Showing posts with label Comic Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comic Reviews. Show all posts
Thursday, May 14, 2009
It's Comic Time (5/14/09)!
After a week layoff, it is once again the eponymous "comic" time. Hopefully, I can renew my efforts to get these issues turned around quicker in the future. In that effort, our reviews will take a little less time. It generally gets boring after month upon month of saying the same artists suck and the some storylines continue to impress. So we need to kick it up a notch fellas! Read on for two weeks of reviews.Comics Reviews for the Weeks of 05/06 and 13/2009
ACTION COMICS #877 - "The Sleepers: Part 3"Written by Greg Rucka, Art by Sidney Teles
Besides the cover art which doesn't relate to the actual issue content, it's another strong week, if a far less eventful one that last month's near pornographic levels of blood lust and violence. Rucka's latest story involves Conner getting medical attention for his partner, Thara. The subtle development of General Lane's mission to observe and build up forces against the Kryptonians continues to threaten to hurt and expose Nightwing and Flamebird. The great attitude of the book is how all the ancillary character's actions are meant to directly effect the main characters. Given the limited amount of time for this arc, it seems a better approach than James Robinson's scattergun approach in Superman.
The artwork's still strong with one unique exception. The embrace between Lois and Chris is just way awkward. Her expression seems halfway between relief and pleasure. And it's honestly a little too much pleasure with her comic-standard mini-skirt riding way too high on her thigh. This is supposed to be her son, not a younger version of Clark. The ambiguous nature of the scene is a little more discomforting than the bloody battle between Thara and Ursa last issue. Of course, that's probably due to my near complete desensitization to violence in almost any medium. Thanks, Jack Bauer!
Final score: B-
BUFFY: THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #25 - "Living Doll"Written by Doug Petrie, Art by Georges Jeanty
The latest of the Buffy one-shots ends the constant state of flux Dawn has found herself in throughout the eighth season's run. And while her transformation from giant to centaur to Pinocchio hasn't exactly been seemless... in fact her stint battling a giant mecha version of herself in Tokyo was just plain painful... this issue's resolution is deftly handled. Most of the writing is standard fare for the title, but Petrie takes the trademark witticism of the title a little too far. Every other line of the book doesn't have to be some weak attempt at a joke or pop culture reference. In the books as well as on the show, this trick only worked in measured quantities. Too much takes us out of the reality of the book. And yes, I do exercise a limit to the suspension of disbelief even in a book featuring a jelly-fish man's magical revenge on his college sweetheart.
Rereading this series, Jeanty continues to improve and the panels where he rushes and practically draws block figures have severely decreased in their frequency. Since I was going to read this title regardless, I like the decision to place a more unproven quantity that had the talent to mature his work over time. It certainly beats a veteran superstar name that might plague the title with delays or even worse one that tried to draw the actors every time out, a fault Jeanty has avoided significantly the last four or five issues he's drawn.
Final score: B
THE FLASH: REBIRTH #2 (of 5) - "Dead Run"Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Ethan Van Sciver
At what point do we move into the realm of calling this a disappointing title? The return of Hal Jordan was a grand slam of a series that got off to a great running start. This latest rebirth is coming across as DC's worst attempt to reintegrate a character in more than a decade. And since there are only three issues left, we're officially running out of time for a rebound. And amazingly enough, it's veteran Flash writer and my own personal hero Johns that has seemingly dropped the ball. There is no great sense of urgency to the action and most painful, nothing has really been done to develop Barry Allen as the reality-changing and definitive hero that he is.
Even with other Lanterns around, every moment of GL: Rebirth reinforced the idea that Hal was the greatest and that something has been missing since his fall. Perhaps Johns doesn't want to take any shots at Wally West, who he wrote for several years, but Barry hasn't been be doing anything special. If there isn't anything wrong or limiting with Wally, then why is Barry's return crucial. His flashback sequences are nearly on the same level of Hal's, but everything set in present time seems entirely unspectacular. This seems to be more a simple reintroduction of a character that a revitalization of a major portion of the DCU. Perhaps this is kharma at work. Barry got the greatest send-off in the history of comics and has been remembered for decades as the standard to which all other speedsters should aspire. Hal was ruined and turned into a villain, a storyline demanding a proper reintegration and redemption. Given how masterfully they motivated the latter, why can't they make the former seem like anything special? It's Barry freaking Allen!!
Final score: C-
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #13 - "Some King of the World"Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca
Six issues after the hierarchy of the Marvel Universe was thrown into complete upheaval, Fraction has seemingly utterly redeemed Tony Stark. By putting him on his own against the world with a clear and completely emphatic mission (keep the identities revealed to the Initiative out of Osborne's hand), Stark has made a 180 degree change. And yeah, maybe it does feel perversely nice when he suffers. I mean this guy turned America against Cap, sided with a totalitarian government movement over the cause of individual liberty... yeah, he's been a dick for a long time now.
With Larocca continuing to do a serviceable effort, Fraction has improved here month after month. It seems like while his Iron Fist book is losing steam, he's been redirecting it over here. But by this point as long as Tony keeps taking his lumps, the Golden Avenger is worth following again.
Final score: B
X-FACTOR #43 - "Timely Events"Written by Peter David, Art by Marco Santucci and Valentine De Landro
Can I trade in my Joss Whedon fan-boy love for some of the Peter David variety? At least when it comes to comics, David suffered through months caught up in the Messiah Complex cross-over and then months of atrocious art and had every reason to quit on this book. Instead he carefully saved his A-game and for five issues and counting has written some of the best issues of a superhero book in a couple of years. And the greatest part of it is excluding a Sentinel or two that met its end Cyclops-style, there's been almost no action sequence or big bad to defeat.
I'm still not entirely sure how he's done it. Our lead detective is only now getting a mystery to solve, but has still already been through a super heroic, noir-laced ringer for the ages.
On one last note, it's kind of a nice change of pace to follow months of hidden revelations by throwing the biggest moment of the issue on the cover. The seeds have already been laid for the entire crew eventually getting back together and I honestly can't see anything on the immediate horizon (excluding another, god forbid it, artistic change) that could knock this title down a place or two.
Final score: A-
Read more...
Saturday, May 2, 2009
It's Comic Time (4/29/09)!
After a big week for Marvel, the boys at DC get in their shots with new issues for two of their Big Three and a huge contribution from Geoff Johns. He tries to rebound for his final issue on the title that helped him become a mainstream writer after recent struggles. The much-delayed Legion of 3 Worlds continues to build towards its conclusion and his Green Lantern continues to march toward Blackest Night.Comic Reviews for the Week of 04/29/2009
FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF 3 WORLDS #4 (of 5)Written by Geoff Johns, Art by George Perez
Do you still remember Final Crisis? I'm sure you do and almost nobody looks back on it as fondly as I do. And one of the most universally praised elements of the miniseries continues (and will not wrap up until June), but as much as Johns nails every large member of his main continuity Legion, the other versions of the team are substantively more in the background. With two big reveals this week (another resurrection and the identity of the Time Trapper) the story does take a step back from the natural and smooth vibe of the first two plus issues. Instead the plot this month is more a bit of filler to stuff in the shocking moments.
At this point in his career, is there anything else to say about Perez? The master of the large cast has never failed to impress me. The pure amount of detail and action he crams in this title ranks among his very best efforts. Perez is one of the few men who can use the artwork of a comic to make a title almost literary - the artistic equivalent of the wordiest BKV titles.
The main issue of the title is the continuing of the revolving door of death bringing back the recently deceased Bart Allen (Kid Flash version) last month and another significant member of the DCU. Whereas we've already seen Bart in current continuity in Flash: Rebirth, I honestly hope this current ressurection doesn't return to current continuity. Unlike Bart, this character's death was one of the most important emotional beats in DC comics over the last several years. Mostly it concerns me that death has such a revolving door even before the dead rise in Blackest Night. Although, speaking of Blackest Night...
Final score: B+
GREEN LANTERN #40 - "Agent Orange: Part 2"Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Philip Tan
Well, as Johns introduces his sixth color I have to say he's come up with the most interesting recruiting technique of any Corp so far. The Orange Corp, seemingly led by one creature is powered by Avarice (greed for the less tea-toddling members of our readership), consumes other ring bearers and their rings only to repossess them as Orange Lanterns. And I have to credit Johns for making the first casualty of this process someone we care about in very little time. His showdown with John Stewart next week will hopefully show us more of what the post-possession life of the Orange Lanterns is like.
As long as the series doesn't fall apart (coughRedLanternscough) Johns has gotten off to his best start with a new color since introducing the Sinestro Corp a while back. And his advancements to put the Guardians on the offensive and continually rewriting the Laws of Oa pushes the universe substantively towards all-out war, certainly accomplishing their goal of building excitement for the big event. It's just disappointing that DC decided to expand the series beyond the main GL and GLC books, given how masterfully the last War went down.
Final score: B
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #26 - "Black Adam Ruined My Birthday"Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Dale Eaglesham
After a terrible Marvel Family devoted arc, this final issue from Johns (who has been writer or co-writer of this series for nine years now) and Eaglesham (who joined at the post-Infinite Crisis reboot) is a perfect example of both a farewell issue and a stand-alone actionless issue. Highlighting Stargirl, Courtney Whitmore (a Johns creation), this now veteran member gets to celebrate a belated birthday party. And if you can't buy nearly two-dozen superheros showing up for a birthday party in full costume... well this just ain't the book for you. But I love it. Almost always one of the best written characters in the DCU, Stargirl has evolved from the new kid to a teacher of the new generation of superheros. And in a book that more than any other values legacy more than most others, recognizing her evolution and importance to the team is probably the best ending note Johns could have come up with.
Eaglesham's return to the artwork is like a change from night to day from the last several issues. His masterful work at handling crowds and developing unique and expressive facial features on this title turned him from an unknown to one of the premier artists in superhero comics. And even if he doesn't get a big action scene to bow out on, there is a distinct grace to all his work this month.
While the future doesn't seem as bright with any other creative team, this issue carries even more significance, like one more good day before an uncertain future. While it might seem I'm waxing poetical rather than reviewing, that's what happens at the end of a run of such a history and legacy intensive book for a DC fanboy like myself. We can only hope the letdown from these two stars isn't too significant. Time will tell, my friends.
Final score: A-
RUNAWAYS #9 - "Rock Zombies"Written by Terry Moore, Art by Takeshi Miyazawa
What?! A book not written by Geoff Johns this week? Yep, and despite a steady decline in quality from the days of series creator Brian K. Vaughn to the (Yeah, I'll say it!) unexpectedly overrated contributions of Joss Whedon to substantively disappointing Moore, despite all this, he too manage to wrap it up with at least one appropriate closing scene. After a wildly disappointing opening to this third volume due mostly to the work of artist Humberto "Big Neck" Ramos, the book settled down a bit with Miyazawa taking over. Still the rather silly plastic surgery zombie controlling DJ villain... do I really need to offer more of an explanation on why this has been an underwhelming story?
The highlight is the final two pages, just a quiet scene between Chase and the two youngest team members, Molly and Klara. A nice combination of snappy dialogue reminiscent of BKV or maybe Bendis (at his better moments) and one final sweet sentiment. If only they had a better opponent to fight or if only the majority of this run hasn't been uninteresting to say the least. If the future doesn't improve really quickly, Marvel will have wasted the best original characters to come along in more than 25-30 years.
Final score: C-
SUPERMAN #687 - "Power and Weakness"Written by James Robinson, Art by Renato Guedes
If someone had asked me which of the three Superman books I would be the least impressed with a few months ago it would have taken about 2.3 seconds to rattle off either Rucka's adventures with a thoroughly uninteresting Nightwing and Flamebird of Superman's adventures on New Krypton. But here it is two issues in and the great James Robinson still hasn't gotten his story off the ground. It's almost as if he wants to cram four years of plot into 12 issues. Bouncing back and forth between eight or nine different stories, none of them have the room to engage the reader.
Mon-El and Guardian are the supposed stars of the book, but how are they able to develop when we spend a page with an unknown monster, one with General Lane and his conspiracy, a couple with Black Lightning and the Trickster, a couple with John Henry Irons in the sewers of Metropolis, three with Zatara and Jimmy Olson with a guest appearance by Parasite (who has been teased as perhaps Mon-El's first big opponent, but far too slowly) and another with Guardian reintroducing the lead members of the Science Police. Whew!
Yeah, to call the first few issues scatter-shot would be a massive understatement. A part of me wants to think the writer of my favorite superhero comic ever (Starman) will pull it out, while another wants to admit even the great ones stumble sometimes. But for now, I'm stuck hoping.
Final score: C+
UNCANNY X-MEN #509Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Greg Land
With every issue this title slips further and further away from being the top flight X-Men title that it should be. I personally think Land's porn-tastic artwork (see Emma Frost on the fourth from the last page for the best of many, many, many examples) has infected one of Marvel's better writers.
The only very interesting plot lines are the team Beast has assembled to solve the X-gene problem and Scott and Emma's incredibly underdeveloped relationship problems. Given what a strong place they were left in after Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men, it's discomforting to see them slipping apart with so little attention or explanation. Apparently Fraction will be setting that up for discussion after the current storyline. I suppose its a necessary development if Jean Grey will be returning in the next few years, but I hoped for it to be handled a bit more deftly than this.
Beast's team on the other hand is moving much more slowly now that they're assembled and not battling giant monsters and such. We can only hope a forthcoming trip to the distant past will spice things up again. The potential wasted here is just staggering for the one book that has all the big name X-Men. I never thought we'd have a book so unexciting that featured Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Colossus, Beast and many others. The return of a re-British-ed Psylocke doesn't signal a great return since she's controlled by the Goblin Queen and her army of super-hot super-villains.
Final score: D+
WONDER WOMAN #31 - "Uprising"Written by Gail Simone, Art by Bernard Chang
Simone's storytelling has become more and more grating. Unlike Birds of Prey, where all her female characters were just deeply developed and unique personalities. This title has been bogged down with a message overshadowing every single scene. Diana is emotional, Diana is a great warrior, Diana has a deep faith. Diana has become so separated from humanity in this title.
There are only two types of men in Simone's universe. The one in a positive light are all deferential to a subservient degree to Diana. In a Green Lantern or Batman comic, the treatment of a romantic interest would inspire the most vehement blogging of sexism and saber-rattling to tear the internet down. The men that oppose Diana are never drawn out. Achilles especially is around as a name and nothing more. And the repeated pronouncements of Wonder Woman villains that women are so inferior to her come off far too heavy-handed. And the identity of Genocide... well, its worth spoiling given how terrible it is. A future version of Diana... that's right the only force that can beat Diana is... her. The word I think I'm looking for is "ugh."
The unexpected change in artists from Aaron Lopresti to Chang has been universally disappointing. At least the first could carry an action scene. The latter cannot carry a fight scene and the climatic battle between Diana and Achilles is one of the more disappointing fight scenes in a good long while.
Final score: D
Read more...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
It's Comic Time (4/22/09)!
Holy big comic week, Batman! At long, long last we learn "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader." And while Marvel throws everything and the kitchen sink and two Avengers books at us, our good buddy BKV takes a few minutes from working on Lost to let loose another issue of the greatest comic on the shelves.Also, don't forget to check out the latest episode of the That's a Wrap! Podcast: Sorry, Joel Edition!
Comics for the Week of 04/22/2009
DAREDEVIL #118 - "Return of the King, Part 3"Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Michael Lark
Well, since the return of Wilson Fisk seemed doomed to fall apart, at least Brubaker has made things more interesting and complicated than him betraying Murdock to return to power. Fisk seems to be deteriorating mentally, or he gained the power to converse with the dead. But either way the alliance falls apart, the book certainly seems to have even more life to it with the return of the main antagonist of the series. Even the rather unimpressive Lady Bullseye character becomes far more engaging once pulled into the situation when Murdock and Fisk are also both in the mix. Rather silly characters like Turk and Owlsley become more urgent and credible when they can share the page with the Kingpin. Unlike the various crime lords of a series like Batman, Marvel seemed to create such an overwhelming personality in Wilson Fisk that nothing else has managed to live up.
It seems this entire story will be set in a tremendous snow storm, if for no other reason than to let Lark continue to raise his already impressive game to a new level. Much like predecessor Alex Maleev, this style would never work in a main-line team book like the New Avengers, but for a gritty crime-noir like Daredevil its a wonderful match of artist and theme.
If anything, this book might be in danger of becoming too gritty. I mean for Murdock to have his first girlfriend become a villain, get murdered, rising from the dead and become a villain again, his greatest love dragged into a world of pornography and drugs and later murdered, his wife assaulted and driven insane, institutionalized and taken away by her parents...... when is enough, enough? On top of everything else, even Foggy, the one supportive constant in Matt's life fire's his partner (how does that work exactly?) and leaves due to his involvement with Fisk. Once we get through this arc can the poor bastard get a break for a while? Despite how well-done his pain is handled, we're pushing the barrier of "too much."
Final Score: B-
DETECTIVE COMICS #853 - "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Part 2 of 2"Written by Neil Gaiman, Art by Andy Kubert
Step 1: Get complaints about Kubert delaying this final Bruce Wayne story through two-thirds of the miniseries establishing his replacement as Batman.
Step 2: Reread chapter one to remember all we'd forgotten about the arc over the many, many weeks.
Step 3: Read this issue.
Step 4: Try and contain review to something more objective than a love letter... (that was Billy's big hook with Collateral, so must strive for originality)
After all that, I'm left absolutely floored by each of these two issues, but of course the second volume will have a much more visceral and immediate impact with readers. Whereas the first set-up the concept of a viewing of Batman's body with various friends and enemies telling the story of his life and death, this issue continues the concept, but quickly reveals the meaning behind all this. It turns out that the mysterious woman isn't Gaiman's Death (ah, nuts).
For all my griping about his delays both here and earlier at the start of Morrison's run of the main title, I have to concede that Kubert did so far beyond a phenominal job here, referencing multiple eras of the art of the Dark Knight from Golden Age to present day and its something a more iconic name like Jim Lee or John Cassaday might not have been able to achieve while still having all the same delays.
Three pages in the middle are the highlight of highlights here, with the image of Batman cast against his city, battles and enemies. Wonderfully rendered, but with Gaiman brilliantly burning down this history to the most basic elements. And like what Morrison tried to do in Final Crisis, examines the cyclical nature of storytelling in comics... the utter lack of endings. At the same time mature and innocent, the grand conclusion to the Bruce Wayne character is far more than I hoped for and a far more meaningful conclusion than his death in Final Crisis or any in-continuity battle could have been.
I know I'm being pretty unspecific, but the idea of ruining anything in this series seems too abhorrent to attempt. Perhaps on par with his work on The Sandman, Gaiman is reaching a rare pinnacle for comics that doesn't come along too often. Read this story. Read it now. Seriously, these are just come reviews, go find both issues and tear into them ASAP. The internet will be here when you get back.
Final Score: A
EX MACHINA #41 - "Ring Out the Old, Chapter One"Written by Brian K. Vaughn, Art by Tony Harris
After too long a wait (again), Vaughn continues on his final year of this comic which due to lasting longer than Y: The Last Man and maintaining its quality far better than Fables or any mainstream book with its constantly revolving creative teams, has secured the honor of best comic in the world. A near impossibly high standard of expectations come every month.
It's those kind of expectations that make stand alone issues like number 40, where Vaughn and Harris inserted themselves into the story, a little harder to accept. And then issues like this seem to be more about set-up of what's coming. The forces plotting Hundred's downfall are still in the planning stages, reporters are circling with some vague references to hidden secrets in his past and of course we've known from the first issue that everything end in tragedy. Let's just say his dream of becoming President of the United States isn't destined for success.
This issue's flashback again highlights a battle between the Great Machine and Pherson, who given his more recent prominence in these makes me think he'll be around in the main story before everything is said and done and feature prominently. Vaughn continues to show that Hundred did manage to sometime do some good in the GM days while never becoming as competent as a more mainstream "super-hero."
Final Score: A
THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #25 - "Escape From the Eighth City, Chapter Three"Written by Duane Swierczynski, Art by Travel Foreman
As cool as the concept of the Iron Fist is, the book is easier to take one arc at a time, as when I caught up on the book after Fraction left the title. But lately this story has seen much more impressive in concept than in execution. The idea of the many Immortal Weapons teaming up to rescue the prisoners of the Eighth City of Hell has never seemed as grand as we thought. With the grand escape winding down, we've yet to really see the grand scope of the city or found one person worth saving in the entire story.
A big part of my problem is the art, we've never really stood back and looked at this city, robbing the story of its scope. This is supposed to be the mystical equivalent of HELL, not just a collection of rooms and an arena that could be anywhere in the world. Too often is a wide shot nothing but two characters in the foreground with a white background. And that's supposed to be impressive how?
And nothing has been done to personalize any of the people suffering in hell besides the first Iron Fist, who is revealed to be the King of Hell... not too much sympathy there. And besides three or four people looking malnourished in the background, the poor oppressed innocents that are the purpose for this entire grand adventure have been entirely absent. We can only hope that the conclusion of this story, which thus far has them being let escape so the demons can come along for the ride, will raise the stakes a little. But so far, it's been a disappointment.
Final Score: C+
MIGHTY AVENGERS #24 - "Chasing Ghosts"Written by Dan Slott, Art by Rafa Sandoval
Ugh. The artwork in this title has officially hit a brick wall. For every one panel that Sandoval handles adequately, there's a dozen pages that are absolutely disgusting. The only character with a consistent look seems to be Jocasta, a robot. Besides that its an absolute crap shoot if a character's face will be decently handled or a borderline-abstract mess. And because of that we all roll a snake-eyes... and not the good kind that's also a ninja.
Slott has at least done a decent job (though yes, one of his biggest problems is moving things along a little too quickly). By making the main source of their information, the astral projection of the Scarlett Witch, actually be a trick of Loki's, he tied it the larger Marvel Universe (Osborne's Cabal)and let them continue to move from one big fight to another and establish a significant first opponent.
They've also managed to bring one of the Maximoff kids back into the hero's fold with an excuse so ridiculous that the writer really has to make fun of it a bit himself. Quite possibly the most tongue-in-cheek reboot since Bob Newhart made the entire run of his show a dream of a previous television show.
Final Score: C
NEW AVENGERS #52Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Billy Tan, Chris Bachalo and Various
How much can you really appreciate a book where the main artist is one of your least favorite in the industry? Tan's normally weak work has actually devolved a bit since his days on Uncanny X-Men. But this arc has at least has been redeemed by the addition of Bachalo. His work on the battle and the Hood's battle with the demon giving him powers is damn impressive. In fact almost everything about the villain has been more interesting in this story so far.
The Hood being tortured by a demon driving him after Dr. Strange and having hot bad guy sex with some old Iron Man foe is vastly more interesting than Spider-Man's karmic dilemma of flying in a stolen Quinjet. It just comes off as a very forced version of Spider-Man banter that he usually handles so deftly. I mean he couldn't think of anything for Spidey to complain about for the flight to New Orleans than the fact that they stole their Quinjet back from Norman Osborne. Since when does Spider-Man have a problem messing around with the Green Goblin???? C'Mon!
Hopefully, this might all pay off with a very interesting bad guy taking on the title of Sorcerer Supreme... and no I'm not talking about the son of the devil. If all this shoving of the Hood into the role is all a diversion, I'm going to punch a wall. The last few years, he's managed to outshine virtually every other bad guy that Marvel's premiere team has come up against. This is actually an excellent book if you only pay attention to the pages that he's on.
Final Score: B
THOR #601 - "Defining Moments"Written by J. Michael Straczynski, Art by Marko Djurdjevic
Things generally aren't meant to be so interesting and engaging in one of these transition issues. With the big jump to issue 600 tearing down the status quo that JMS had developed over the last couple of years, this issue spend most of the time setting everyone on a new path. While Loki continues to distract Thor with a mission to find Sif before her imminent death, Little Bill and Kelda continue their star-crossed romance despite the Asgardians moving to Latveria because... um... Balder's stupid? And the Warriors Three forsake Asgard to join up with their buddy Thor.
With the exclusion of the last few pages, which definitely have a sense of being rushed to get a book out on time, Djurdjevic's art is it's standard fabulous. In the scene with the Warriors Three, I have to say he draws one of the better goats you'll ever see in a comic. Things start to become a little less fantastic in the scene where Loki visits Blake, an honestly frightening sequence given the unestablished abilities of the busted ass walking stick/Mjolnir. Marko's lines become less sharp, but still human-looking.
One thing that previous incarnations of Thor has always lacked until now is a consistent human voice to balance out the Asgardians. Excluding the brief time Eric Masterson held the hammer in the 1990s, the book has always tended to come off a bit... foreign, for lack of a better word. But JMS has consistently endeavored to blend this fantastic world into ours, separating them from their standard mythology than included the destruction in Ragnarok. From day one, Don Blake has been set-up as a unique human voice to balance Thor and his opening scene yet another great one between the two with more of their wonderful chemistry. Not bad considering the two
exist on different planes of existence at any given moment.
Final Score: A-
Read more...
Friday, April 17, 2009
It's Comic Time (4/15/09)!
The world without Supes keeps rolling along with nary a hick-up, Captain America takes a break before hitting the big number Five-Oh, followed immediately by Six-Oh-Oh and while one X-book continues to stall out another looks to cement itself as the best team book on the shelves each month. Hit the jump for our take on a few of this week's titles.Comic Reviews for Week of 04/15/2009
ACTION COMICS #876 - "The Sleepers: Part 2"Written by Greg Rucka, Art by Eddy Barrows and Sidney Teles
The year without Superman continues to roll along nicely in Rucka's run here. The plot doesn't advance too much, consisting almost entirely of a fight between Ursa and the new Nightwing and Flamebird. The full background of the characters will most likely be explored next month with a bit of exposition as Chris Kent goes from one mom to another with a visit with Lois Lane. While there's sure to be some excuse to Chris' rapid aging and I hate giving up the potential of the Superman-With-a-Kid plots, making him the focus of the book very nicely ties this title into the Superman-mythos and provides them a way to keep Lois involved in the action, researching her family's connection to the anti-Superman government forces and meeting her slightly aged briefly adopted son.
The artwork's a cut above average and though the action scenes (which of course makes up the vast majority of the issue) aren't as clear as they could be, it just a bit of a diversion to how bloody and extremely violent the fight is. Everything still makes sense, but crams an M-rated fight into a T-rated book. I'm always in favor of that. The facial expressions might be uneven at best and there's a vague sexual undertone to the battle that's a little discomforting, but that isn't exactly an unexplored area in comic artwork.
Final score: C+
CAPTAIN AMERICA #49 - "The Daughter of Time"Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Luke Ross
I wasn't a page in before muttering, "It's one of those issues." Heading into any major issue there's two standard approaches and neither ever impressed me that much. It's either set-up for the big issue or a time-killer. How hard is it to plan ahead and just have the previous arc conclude here? Instead this issue abandons our current crew (mainly Bucky and the Black Widow)to check up with Steve Rogers' old girlfriend Sharon Carter.
While I never had a problem with the character (she was always a more enjoyable girlfriend than Diamondback), Carter's appearance here just seems to be holding the series in the past. Brubaker has done such a spectacular job inserting a new man behind one of the most iconic masks in the Marvel Universe, but it's a step back to spend an entire issue away from that character just before the two most important issues in his brief history.
Ross' artwork actually looks worse in the light of day. Whereas his previous arc was covered in shadows that obscured his most of his shortcomings.
The story itself is just annoying. First, getting past the idea that Sharon has not noticed the incision scar where she lost her child for six months... yeah, not quite buying that to any degree. And watching her have a romantic dinner with Grandpa Bob, complete with creepy beard, is not exactly a worthy rebound guy for Steve Rogers one true love. Nuts to that.
Final score: C+
UNCANNY X-MEN #508Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Greg Land
After a decent start that looked to return this title to it's status as the definitive X-title, things have downshifted into another excuse for Greg Land to copy poses from pornography. The team made entirely female villains seems to be crafted right into the artist's rather questionable wheelhouse. More importantly their showdown with Domino seems like an excuse to through another female in there and unfortunately distances the main team from the action far too much. Even the goal of the villains seems to be to return even more hot females to life.
The intriguing subplot of Beast's team of mad-ish scientists even manages to stall out. Joined by Joss Whedon's creation, Dr. Kavita Roa, the assembled scientists do nothing but sit around and try to sound interesting while doing little more than recapping the plot we've known for a couple years regarding the depowering of the mutants.
Fraction, usually a top-tier writer stumbles considerably. Besides allowing his book to begin devolving into a Land photoshop effort, even the order of the plot seems unusual. Wolverine goes from being enraged about the violation of a friend's tomb in Japan to recruiting Northstar onto the team and making cute little Canadian jokes. There doesn't seem to be a reason for Wolverine to be in the second scene besides enraging me for leaving Cyclops completely out of the issue. I can't avoid the ominous feeling that this book might not improve in the immediate future.
Final score: C-
X-FACTOR #42Writtin by Peter David, Art by Valentine de Landro and Marco Santucci
Well, we're done with the mind-blowing revelations at the end of every issue at this point and onto simply impressive reveals. But this book is now officially rolling along. Madrox, now 80 years in the future with an adult Layla Miller, is simultaneously becoming involved in a rebellion against Sentinels and finding his first reason in months to live. While Layla's future crew each manages to have a distinct sound established in sometimes little more than one or two panels, David takes things to another level with as great a leader as the team could ask for. Considering that until the dark days of Messiah Complex, Layla and Madrox were by far the two best characters on the book, there's no problem reintroducing their well-handled and darkly comic banter into the writing.
Meanwhile the other members of XF Investigations aren't just spinning their heels. While Siryn and Monet keep the house in order, Guido and Rictor are playing catch-up, going after Madrox's pastor Dup. Newer member Longshot gets his first very cool sequence, playing the more standard private eye hired as a bodyguard and all the expected female entanglements these plots usually have. And given how rarely writers and artists have demonstrated his power in the past, his action scene perfectly illustrated the change between what should happen and what Longshot's power makes happen.
Final score: B+
Read more...
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
It's Comic Time (4/8/09)!
It's a short week with DC continuing the legacy of Batman and Superman getting his first full issue on New Krypton. The only non-limited series just happens to be a sweet rebound issue for Green Lantern. It's a real case of quality over quantity though, as two-thirds of this weeks reviews are fantastic and this third still strong. Hit the jump to enter the land of spoilers.Comic Reviews for the Week of 04/08/2009
Batman: Battle For the Cowl #2 (of 3) - "Army of One"Written and Art by Tony Daniels
Not to sound too petty, but it's now two issues of Battle For the Cowl that have been released before Andy Kubert managed to get us the second issue of "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader" and I am just mad as hell about it. Artists whose delays ruin what otherwise should be definitive works should be banned to the independents. We don't need them screwing things up in the big leagues.
But let's focus on Daniel's absolutely fantastic arc to reveal the new Batman. Considering the universal opinion is that Richard Grayson is only substantive choice, the journey getting there has been pretty impressive. The main villain of the series is revealed as a even more demented than usual Jason Todd. I stand in favor of that considering the recurring attempts by DC to put him on the side of the angels have never come close to working or sticking. Dressed in his own version of the Batsuit, Jason tears through most of the other contenders for the name and setting up an showdown with Bruce's Son #1 in the finale.
Despite Tim Drake wearing the titular cowl this month, it isn't exactly a note in his favor that while not mocking him, nobody really takes it seriously and he ends up in a place that doesn't exactly scream for an eleventh hour comeback. So being the only one seemingly not to wear the costume yet, Grayson remains the favorite. Since we can assume DC won't turn Batman into a murdering sociopath.
Daniel's artwork is just more of the same that we saw during the majority of Grant Morrison's run on the main title. And you can never really have enough greatness. He manages to keep selling exciting and bloody battle scenes that never become confusing or unrealistic (for a Batman comic). Todd especially looks fabulous with glowing red eyes and numerous weapons.
Only the rather predictable nature of the entire effort drags the score down slightly. At this point though, a change in the finale would probably devalue the effort. Too much time has been spent preparing Nightwing to take the leap, including a fantastic speech this week from Alfred, the elder-statesman of the Bat-Family.
Final score: A-
Green Lantern #39 - "Agent Orange: Part One"Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Philip Tan
After the extremely disappointing conclusion to the previous arc, which introduced both the Blue and Red Lantern Corps, this new arc got off to a fabulous start. Supposedly the Orange (Avarice, i.e. Greed) Lanterns as yet another destructive force in the universe while Ganthet's Blue Lanterns search out the source of the Indigo (Compassion) Lanterns. And yes, I probably should continue reminding everyone which portion of the emotional spectrum powers each Corp. Johns is certainly kind enough to work it into the dialogue enough to keep things straight. But you'll have to remember the Green Corp yourself. If you can't keep that straight reading this book, then I can't do anything for you.
Tan's art actually jumps right on par with series regulars Ivan Reis and Ethan Van Schiver. And that's quite a statement, my friends. He even handles the mixture of colors on Jordan, temporarily sporting a pair of rings, much better. As Ganthet reassures him that his place is meant to be on the Green side, reaffirming his identity (a crucial improvement over the various colors that have tried to dominate the title character last issue) the green in his uniform dominates his appearance much more than before. It's a nice little case of the art reinforcing the storytelling.
Johns has done a good and quick job introducing a much more unique and enjoyable villain than we had with the rather simplistic Red Lantern leader, Atrocitus. Even if Larfleeze isn't much an improvement in the name department. Neither can live up to the more explored history of Parallax and Sinestro at this time, however. But even better is the continuing evolution of the Guardians into a more complex and struggling organization. Of course the reveal throughout the "Origins and Omens" backup stories throughout the DCU that the scarred Guardian is in fact looking to bring about the Darkest Night clouds over ever scene they are involved in. We still don't know how much the Guardians are being manipulated and how much they are just flawed in recent years. It's one case of us knowing a bit more than the characters and one of the truth being hidden. But each way, Johns adds a bit to the enjoyment of the story in its own way.
Final score: A-
Superman: World of New Krypton #2 (of 12)Written by Greg Rucka and James Robinson, Art by Pete Woods
Well, besides Robinson replacing Johns as Rucka's writing partner on this title, we get a big leap forward in the quality of storytelling this month. Whereas last month was yet more of the long and mostly inadequate set-up for the series, this issue gets into the meat of things. Now a member of Zod's army in the military guild, Superman's interactions with a domineering, but not maniacal (at least yet) General Zod are just one of the efforts to humanize the Kryptonians. Well not humanize... personalize. They really don't like humans still.
But the development of infighting between the various Guilds of Kryptonese society and meeting the soldiers serving under Kal-El (specifically his second-in-command Nar-As) all serves well to give Superman a more realistic and layered world to spend the year inhabiting. The writers do a fine job of pulling Zod back from his more villainous extremes to the level of a probably evil monster. But even if he reverts to form, which is more than probable, he still improves as a antagonist smart enough to conceal his master plan from the forgiving Kryptonian leadership of Alura.
And Woods artwork struggles with more awkward, pixelated shadows and some clunky facial expressions. For a good example, check out Kal-El's face at the top of page three... that's a little too Bruce Campbell-ish for my tastes. And in general I don't care for a slightly more muscular Superman than last week, especially with the more human and wonderful version on Gary Frank's cover. I've long been of the opinion that Superman doesn't need to be huge and muscular to explain his power. He's freaking Kryptonian!
But at the end of the day, the much improved story bumps this month's grade up slightly. Every little distraction to Superman's day just helps develop a more complete world and realistic characters. Even the easily resolved distraction of the month is a nice comparison of Superman and the other soldiers differing perspectives, which makes it all seem more real... as real as a world full of Kryptonians floating on the opposite side of the Earth's sun can be.
Final score: B-
Read more...
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
It's Comic Time! (4/1/09)
There's three other books I'm reviewing this week, but in the end, there can be only one. May it be Flash: Rebirth. Born in the highlands of Scotland over 400 years ago (actually the mind of Detroit native Geoff Johns spinning out of last year's Final Crisis event). It is not alone (the same creative team brought us Green Lantern: Rebirth). There are others like it, some good (books by BKV) some evil (books from Jeph Loeb since Hush). So let's watch out for spoilers below the jump, blast some Queen and get going.Comics for the Week of 04/01/2009
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #24 - "Safe"Written by Jim Krueger, Art by Cliff Richards
In all honesty, I'm underwhelmed. After months on their own, Faith and Giles manage to help a town defeat a monster that did some harm, but kept the vampires at bay. While the idea of them walking the Earth and finding Slayers not in Buffy's army to help and offer guidance to is a good concept, this single issue does little to provide details on where they have been and what specific adventures they have had.
This story itself is not exceptionally unique or impressive, though Krueger manages to handle the unique voices of the characters with just as much ease as Brian K. Vaughn did in his earlier arc.
Richards' art is fine in all the scenes not involving action. But the climax of this issue is ruined by his confusingly thrown together battle. The basic physics of where in a room people are standing even seem to be lost in the rush. How weapons get from one person's hand to another is entirely unclear. And the conclusion is less about a dramatic ass-kickingly cool action and actually led to me saying, "Um, I guess it was time to end the fight..." But learn how to set and execute a decent action sequence and Richards would be more than capable of handling the book for extended periods.
Final score: C
THE FLASH: REBIRTH #1 (of 5)Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Ethan Van Schiver
Did I build this one up enough in the opening? When I got back into comics several years ago (after a decade-long sabbatical), one of the first things I read was Johns and Van Schiver's Green Lantern: Rebirth which both fully reintegrated me into comics and brought back Hal Jordan (fav character #2). Just as important as the return of my third favorite DC Universe character, Barry Allen, this series mark the return to prominence of the character of the Flash. After the conclusion of an excellent five year run on the main title, Johns left just before Infinite Crisis. Quickly we saw the Flash of the last 20 years, Wally West, fill out a few mediocre issues after Johns left before he was taken out of continuity. The series quickly rebooted with the most recent Kid Flash, Bart Allen, taking up the coolest costume in comics in Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, which lasted twelve issues. The series ranged in quality from just plain bad to possibly promising before Bart was killed off by the Rogues. The return of Wally a few months later has led to another string of unimpressive stories with him and his two young children. Given the inability to make anything else work, DC brought back the man whose death meant more to the DCU than any other. And no, even if I love the guy, I still don't know if its a good thing.
So how is issue #1? Well it looks fabulous. I can at least be definitive about that. Since GL: Rebirth, Van Schiver has reached the very upper echelon of comic artists, where our main complaint is that we don't see their work nearly often enough. But the great unknown for him here, something we glance only briefly is how well he will integrate a sense of the super-speed movement into the action. It's a conflict he hasn't addressed too much in work that I've read, but it will be a critical element as the series progresses. I would never claim Scott Kolins as an artist on Van Schiver's level, but on his long run with Johns, he was a master of bringing this sense of life to the speedster book.
The emotional conflict is very different than what Hal Jordan faced, here we have a reintroduction, not a redemption. And while Johns tries to give a new spin on a common theme (a returned hero being out of touch with today's technology) by having Barry state that the world hasn't past him by, it's just catching up a bit, he's still an isolated character. The only character he shares a scene with is Hal, apparently still getting used to being alive again. The main character drama in the issue isn't going to come until he interacts with other members of the Flash family in future issues (especially Iris, Wally and Bart - came back in Legion of 3 Worlds).
First issues, rarely blow the audience away. The reveal at the end of this month's issue is intriguing, but not mind-blowing. For now the series has just started to set the characters in place. So we hold out hope and hope that like its Green Lantern predecessor, the series cranks it up to 11 before all is said and done. That being said, Johns does a fine job of stage setting and has begun interweaving a story that will draw together all the remaining speedsters (Wally, Bart, Iris and Jai West, Liberty Belle and Jay Garrick). Johns has always done an excellent job of making the wide-reaching DC Universe feel smaller and more interconnected, so the Flashes (who infiltrate every level of the DCU mainstream: JLA, JSA, Titans (multiple incarnations), Legion) should be right up his alley.
Final Score: B-
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #12Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Salvador Larroca
I have to give this point to Fraction, he has not only told interesting parallel stories for each of the three main characters in this book, but perfected the integration of the Dark Reign concept. The use of Norman Osborn and his League of Evil has been so integral and smooth that this book (not Dark Avengers) is the definitive title to read for this ongoing saga in the Marvel Universe.
In the main plot, Osborn sends Namor (looking even more impressive here than he did in his recent stint on Captain America) after Stark, whose taking a brief underwater sojourn to repair another of his old suits. While the fight is very well done, the big hit is the building tension of Stark being on the run without a moment's rest. This recently despised character (who still had time to go be a douche in the last arc of Mighty Avengers) is actually sounding like a good guy again. The solution of putting him alone, making a moral stand against a villain with the world against him has done more to make him look like a hero than he ever did running S.H.I.E.L.D. - it's so effective I have to wonder why it took them this long to get him back.
With Hill crawling through shadows and Stark and Pepper rocketing around in their suits, Larocca is shining more than usual. It's Namor and Osborn that get the short end of the stick as the artist is still struggling with facial expressions.
But between the continued usage of Osborn's influence, Tony's righteous struggle and the always interesting inter-cutting of Hill and Pepper's storylines, this book is rocketing forward and getting better every month. It's utterly refreshing to have multiple ongoing stories that are more than fights where the same panels and movements happen in each setting. So much so that I have to say the word again: refreshing.
Final score: A-
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #25Written by Geoff Johns and Jerry Ordway, Art by Jerry Ordway and Bob Waicek
Talk about falling off a cliff. This book has in the span of three months plummeted off the deep end. This used to the THE DC title to read every month. Now, I'm actually looking forward to the end of a run by Johns. That's bloody well unheard of!
It doesn't help that Ordway has offered some of his least impressive work that I can remember. He certainly has left a long gap between himself and series regular Dale Eaglesham, who on this title emerged as a master of capturing unique and realistic facial expressions. The current work seems revoltingly bland in comparison (and yes, that's the most complimentary way I could put that statement).
Atom Smasher's narration isn't so bad, but that might have to do with him being one of my favorite characters. That the book sends so much time revising the history of the Marvel Family to the point of revulsion (the ghost of the Batson's dad with a hat straight out of 1932? The Wizard more incomprehensible than ever?) I have to wonder why DC needed to shove this crap into JSA besides having nowhere else to put it. But at least at the end Billy and Mary are in an interesting place - homeless on the streets without friends or powers. Given how terribly DC has handled them ever since Infinite Crisis, maybe they should stay this way.
And while I still look forward to Johns' last issue next month (for Eaglesham's return if nothing else), I'm debating dropping one of my favorite titles while Ordway runs things until Matt Sturges and Bill Willingham take over.
Final score: D+
Read more...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
It's Comic Time! (3/25/09)
DC makes a comeback this week with James Robinson launching his first post-Superman Superman. Meanwhile, our good buddies at Marvel pound out a couple new Avengers books and Cap and Matt Murdock continue to impress with every new issue. So let's pound through some comics.Comic Reviews for Week of 03-25-2009
CAPTAIN AMERICA #48 - "Old Enemies and Friends: Part 3"Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Butch Guice
Considering how many books get substantively better or worse with each month or every change of a creative team, Captain America has been a consistent rare gem throughout Brubaker's four-plus year run. And with Guice continuing to impress in this small arc, the title now has backup artist. If there's one drawback this week, it's his tendency to make the setting too dark. In an attempt to match Steve Epting's moody approach, the fight scene ends up a bit less exciting than it could have been. But at least it isn't as prominent as it was in the first two issues of the arc.
The rescue of the remains of the Human Torch from an opponent Cap faced as Winter Soldier was an excellent narrative device to help Bucky move past that portion of his life and embrace more of who he was during his days with Steve Rogers and the Invaders. The exciting and sometimes comical appearance of old teammate Namor was a good decision to build upon that main theme.
As good as this book is, I expect it to cost us in the coming months. We're only two issues away from #50 and then a little number realignment to follow-up with #600. But nobody says good things come cheap.
Final score: B
DAREDEVIL #117 - "The Return of the King: Part One"Written by Ed Brubaker, Art by Michael Lark
It's both costly and utterly enjoyable whenever Brubaker's two big books land the same week. As good as any writer in comics, his run with Lark on Daredevil has become worthy of comparison to the Frank Miller and Brian Michael Bendis Eras. While I might question the decision to bring back one of the definitive New York-based villains so soon after his latest exodus, it at least separates this issue for hype if nothing else.
Our main problem this week is the cover. As you can tell by looking above Daredevil and the Kingpin aren't exactly coming to blows over the attacks on each by the Hand. They very well may before the conclusion of the story line, but for now this issue seems more like a second consecutive prelude to the action of the arc.
The writing is as crisp as ever this month and Lark raises his game significantly with an issue set in the middle of a huge snowstorm. And even if there isn't a single substantive fight scene, I;m enjoying both the nice slow burn building up the drama and the ever-present burdens in Murdock's life that continue to drag out from the loss of his wife's sanity (and custody). And the development of his romance with Dakota North has brought another strong character to the regular background. Hopefully, she can avoid any run-ins with Bullseye-like individuals, now that she's grown on Matt and the readers.
Final Score: B-
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #24 - "Li Park, The Reluctant Weapon Vs. Unstoppable Forces of Evil"Written by Duane Swierczynski, Art by Kano
And another wonderful tradition continues! So many comics fall into the standard six-issue arc ruts, this title continues to do a great job breaking that type of thing up. Even with a strong lead and plenty of other supporting roles, the trip through time to cover the history of another Iron Fist. This version is probably the most original approach (excluding the Iron Fist of the distant future, of course) yet. A pacifist artists, Park, is only selected due to a massive plague and he tricks, rather than defeats, the dragon to claim his place as an Immortal Weapon.
Perhaps it's a bit of a right wing fantasy when he realizes that sometimes you need to forget the thinking and kick some butt. It's somewhat redeeming to have his ultimate victory involve retreating with the survivors of a slaughter and wandering for a decade. To stand out, these one shots stand out, we need a deeper approach than good guy starts, beats bad guy and goes home and the pacifist angle certainly makes it all seem fresh. And yes, I am glad I finished discussing the book without having to write out Swierczynski.
Final score: B-
MIGHTY AVENGERS #23 - "Three Words"Written by Dan Slott, Art by Khoi Pham
After the painful experience of Osborn's Dark Avengers, the return of the old-school, classic Avengers vibe of this title was just the fix I needed. Wrapping a nice and tidy three-issue story, this latest team concept is right up my alley. Vision and Stature were far and away my favorite members of the Young Avengers, the Hulk is used in limited quantities to hit Gods and what-not, and this title takes the first interesting crack at Hank Pym (as the second-smartest guy in the room with a big chip on his shoulder) in... well, ever. Oh, and we all get to revel in what a jackass Tony Stark is.
And despite promises of numerous changes in roster throughout Slott's run, hopefully we can get used to these characters a bit. So much time is spent in these three issues establishing the threat, getting the players in place, setting up a second villain, defeating the first, establishing and developing the tension between Stark and Pym, etc., etc. Most interactions seem hollow (including all references to Daughtry), but hopefully that will improve as we see more of a cast that's been mostly ignored by other titles for several years.
But the big problem is Pham's style. It's too hectic in the action with so few things even looking clear with a general lack of movement. The problem is most prevalent in the face where's no real sense of emotion.
The big final reveal of the issue is the actual identity of a founding member of this newest team of Avengers. While the callback to the good old days is worth a smirk, it will most likely be resolved quickly because it violates Slott's main thesis for a team of characters without significant ties to other books. Hopefully it won't kill too much time in this team gelling together to deal with and resolve the impostor. For a creative team that zipped out a quick three issue story, Slott still seems to be dragging his feet too much.
Final score: C+
NEW AVENGERS #51Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Billy Tan and Various
It takes an issue full of other artists to remind me how awkward and lifeless most of Tan's work appears to be. Especially in light of the stellar opening pages by Chris Bachalo, where his take of the hell-reality of the demon Dormammu makes the most of a limited amount of room. Nobody does tortured souls and a harsh reality like the sharp lines of Bachalo. His pages throughout are without a doubt the highlight of the issue. It's that scene and the conversation between Dr. Strange and Wiccan of Young Avengers (man they sure are getting around since their book shows no signs of coming back) that highlights the issue. Most of the scenes with the actual Avengers team are just killing time to pace out the story here in the first issue of a new arc. All the interesting things happen to characters that aren't featured on the main team.
The majority of the book belongs to Tan, who doesn't differentiate well between gender, facial expressions, panel positions... it's like looking evokes words like Finch-ian.
Hey, remember when Spider-Man's identity was known to numerous members of the hero and villain community? Remember the biggest event in the pages of Civil War was him revealing his identity to the world? Remember how Marvel retconned that change like 15 seconds later with Brand New Day? Well, now he reveals his identity to the Avengers... this has all happened crappily before and... yada yada yada.
Bendis deserves some credit for pulling our attention away from the significance of the reveal by diverting into one of his on-occasion amusing side-track discussions. And here it works for the most part, Jessica Jones' reaction to Peter Parker manages to massage the moment into the background. It annoys me less. And I suppose that's something at least.
Final score: C-
SUPERMAN #686 - "Yesterday and Tomorrow"Written by James Robinson, Art by Renato Guedes
Even after the mediocre job building up the movement of Superman to New Krypton, the decent start to the World of New Krypton maxi-series and very strong opening in Action Comics' World Without Superman actually had me near giddy to see what Robinson could do without forcing in the beats of an editorial staff. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be the weakest of the three. I still have faith that Robinson can improve things, but for now he's still wasting time in the past with Superman telling Guardian, Mon-El, Jimmy Olsen and Steel. The further this book moves away from the Man of Steel and establishes it's own identity, the better. With only a year to tell these stories before the big guy returns, we're looking at two or three main arcs and then time's up.
Guedes isn't one of my preferred artists, but the care he takes with his splash pages and a very impressive establishing image of Ironworks highlights the issue. He's also handles the addition of shadows nicely, establishing differences between interior and exterior scenes and times of day. They might be a little too prevalent, but at least isn't a big distraction and adds an extra dimension to visualizing the cityscape.
Mon-El's secret identity is annoying on several levels. Why does he take the last name Kent? To annoy me by flaunting some of the inherent kookiness of the Superman mythology. Why does is take a job with the Science Police? It's retreading the same ground we've seen Wonder Woman cover in previous years. Some of his better ideas revolve around the ways he makes characters unique. Harper isn't touched on too much, but Mon-El as a man with nearly the power of Superman, but no experience. If Superman battled Rampage, he'd know exactly how far he could go without killing her and his strategy would never leave a human not being hurt to chance. But for now we've got a kid learning the ropes. I can only hope him joining the SP will tie a couple of stories together and let Harper get a little more face time and become something more than a guy in yellow and blue giving orders to cops. Ah well, nobody ever built a background overnight.
Final score: C
Read more...
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
It's Comic Time! (3/18/09)
With most of the DC books I follow closely not scheduled this week, it's a nice chance to catch up with the good boys at Marvel. And most of the titles this week have us digging into the universe of the X-Men - and it's the Good, the Bad and the Average. Beware our good friend Mr. Spoiler below.Comic Reviews for the Week of 03/18/2009
DARK AVENGERS #3Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Art by Mike Deodato
Even if this story wraps up next month (and it looks like it will), I can't really consider the first arc of this book anything except underwhelming. The rather unique (if you never read Thunderbolts) approach is that the "Heroes" are actually fighting a battle more for their own self interest (firming the alliance with Victor Von Doom), than any noble endeavor. But Morgan le Fay, even as drawn by Deodato, is an underwhelming first opponent for this team. She isn't iconic enough to merit comparison to the more traditional Avengers' villains. She's too covered in this title's omnipresent shadows to be attractive. She's also too ill-motivated, what with this being about a lover spurning her as opposed to some good old-fashioned world conquering.
For now, I'm off this book despite its marque creators and rather centralized location in the Marvel hierarchy. In these tough economic times, our hard earned comic dollars deserve better than: could be good.
Final score: D-
UNCANNY X-MEN #507Written by Matt Fraction, Art by Terry and Rachel Dodson
This month, we've got our old friend, Dual Fights Edited Together. And as we usually have, one of the fights can't possibly live up to the other. I mean Colossus' angst-ridden I-Want-to-Feel-Pain story can't live up to Angel getting in touch with his inner Horseman of Death, Archangel... especially when his opponent is a giant lizard monster. Dodson's artwork is nothing new, a good style wasted with the pedantic parallel fight elements and matching panels for both story lines on the same page. When are people going to get tired of revisiting this tired visual cliche? I did when I was 16.
As far as the Colossus story, I was never a big fan to start with... more a supporter of the Wisdom/Pryde days of good old Excalibur. And the ultimate decision for Colossus getting a "Katya" heart tattoo is the type of idea that shouldn't be addressed after 1988. And a fight scene that includes Peter turning his armor off to beat up the Emotional Tattooed Man shouldn't be addressed ever.
On the other hand, Beast's rogue science crew takes a back seat while Angel ditches the fluffy Messenger of God routine for some hardcore Archangel action straight out of his time on X-Force. That Hank is discovering this recent change in his old friend for the first time adds some emotional weight to what otherwise would just be a razor-winged demon hacking a giant lizard to pieces... not that there's anything wrong with that. While this fight rips with both violence and nice characterization, it would be nice if the opposing story wasn't so very lacking. So it's a ya take the good, ya take the bad approach this week and our score reflects that.
Final score: C
WOLVERINE #71Written by Mark Millar, Art by Steve McNiven
"Old Man Logan" was the arc that I was born to hate. I have never, ever, nerver been a fan of stories with no implication set in some never-to-be-realized future. If they at least have some relevance to current day that's one thing, but this is the type of event that would be fine in a double-sized issue of What If?, not an extra-long arc in a main title. If this story didn't involve the names Millar and McNiven, I'd like to think the raving fanboys supporting this arc would agree with me. But this road trip story is old and the only thing I'm glad about is that the ending is in sight.
The issue does look fantastic and has some nice ideas touched upon (Emma Frost married Von Doom to save the mutants, Old Man Black Bolt vs. Venom-Rex), but there are too many holes. And the double-splash pages of the bones and long past deaths of the heroes loses the O-M-G effect real quick... like five issues ago quick. I pretty much checked out last issue when it was revealed that Logan's enormous angst comes from the fact he was tricked by Mysterio killing all the X-Men... that's right... let me repeat that. He. Killed. All. The. X. Men. After countless wars with the Shi'ar, Magneto and the Brotherhood, the Sentinels, the Hellfire Club and Apocalypse... they are beaten by a D-level Spider-Man villain. And this issue is no better with the entire journey being revealed to be pointless in the end. Well, unless the point was Logan being set-up to pop the claws after a six month wait.
Don't even ask me why I'm reading a Wolverine book, when I've always argued he's best in smaller doses as a supporting character. I suppose I'm one of those raving fanboys lured in by the names of Millar and McNiven.
Final score: D-
X-FACTOR #41 - "Back and There Again"Written by Peter David, Art by Valentine de Landro and Marco Santucci
And so the kicking of ass continues and David once again reasserts himself as the craftsman of the best X-book of the month. And just because he asks so nicely, I won't be spoiling this one... too much. No, even though the only people reading this are my dad and a few other random internet trollers, I will not ruin things. But I can mention the story does reintroduce the other members of X-Factor having adventures in a post-Madrox line-up. And while a couple are generally ignored, Monet, Guido and Darwin (yeah that un-killable guy who I never liked) have a nice little action sequence.
But while our favorite minister, Maddox (the clone that Madrox left alone to live his own life) actually gets a surprisingly exciting sequence, there's only one grab you by the throat and never let go story line. And my only complaint is that I want to see more of it. Layla's back and as cool as ever, even ripping off the Terminator quotes and spinning Madrox into a storyline set in a different time, but hopefully with massive impact on the present (unlike some other stories Mr. Millar).
For the second month in a row I must congratulate the artists on this book, if only for doing solid work on a title that was so recently (like three issues ago) the worst drawn book in the history of comics ever.
To sum up, this is the only book this month that I demand the next issue of right now. I'm not kidding, give me the damn thing... c'mon... I'm really not kidding... stupid inability to travel into the future. Comic book heroes get all the luck. Just for that I'm adding a minus to the grade. But if anyone reading this is listening to me at all - Don't be a fool, stay in school... also go to your comic shop and pick up issues #39-41 of this title.
Final score: A-
Read more...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
