderbolts are trying to track down the “fugitives”. I thought the artwork was decent and it works, but I’m just not a big fan of the style. But really, the comic overall is very good and has been for a long time. Parker really keeps making the series fresh and interesting and everything he’s done just works. I admit, I was skeptical with the Thunderbolts being back in time, but he’s written it very smartly. Gotta appreciate that! So go out, check out the Thunderbolts if you haven’t as it’s all a good time!

Avengers #17 – Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Penciled by John Romita Jr. and Inked by Klaus Janson. Ok, we go into another “Fear Itself” issue and they keep doing the damned “interviews” to tell the story thing. Pardon me, but screw that crap. So we get to see Romita just draw faces for about 50% of the issue. They’ve been doing this in New Avengers as well and it has gotten stale. I get what they’re trying to do, but I just don’t think anyone pays to get nothing more than constant headshots of characters. The story itself was good when they weren’t doing the damned interviews. The Avengers (Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Spider Woman and Noh-Varr or whatever they call him) face off with Sin. So they are way overpowered until the cavalry comes in. Romita’s artwork is about what you would expect. I liked his stuff he used to do with Daredevil and X-Men, but his detail anymore just isn’t the same. I never did like his Spider-Man, just too blocky for such a fluid character. I didn’t mind his artwork and it’s nice to see a different style like his in a main book, even though some flat-out hate it. The issue was just mostly “meh” for me and I didn’t care to read most of it. Can’t wait for this Fear Itself run to be over!

Technorati Tags: huntress,paul levitz,marcus to,john dell,deadpool,daniel way,carlo barberi,walden wong,static shock,scott mcdaniel,john rozum,andy owens,thunderbolts,jeff parker,kev walker,terry pallot,avengers,brian michael bendis,john romita jr.,klaus janson

Quick Comic Reviews - October 9th, 2011

2011-10-08T21:08:00.001-07:00

Here’s another dose for this week. Lots of stuff out there and some reviews I might have skipped over just because I didn’t feel like reviewing them, quite honestly. But here’s what I have. Let me know if you’re enjoying the reviews!

Detective Comics #2 – Written by Tony S. Daniel and Penciled by Tony S. Daniel, Inked by Ryan Winn & Sandu Florea. Following up last month’s occurrence with the Joker, we really see some dark and macabre stuff going on towards the end of this issue. Some of the better parts have to deal with the relationship between James Gordon and Batman. I’m not sure what to think of Bruce Wayne’s “relationship” with a reporter or the fact that in the first two months we’ve had Bruce Wayne having sex with two different people. Of course, I doubt the intention is that he’s sleeping around because I doubt they figured in the continuity of it all. But hey, Bruce Wayne gets around, right? The Dollmaker looks to be an interesting villian and they give us a shocking ending. Daniel does a great job with the art in this issue as well, much less confusing than some scenes in the last issue. MUCH easier to follow what’s going on this time and that’s always good to see. Overall, a very good issue with plenty to offer any Batman fan. While not a must buy, it is good enough to deserve your consideration if you like the Bat.

Batwing #2 – Written by Judd Winick and Art by Ben Oliver. Here’s the issue in a nutshell. Massacre goes to take out some old African super hero and Batwing gets told he’s too hurt to keep fighting. Now repeat that several times in the same issue and there you have it. It seemed like the issue could have led somewhere, but it really didn’t. I think they could have parsed the issue down to about 5 pages and then made some forward momentum. And the art in here seems nice, but like last issue, there were still very little details in the backgrounds. Its starting to seem to me like maybe the real talent here lies in the colorist. The question is, if I only saw the inked version, would it stand up? I’m not so sure. The coloring makes it look superb. Last time I gave Ben Oliver credit, but I’m just guessing now that it’s the colorist. I thought the first issue was solid and then this issue just goes nowhere quick. Might as well just skip this one folks as there is really nothing you’ll even miss here!

O.M.A.C. #2 – Story and Art by Dan Didio & Keith Giffen and Inked by Scott Koblish. I’m really starting to dig this series. It is becoming a fun and exciting series that throws back to the days of yore when comics were all about being fun. Kevin Kho is OMAC and doesn’t know why he’s being controlled by Brother Eye. Apparently, the Eye has been an outcast for some reason. We also meet Checkmate which is secretly running Cadmus and boy do they have a great surprise waiting for us here! The artwork is good stuff, not quite up to the level of the first issue, but still a pretty good channeling of Kirby here. OMAC is a tad devoid of being personable, but I think the fact that Kevin is being controlled will eventually want us to see him break free of it and being able to turn on his OMAC side when he wants. But who knows where this thing will go. One thing is for sure though, I’m interested in seeing where this ride takes us. Hang on to your hats and pick this and issue 1 up if they’re still available!

Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive #523.1 – Written by David Liss and Art by Jefte Palo. A serial killer is trying to get the Panther’s attention, however, things take a turn when the Black Panther realizes he’s dealing with someone from his past. The brief description sums up the issue and gives a small mystery that is quickly enough revealed. This is a point 1 issue, designed to be a great jumping on point for readers. It does what it is designed to do very well. It introduces our main characters and gives us a glimpse as to what to expect from the comic. So if that was the goal, then it was mission accomplished. The only problem is that some of it felt too “Batman”. I thought we almost had our own version of Commissioner Gordon and Panther was doing his best brooding Bats act possible. Once you get past that, it’s a good self-contained issue and soon takes us past what felt like a Batman rip-off into a exposition on the man behind the mask. T’Challa has been written better in recent issues, but this isn’t bad at all. The artwork is pretty good and does the proper storytelling so that you always feel like you can tell what’s going on. Nothing confusing at all here. So really, a solid issue and if you’re curious about Black Panther’s recent move to Hell’s Kitchen, this would be a great time to check it out and hop on board what is turning into an excellent series.

Red Lanterns #2 – Written by Peter Milligan, Penciled by Ed Benes and Inked by Rob Hunter. We get a further exploration into Atrocitus and some situations that cause a vast inner rage. I’m not sure how I feel about Atrocitus having much beyond pure rage, but I guess the other Corps aren’t all abouting before full of pure willpower or such. I just can’t see why his Corps are held in check so that they don’t have a full “consciousness” as he puts it. Shouldn’t they have something that keeps them in check as well? Are the Red Lanterns just there to exact revenge in the universe? That would seem to be the most logical conclusion. The story itself revolves around a planet that is being occupied by another race. It seemed like this part was a reflection of what has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially with the soldiers killing innocents. I’m not sure how comfortable I am with that being put into this story as it almost seems to cast soldiers in a bad light. But if he felt the tale is worth being told, then that’s his prerogative and I support that. The art was just okay, I felt that I’ve seen way better Atrocitus before, so Benes just hasn’t quite sold me yet. This was better than the first issue, but still a long ways from hitting home. It had moments that almost pulled you in, but I also think some of the art kept us from really drawing ourselves into the story. Almost a good issue, but just misses out for me this.

Animal Man #2 – Written by Jeff Lemire and Art by Travel Foreman. You want dark and foreboding? You want a crazy and creepy and almost trippy ride? Boy is this the comic for you if you said yes. I don’t even usually like those types of things, but I’m loving this. Maxine (Animal Man’s daughter) has animated dead animals and feels a connection to “the Red”. Meanwhile, Buddy (Animal Man) develops some weird blood like vein tattoos or something all over his body. Maxine is developing insanely powerful abilities and she convinces her daddy that they need to find the source of “the Red” to help it out. The story has a lot of levels to it and really gets you going. Foreman creates such an eerie feeling with his drawing that isn’t pretty, but creates a mood. It’s a different way of storytelling, but it very much works. If you liked the Swamp Thing stuff, you might just love this. This might actually be better than the Swamp Thing and wasn’t quite as confusing. Perhaps, the BEST of the New 52. If this isn’t on your list, you don’t deserve to have a list. And you’re fired. Good day!

Technorati Tags: animal man,jeff lemire,travel foreman,red lanterns,atrocitus,peter milligan,andy benes,rob hunter,black panther,david liss,jefte palo,o.m.a.c.,omac,dan didio,keith giffen,scott koblish,batwing,judd winick,ben oliver,tony s. daniel,ryan winn,sandu florea,detective comics,batman

Quick Comic Reviews - October 8th, 2011

2011-10-07T22:02:00.001-07:00

A fresh set of reviews with 90% more Marvel flavor than I’ve had in awhile. A good blend this week. Hope you enjoy my first set of reviews for the week.

Moon Knight #6 – Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Art by Alex Maleev. This issue mostly focuses on the aftermath of Moon Knight and Echo’s fight with the Night Shift. An almost reveal of the new “Kingpin” in LA and the Avengers visit to figure out what the hell is going on with their split personality friend Moon Knight. The issue is kind of a step back and slow down type issue and largely does the job it needs to. It’s funny when Moon Knight tries to figure out if the Avengers are real or just his multiple personalities he’s developed. Spidey kind of freaks out about him dressing up in his costume and having a fight at a strip club. Maleev’s art is an acquired taste. In some issues it seems to flow really good, but I have a hard time differentiating who is who sometimes. In some scenes I don’t know who Marc (Moon Knight) Spektor is, and that makes it harder to figure things out. His faces seem to be drawn with a lot of inconsistency and that’s really what he needs to work on. A decent enough issue, but not the strongest of the series by far. Not too much happens here that anyone will need to pick it up.

Stormwatch #2 – Written by Paul Cornell and Art by Miguel Sepulveda & Al Barrioneuvo. This issue is much improved, we get an interesting perspective on Adam One. I guess not everyone exactly has profound belief in the leadership skills of Adam. What I don’t get is how a guy who’s existed since the Big Bang has always acted like a hippy. If they’re making this a play on Jesus, then it’s a lame on. But anyway, the Midnighter has a sweet costume. We learn more about Harry and the issue on the moon. The art felt a little better in this issue too, not super, but doable. But there is a tad bit of momentum gained in this one and that has to count for something, right? The problem is we keeping pinballing back and forth between the moon, Earth and Stormwatch HQ, but more palatable than last time. We’re only getting glimpses into these characters and haven’t gotten a ton of development yet, but there is some going on here. Paul Cornell does some great stuff and then he comes back and does mediocre stuff. I’m hoping that like his Action Comics run, it ends stronger than this is so far. But we’ll see what happens! This is an ok issue, definitely better than expected, but just don’t think that it makes it very good.

Swamp Thing #2 – Written by Scott Snyder and Art by Yanick Paquette. What a tremendous ride you’re in store for in this issue. The ancient bad guy is revealed in more detail, you learn why Alec Holland isn’t in the form of Swamp Thing and that he has a big choice. There’s a fantastic surprise at the end as well. The artwork is simply gorgeous in it. The two page spreads were things of sheer beauty. Snyder is at his best in this one, showing a lot of respect to the character and giving you a dose of horror that hasn’t been seen for awhile in the DC U proper. A lot of background story here, pretty meaty stuff for sure, you don’t feel like Snyder skimmed things down here, he knew he had a lot to tell and you end up getting a lot of comic in this. If you haven’t joined aboard the Swamp Thing fan club, you’re going to miss out and that will be a major mistake. This is absolutely, 100%, a must buy series and a great immersing issue overall!

X-Men: Schism #5 – Written by Jason Aaron, Penciled by Adam Kubert and Inked by Mark Roslan. Finally, I fully realize the entire prelude to Schism mini-series didn’t have a damn thing to do with it. Seriously, wtf! Anyway, this whole thing seems to be set-up to drive Wolverine and Cyclops apart. Cyclops is willing to sacrifice anything to save Utopia, Wolverine isn’t. So they’re fighting at the issue begins and eventually other X-Men come save the day and they split. Ok, since when does Wolverine has a problem with anybody dying? I think Marvel just wanted to have Wolverine in charge of some X-Men somehow and they’re doing this. But he has X-Force, so I just don’t get it. But those gripes aside, really a pretty good issue. The last page was awesome, I have to give Jason Aaron that much. A lot is set-up here, but right now the continuity between the X Titles just sucks. If they can give us continuity so that what happens here affects the other titles, then great. Yeah, maybe some of the old X-Men stuff was almost continuity porn, but it also kept things logical and every action had a far reaching effect. This issue was pretty decent and I liked the digital inks by Mark Roslan, much better than I would have imagined. Adam Kubert is very solid, so this was pretty good artwork as well. You could do a whole lot worse than this issue, but you could do a whole lot better.

Justice League International #2 – Written by Dan Jurgens, Penciled by Aaron Lopresti and Inked by Matt Ryan. So the JLI has to cut and run in this issue, Guy runs in to join up because of the “incompetent” Booster Gold and the Hall of Justice is completely destroyed. Really, just another fun issue here! I thought the bickering we see on this team makes sense for a group that’s just thrown together and forced into immediate action. It’s good to see the heroes having to retreat once in awhile and gather themselves. Jurgens ably plots another solid issue, which is better than the first issue. Now, I’m a huge Booster Gold and Guy Gardner fan, so keep that in mind. But I liked to feel this had to it and the potential for this team to come together and face adversity. The one gripe is, this issue proves that you just don’t have enough pages in some of these comics to advance the story enough. Cost cutting measures, sure. However, they put in a preview of a Batman graphic novel that certainly could have been filled with more meaningful things. I understand they want that graphic novel to be a success, but sometimes people do like a little more story, rather than a huge advertisement they see in all their issues that month. Sorry, but most people could probably care less. In fact, some of their in-house promotions have driven me away, like the Search for Swamp Thing. If you’re going to use more pages, give us more story! But anyway, really solid issue that’s a lot of fun. Dan Jurgens just makes good solid stuff, no secrets here.

Hulk #42 – Written by Jeff Parker and Art by Patch Zircher. When Rulk finds out that a former military Colonel he knew is dead, off to war he goes! I thought this was a pretty good break from what we’ve been seeing lately and giving us a few more personal bits from Thunderbolt Ross. Parker really seems to find motivation to the character that I suspect others wouldn’t. That’s why Parker is so good at what he does. Zircher’s art is also excellent in this issue and he seems to be hitting a peak. I was really able to follow the story and enjoy this one. Less cosmic stuff to the Red Hulk is good too. So now we’re in the midst of the Hulk of Arabia storyline, which promises to be good fun! And a few guest appearances at the end make for an even bigger issue next month. Overall, this issue is really a good issue and if you haven’t bothered with the Red Hulk yet, here’s a good spot to take a look at least.

Technorati Tags: hulk,jeff parker,patch zircher,rulk,justice league international,jli,dan jurgens,aaron lopresti,matt ryan,booster gold,guy gardner,x-men: schism,wolverine,cyclops,jason aaron,adam kubert,mark roslan,swamp thing,scott snyder,yanick paquette,stormwatch,paul cornell,miguel sepulveda,al barrioneuvo,moon knight,alex maleev,brian michael bendis

Quick Comic Reviews - October 5th, 2011

2011-10-05T21:27:00.001-07:00

Better late than never? Perhaps. A whole new slew of titles out, but I’m finishing up some stuff I had for last week. Sadly, Marvel played second fiddle. I’ll be back with fresh reviews this weekend!

Journey Into Mystery #628 – Written by Kieron Gillen, Art by Whilce Portacio and Inked by Allen Martinez. Loki and his group of evil fighting to stop the Serpent take center stage in this “Fear Itself” tie-in. However, the whole thing didn’t make much sense to me and was very hard to follow. It would be easy to blame Whilce, but this actually seems to be some of his better work, although I still didn’t like it. Nothing seemed to flow, we’re hopping around in a place I’m not really sure about, but I’m assuming it’s Dark Asgard? Nothing really confirmed. Sloppy writing and the art wasn’t very good. It was utterly confusing. Allen Martinez did his best to make Portacio’s work palatable, but Whilce’s work does not fit the type of coloring that’s done here. It just doesn’t work. There were moments where I felt what Loki was doing was important, but you just weren’t sure if it was going anywhere in the end. I think the final couple of pages are important, but I’m sure this is will show up in the main Fear Itself title. Overall, a confusing hodge podge with poor storytelling and poor art make this one a MUST skip. Journey into mystery of what the hell is going on.

Venom #7 – Written by Rick Remender and Art by Tom Fowler. A lot of this issue has some great moments of irony that act to contrast the situations Venom/Flash Thompson face in different areas of his life with that of what Anti-Venom is preaching to the masses. Flash can’t forgive his father while Anti-Venom is preaching forgiveness gives us a stark contrast as to the emotional battles he might be facing. The fight between Venom and Anti-Venom is great, but in the end, I did have difficulty that the symbiote would pass up a chance to kill Brock or at least remedy himself of Anti-Venom. A leap of faith I guess? I felt that Tom Fowler’s art really created a good flow to this issue and everything felt very fluid. I have no real complaints here. The issue really ties in well with Spider-Island and the events here are meaningful things that I think will have a big impact on what happens. I really like the Anti-Venom character and they get some good mileage out of him here. A few moments of missed logic, but overall a very solid issue and shows why the new Venom is a pretty darned good title.

The Amazing Spider-Man #670 – Written by Dan Slott, Penciled by Humberto Ramos and Inked by Victor Olazaba. Spider-Island continues with its fourth installment and this one is a jam packed doozy. Dan Slott shows so much love for Spider-Man, it’s hard not to get caught up in it. This particular issue features Spidey teaming up with Jonah Jameson, aka Spider-Stache as he gets called at one point. Jameson has also gained spider powers and ends up having to fight alongside his rival begrudgingly. As much as some people hate Humberto Ramos, I think his art is fantastic and I really like it anytime he draws Spider-Man. I love how all the tie-ins to Spider-Island ACTUALLY tie-in to this issue. It makes some of those one shots actually feel worthwhile when you see the ramification here. But if you missed them, it gives you enough info to figure out what’s going on. That, my friends, is storytelling at it’s finest. And that’s what Slott and Ramos team-up and do in this issue. Tons of guest appearances from Mr. Fantastic and the Thing, to the X-Men and Spider Woman. An absolutely fantastic read that you should check out. If you haven’t read Spider-Man in awhile, pick up the Spider-Island series or wait for the trade to come out. Excellent stuff here, a MUST buy!

FF #9 – Written by Jonathan Hickman, Penciled by Steve Epting and Inked by Rick Magyar. At first, I was all for the FF or Future Foundation or Fantastic Four or whatever the hell this is. But I’ve always hated the alterna-Reeds floating about. This issue brings most of that to a conclusion (at least I hope) and is one of the better issues as of late. Black Bolt is back and decides to take matters with the alterna-Reeds doing whatever the hell it is their doing. Reed Richards (the main one) doesn’t like it, but Black Bolt basically says, “Suck it Trebek!” without saying that at all or he would blow up everyone in the room. So, lot of fighting, a pretty solid ending, but it still feels like there just wasn’t enough pay-off here. I feel like the last three issues were crap and this was the only one worth giving a hoot about. The art is sub-par and the inks and shadows are just too damned thick and dark and it all just feels blah. Overall, an okay issue, but mostly meh. Next issue might be worth checking out, but until then, don’t bother.

Annihilators: Earthfall #1 – Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, Penciled by Tan Eng Hurt and Inked by Andrew Hennessy. Dear Lord, the first panel of the Annihilators is awful. It looks like Gladiators has been off the steroids for the past couple of years and is as old as Arnold (or Ahnuld). Ronan looks like a dopey happy kid in the background. I don’t know wtf is wrong with Beta Ray Bill. Ugh! The fight they have it the Universal Church of Truth that I think had something to do with Adam Warlock. Anyway, they fight the church and eventually they find a sect on Earth and fight it. It gets an interesting twist at the end, but overall the story didn’t feel impactful or important. It was more like when you’re paying somebody to work, but you don’t really have anything for them to do, so you make them organize stuff. That’s what this felt like. You have Ikon, Ronan the Accuser, Quasar, Gladiator, Beta Ray Bill and Cosmo. The art sucked on this and it wasn’t very entertaining. I usually expect better of Abnett and Lanning. Thankfully we get… Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and Art by Timothy Green II. This is an entertaining little space bar brawl that had me cracking up. Loved the art, loved the comedic value of these two. It made me question why the whole damn comic wasn’t these two! The only worthwhile part of this is Rocket Raccoon and Groot, the Annihilators themselves, not so much. Skip it! Poor Groot!

Technorati Tags: annihilators: earthfall,dan abnett,andy lanning,timothy green II,groot,rocket raccoon,ronan,quasar,ikon,cosmo,gladiator,beta ray bill,tan eng hurt,andrew hennessy,ff,fantastic four,future foundation,jonathan hickman,steve epting,rick magyar,spider-island,amazing spider-man,dan slott,humberto ramos,victor olazaba,venom,rick remender,tom fowler,journey into mystery,loki,kieron gillen,whilce portacio,fear itself,allen martinez

Quick Comic Reviews - October 1st 2011

2011-10-01T15:28:00.001-07:00

Another day, another set of reviews! I’m pretty focused on the DC New 52, but I should get some Marvel stuff up by sometime on Tuesday. We’ll see! No promises!

Flash #1 – Written by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato and Art by Francis Manapul. So the Flash history has been rewritten a tad, but nothing earth breaking. He isn’t with Iris, but she is involved in the story. There’s plenty of excitement going on in this issue as well and a mystery wrapping into it all. Is Flash responsible for a murder of his own friend? And then at the end everything goes crazy, but in a fun way. The art is well done as is most things done by Manapul. I was a bit worried when I heard Manapul would be drawing AND writing. Sometimes that can be a very bad thing. I’m still worried about how many delays we’ll have on issues if he keeps doing that, but so far the results are darned good. My only complaint isn’t Manapul’s fault, it’s that Jim Lee redesigned the costume and put some unnecessary kneepads and lines that kind of annoyed me. It isn’t as bad as Superman’s costume, but that’s another issue altogether. Overall, very good issue that should lead to more fun in the future. Definitely worth picking up and checking out!

Superman #1 – Written by George Perez and Art by Jesus Merino. The Daily Planet has been bought out and now the Globe has taken over. They’re forming a giant news network type deal. That makes sense, but I have no idea how they were able to buy the company out AND make a giant new skyscraper. Apparently, newspapers still sell well in the DC Universe. I’m guessing EVERYONE in the US is buying them if they’re able to afford all of this stuff, but anyway, Jesus makes the new version of Superman look palatable, even though I’m not fond of the new design. Does Superman really need something with built in kneepads? No, but thanks Jim Lee. I guess it could have been worse, Liefeld could have redesigned every character to have pouches. Superman has to witness the old Planet being razed and then has to fight an evil alien fire demon or something like that. It was all fine stuff, however, here’s more controversy. We have Lois Lane selling herself out and then celebrating by having sex with some random guy. For the sake of taking the same old story and spinning it on it’s head, it was one of those moments of “holy crap” as Clark found out. At that point, you say it’s very different. Jimmy Olsen, however, is very non-distinguishable and appears to be a television camera man. Perez does his best to keep this story interesting and different and I appreciate that effort. It isn’t as good as what Morrison did with his take, but it still seems to be a solid effort and was pretty enjoyable. Worth checking out and seeing if you like the new Supes, but beware of slightly lame costume!

Aquaman #1 – Written by Geoff Johns, Penciled by Ivan Reis and Inked by Joe Prado. With Aquaman comics you never know what you’re going to get. Really, nobody has had much love for him since Peter David. However, Flashpoint showed that he could be a real bad ass. Now he’s got his own series and it looks like Geoff Johns is going to put a lot of energy into this one. I did like how apparently everyone in the DC Universe views him as kind of a joke. But he shows off he’s not just a B list character anymore. Some of the origin story from Flashpoint has carried over into this one. I liked Reis’ artwork and just thought it was a pretty good first issue. The diner scene was a great part of the issue and really helped you get to know the character and enjoy him. I particularly liked the bad guys he’ll be dealing with, they seemed to be an interesting challenge for Aquaman. Just a really enjoyable first issue in most regards, nothing too outstanding, but very good effort all around!

Voodoo #1 – Written by Ron Marz and Art by Sam Basri. Right off the bat, I really think this should be a mature title. At least for the first issue as the entire thing deals with “Voodoo” who is apparently moonlighting as a popular stripper. Now, DC is getting all sorts of flack for the way they’ve been displaying female characters as little more than cheap sexual objects. Add on the fact that they’ve got even less female writers than before and it creates a bit of controversy. Well, I’m sure this issue will have some issues for numerous people. This is not a title you’ll want any kids or probably even teens to be reading. As far as the story goes, two people are investigating this “Voodoo” trying to find out more about her for the government and that’s about all we really learn. But there are some interesting things going on here. Ron Marz does a good job of making it all seem fairly realistic (as far as conversation goes) and the artwork is excellent. So we get a bit of a reveal towards the end that was interesting, but we aren’t real sure where this is going. However, I’m sure that Marz will take us down an interesting path. I thought that it was a very good first issue, but it certainly will not be for everybody and some will probably downright hate it.

Teen Titans #1 – Written by Scott Lobdell, Penciled by Brett Booth and Inked by Norm Rapmund. Oh Scott Lobdell, if only you could write. Sorry, but I really don’t like any of Lobdell’s work. I thought his Red Hood and The Outsiders was the most asinine comic of the year and deserves to be listed as top of the crap pile. So, compared to that issue, this one is amazing. However, it isn’t good. We have Red Robin putting together a team of super powered teens (go figure right?). And there’s somebody else out to get them before he does. And Kid Flash is a royal mess up. We meet Wonder Girl as well and she hates being called that. I really liked Red Robin’s new outfit, I thought that was great. However, the overall issue just came across as mediocre. Which is good for Lobdell! And he made Cassie really sassy, so I’m not sure if I like that yet or not. The artwork is very good, but Rapmund is one of my favorite inkers and he really adds to the pencils. Overall, just an average first issue, one that you can definitely skip for this week!

Justice League Dark #1 – Written by Peter Milligan and Art by Mikel Janin. So we have Madame Xanadu proving she can be in multiple titles at once now, Zatanna who wasn’t that distinguishable without her old magician outfit, Shade the Changing Man, plus tons of guest appearances. Deadman looks to be a part of this group and that could prove interesting as well. I was impressed that they went straight to Enchantress as a main villian and they set it up nicely. They made sure to show us that this was something on a different level than what Superman can deal with since he’s vulnerable to magic. There’s a brilliant scene where the regular Justice League is attacked by magical teeth that are swirling about. What a fantastic visual in this! Mikel really gives us a great deal of beautiful and detailed artwork. I thought this was a fantastic start to the new series and I hope they keep it up. This is much better than Milligan’s attempt at Red Lanterns. A lot of good stuff here that is worth checking out, very highly recommended!

Technorati Tags: flash,francis manapul,brian buccellato,superman,george perez,jesus merino,aquaman,geoff johns,ivan reis,joe prado,voodoo,ron marz,sam basri,teen titans,scott lobdell,brett booth,norm rapmund,red robin,kid flash,wonder girl,justice league dark,peter milligan,mikel janin,madame xanadu,zatanna,enchantress,batman,deadman,shade the changing man

Quick Comic Reviews - September 30th, 2011

2011-09-30T21:11:00.001-07:00

Just a small update this week. I probably won’t get everything each week on here, but I’ll do what I can. My schedule changes at the end of October, so I might be able to do a bit more with this at that time.

All Star Western #1 – Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray with Art by Moritat. Jonah Hex is in Gotham and a lot of people were original concerned about this. However, as Gotham emerges out of the frontier to be the blossoming city, plenty of bad things need rooted out and that’s where Hex comes in. You can tell the love that Gray and Palmiotti have for this character. The storyline involves Jonah Hex teamed up with Dr. Arkham (how clever) to find out who the Gotham Butcher is. Of course, the Butcher is killing prostitutes, so nothing too utterly original here, but how many original stories can you have anymore. Throwing Jonah Hex into this formulaic tale with Dr. Arkham is what makes it unique. Plus seeing the “old” families of Gotham (Waynes, Cobblepots, Gates, etc.) gives it an interesting back story to play with. And as for the art, I thoroughly enjoyed the art. I loved the moody, thick black lines the artist used at times. The grittiness of Jonah Hex came alive in the pencils. Just great stuff. Overall, I thought this was a very good first issue and worth picking up if this genre peaks your interest at all.

Blackhawks #1 – Written by Mike Costa, Layouts by Graham Nolan, and Finished by Ken Lashley. Welcome to the Blackhawks. A team subsidized, apparently, by the U.N. Yeah right. A rag-tag crew of soldiers from different countries work together to solve problems through-out the world. It just didn’t work for me on a lot of levels. The characters seemed to lack any dimension and were just generally uninteresting. We don’t really know much about them, what motivates them, or even what the hell their missions are. We find out something about nanocites and it all comes off very flat. I think DC would have been better served making this a World War II comic as an homage to the original Blackhawks. Instead, they try to wrap it into today’s world, throw away any sense of realism and give us 1 dimensional characters that you won’t remember after you put the book down. The artwork has potential, but the opening sequence seemed off and just never really recovered from the confusing open. There was very little here that came across as entertaining or clever and this one is definitely not worth spending your money on.

The Savage Hawkman #1 – Written by Tony S. Daniel and Art by Philip Tan. So Carter Hall tries to burn his wings connected to the Nth metal and WOOSH, the Nth metal gets mad and apparently implants itself in his body. So now think black costume Spider-Man where he can summon the costume to come out at will. And does that work? Well, I don’t feel it gave me anything interesting here. At the end of the issue, I’m assuming Carter is an alcoholic and a cryptologist and that’s about it. We aren’t quite sure where the Nth metal came from and why this alien they find is after it. I just didn’t find much of this terribly interesting, mainly because we never really get into Carter Hall’s character. The artwork, however, is just fantastic as Philip Tan goes all out here. The costume looks REALLY good though and it benefitted from that redesign. However, we still didn’t get any good way to connect with Hall and that’s a shame. I wanted to be more interested than I was. I hope the next issue improves the story and it’s hard to judge this on one issue alone. However, I didn’t feel that this issue was all that good except for the amazing art of Tan. So it has potential to be something, but for now, I would only consider it, but not a strong buy here.

The Fury of Firestorm #1 – Plotted by Ethan Van Sciver & Gail Simone, Written by Gail Simone and Art by Yildiray Cinar. So we have Firestorms in this one, Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond. The plot involves some terrorists (what is this, every other issue of comics now?) and trying to recover something. Apparently it was sent to Jason who then uses it and transforms him and Ronnie into Firestorms. Two separate ones to be clear. Both of the characters really dislike each other and we establish this early on. So by the end of the issue they combine into on giant Firestorm called Fury. That’s most of the issue. What I didn’t like is how Jason seemed to know exactly what to do with his powers and they just start blasting each other and flying around. Whatever happened to figuring out what you can do as a hero? None of that here. Maybe with stories so condensed now, Gail Simone didn’t have time to do that. However, I think she could have managed it. The art by Cinar is fairly decent, but I think he’s usually better than this. My main problem was the coloring that was used. It seems muted and washed in areas and I didn’t care for that. The issue was decent enough, but not enough to convince me that the series is going to be good. I’m on the fence about this one, so it’s just “meh” to me, not bad, but not all that good either.

I, Vampire #1– Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Art by Andrea Sorrentino. This is an interesting enough tale about Andrew, a vampire who apparently doesn’t like killing humans and seems to be the sire of Mary, Queen of Blood. Mary is batshit crazy while Andrew plays the role of the good cop. So they’ve been around about 400 years and are still meandering, having semi-deep conversations and the only thing I’m getting out of it is that Mary is a total flaming bitch and Andrew is such a nice guy that he must be Canadian. So, while I like to get into the minds of characters, the first several pages read like this, “Blah blah blah Mary!” “Blah blah blah Andrew!” It did get much more interesting than that and I find it odd that this is a “part” of the current DC Universe. Of course, not that this will affect any other comic in their line, but they’ll pretend it matters. Really though, the artwork was very good, a lot of ambience and moodiness and such that you need to have here. No complaints there. I just wasn’t totally drawn into their conversation because it seems like such normal vampire fair. But at least they appear to be traditional vampires, so they’ve got that going for them. Yeah, I think this was a pretty decent comic that has some promise, so if you just dig those vampires, I think you might find this pretty good. If not, you’ll probably just want to skip this one over.

Technorati Tags: all star western,jimmy palmiotti,justin gray,moritat,blackhawks,mike costa,graham nolan,ken lashley,savage hawkman,tony s. daniel,philip tan,fury of firestorm,ethan van sciver,gail simone,yildiray cinar,i vampire,joshua hale fialkov,andrea sorrentino

Quick Comic Reviews - September 20th, 2011 Part 1

2011-09-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Last week I was so focused on the DC New 52 that I didn’t get to any Marvel titles. Fear not, I’ll get those this week. Or at least some. So many titles, so little time!

Resurrection Man #1 – Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and Art by Fernando Dagnino. I had recently read the first storyline of the original Resurrection Man series from DC which was also written by Abnett and Lanning and found it to be quite refreshing and exciting. So I was really looking forward to this reboot and I wasn’t disappointed. Resurrection Man dies a lot, so get used to it. However, every time he has different powers upon coming back to life. They’ve put a twist on it over the original series and there’s something out to get him. That’s as much as I’ll give away. But I’m a huge Abnett and Lanning fan and they hit this one out of the park. Dagnino also provides for some very fitting artwork that does a pretty good job of helping tell the overall story. Dark and moody at times and lots of rain, this tale was very interesting. I’m super interested in figuring out what will happen next. So far, probably the best of the New DC 52 and definitely a must buy as this series needs a good following to keep it going! I’m sure Abnett and Lanning has plenty of great surprises in store for us!

Grifter #1 – Written by Nathan Edmondson, Penciled by Cafu and Inked by Jason Gorder. I’ve seen many steaming piles of turd in my lifetime. This isn’t that good. We pretty much get a semi-Gambit wannabe who is infected by Daemonites or something like that. The story goes back and forth and makes no sense at times. You have no idea if you’re in the past or present and that is a failure of the the writer and artist. The art wasn’t awful, but everyone seemed really stiff. We should get some sort of idea of what we’re dealing with. This one meanders on in a steaming pile of goo and gives you nothing interesting. Honestly, by the end of the issue, you could give two shits about if Grifter dies or not. If we’re all lucky, they’ll kill him next issue and we’ll be done with this. Sad, because I was really looking forward to a better series than this. The best part of this issue is the cover.

Superboy #1 – Written by Scott Lobdell, Penciled by R.B. Silva and Inked by Rob Lean. How do I accurately describe this one? Well, we get a Superboy project that gives us a Superboy with utterly no remorse and seems to be quite evil. Now, this COULD be interesting if they take it the right way. However, I didn’t feel that I particularly liked any of the characters in this book. Really, I disliked about everything in this book except for the idea they planted at the very end. The artwork was pretty good and that helped draw me in. I thought with the previous Superboy we were just starting to see his personality really develop and now we’re given one completely devoid of all personality. Quite a conundrum. It COULD be good in the future, but it’ll definitely take some time. That being said, I think you can probably skip this issue and wait until it becomes good.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1 – Written by Jeff Lemire and Art by Alberto Ponticelli. Jeff Lemire is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers and this is another good offering from him. With that in mind, this introduction issue isn’t as much fun as his Flashpoint Frankenstein and the Creature Commandoes, but that’s because he has to re-introduce everyone with slightly different (or majorly) origins. I liked that the Atom is involved here, but they’ve got a very “Hank Pym” system. I really dig the artwork here, it has a certain feel that is just perfect for the series. I didn’t really care for the “computer” that’s somewhat narrating for us, but I guess they were trying to think of a different way to explain things to us. Overall, a pretty decent start, but definitely has a “not quite hitting it’s stride yet” feel.

Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula #1 – Written by Victor Gischler, Penciled by Ryan Stegman and Inked by Mike Babinski. When I saw that this was an actual title Marvel was putting out, I winced. When I saw it was written by Victor Gischler, I winced. However, I think Victor has a certain fondness for Dracula and the whole vampire genre and it comes across pretty well here. Faced with the hammer wielding Hulk landing in his backyard, Hulk threatens to smash everything in his path. So now Dracula must figure out how the hell to beat a guy nobody else has done more than scratch. This was an interesting way of keeping Dracula in the Marvel Universe and kept us up-to-date on his latest doings, which isn’t as bad as it might seem. Ryan Stegman draws everything well enough, but I think the coloring is what makes this issue the most as far as art goes. Deep colors and hues gave it a very rich feeling. It isn’t particularly dark or brooding art and that works fine. Overall, I thought the issue came across really well. There are some plot points that I’m not sure where they’re going, but I’m willing to find out what they’re aiming towards. Really, a pretty good issue, nothing spectacular here, but it feels like an interesting battle is being prepared.

Herc #7 – Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, Penciled by June Brigman and Inked by Roy Richardson. We see in this issue the repercussions that Spider Island has on ol’ Hercules. So we have a web slinging Herc waxing poetically in this issue and giving us all sorts of campy fun. Right away he breaks out into battle with the X-Men and it’s a good brawl that gives us a taste of Herc’s new powers. We get plenty of background and the thoughts of Hercules in raw and unfiltered form. Plus Herc gets put on the trail of the Jackal and encounters plenty of miscreants. June Brigman has an old school style in this and it really makes for some campy fun. It looked like a comic book should. This issue will certainly have your Hercules senses tingling. What a fantastic and fun romp that really makes this issue of Herc an absolute must buy! I can’t see anyone not enjoying this issue!

Technorati Tags: Resurrection Man,Dan Abnett,Andy Lanning,Fernando Dagnino,Abnett & Lanning,Grifter,Nathan Edmondson,Cafu,Jason Gorder,Superboy,Scott Lobdell,R.B. Silva,Rob Lean,Frankenstein,Agent of S.H.A.D.E.,Jeff Lemire,Alberto Ponticelli,Fear Itself,Hulk vs. Dracula,Victor Gischler,Ryan Stegman,Mike Babinski,Spider Island,Herc,Hercules,Greg Pak,Fred Van Lente,June Brigman,Roy Richardson,Journey Into Mystery,Richard Elson,Kieron Gillen,Mephisto

Quick Comic Reviews–September 10th, 2011 New DC 52 Part 2

2011-09-10T16:39:00.001-07:00

Well, the first round of reviews was interesting and a bit of a mixed bag. Let’s delve in the rest of this week’s New 52 from DC! Don’t forget to vote for your favorite!

Justice League International #1 – Written by Dan Jurgens, Penciled by Aaron Lopresti and Inked by Matt Ryan. There are people disappearing, there’s a line-up of super heroes being selected, Batman lurks, people are mad about the Justice League moving in the Hall of Justice. There you have the issue in a nutshell. Now keep in mind, it isn’t a bad nutshell, but just a nutshell. The things I liked was Guy Gardner’s flat out refusal to join and Booster being back to his roots as a guy nobody else is willing to put much trust into. Booster is forced into the lead role, Rocket Red is fun, and Godiva really seems to dig Booster. Its hard to do much character development in this one, but I have a feeling we’ll see some as we go. I really thought the art was very solid and fit in well with the team presented. I wanted to like this issue a lot more as I was a big fan of JLI and Justice League Europe back in the day. Dan just doesn’t have quite the biting wit of Giffen and company. But this is a pretty good first issue, chock full of superheroes and issues that need to be resolved, so worth picking up, but don’t expect anything sensational.

Static Shock #1 – Written by Scott McDaniel and John Rozum, Penciled by Scott McDaniel and Inked by Jonathan Glapion and Le Beau Underwood. This one was a bit confusing. I felt that most of this was a bit hard to say what exactly was happening. I agree that they need to have a Dakota-verse character still and this was the best character of the bunch. However, the story just didn’t grab me and I was never really sure what was going on. It just didn’t have a great flow to it. Some guy puts on a suit he shouldn’t in STAR Labs and flies around and Static chases him, the guy ends up getting killed by mysterious bad guys who sniper him from miles away somehow. We get a whole lot of Static flying around, a very brief look at his home life, and then more flying about. While some of his background is revealed, it is still a tad confusing how he’s hooked up with Hardware in the first place. I really liked the artwork and the vibrant colors in this issue. However, if you’re going to target this character to a younger audience, you really need to make it a bit more accessible to kids. They rated it for Teen for some unknown reason. Nothing to see here folks. Move along! Move along.

Animal Man #1 – Written by Jeff Lemire, Penciled by Travel Foreman and Inked by Travel Foreman and Dan Green. This comic has that old Vertigo feel where things are a bit “off” and the art is a bit more sketchy and a bit darker. I do like the old goggles and orange A. Why they had to change it to white, I have no idea, but I would prefer the orange. Then again, I’m weird. Speaking of things that are strange, welcome to Animal Man. And what a fantastic voyage it is. It opened with an “interview” of Buddy (Animal Man) Baker from a “magazine” which was about the only thing that annoyed me. It read like a really boring and bland interview that celebrities give ALL the time. It really just annoyed the crap out of me. Other than that, the issue then gets off to an interesting start as Buddy has been spending much time doing things heroes should. When he finally gets off his loafing butt and intervenes, he finds there’s much more about himself than meets the eye when he ends up bleeding from said eyes. We soon learn about the Red. I guess we have the Green for plants and the Red for animals and it is hinted that these two things will eventually give Swamp Thing and Animal Man a common bond. I’m all for that! The color here is very muted and the artwork isn’t for everyone. I’m not a fan of artwork like what Travel Foreman does usually, but given the tone of the issue and overall feel, it works. This is a really good issue that you should pick up if you like more adult themes in comics!

Swamp Thing #1 – Written by Scott Snyder and Art by Yanick Paquette. Swamp Thing returns in grand glory. Ignore the fact that the return of the Swamp Thing from Brightest Day ever happened, because technically it didn’t anyway. We see mass outbreaks of birds and animals dropping dead (ah, true to life!) in groups. We then meet Alec Holland as it were and Superman drops in on him for help. There’s some other mysterious stuff going on and the Green is apparently not very pleased with Alec trying to live his life. We get explained some of Alec, but there’s still a bit of mystery as to whether he’s even Swamp Thing or if he can control Swamp Thing or what. I’m pretty interested in finding out though! Scott Snyder puts a lot of thought into this character and makes a very interesting first issue. Yanick Paquette’s artwork is fantastic and creates atmosphere in it. So altogether we have a tremendous debut of a character that has had his fair share of changes. If future issues are anything like this one, it will be one hell of a series. Pick this one up!

Men of War #1 – Written by Ivan Brandon and Art by Tom Derenick. Has anyone been hankering for some new adventures of Sgt. Rock? Ok, well here’s how he became a Sergeant in the first place! Modernized for today’s type of wars, this one just didn’t hit home for me. I didn’t really feel like he was the Sgt. Rock kind of character in the first place, so that didn’t help him. There’s too much yelling back and forth early on and it came off super lame. There are some scenes where you just can’t tell what exactly is going on either and I think I blame that on the art not making it clear who is who in the scenes. Not that we had much time to set up any characters, but still it didn’t seem very clear. Then we have super heroes fighting? Ok, could we just leave the super heroes out of the war series? Please! Ugh! The art was ok, but there were just times were I couldn’t tell what was going on clearly. The second story is Written by Jonathan Vankin and Art by Phil Winslade. This story gives me a bit of feeling like I used to get from The ‘Nam back in the day. The characters grow a bit as the story develops and we get a good surprise at the end. This homage to our modern day heroes overseas hits a bit more spot-on and saves this issue from being a waste. I liked the story laid out about the Navy Seals and I hope there’s plenty more of them in the future. Overall, an average issue that should have been better, but reinventing Sgt. Rock just didn’t work for me and made this one somewhat forgettable.

Batgirl #1 – Written by Gail Simone, Penciled by Ardian Syaf and Inked by Vicente Cifuentes. We get introduced to Barbara Gordon and for some reason, the happenings in “the Killing Joke” actually happened, but she was only paralyzed for a few years. So we have continuity that isn’t continuity? Anyway, she is actually a pretty interesting character and I really like how her costume was done. She isn’t infallible and she has to move forward past some things. So in the first issue we see some growth of character. We also get a decent amount of action and a mysterious villain that I thought was well done. There was a lot to like in this issue and is definitely a solid #1 and it looks like this could be a great series. Excellent art, great writer, it just works, worth picking up!

Batwing #1 – Written by Judd Winick and Art by Ben Oliver. This is one of those titles that I didn’t have any expectations for. It looked like it might even be rather awful. I stand corrected. First off, the artwork in this book is magnificent and the coloring by Brian Reber is fantastic as well. It all came together into a perfect conglomeration. The story told here is about Batwing and mainly his background working with the local law enforcement and his juggling the two things. But there’s a lot more than that going on. There’s an interesting mystery mixed in with everything. Keep in mind, this issue is a tad gruesome in spots, so it isn’t for kids. For the rest of you, this is a grand introduction to a character I really had no interest in at first and is a title worth checking out!

Green Arrow #1 - Written by J.T. Krul, Penciled by Dan Jurgens and Inked by George Perez. First off, let me admit one thing. I’m a huge fan of Dan Jurgens’ art. He does a simply fantastic job with this issue and does a great job of storytelling with his pencils. But teaming him with George Perez to ink those beautiful pencils produces and even better result. I was really liking the art in this one. The Arrow himself feels a tad more like Batman than Green Arrow. Maybe even a tad Tony Stark-ish. But what really made me annoyed was the “Oracle”-like team he had running things. I didn’t feel they really added much to the story and detracted from what could have been a stronger character. But in this issue, Green Arrow fights a bunch of bad guys who do bad things, yadda yadda. His own company complains about him ad nauseam. You get the picture. A decent enough issue, but not much of a hook. Despite the great artwork, my overall feel from this issue was that it was simply ok, nothing great, just kind of average and that’s not what you want to do in your number 1 issues.

Technorati Tags: green arrow,j.t. krul,dan jurgen,george perez,batwing,judd winick,batman,ben oliver,brian reber,batgirl,gail simone,ardian syaf,vicente cifuentes,men of war,sgt. rock,ivan brandon,tom derenick,jonathan vankin,phil winslade,navy seals,swamp thing,scott snyder,yanick paquette,animal man,jeff lemire,travel foreman,dan green,static shock,scott mcdaniel,john rozum,jonathan glapion,le beau underwood,hardware,dakota,justice league international,rocket red,guy gardner,godiva,aaron lopresti,matt ryan

Quick Comic Book Reviews–9/9/2011

2011-09-09T08:16:00.001-07:00

That’s right, I’m back and in time for the New 52! I figured if DC could start over again, I could as well. Take the poll on the left hand side and vote on the best of the New 52 this week! So now, let’s cover what I thought of some of the initial issues to hit the stores!

Action Comics #1 – Written by Grant Morrison, Penciled by Rags Morales, Inked by Rick Bryant. I was not a fan of most of Grant Morrison’s latest stuff, however, in the rebirth of Superman, we are treated to an amazingly fun and surprisingly non-convoluted (for Morrison anyway) story! We’re given a look at a young Superman learning how to use his powers for good. The “powers-that-be” in Metropolis are not very pleased with this vigilante leaping about, sticking his nose into things that they don’t want him in. We get to see him test his powers and actually LEAP. So there’s some tribute to the original version of Superman. Plus his powers haven’t quite peaked yet, so this makes it even more interesting. Morrison is able to get you wrapped up in Superman and make him fun again. You might even be able to call this run “Superman: Year One.” My only problem was the artwork. Usually I really like the work of Rags Morales, but I’m not sure if it’s his fault or the inker’s. However, there are times where I have no idea if I’m looking at a young Superman or an OLD Superman. The shadowed scenes early on really make you think he’s older than he is. That would be my main nitpick with it. But a great introductory issue! This is a definite MUST buy if you ever wanted to get into a potential extremely enjoyable Superman story!

Detective Comics #1 – Written and Penciled by Tony Daniels and Inked by Ryan Winn. Tony Daniels tackles a classic character and takes on a huge workload by pulling double duty with this one. The results are surprisingly good. The idea here seems to be to introduce the Joker as one of the more disturbing villains in the Batman world and really does a fine job of it. We aren’t given an origin story, but we’re given a dark look at Batman’s main bad guy. Daniel’s artwork gives me flashback to Frank Miller’s version of Batman with the short ears. He is able to capture a dark mood and does a good job of storytelling. We get the gist of Batman being the outlaw who is trust by Commissioner Gordon, but nobody else in the police force it seems. You get the usual gadgets, doo-dads, Batcave and Alfred in here. Nothing truly groundbreaking, but with an overall tone and forboding sense in the issue. A tad gruesome in spots, it has a certain Frank Miller (back when he wasn’t a hack) tone to it that works well and makes for an entertaining first issue. The last page is a bit of a shocker as well. This one is worth picking up if you like good Batman stories.

Stormwatch #1 – Written by Paul Cornell and Art by Miguel Sepulveda. Wow, Stormwatch was one of the best comics ever written by Wildstorm. I fear that may be just a sad distant memoir now if this first issue is any indication. Talk about trying to introduce too many characters and giving us nothing more than a confusing mess. I would try to explain the story, however I’m not really sure what it is. Mix in a mediocre job by Miguel Sepulveda who just doesn’t draw a “gritty” enough style to bring this comic to life. In fact, Jack Hawksmoor looks just plain awful in this. He’s an awkward enough character, but this just didn’t do it. Overall, the worst of the bunch I’ve read by far. I’m hoping that this is an aberration, but until it improves, just avoid buying it. I’m predicting (praying for?) a quick cancellation here!

O.M.A.C. #1 – Written by Dan Didio and Keith Giffen. Most people remember the OMACs from Infinite Crisis and the havoc they caused. This one is more closely related to the Buddy Blank OMAC that was created by Jack Kirby. Think of this as a tribute or homage to Jack Kirby. A lot of people will automatically hate this issue just because they hate anything that Dan Didio does. What he and Giffen do here isn’t groundbreaking, but it is FUN. And really, this is a throwback comic to the kind of comics I used to read when I was a kid. For that, I’m thankful for this comic. Giffen’s artwork is pretty spot on as any Kirby tribute can be. To me it has the wonderfully weird feel that you used to get out of those comics. The best thing here is delved into right at the end. You can feel like you’ve taken the bait and here’s the hook. At the end you wonder what was going on exactly and what’s going to happen to the main character next. The only quibbles I have is that we only get about 20 pages of story, which makes character development really hard for writers. An extra 2 pages could have made a fun story even better. I really liked this issue and think it is worth picking up if you aren’t too nitpicky about every comic being deeply intellectual and just being plain fun.

Hawk & Dove #1 – Written by Sterling Gates and Art by Rob Liefeld. Oh, how I used to love the old Hawk & Dove series that Liefeld worked on. Oh, how I wanted this to be anything like that. Sadly, this issue just felt forced. Liefeld’s artwork was probably the brightest spot of all. Of course, his version of Deadman was actually quite awful I felt. Oh, and there are people with pouches! Go figure. And then he drew a scene of people overreacting to a video that would have induced most to laughter. A lot of grimacing faces that Rob loves to draw show up here almost ad nauseam as well. So we end up getting some nonsensical villain out there who we really forget is a threat immediately thereafter and, most likely, don’t give a rat’s ass about. Then we get background on Hawk to explain who he is and how he got his powers. That just seems to go on a tad too long and the conversation just reads painfully. By the end of the issue I didn’t care about any of the characters and couldn’t care less if they all blew up. Heck, they could have made this issue taste like bacon and it still would have been blech. Good return for Liefeld to DC, sadly it was wasted on this stinker. Skip it, you certainly won’t miss anything, nor will you likely ever care unless they get a better writer for it.

I’ll be back soon with more titles from this weeks super slate of issues!

Technorati Tags: hawks and dove,rob liefeld,scott snyder,yanick paquette,grant morrison,rags morales,action comics,detective comics,new 52,batman,superman,deadman,stormwatch,paul cornell,omac,dan didio,keith giffen

The Crash of 1993 | The Weekly Standard

2011-06-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Awesome story about the crash of comic books in 1993. Gives some great insight.

The Crash of 1993 | The Weekly Standard

Comic Collector Live Review–Best Software for Organizing Your Comic Collection

2011-05-23T08:46:00.001-07:00

Let me start off by stating that I recent purchased 8 long boxes of comics from a local comic book store that was closing. I already had about 12 boxes of comics, so now I was faced with the daunting task of organizing all these comics.

After much work at alphabetizing and ordering all the comics, I realized I really needed a program that could inventory everything. So I began a search and looked for free solutions, but nothing was that great. The best option for collectors who want a free solution is www.stashmycomics.com as that is completely free. It does have limitations and isn’t quite what I was looking for.

The best option that had things I really liked was Comic Collector Live. It has a lot of great features, including the ability to add runs of titles and see where the gaps in your collection are. There are some good reports you can run with it, but sometimes it requires a bit of tinkering to get exactly what you want. But I loved that it downloaded the covers automatically and gave me previews of the series I was about to try to add.

One cool feature is the grading system. Even if you aren’t great at grading comics, it’ll ask you questions and grade the comic based on those answers, which is pretty cool. The most fun thing, though, is the wishlist. The wishlist saves to the Comic Collector Live website and is used with the merchant accounts that are set-up there to find those comics. With that being said, their website is one of the best places for buying and selling comics that there is. You can find tons of great bargains and deals and some of those hard-to-find issues can be found there.

There are several features I wish it had, like an auto-mated price guide, but that is in the works. You can go to their site and see the market value based on condition and actual sales, so that’s very interesting and they might implement that into the system soon. And if you’re looking to sell comics, it’s great software for that as well. Keep in mind, you’ll need an internet connection to look-up the comic runs and add them to your collection, but I’m guessing if you’re reading this, that isn’t a problem.

Overall, this is currently the best option out there. Make sure to hop over to www.comiccollectorlive.com and check it out! Free 30 day trial to make sure you like it!

Mark's Everything Blog of Goodness: All Hail the Return of the King!

2011-02-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

Mark's Everything Blog of Goodness: All Hail the Return of the King!: "No, I’m not talking about Elvis. Clearly, I’m talking about my return. And what better time to return? Fresh with a wonder..."

Quick Comic Book Reviews - Nov 2nd, 2010

2010-11-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

A pretty darned good crop from last week and there was more goodness out there as well that I didn't review at all. Sad, but there's just so much good stuff going on out there. Just gotta taste it all! But here's a good selection for you to check out!

Teen Titans #88 - Written by J.T. Krul and Penciled by Nicola Scott. This issue was promised as a bit of a refresh on the Teen Titans that have suffered much neglect and inconsistent writing, mixed with storylines that they never did anything with. Krul mixes a story together and gives the characters a driving focus in this issue. We actually see some team dynamics form for a change and it seems to work very well. What worked for me in particular? Well, the interaction with Wonder Girl and Superboy was great and had some excellent moments. Bart or Kid Flash being written just like he should be, some really great stuff with him. Feels like how Peter David would have liked him being written. Even Ravager has some really strong moments in here. Despite all of this character development we see, what Krul does best is balance in action and an underlying story through it all. So instead of making it just a character driven issue, we also have some bad stuff going on in the background that in the upcoming issues the characters will try to solve. The artwork is pretty decent. I really liked it and I thought it really brought out the characters well. I particularly like how Nicola draws Kid Flash and Ravager. Ravager, drawn in the wrong hands, looks very boring. Not so this issue. I enjoyed this issue a lot and I definitely recommend you checking it out this week!

Thunderbolts #149 - Written by Jeff Parker and Art by Declan Shalvey. The Thunderbolts disobey the direct orders of Songbird as she takes Fixer to the hospital. They view it as a chance to prove themselves so the whole operation doesn't go belly up. So off they go to find the Undead Hand horde of ninjas. In this issue we learn a few VERY interesting things about Crossbones, one of which will forever change the character. Another thing with Crossbones is the "oh no, he didn't just do that, did he?" moment we won't soon forget. Also worth looking out for is Man-Thing being absolutely sliced and diced into a sad salad. So there are plenty of excellent moments in this issue. To categorize it as awesome would be an understatement. Parker definitely has the pulse of this new team, he's got some great humor and plenty of huge moments that make this an issue that you can't afford to miss. Plus Declan's art is very well done in here and seems to fit the whole Shadowland storyline very well. So just in case you missed it, BUY THIS ISSUE! It is just that amazing and awesome that if you don't, well, that will make you a sad panda. Bet on it!

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #4 - Written and Layouts by Dan Jurgens and Art by Norm Rapmund. Why does this series get a bad rap? I'm just not understanding what people don't like about it. Sure, they're supposed to be looking for Batman, but that ISN'T what the story is really about. I don't think that people get what this is all about and I think the story is at the point that they may just finally get it. Anyway, this issue is about fighting some evil sorcerer who wants to manipulate the time stream and use it for his own good. More importantly, the gathering of evil with Black Beetle at the Vanishing Point is building as he manipulates the last two of the Linear Men. So a grand plot is unfolding there as well. I like that we get a bit more of Supernova, as I think his character still has a lot of life if DC chooses to utilize it. I like getting the bits and pieces of Rip Hunter's background as well. I think that is some of the best parts. What I didn't like it Hal Jordan once again ripping unnecessarily on Booster. Yes Dan, we know the image that Booster Gold has conveyed, but let's not make it this over the top anymore. We get it! But besides that, a pretty solid issue and some great art. I love issues that Jurgens does any layout or art for. But is this a must buy? Not at all, merely a borderline issue that is not nearly as bad a series as people will make it out to be. You can skip it and not miss a beat, but there's still a good comic underneath it all.

Zatanna #6 - Written by Paul Dini and Art by Jesus Saiz. Zatanna is about to get married? Well, not really, but mind control is a hell of a thing. So it's up to Zach to come running to the rescue? Yup. So we have a face-off with a really angry demon in this issue. But it's all good fun and the final solution will make you think a couple of times about it and the implication thereof. I like how they really play on Zach's jealousy, but more importantly, his need for approval from Zatanna. They've fleshed out his character a bit and really made Zatanna interesting relevant. I actually look forward to reading each issue as I know there will be plenty of clever moments and a truly fun story involved. So far, Paul Dini has not let me down at all. And boy, does Jesus Saiz draw a truly grotesque demon of greed. There were a few off spots, but there were a few panels I mistook Benjamin Raymod for Zach. But overall he does a good job of storytelling with his art. Maybe I'll blame it on my bad eye for details some days. Yep, I'll just blame it on that. So do you need to buy this issue? Well, I really like it every month. But is that enough for you? On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this as a 7.5, very enjoyable and you might enjoy this title, but it isn't an absolute must.

Fantastic Four #584 - Written by Jonathan Hickman and Art by Steve Epting. So we're selling simply off the fact that a member of the Fantastic Four is about to die. I'm just not buying it though. It's going to be one of the Reed Richards from an alternate timeline or something like that dying. Blech. Anyway, this issue focuses on the Thing. Ben can take a special formula that he can take once per year to spend a week as a normal human again. So Ben tries it out and we get a somewhat heartwarming, but ultimately fun, issue. We get to see Ben go out and do things he normally doesn't get to do. So while that was fun, I'm wondering what the hell any of this has to do with last issue. Or even the issue before that. The problem seems to be that Jonathan Hickman only exists to confuse the hell out of us! Seriously, I don't know what the hell if going on half the time. I hate all the alternate timeline Reed Richards crap that's been going on. Now there's an alternate timeline/dimension Galactus? And our Galactus is mad that he's dead? I'm sorry, not OUR Galactus, I mean he's really everybody's Galactus. But seriously, how does any of this make sense? Hickman, you confound me! This is a pretty good issue overall, but only if you view it as a one-shot because this series has made sense in ages. Hickman is wildly inconsistent with what he's doing and there are some more gaps in logic in this issue as well. Just a borderline issue with some good Ben Grimm stuff if that might interest you any.

The Incredible Hulks #615 - Written by Greg Pak and Penciled by Barry Kitson. This issue is basically the prep and invasion of planet K'ai. So we see them prepared and they get ready to fight and then start fighting. That's the issue in a nutshell. However, it is pretty well told and the interaction of the characters is decent enough. Kitson's art is very well done. So this was just a solid issue as far as the Dark Son storyline goes. I'm still not totally pulled into this storyline, but hey, I really love A-Bomb as a superhero. He's just happy when he gets something right, it's just fun to see him. Nothing too spectacular here, just ok to decent. Then we get a back-up feature that focuses on Red She-Hulk and the Punisher. Written by Ben McCool and Penciled by Tom Raney. This just tries to give us a glimpse into Betty's personality and motivation now that she's the Red She-Hulk. We get to see how she's viewed by the Punisher and they use him as kind of a way for us to see how much she's changed. Not a big fan of the artwork and the story was just mediocre. We know that Bruce isn't going to give up on her, but really, they're wasting paper on this story when we could have just had more of the Dark Son story instead. So an average issue, nothing terrible, but nothing great.

Quick Comic Book Reviews - October 31st, 2010

2010-10-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

More quick reviews. Not super quick like the last one, but let me know which format you prefer. If you kind of like me switching it up here and there, I can do that too. Just getting harder for me to get much computer time to do all of this.

Justice Society of America #44 - Written by Marc Guggenheim and Art by Scott Kolins. There's an underlying plot going on with Jay Garrick becoming the Mayor. But then we flash back a few weeks to when Jay says he's planning on retiring and Alan Scott trying to talk him out of it. First, we have some ultra tough bad guy pop up. The battle has very bad results for the JSA. I thought this issue was really pretty good. An interesting set-up as I wonder how Jay becomes Mayor. A mysterious bad guy who takes no prisoners and they think is a terrorist, and then an epic battle. All-in-all I thought it was good. Scott Kolins provides from pretty good art in this one as well. I know a lot of people didn't like this issue, but I'm not sure why. It isn't a must buy, but it's a good issue that's worth at least checking out.

Detective Comics #870 - Written by David Hine and Penciled by Scott McDaniel. The Impostor Joker storyline culminates in this issue and boy does it! We have Batman frantically trying to step the mass hysteria the Imposter Joker has created at the fun park. Things quickly go from bad to worse to terrible in this issue. We also finally get an even better sneak behind what's driving Heath (the Impostor) to do what he's doing. You know that it still isn't a good enough reason, but that with someone who has snapped, it might be a logical conclusion for them. The entire storyline has been a return to the heart of Batman and gives us a really good tale. We've also gotten a bold new villian who has purpose and motivation. Sure, he's a knock-off of Joker, but it's about time we see villians created by the people who are affected by the war between good and evil. Scott McDaniel's artwork really has a strong cartoony feel, but I like it. It's simple, yet flows well and fits what we're seeing. I really thought it was quite excellent. This is a must buy issue of Detective Comics!

Captain America #611 - Written by Ed Brubaker and Art by Daniel Acuna. We see the fall-out from Baron Zemo releasing the information that CapBucky was actually the Winter Soldier. The media frenzy is all over it and it threatens to eat up the Avengers as well. They try to put a very realistic spin on this and I think it works. Steve Roger's meeting with the President and his Chiefs of Staff is interesting as well. It gives readers a good reference point and background info on what happened with Bucky. We feel like this one is going to be hard to get out of, but have faith! With Steve Rogers on the case, nothing is as bad as it seems. However, as much as they talk about Steve Rogers, it's how Bucky reacts to this all that will make or break it. So a lot of good stuff spotlighted in this issue, it will be interesting to see where they go with it. Not a big fan of Acuna's artwork. I think the coloring was way too dark this issue. We also get a Nomad story in this issue. Written by Sean McKeever and Art by Filipe Andrade. Okay, I'm a little bitter Young Allies was canceled before it really had a chance. But I am glad that McKeever is still going with Nomad for now. In this one, Black Widows and Nomad team-up. It is an interesting pairing, but a bit of an odd couple. A short but sweet story. The ending of the story I actually did not expect. So one issue, two pretty good stories. I'm not saying run out and buy it, but one to keep on your radar if you're out to pick up a good issue in the Mighty Marvel way.

The Amazing Spider-Man #646 - Written by Mark Waid and Art by Paul Azaceta & Matthew Southworth. Yay! The last issue with Azaceta who they've teamed up with Soulworth to save the issues from being awful. The final chapter of The Origin of the Species. Lizard has the baby that everybody wants and will do anything to get. Spidey has been going gung-ho on beating up bad guys to find out what happened. He assumes the baby is dead, but find out from the Chameleon that it isn't so, so now he's off to try and rescue the baby before the Lizard does something very bad to him. The semi-team-up of Spidey and Doc Ock in this issue is interesting and sometimes amusing. Some pretty good stuff and interaction between those two. The final showdown has some really clever stuff involved as well. I really liked the wrap-up of what has happened and there are some developments that should lead to even more interesting stories down the road. Mark Waid ended up salvaging a story I thought was terrible at first, but now I like it. Azaceta's artwork on the first few issues was downright terrible and embarrassing for Marvel. However, when they teamed him up with an artist, it really salvaged things as far as the art goes. So the last Waid written issue for awhile is worth picking up to see the storyline come to a conclusion and see what's going on.

Justice League: Generation Lost #12 - Written by Judd Winick and Penciled by Fernando Dagnino. This is a completely Ice centric issue. We focus on her origin and back story, which hasn't been much delved into anywhere that I've seen. So that did make for some interesting reading. She gets into a knock-down and drag-out fight with Fire that is very interesting as well. Ice seems supercharged now and we see that it was always a possibility, but she was able to maintain control. With her life being threatened, she has been pushed over the edge. But is she really the second coming of a Goddess? There is a lot here to like, but at the same time, the whole flashbacks might not be interesting too you. The artwork is very mediocre in this one as well. So, if you're looking for the Max Lord story to advance in this issue, forget it. It isn't about that, but I do really like this revamping of Ice and making her a much more interesting character. To me, this is an excellent issue that I'm glad I read and you might feel that same way. However, I can see a lot of people not like this issue as it is very focused on a character that many don't care for. So with this issue, your mileage may vary, but I certainly enjoyed it.

Action Comics #894 - Written by Paul Cornell and Art by Pete Woods. What the hell happened here? Paul Cornell finally writes a great issue of Action Comics. In this one, as Luthor is apparently on his deathbed, he is visited by Death herself. We get some very interesting conversations between the two characters. Death has a bit of a flippant style and you can see Lex getting very aggravated. To make matters worse, he's in a situation that he can't control. Lex hates that! Pretty good art and an fun little tale that gets into the mind of Lex a bit more and sees someone playing a game with him finally. I really liked this story. Next week get our double feature with Jimmy Olsen. Written by Nick Spencer and Penciled by RB Silva. The Dalwythians are alien from outerspace that everyone thinks are about to invade. However, they just wanted to come to Earth and party. Unfortunately, Jimmy gets selected to help "show them a good time". It is the last thing Jimmy wants. Especially when it's revealed that the Dalwythians get intoxicated in our atmosphere. Worse yet, every planet they party on ends up being destroyed. I liked that Chloe only played a bit part in this one and wasn't as forced on us as in the previous issue. The whole story and Jimmy being involved in it is really classic and fun stuff. As far as a back-up story goes, one of the best ever. Just so much fun to be had in this issue, pick it up!

Green Lantern Corps #53 - Written by Tony Bedard and Penciled by Tyler Kirkham. A leftover from last week. But I would be remiss if I didn't point this issue out. The Weaponer who made Sinestro's ring has come back for payback. He goes after Sinestro's daughter, Soranik Natu. However, he also confronts Kyle Rayner. Well, let's just say the Weaponer is a total bad ass that you do not want to deal with if you can help it. He whips up on Kyle and takes the girl. So now Kyle has to beg for the help of Sinestro. Easier said than done, with Sinestro usually being a downright bastard. So um... good luck with that one. This certainly is an interesting issue and gives us a little more insight as to what went on. The use of the Weaponer makes sense. Sinestro owes him, but the question is, what exactly does he owe him at this point? Anyone who can make weapons as powerful as he does must be a bad dude and this just shows it. Tyler Kirkham does a decent job with the art, but nothing too great. I don't care much for his rendition of Sinestro for some reason. But really, a pretty good issue. Then again, I'm a big fan of Tony Bedard. So pick this issue up for a storyline that has the guts to put a "Brightest Day" logo on the issue but nothing in the blue blazes to do with it!

SUPER Quick Comic Reviews - October 28th, 2010

2010-10-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

This is a super quick rundown to catch up from last week:

Hits:

Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom #3 - Written by Jim Shooter and Penciled by Roger Robinson. The issue really gets the storyline going. The introduction of Gail and the reactions of Solar are very good. They're taking a bit of a different slant on things over the original without being too far away from the source material there. The use of Pickerel by Moloch is clever stuff as well. Moloch is a really rotten diety. But the question we come up with, is he real or is he a creation of Pickerel who envisioned him, perhaps from something he had read. It's obvious that he allowed him entrance or creation, but which one. The artwork was just excellent in this issue and I really enjoyed that. One of the best titles of the month, especially after a somewhat weaker first issue. I'm enjoying where this is going and I'm wondering how the heck is he going to get out of the mess he's in.

Ragman: Suit of Souls #1 - Written by Christos N. Gage and Art by Stephen Segovia. This is just a one shot, but boy was the story simply fantastic. I really like the character and wish DC would do more with him. Unfortunately, the character isn't that appealing to the vast majority. Instead he languishes with occasional one-shots and mini-series. This issue just gives you a ton of fascinating back story on the character that I did not know about. Finding out some interesting details as far as his father goes and finding out what happened to him was very well done. There isn't much action in this issue, it is very character driven. Definitely worth reading! A really awesome issue!

X-Factor #210 - Written by Peter David and Art by Valentino De Landro. Peter David is one of the best writers in comics and this keeps proving it. Another great issue that made me wish the next one was available right now. One of Monet's clients needs help and we see the road Rahne and Rictor dealing with a pregnancy. I like how they focus on two stories, while there's another story going on in Las Vegas we still have to deal with. There's just so much going on in the world of X-Factor and the way Peter David juggles it all is amazing. Great stuff!

Borderline:

Justice League of America #50 - Written by James Robinson and Penciled by Mark Bagley & Pow Rodrix. I wanted to like this, but I really hate the CSA. But once again, back to the Crime Syndicate of Amerika crap. I just despise it when they're bogging down yet ANOTHER issue. Well, we get that again. Mark Bagley's style is starting to adapt a little to his new environs and we don't have quite the Spiderbatman that we were getting before. So that showed improvement and wasn't that bad for once. Of course, my money might be that Pow helped him with drawing people with actual muscle mass. There was an interesting twist at the end at least and that alone gives this title some hope. So here's hoping for a better next issue. I might have rated this as a buy if I didn't loathe the CSA.

New Mutants #18 - Written by Zeb Wells and Art by Leonard Kirk. For some reason this title just seemed short. As much as I thought it was pretty good, most of the issue is a battle scene. However, it is a pretty interesting and intense battle scene, as far as those go. The artwork was fine, if not totally grotesque in spots. I liked seeing these Inferno babies all grown up and demented from what happened to them. I really like some of these new characters and maybe we'll get a new title out of them! I can just see it now... "Jim Henson's Inferno Babies". Wait, wrong genre. Boy, what a nail biting ending that makes you wonder just what the heck will happen next issue. However, at the end I wanted just a BIT more meat to it to make it more worthwhile. VERY, very close one here. Which is basically why I'm borderline on it.

Legion of Super-Heroes #6 - Written by Paul Levitz and Penciled by Yildiray Cinar. I debated back and forth on this one. Paul Levitz has done well and this issue he splits the story into two. Both are very interesting in their own rights and worth reading. But I couldn't figure out if this was a true BUY or not. To me it is, but most people probably don't care for the Legion and the characters involved. So should that influence my opinion? Probably not. The thing that made me downgrade it is the stories we're following are very short and don't seem like very weighty or substantive stuff that we're dealing with. I did like Earth Man throwing the ring at Brainiac, but I didn't understand how he knew Brainiac had put controls on it to alter him. But anyway, a very good issue, but I just couldn't pull the trigger on it.

Miss:

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #4 - Written by Ed Brubaker and Art by Dale Eaglesham. The last issue of the mini-series and boy is it completely un-fantastic. My interested in it waned after page two. Pretty generic stuff here, cookie cutter if you will. The artwork felt average, everything about this issue felt average. When I was done, I just didn't really care. The previous issue had all the interesting parts, but the conclusion was pretty much exactly what you thought it would be. The attempt of a surprise at the end lost effectiveness because most people probably no longer cared at that point. Good thing it's over.

X-23 #2 - Written by Marjorie Liu and Penciled by Will Conrad. I'm looking for something enjoyable about this issue. However they just aren't making her an interesting character. The art is very mediocre here as well. I just couldn't get into it. Tying it in with Wolverine's trip to hell is the only thing it has going for it and so far that crossover isn't even very good. Wait a second, what the hell was the issue even about? Not memorable either then. Check!

Loki #1 - Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Penciled by Sebastian Fiumara. A mini-series that is apparently taking a look at how Loki envisions things. It is interesting to see his perspective on it all, but not quite interesting enough. I found my mind wandering a bit too much at times. A unique look at Loki if you feel you really need to see a different perspective. I however did not. Not much else to talk about. Pretty bland feeling in the end.

Chaos War #2 - Written by Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente. The song from "The Wonder Years" with Fred Savage plays through my head here. And Herc sure needs to have a little help from his friends. We get Venus being used after Atlas ended, so that's good. But overall the issue is just him rallying other Gods and not getting very far. Everyone on Earth who isn't a God is falling asleep. I felt like I was falling asleep while reading this. At least it seemed mercifully short. I just don't care all that much for this series. Hercules with extra power just isn't a very novel idea to me. The Chaos God stuff I had hoped we were already done with when Secret Invasion ended, but I guess not. Don't get me started on what I hated about that artwork. Makes it look like everything and everyone is shiny. Blech. Kind of sad though, I really like both writers, but I'm not really enjoying this one.

So it was a pretty decent week with lots to read. Sadly, I've still got to read Carnage, Supergirl, and maybe some of the Bruce Wayne stuff, but I might have to skip it for now. How the hell did I manage to forget to read the latest Green Lantern Corps? Good grief, you would think I had kids or something! If you're interested in a title I didn't cover or you know of a title I should start covering, let me know and I'll try to add it to my list. Any independant publishers can feel free to forward me anything they would like me to review.