Quick Comic Book Reviews - October 31st, 2010

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!

Quick Comic Book Reviews - October 31st, 2010

Quick Comic Reviews - October 14th, 2010

With my peed on computer out of commission, I haven't redone the stuff I was working on.  I just don't have the time to go back and fix it all.  I'll keep on trucking with my comic reviews for now.  It just takes me a little more time without Windows Live Writer.  Enjoy the smattering of delicious offerings!

Taskmaster #2 - Written by Fred Van Lente and Art by Jefte Palo.  Fred Van Lente has a wonderful sense of humor and this is a showcase of that.  In this issue we are introduced to the "Don of the Dead" who is dressed up like a crazed marachi singer and a skeleton mask.  We're are treated to several pages of terrific humor as Taskmaster tries to tie pieces of his memory together.  Keep in mind, there's a huge bounty out for our Taskmaster as everyone believes he gave Steve Rogers information on all these secret societies like A.I.M. and Hydra, amongst many others we're introduced to.  The artwork is pretty dead on and gives the issue an added sense of energy.  Sure, this comic probably isn't going to make a huge splash in the Marvel continuity spectrum, but what it does deliver is pure entertainment.  Putting Van Lente in charge of this title was the right move.  Sadly, most comic fans will probably miss this mini-series and they shouldn't be missing out.  This is a must purchase! 

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #5 - Written by Jim McCann and Penciled by David Lopez.  The Final Chapter of Mockingbird's showdown with the Phantom Rider(s) culminates in this issue.  This is your traditional blow-off type issue when you have a major story like this.  Surprises?  There are a few towards the end, but you could almost see them coming.  They were pretty well done though and Hawkeye ends up going slightly overboard and realizing what he's doing.  So there are some great scenes with him in it.  David Lopez does a serviceable job, but some of his action scenes just feel a little stiff.  Like I was saying before though, the scene with Crossfire and Hawkeye (and if you read it, you'll know it when you see it) is a major turning point here.  So overall, a pretty good ending to the story arc and some good twists towards the end to keep you interested with the direction they're going.  I'm still slightly confused at times about all this Phantom Rider stuff, but that doesn't detract from enjoying it.  Once again, another very good issue that's worth checking out and pretty much a must if you're following the story so far!

Justice League: Generation Lost #11 - Written by Judd Winick and Penciled by Aaron Lopresti.  This issue has Fire, Ice and Rocket Red facing off with the Metal Men.  Meanwhile, Booster, Captain Atom and Blue Beetle investigate another site.  I will not lie, I love the Metal Men, so it should be no surprise that I really liked this issue.  No, no.  Loved this issue.  Now keep in mind, the Metal Men don't have their typical banter in this, so if you're looking for it, it isn't really quite here.  But that wasn't the point of it.  There's so much going on here that this issue flew by.  And with the masterful pencils of Aaron Lopresti, this issue just shines.  Everything seemed to work well in this issue.  The only thing I didn't care for was the cover as it kind of ruins a surprise.  I also loved the surprise at the ending, because if there's a character that needs a bit of a redesign, it is this one.  I won't ruin it, but it was needed I think.  So this title has direction, it has hi-jinks and hilarity, along with a solid dose of action and intrigue and... well, it is everything a comic should be.  The best title there is twice a month!  Pick it up, read it, saran wrap it, send it into space for aliens to read and enjoy, because it's great stuff!

Superman #703 - Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Penciled by Eddy Barrows.  After a bit of a delay, we get issue 703 in the "Superman's Walk for the Cure" or whatever they're calling it.  Anyway, in this issue Supes encounters Batman and makes a compelling argument for why he shouldn't be wandering around amongst the normal people.  Certainly he's just inviting disaster.  Cue ominous music and obvious foreshadowing award!  So what happens?  Well, some shards of the planet New Krypton come crashing to Earth and we finally see signs of a plot!  Apparently the stuff makes people Batshit crazy and powerful.  Cue the next 8 months of issues.  It wasn't as bad as I make it seem.  There's a strong play on how super-powered being like Superman would be viewed by normal people.  JMS seems to be riding that out for what it's worth.  Barrows artwork is just ok, nothing note worthy here.  So the issue is ok, it isn't bad, but it doesn't exactly breath new life into Superman.  Still, it's better than most Superman stuff in the past year and a half, but that isn't saying much.  If you skip this, nobody will blame you.

Green Lantern #58 - Written by Geoff Johns and Penciled by Doug Mahnke.  We start off with an interesting scene involving Sinestro and Atrocitus as they're hunting down the Rage entity.  We also clean up the stuff involving Carol and the Star Sapphires.  We get a heaping helping of Larfleeze and we get to meet the Blue Lantern entity Adara.  All-in-all, it ends up being a pretty good issue.  We have more great Larfleeze moments, some outstanding Atrocitus stuff, and some background bits that are very interesting.  Mahnke's art is pretty decent this issue, with the exception of the last page when he draws the Flash like an emaciated teenage kid who hasn't eaten in a month.  He must be hanging out with Mark Bagley too much.  They continue to present a lot of characterization, but the main flaw is that we're all over the place and not getting to stay with any one character too long.  Sometimes that can be a blessing, others a curse.  Johns seems to juggle it pretty well this issue, but it does become hard to keep track of what each character is doing.  Geoff has created a lot of interesting characters and not enough pages to fill them with.  That's part of why we're up to 3 Green Lantern titles a month (sometimes more).  A pretty good issue that any Green Lantern fan will want to pick up.

Quick Comic Reviews - October 14th, 2010

Quick Comic Book Reviews–August 29th, 2010

Well, there are a few titles from last week that I didn’t fit in, I’ll try to squeeze them in next week.  For the most part, all the major titles from last week were read and reviewed.  Hope you find today’s batch useful as well!

Uncanny X-Men #528 – Written by Matt Fraction and Penciled by Whilce Portacio.  We start off visiting Nigeria where we have another new mutant who popped up.  This one apparently controls fire and ice, some I’m going to call her Icy Hot Analgesic Girl.  Good name, eh?  Anyway, Storm and Hope come in to save her after some local people are trying to kill her for what she accidentally did to the town.  We also take a look at what’s going on with Emma Frost hiding Sebastian Shaw in Utopia, Namor deals with his realm, and Kitty Pryde is still in ghost form looking to communicate with Colossus.  The issue isn’t badly written at all, but there’s just something missing.  It still doesn’t have a grand X-Men feel to it.  We kind of wander from one story to the next without one being our real focal point.  Then there was a weird scene with Nekra and Frenzy that I still can’t figure out why it is even in the book.  And the art… well, it’s better this issue, but part of me wonders if the inker didn’t help bail Whilce out on this one.  I still see a lot of shortcuts here.  Pages 6 and 8 have just a ton of white space for no apparent reason.  Readers aren’t paying for blank real estate here Portacio.  But it is better, but still not good by any stretch.  He also uses extreme close-ups of the eyes so that he has to draw less.  Really, just stop having him draw, he isn’t worth paying anymore because it’s clear he doesn’t care about what he’s doing for Marvel.  This issue is ok, mainly because I like the stuff with Hope and the Emma Frost stuff has some promise, but there’s nothing to rave about here.

Fantastic Four #583 – Written by Jonathan Hickman and Art by Steve Epting.  We play witness to a fight breaking out in the former city of the High Evolutionary.  At the same time, Valeria Richards decides to embark on some mischievousness of her own and breaks into her Dad’s workspace where he’s been going back and forth meeting with the many Reed Richards of alternate universes.  Of course, Reed left himself a recording and answer system that tells her all about what’s going on.  What she sees on the other side frightens her to ask for help from none other than Victor Von Doom himself.  For the life of me, I don’t know why the whole thing with the High Evolutionary’s City was even in here, it didn’t make sense.  Hickman then leads us on a story with the League of Mister Fantastics (or the council or whatever you want to call it) that didn’t seem to make much sense.  The issue seemed strangely put together and it didn’t really fit a normal storytelling flow.  Sure we got a big reveal on the last two pages, but everything else before didn’t really have any rising drama to it.  I was just kind of bored and confused by the whole situation.  I’m not quite sure what to make of it.  The artwork by Epting is pretty good and he does capture some amazing facials, so that’s top quality stuff.  However, the story is just lacking and I think you could very well skip this issue and pick up next issue instead and probably come out ahead.  So our “Countdown to Casualty” is a bit of a miss this week, but I’m holding out hope that next issue is better.

Green Lantern Corps #52 – Written by Tony Bedard and Penciled by Ardian Syaf.  We learn the fate of Boodikka in this issue and the Lanterns take it to Cyborg Superman and his Alpha Lanterns.  A titanic battle ensues in which the inhabitants of the planet Grenda rise-up for a cause.  That’s really about as much of a synopsis as one needs.  The pace of this issue is fast as we can see they’re trying to move the story along and give us a pretty good battle to boot.  I liked how Boodikka got the final laugh in this one.  It was a great scene to see!  Truly a fitting conclusion to this for now.  The issue works well with the parts it has set-up and makes you feel satisfied with the conclusion.  Unfortunately the issues leading up to this weren’t anything special.  This one feels like a decent bit of story and some pretty good artwork mixed together.  It helps that I’m a huge Green Lantern fan, but to most people, this issue was nothing to write home about.  I really like Cyborg Superman, but at the end of the day, this didn’t feel like it moved any particular plot along much.  The only good thing is figuring out what happened with the Alpha Lanterns.  That being said, a decent issue with some good artwork, but nothing you would feel sorry about not buying a few months down the road.

Justice League: Generation Lost #10 – Written by Judd Winick and Penciled by Joe Bennett.  We are shown events from the Kingdom Come series from several years ago in a smaller form.  At least, this is the vision that Maxwell Lord has, so the White Ring or Entity wants him to stop this from ever occurring in our reality.  However, at the end of last episode Magog had been brought on to help Max, so we’re left to wonder and perhaps assume what is going on here.  We also find out that Skeets was able to find out about 4 dormant Checkmate cells came back online upon Lord’s return.  In fact, Skeets downloaded pretty much everything he could.  Fire & Ice have a heart warming-ish moment as well.  There is a very interesting scene where Batman starts realizing something is up with Max Lord and Power Girl is also starting to believe there’s a conspiracy.  Just as quickly as they put it all together, their memory of it all vanishes again.  The end of the issue reveals one of my favorite groups of all time.  I don’t want to spoil everything, but wow.  Ok, I just wrote a lot about this issue, but damn was it a great read!  Is Lord using Magog and planning to destroy him with the help of the Justice League?  Is Max trying to work against the White Lantern’s entity?  Will the other heroes ever remember Maxwell Lord?  So many questions and a great story every issue.  Judd Winick has hit his stride and made this a hit.  My only complaint is that the art was pretty bland.  Joe Bennett just didn’t do it for me.  He’s ok, but I never felt pulled in by it and there’s a scene with Max Lord saying “Ooh-rah,” that’s just plain bad.  But the writing is there and fantastic, the art varies from issue to issue because of the changing artists, but that doesn’t affect my end opinion.  You need to be buying this series, because it is flat out DC comics at it’s best!

The Avengers #5 – Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Penciled by John Romita Jr.  The Avengers left in our time are trying to figure out what exactly to do in all of the chaos.  It isn’t an easy task either, because of all the innocents involved from the past and future who are being sucked into our timeline.  Also, Thor tries to take Galactus down a few sizes, which is always a difficult task.  In the future Tony Stark learns the future version of himself attacked him.  Kang wants to keep putting groups together to defeat Ultron, but in the end, he’s unraveling time by doing it.  There are just some weird leaps in logic in this issue, but some might say that’s Bendis’ style.  When they get teleported back in time how do they take the place of themselves?  Would they be there alongside themselves?  Although, when you put it in terms of the “Groundhog Day” reference, it does make a tad bit of sense, just not much.  The story feels like it should take a few more steps forward than it did, but still not bad.  I just didn’t care for the explanations going on by Future Stark.  Not some of Bendis’ better writing, but I did think the issue was still entertaining.  Romita is Romita, I don’t need to say much else.  Despite being entertaining, it isn’t enough to make me recommend it to you unless you’ve been following this storyline, if so, you might as well.

Shadowland: Daughters of the Shadow #2 – Written by Jason Henderson and Art by Ivan Rodriguez.  Former Bounty Hunter Colleen Wing takes her place as leader of the Nail.  The Nail is a sect of female assassins for the hand.  We get a first hand taste of them right away in this issue as they rescue a truck full of girls headed towards being enslaved.  Colleen considers herself a Samurai, because unlike ninja, samurai adhere to codes and principles.  Colleen talks to Murdock and mentions once again that her mother used to lead the Nail.  Colleen intends to lead the Nail into an attack on a Massage Parlor that uses these enslaved women.  However, when the person behind the trafficking scheme is somebody her friend Tig is working for, things go south.  An interesting tale of trying to play a middle line when there’s not much of one to play.  She walks the thin line while the other female characters don’t subscribe to it.  Most of them are downright nasty, especially Black Lotus who doesn’t exactly see eye-to-eye with Colleen’s style.  It’s not excellently written or anything, but there is a fun kind of appeal to this.  The artwork isn’t great, kind of stiff in spots, the colors make this thing tolerable, but I have a feeling if everything wasn’t blended and gradiented out, it would look worse.  If you like “Kill Bill” type movies, this might be an enjoyable read, otherwise it has limited appeal.

Legion of Super-Heroes #5 – Written by Paul Levitz and Penciled by Yildiray Cinar & Francis Portela.  A transport that was supposed to take Titan refugees to their new home, instead crashes on their camp. While the Legion is dealing with that, Earth Force shows up to perhaps vanquish what’s left of the refugees.  Meanwhile on Naltor, we see the search for the new wearer of the Green Lantern ring continue.  Earth-Man bails out his fellow leaguers as well and Brainiac disobeys an order.  Just a lot of interesting things going on with the main story being the Earth Force vs. Xeno’s story and Earth-Man’s part in it all.  Once again, a lot of characters to juggle, but Levitz handles with extremely well.  The only disappointing part was no Saturn Girl follow-up yet.  But with so much going on, it’s hard to get back to some things.  It makes me wish the issues were longer so we could find out more and slow the pace a tad.  On the plus side, we have Timber Wolf quite a bit in this issue and he’s been all but unseen in these first four issues.  Hopefully we see more of him going forward.  The Durlan sub-plot is also getting interesting and I want to know where that is going.  The art is pretty superb in this issue as well, so I found no problems with it.  The only issue I have anymore is that too many characters, not enough time for them all, which is almost a shame really.  Lots of interesting characters and pretty superb writing his made Legion a can’t miss monthly epic.

Technorati Tags: uncanny x-men,matt fraction,whilce portacio,fantastic four,jonathan hickman,steve epting,green lantern corps,tony bedard,ardian syaf,justice league: generation lost,judd winick,joe bennett,avengers,brian michael bendis,john romita jr.,shadowland: daughters of the shadow,jason henderson,ivan rodriguez,legion of super-heroes,paul levitz,yildiray cinar,francis portela

Quick Comic Book Reviews–August 29th, 2010

Quick Comic Book Reviews–August 24th, 2010

10, count em, 10 titles all reviewed today!  One of my biggest posts EVER!  Will it be epic?  What will I think of the awesome titles in today’s edition?

New Mutants #17 – Written by Zeb Wells and Art by Leonard Kirk.  Illyana gets a vision that Pixie has been kidnapped and teleports the team to Limbo.  A move that everyone would clearly be thrilled with.  In Limbo they have more time to get ready for taking care of Ulysses and rescuing poor Pixie.  The mutant/demon hybrids are ready for battle with the New Mutants and it’s only a matter of time before they jump into action.  Some of the stuff that happened in Limbo was a little confusing.  I guess Limbo is like that.  However, the story continued to move forward with some decent characterization going on.  It was a pretty interesting issue of a good storyline.  The artwork continues to be very well done as Leonard Kirk is becoming one of my favorite artists.  A pretty decent issue, the only problem was that it didn’t feel like it was really moving the story along much, but I think maybe that’s because it started as kind of a flashback, giving it the feeling that nothing happened.  So being a pretty good issue, it’s worth checking out if you haven’t yet, but it isn’t a super spectacular issue if that’s what you’re looking for.

Birds of Prey #5 – Written by Gail Simone and Penciled by Alvin Lee & Adriana Melo.  So we start off the issue with a set of shocking revelations about Savant as he was about to throw Oracle off a bridge.  Huntress is really pissed about Black Canary running off and having to let the Penguin go.  So Black Canary heads off with White Canary to Bangkok.  Meanwhile, Hank Hall heals up as does Lady Blackhawk.  Lady Blackhawk isn’t about to taking any of the news lying down either.  We end the issue with a “shocking” revelation?  Anyway, there’s plenty of subplots going on here and the main plot is a little confusing.  Yeah, she killed all the brothers of White Canary, but really Shiva is the one who set-up Black Canary in the first issue, so now she has to ally herself with White Canary.  Come again?  I guess I don’t understand exactly why Shiva is important, so that doesn’t help.  Because of that and the lack of an explanation behind the motivation of Canary, I only feel this is an average issue.  Plus the art fluctuates in this issue and isn’t as good as it has been in previous issues.  I’m not sure if it’s Lee or Melo because last issue it was Melo teaming up with yet another artist.  So who needs whom here?  I have no idea.  I’m just confused about the whole damned thing.  It’s ok for what it is, but damn it’s a tad confusing, but I have to say, Huntress is awesome in these issues.

Justice League: Generation Lost #9 – Written by Judd Winick and Penciled by Fernando Dagnino.  Fire is face-to-face with Max Lord and Max has to do what he needs to.  So what does he do?  He mind controls her.  A huge battle breaks out and the team has to come back together as they have to fight one of their own… and Max Lord as well.  This issue gives us a nice face-to-face confrontation with Max Lord and the Justice League in their former home.  We also get to see the damage taken by Rocket Red who still manages to bring moments of levity to the issue.  Another great issue of storytelling, but the artwork was a little limp here.  I’m just not a big fan of how Dagnino draws his faces.  From a storytelling perspective, he does a fine job.  But some of the visuals just aren’t up to par with some of the other art in this series.  Still a solid buy if ever there was one.

Time Masters: Vanishing Point #2 – Written by and Layouts done by Dan Jurgens and Finished Art by Norm Rapmund & Rodney Ramos.  Rip Hunter is faced with figuring out where and when he is and get back to everyone else so they can track down Bruce Wayne.  However, he’s hooked up with a guy who looks like he’s straight from a Conan novel.  Meanwhile, the rest of the team gets themselves involved in a fight that they might have been better staying out of.  Supernova also tries to figure out what’s going on with the Vanishing Point.  Plus some other bad guys plot some naughty stuff.  So this was a typical job of Dan Jurgens telling his stories.  Nothing too spectacular, but easily enjoyable.  Honestly, it really had nothing to do with Bruce Wayne at the end of the day.  It almost seems like that’s merely a subplot of what they’re doing here.  If you’re looking for them to be getting clues about Bruce Wayne, etc., then steer clear.  If you just want a decent Dan Jurgens story with some pretty good artwork, then it might be worth checking out.

X-Factor #209 – Written by Peter David and Penciled by Emanuela Lupacchino.  So Lady Sif has taken off with Pip to Las Vegas.  Madrox feels bad about it and heads off to Vegas to confront Lady Sif.  So off he heads to Las Vegas with his team.  Come to think of it, with THAT team, it might be really a bad idea, as Madrox soon has to find out.  What a totally fun issue though!  This has a lot of funny and entertaining things going on.  I love Shatterstar trying to throw-down with the fake pirates and being in utter disdain of them.  And didn’t anyone stop to think that Longshot in Vegas would be a completely terrible idea?  I love it!  The interaction and personalities of the group is what really makes this comic work.  It isn’t just a mutant title, it’s much more than that and is really top notch work by Peter David.  Emanuela provides some very nice artwork as well.  It isn’t overly detailed and it manages to capture each character quite nicely.  A fantastic issue and worth picking up and checking out!

Uncanny X-Men #507 – Written by Matt Fraction and Penciled by Whilce Portacio with Leonard Kirk.  The Five Lights saga continues on as the X-Men race to find the new mutants that showed up and usher in a new age of mutants.  They try and track down a brand new mutant who’s power manifest, speeding everything about himself until he seemingly vanishes into thin air.  Then it’s up to Hope to come in and pull him together using her unknown, but beneficial powers.  There’s a whole series of crap involving Emma Frost in here that’s just… boring.  I could care less about her character and Whilce can’t draw her anymore apparently.  In fact, I’m guessing Whilce just phoned it in on this issue too and they had to get Leonard Kirk to come in and save the mess.  Fraction keeps writing Emma like the ice queen that she is, but the way he writes the other characters opining for her attention is lame.  This storyline has potential, but they need to drive away from Emma for awhile and get a real artist.  Like I’ve said, I usually enjoy Portacio’s artwork, but this seems like a job he’s doing for a little extra cash and could give a crap about how the art looks.  It really shows here.  So just an issue you can probably pass on for now.

Shadowland: Ghost Rider #1 – Written by Rob Williams and Art by Clayton Crain.  Ghost Rider is summoned by Kingpin in previous issues of Shadowland.  Now Kingpin wants to talk to Ghost Rider who is not very impressed by Wilson Fisk.  Fisk informs him that if he wants to be free from the Hand magic Kingpin used to summon him, then he must destroy the Hand at their seat of power.  Sounds easy enough to Ghost Rider, but we all know it’s never that easy.  Things don’t go quite as planned (do they ever?) and Ghost Rider has to make some “changes”.  Wow, the art was breath-taking in this issue.  Clayton Crain’s art alone makes this worth reading.  And the story isn’t too bad, but a few times I questioned if some of those things Ghost Rider would really say.  Other than that, a beautiful and great issue.  Not much else to say here.  I would highly recommend this to anybody who wants a good Ghost Rider story with amazing artwork!

Thunderbolts #148 – Written by Jeff Parker and Art by Declan Shalvey.  Shadowland crossover time!  We get a little look at life on the Raft with the Bolts while Cage is out dealing with Daredevil.  That means the tower they usually go to is off limits and they have to eat with the general populace and that provides for some interesting moments.  Luke eventually calls them in to help with freeing people on the underground of the castle, the Underhand.  So now I know where Underdog came from.  But anyway, the group is brought in mainly because it seems Luke wants to help an old friend out.  Ninja mayhem ensues.  So a pretty good story here as we find out what life is somewhat like for the Bolts and we also get some background time with Luke as well.  Just a pretty well written issue as they’ve all been so far since Parker took over with this new Thunderbolts team.  The crossover aspect works, because now we’re seeing another side of Shadowland that we haven’t really explored much yet.  Next issue should be really fun!  The artwork seemed a tad off at times and there were just some scenes where it felt like he drew things weird and then didn’t bother fixing it later.  But really a great issue and next issue has lots of potential so run and grab a copy for yourself.

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #3 – Written by Ed Brubaker and Art by Dale Eaglesham.  Machinesmith has captured Steve Rogers and removed the super solider serum from him.  So now Steve has to deal with being depowered and in a tight situation.  Can he find aid in the robot that thought it was Erskine’s wife?  A pretty solid issue here as we get some good flashbacks to Steve growing up.  Not many issues tell about him as that scrawny runt we first saw, but this issue actually talks about it.  It helps us relate to him more.  The best part is that all the training her underwent, that you can’t take away.  I still don’t see how removing the serum would make him scrawny again.  If you sucked the steriods out of Jose Canseco, would he automatically get smaller?  I’m gonna put my money on “hell no” and call it a win.  Other than that gap in logic, it wasn’t too bad at all.  The artwork was neither here nor there.  It certainly wasn’t fantastic, but I’ve seen a lot worse the past few months.  So this is a pretty decent issue, but not quite something I would necessarily say you should buy.

Green Lantern #57 – Written by Geoff Johns and Penciled by Doug Mahnke.  So Hector has seemingly eaten the Orange Lantern and boy is Larfleeze freaking out.  But Hector bolts to find Carol who is in Vegas.  So Hal totes Larfleeze along with him to Vegas.  Do you see how this could be a bad idea?  Two of the worst people in comics to take on Vegas trips go there in comics this month, go figure.  Carol has to hunt down The Predator entity to restore the Sapphire battery.  But Carol disagrees and thinks there may be another way.  Anyway, the Predator possesses a human with an obsession with a waitress at a Casino.  Then Larfleeze arrives and everything quickly goes downhill.  A much better issue with some interesting points being made in this one.  Larfleeze does his best to give us some good comic relief and Mahnke’s artwork is actually pretty spot-on this issue.  He also seemed to reduce the shine on Hal’s outfit, so maybe he heard my complaints.  Yeah right!  So the hunt for the Entities goes on I guess.  But this was a pretty good issue with some pivotal moments that are must read, so grab this issue!

Technorati Tags: green latern,doug mahnke,geoff johns,steve rogers,super solider,ed brubaker,dale eaglesham,thunderbolts,jeff parker,declan shalvey,shadowland,ghost rider,rob williams,clayton crain,whilce portacio,matt fraction,uncanny x-men,x-factor,peter david,emanuela lupacchino,time masters,vanishing point,dan jurgens,norm rapmund,rodney ramos,justice league,generation lost,judd winick,fernando dagnino,birds of prey,gail simone,alvin lee,adrian melo,new mutants,zeb wells,leonard kirk

Quick Comic Book Reviews–August 24th, 2010

Quick Comic Book Reviews–August 12th, 2010

Still playing a game of catch-up!  But I’m getting there!  This batch we have some hits and two major league misses.

The New Avengers #3 – Written by Brian Michael Bendis and Penciled by Stuart Immonen.  Well, we finally get a clue as to what we’re dealing with here and the story continues to be interesting.  But we join this issue with Power Fist in possession of the Eye of Agamotto.  We have ghosts/demon-ish things flooding out of the sky and… Ghostbusters references.  So right away, that scores some high points with me.  The Thing and Spiderman exchange quite the witty banter and just go well together.  I really like this line-up of the Avengers and they continue to make it interesting.  I really like Ms. Hand in this one, she has some of the highlights of this issue for sure.  Just some really great stuff from Bendis in this one.  Check it out!

Justice League: Generation Lost #8 – Written by Judd Winick and Penciled by Aaron Lopresti.  Here’s another great issue full of solid comedic moments and some serious stuff going on in the meantime.  The plot doesn’t move forward a ton, but it sure makes the little bit we get interesting nonetheless.  Winick knows how to execute comedic timing and write these characters to be interesting.  I’m really loving this comic as it seems to really get better as it goes.  But the premise of this issue is simply that our group is caught invading Checkmate while trying to find Max Lord.  Oh, and they’re all dressed up in Rocket Red suits.  So a lot of wacky stuff, mostly solid art through-out and just a damn good time.  Last issue was a tiny letdown, but this issue gives me some moments that I really enjoyed.  Worth looking into because it’s just a fun comic and maintains serious implications on the DC Universe.

Brightest Day #9 – Written by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi with Artwork by Patrick Gleason, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado.  So, we’ve got some weird guy that Aquaman had a vision about, Deadman having to track down everyone and then some damned story about the forest in Star City.  Sound like fun?  And what the hell happened to Hawkman?  Lord, talk about a whole lot of to-do about nothing.  Uneven artwork, boring and listless storytelling.  This isn’t epic anything besides fail.  The series really is needing to get somewhere and quick, because it sure doesn’t hold any of my interest.  I could care less about what goes on with Mars.  And the whole stuff in the forest is ok, but Martian Manhunter’s stuff was just confusing and annoying.  I didn’t feel like there was much value in any of this.  So my basic thought is, if you want to waste $2.99, you might as well just send it to me.  Seriously, send it this way.  I’m broke.

Hawkeye & Mockingbird #4 – Written by Jim McCann and Penciled by David Lopez.  So we’re off and running trying to backtrack to what happened at the end of last issue.  So you can just guess that the explosion we saw actually took a good 10 minutes before it went off.  I hate that trick, they used to do it in the old serials of the 30’s and 40’s.  You see what happened at the end of last episode and then you rewind and show what happened “in-between” frames basically.  Cheap gimmick and this one was especially not well crafted.  But we’re setting up for the final showdown with Phantom Rider and Crossfire versus Hawkeye and Mockingbird.  Don’t get me wrong, there is still plenty of very good story going on here, but I’m less impressed with David Lopez as we go.  It also seems like McCann has a good first act and then follows it up with a weak second act.  So I pray our third and final act (or our Climax) brings us a great close to this.  A pretty good first four issues, but it’s starting to slip a little already.  I hope McCann can right his ship a little as it’s listing to the side.  I wanted to like this issue more than I did.  It’s just okay.

Batman & Robin #13 – Written by Grant Morrison and Art by Frazier Irving.  I’m a bit behind on my Batman reading so I’m trying to catch up.  Grant Morrison’s run on Batman and Robin has been kind of weird.  I like his portrayal of Damien, but that’s really been about it.  However, the road he’s been going down is starting to make some sort of sense.  We start this issue with the return of Thomas Wayne.  WTF you say?  Yes, Thomas Wayne.  And we get a huge shock I’m not going to spoil, but it’s crazy.  Then we flashback to 3 days prior and we have Batman and Robin talking to the Joker who has turned over a “new leaf”.  Batman finally starts piecing things together about what’s been going on for the past year.  Meanwhile, we get a nice stark visual moment that reminds me of the Joker being in the opposite position he was in during "The Killing Joke”.  Good stuff there.  The artwork has a very noir feel.  Sometimes I like it, sometimes I hate it.  Just depends on the page.  Batman is very realistically rendered, but I don’t buy comics for that bit of realism.  So, to me, the artwork is good, but it detracts from the comic medium.  Especially something like Batman, I just appreciate your “normal” comic art better.  Although it’s still better than Mark Bagley’s SpiderBatman.  Hey, Mark Bagley, Batman is NOT Peter Parker under that suit.  Anyway, the story is heavy but solid stuff.  This might be a really good point to jump on, but the artwork could detract from this for some.

Franken-Castle #20 – Written by Rick Remender and Art by Tony Moore, Paco Diaz and John Lucas.  All the reviews I had been reading about Franken-Castle had cast it in such a spectacular light I had to see what was going on here.  Boy was I disappointed.  In this issue Franken-Castle continues to square off with the man who killed him, Daken.  We have Wolverine in on this too and we have an epic battle of epic epicness.  Need I say more?  The whole thing is over the top, the artwork is over the top, it just doesn’t work for me.  The way things ended up was gross, bizarre, and twisted.  I don’t always mind that, but it just wasn’t what I was looking for with this series.  I expected weird, sure, but not this.  The artwork just looks cheap and downright awful in spots.  I can’t stand the way it all comes together.  However, the preview for next issue has me excited as I’m a big Dan Brereton fan.  I’m not sure if he’s doing the artwork and story for the next issue, but if so, boy will it be fantastic.  And the way thinks are going with Frank Castle, I’m thinking this is right up Brereton’s alley.  Avoid this issue like the plague and let’s see what next issue brings!

Technorati Tags: New Avengers,Justice League: Generation Lost,Justice League,Brightest day,Hawkeye & Mockingbird,Batman & Robin,Franken-Castle,Rick Remender,Tony Moore,Paco Diaz,John Lucas,Daken,Wolverine,Dan Brereton,Mark Bagley,Grant Morrison,Frazier Irving,Jim McCann,David Lopez,Joker,Geoff Johns,Peter Tomasi,Patrick Gleason,Ivan Reis,Joe Prado,Deadman,Hawkman,Martian Manhunter,Judd Winick,Aaron Lopresti,Brian Michael Bendis,Stuart Immonen

Quick Comic Book Reviews–August 12th, 2010

Quick Comic Book Reviews–September 6th, 2010

Wow, I’m even more behind than usual with my supposedly quick reviews.  But we just had a new baby born and leading up that I didn’t have as much free time as I normally do.  I’ll keep working on updating everything, but I’m lagging behind.

Shadowland: Moon Knight #1 – Written by Gregg Hurwitz and Penciled by Bong Dazo.  First of all, wow, what a name.  Bong?  The artist is named Bong?  If that’s a real name, poor choice.  If that’s a nickname, once again, poor choice.  I would legally be changing that if I had that name.  But anyway, he does a very good job here.  His artwork is different, it has a certain feel to it where everything is very rounded and has a fluid-like feel to it.  Kind of like everything is melted a little bit.  The story is pretty decent and does a good job of reacquainting readers with Moon Knight.  His story is a bit confusing at times, so it isn’t a bad idea to do this.  The story isn’t super interesting, but it gets there towards the end.  It wraps in very well to what is going on in Shadowland and makes sense.  Really a lot of stuff going on, but this is a bigger issue than normal.  I thought it made me want to see what happens next.  I really think they want to make Moon Knight relevant again and they’re doing a pretty decent job.  This is an issue worth checking out if you want to get back on the Moon Knight train!

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – Blade #1 – Written by Duane Swierczynski and Penciled by Tim Green.  Ah yes, the epic saga of the “Curse of the Mutant” continues on!  First of all, how the hell does Blade carry his sword with him in an airport and not get stopped?  I mean, he’s a vampire yeah, so pretty crazy anyway, but let’s take all realism away.  Another one of those pointless cross-over issues that made me yawn.  So this just explains some background story.  But really, it isn’t all that important as background story anyway.  They assume we want the story of how Blade knows it when they could have summed it up in a 5 panel exposition in one of the already awful X-Men issues.  Anybody want to hold a turd in there hand?  If you do, pick this up, if you don’t, buy War Bonds.

Fantastic Four #582 – Written by Jonathan Hickman and Penciled by Neil Edwards.  I have a feeling something big is happening here, but this issue left me wanting to figure out what the heck was going on.  The best part of a story is if at the end, you want to keep reading and finding out what’s going on.  Jonathan Hickman does a wonderful job of setting up what may very well be an epic story.  This has been the summer of Hickman as he has stepped up his game with some wonderful storytelling.  Here we wrap-up the battle of the Nathaniel Richards’ battling it out.  We get a wonderful look at another timeline’s Doctor Doom.  Don’t know why I like that so much.  But we have a big set-up going on to see how the lives of the Fantastic Four are about to radically change.  I’ve got a feeling this is going to be a good one, so pick this issue up so you can’t say you were left out!

Justice League: Generation Lost #7 – Written by Judd Winick and Penciled by Joe Bennett.  The main question in this issue… where the hell did they find the extra Rocket Red outfits?  Ok, so this issue is about infiltrating Checkmate HQ to get to Max Lord.  Wait, what’s that?  Who’s Max Lord?  You’ve never heard of him either?  NO!!!!!!  Um… anyway, sorry about that.  For an infiltration mission, this ends up about like I would suspect.  But the story is fun and entertaining the entire time.  And guess what?  Going after Max Lord might just be a very bad idea in more ways than one.  Hilarious lines with Rocket Red and everyone trying to emulate him.  Just good stuff.  The artwork is solid throughout and helped hold my attention, so a good job there.  There are a few spots where I couldn’t quite figure out how they all joined up at the end, but that might be because the writer didn’t leave a way for the artist to really visualize it well.  Plus, with everyone wearing the same outfit, there’s bound to be a little confusion.  Other than that, I’m a big fan!  Must buy this issue, this is what good comics are all about!

Adventure Comics #517 – Written by Paul Levitz and Penciled by Kevin Sharpe and Marlo Alquiza.  The artwork in this issue is erratic.  Some spots it looks pretty good and then in other spots it looks very awkward.  I wonder if the reason there are two artists is to clean-up the work of the other one.  The story, however, is based on the Legion during it’s founding day when there were only 3 Legionnaires.  The story itself is just ok, with some moments that seem a bit out of place.  It’s like Paul Levitz is putting his best stuff in the new Legion of Superhoes comic, but not the Adventure Comics.  I think he’s trying to keep it simple, but the stories so far haven’t been that entertaining.  Weird how one writer can be night and day different with the same team.  I think we all know which series he’s putting his heart into right now.  The back-up story has the Atom!  Written by Jeff Lemire and Penciled by Mahmud Asrar.  I’m liking Mahmud’s work here!  The story does what it can with a limited amount of pages.  The problem is, it goes by a bit too quick and felt like it wasn’t very worthwhile.  Jeff tries to explain things about the Atom’s power that he probably just shouldn’t bother trying to do.  So it doesn’t add much value to this issue.  Overall, Adventure Comics is once again another miss for me!

Action Comics #892 – Written by Paul Cornell and Penciled by Pete Woods with Pere Perez.  I’ve liked a lot of Paul Cornell’s writing, but boy was this story disjointed.  What if… I wrote every… sentence like this?  Well, that’s how this story reads.  A lot of people stammering around thoughts and that just doesn’t make for good reading.  So Lex is out after the Black Ring energy.  That’s about the story in general and it doesn’t evolve too much from there.  The artwork is the best part and we’ll leave it at that.  Blech!  We get an extra story with Superboy.  Written by Jeff Lemire and Penciled by Pier Gallo.  This is just a weird set-up for Superboy #1 and frankly it doesn’t impress me, nor does it make me want to checkout that issue when it does come out.  Smallville has some dirt golems come to life and attack, but I have no idea why, nor did I really care at that point.  For being a second feature, it was more like a long advertisement.  Didn’t add much value, but at least it was better than the main story this issue.  Not saying much though.  This one is a turd folks, skip it.

Technorati Tags: Shadowland,moon knight,gregg hurwitz,bong dazo,x-men,curse of the mutants,blade,duane swierczynski,tim green,fantastic four,jonathan hickman,neil edwards,justice league,generation lost,judd winick,joe bennett,adventure comics,paul levitz,kevin sharpe,marlo alquiza,action comics,paul cornell,pete woods,pere perez

Quick Comic Book Reviews–September 6th, 2010

Quick Comic Book Reviews – August 3rd, 2010

Once again, just a quick series of reviews.  I’m finding it easier to do these quick reviews due to lack of time to breakdown each issue separately.  Plus this way I get more read, so kind of a win-win.  This should help you figure out if an issue might be worth picking up.  But then again, my opinion is just that, and my opinion might just be lousy.  Utilize at your own risk.  :-)

New Avengers #2 – Here is a series that continues on with the same New Avengers we had gotten to know.  Spiderman, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Thing, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye and Mockingbird.  So we’ve seen this team-up, not much NEW about it really besides The Thing.  However, in the second issue of the New New series, we start figuring out some things that are happening with Damien Hellstrom, Doctor Strange and Brother Voodoo.  We’re still figuring out who wants the Eye of Aga-what’s-his-face.  We still get the great banter from Wolverine and Spiderman that we come to expect, including Spidey getting a baby monitor to take into battle so he doesn’t miss anything.  Lots of good little things, solid artwork, make this a good comic.  If you liked em before, you’ll like em again, even with the mystical hocus pocus stuff.  Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen cook up a good one.  Solid buy!

Legion of Superheroes #3 – Paul Levitz is back with a vengeance and boy is it a fun ride so far!  I’m going to give Levitz huge praise, because he is one of the few writers who can efficiently handle a ton of heroes and keep them all interesting and make them feel important.  Geoff Johns should take notes for Brightest Day.  Paul keeps giving us more and more questions and surprises.  Making Earth Boy a Green Lantern seems to be a red herring, but more importantly, the way Earth Boy is in an uncomfortable alliance with the Legion is excellent.  There is more storyline packed in these pages than you could hope for in most comics now days and the artwork backs it all up.  Terrific storytelling in all aspects and makes this a MUST BUY!  I simply do not want to miss an issue and boy, the end of this one really has me excited!  Gotta run and get it!

Justice League: Generation Lost #5 – The title seems to be hitting its stride now.  The new Blue Beetle is utilized well, Rocket Red is a bit of a hypocrite, but at least they explain it.  The artwork is decent enough stuff, nothing bad nor terrible.  In this issue Max Lord makes a proposition to everyone that they can take or leave.  But what will it be?  Captain Atom has to make a big decision and Aaron Lopresti’s pencils do a tremendous job of capturing a superb moment of drama.  The interplay of the team is solid as they try and figure out what to do.  I’m intrigued to see where it is all going as Max Lord is a downright bastard.  Well paced issue, the team is starting to gel more and the story is starting to unfold well.  Buy if you love the characters, might be a near miss otherwise.

Superman #701 – JMS brings his take to Superman and so far so good.  We don’t have him battle big bad monster of the week.  This is Superman’s effort to step back into his role with Earth as the protector of it.  But he finds himself looking to help the common people a bit more.  I like it, it has a good feel with Superman getting more touch with his human side and right now with the way things are in the world, this is a good thing.  To see him interacting with normal people and realizing their struggles reconnects Superman with his own human side, I think that’s important.  Superheroes sometime have to reflect what’s going on in their world and right now there are lots of people out there in need, people who have problems that are fairly ordinary.  It is fun to think, what if Superman could help you?  I like it so far.  Buy if you’re looking for a different kind of Superman story.

Green Arrow #2 – First off, did I waste my time reading that or what?  I actually thought the first issue was alright, but the follow-up seemed to have little purpose and was quite short.  It didn’t feel right all around.  The artwork was weak, especially considering the guy couldn’t even draw the Green Lantern symbol correctly, and the story was worse.  And btw, if your Green Lantern ring loses its power in the forest, wouldn’t that mean that the costume disappears too?  Ugh, just ugh.  We’re no closer to solving the mystery of the forest and the “shocker” at the end seems just out of the blue.  So much so that I don’t even care what next issue brings to Oliver Queen.  Really just plain awful.  Don’t waste your money!

Green Lantern #56 – Does Hal Jordan always wear a shiny outfit?  I didn’t think so, but Doug Mahnke sure thinks so and I don’t care for his rendition.  Usually I like his artwork, it just never seemed to feel in place during this issue.  Geoff John’s writing even seemed particularly hokey in this one.  I had been a little curious about this storyline, but less so after this issue.  First I have to sit through a joke about a Pink Flamingo.  Did that joke survive the 80’s?  We have Hector Hammond rumbling on about some mystery we don’t really no much about.  There is an overlying story about the entities in the lanterns and that just didn’t grab me.  The only decent part was with The Question being put back to rest.  Other than that, a veritable ick-fest.  I love a good Green Lantern story and this is not it.  Skip it!

Green Lantern Corps #50 – Wow, 50th issues are usually monumental type issues, this one, not so much.  Tony Bedard is one of my favorite writers and the stories he has been writing have been moving along fairly well.  This issue however is a near miss. Ardian Syaf does a fine job with the artwork in this issue and his Hank Henshaw, Cyborg Superman whatever you want to call him is spot-on.  The issue flies by and you’re really mostly left with a flashback/where Cyborg Superman has been issue.  The amount of things that actually happened could have probably been done in about 2-4 pages.  That’s disappointing when you’re spending money on it.  So you’re basically learning what happened to Cyborg Superman when everyone thought he was dead.  Really nothing too interesting when it boils down to it.  Can’t recommend this one.

Technorati Tags: green lantern corps,doug mahnke,tony bedard,green arrow,paul levitz,justice league: generation lost,new avengers,legion of super-heroes,brian michael bendis,keith giffen,jms,reviews

Quick Comic Book Reviews – August 3rd, 2010