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 15th, 2010

Brightest Day #7 – Well, it only took 7 issues before they got to the main plot.  We saw bits of mysteries going on and we now have a few answers that make sense.  But boy, did it take way too long!  It will be interesting to see how what was revealed in this issue will affect the other titles.  Could make things very interesting in some of those series.  I have some doubts, but we’ll see.  The art was fine in this issue considering all the different artists.  The issue zoomed right along as you actually wanted to figure out some of this stuff.  The big reveals are alright, the artwork changes every other page, but nothing too bad.  This is the only issue of Brightest Day you need to bother with buying so far.

Shadowland: Bullseye #1 – Wow, just wow. So here we have a story about a funeral for Bullseye held at the behest of a bunch of thugs.  Of course, they want Mr. Crossover himself, Ben Urich to cover it under much duress.  Any time you see an issue with Ben Urich, you’re about guaranteed it’s a tie-in to some major crossover to help make more money off it.  However, sometimes those tie-ins aren’t too bad.  This is one of those pointless issues in comic books that makes you say “why”.  It isn’t like you would miss anything if you skipped this issue entirely!  Not much makes any sense and the story is limp.  I hope John Layman doesn’t a habit of this type of writing.  It rather feels, though, like they dropped the assignment on him and he had to fill the pages with something.  If you’re a writer, that’s not always a good thing.  Sean Chen did an admirable job as the artist, but most people will look past his art because the story is poop.  This issue would only be good for kindling, but it’s too expensive to be kindling, so you’re kind of stuck with it.  Buyer beware of massive suckage!
Superman #702 – J. Michael Strazynski brings us to his second full issue of Superman and it continues just as the last one left off.  Superman is wandering across America, this time Detroit is the place and Superman ends up encountering some aliens living there in secret.  So Superman works out a deal with them that seems to occur way to suddenly and they basically build something over night.  So besides that stretch of imagination, this is still better than anything Superman put out last year.  It is a good enough story that continues to focus on the human side of Superman and that’s still a good thing to me.  But where is all of this going?  It would be un-JMS like to not have some grand plan.  I’m hoping to see where this goes.  The artwork is nothing that special, by Eddy Barrows, but I think the inker may have just gone overzealous in spots.  So hard to tell without seeing the originals.  So a pretty enjoyable issue here, despite gaps in logic, but not a must buy.
R.E.B.E.L.S. #19 – Ah, a tale of 3 Brainiacs.  The first three in fact.  Despite it all, Vril Dox (aka Brainiac 2) maintains himself as the cold, calculating and charismatic bastard of the bunch.  The original Brainiac (or as I call him, Papa Brain) is set free during an attack on their home world of Colu by Lyrl Dox (Brainiac 3), who just happens to hate his father Vril.  Lyrl has recently given a pulsar sentience and that thing is pissed and pretty flipping destructive.  Chaos ensures and Vril has to find a way out of this mess.  Tony Bedard continues to write one of the best and most consistent comics out there.  The artwork of Claude St. Aubin is very strong here and fits the style we come to expect here.  Yet another excellent read.  Bedard continues to make this a must buy!
Red Robin #15 -  So far, the 2nd year of Red Robin is off to a very fun and exciting start, with the credit going to Fabian Nicieza.  The storyline has a pretty traditional comic feel with plenty of twists, reveals and characterization.  The interaction between Tim Drake and Damian is great stuff and fun to read.  The story revolves around two crooked cops who hire an assassin to go after Tim Drake because they know he has dirt on them.  We see Tim continue his dark journey that has him acting more and more like Bruce Wayne, which has to be of great concern somewhere down the road.  It is an interesting evolution of a character and I’m sure there is plenty more good stuff to come.  If you like a good Batman type of story that seems like it is going somewhere and is always interesting, this is a good bet.  The artwork by Marcus To is good stuff and the colors are vibrant.  It feels like a comic should.  Check it out!
Secret Six #24 – We join up with our Secret Six in the old west.  Wait a minute, come again?  Ok, so the cast and crew of the Secret Six is in the wild west and boy are there problems.  A crazed outlaw is coming to town to take it over.  Always good news for our anti-heroes.  The story by Gail Simone is pretty gruesome and vulgar and not for the feint of heart.  The artwork by J. Califiore is solid as well and captures some pretty intimate details well.  The issue really throws a wrench in the work and boy, am I confused.  Not sure if this is a veritable joyride, but it might have appeal to some.  Me?  I’m mostly “meh” from the whole ordeal.  Buy if you think a spaghetti western Secret six appeals to you, if not, probably not worth forking out the bucks for.
Fantastic Four #581 – A delightfully warped Fantastic Four story.  Recently I haven’t been too impressed with Fantastic Four and the past few years have had no sense of purpose.  It just seemed like a comic book lost in limbo.  I think Jonathan Hickman may have this ship turning in the right direction.  However, at times I feel we’re getting wrapped up in all of these alternative timelines and that gets real confusing real quick.  This story seems to be making a logical way to tie some of those together and create what seems to be an interesting story so far.  It involves Reed Richards’ dad and an incident that draws them all together.  There is an fairly interesting secret about what’s going on with all of this and why Reed’s dad visits him before he has any powers.  In fact, in this reality, Reed’s power and Ben Grimm’s seem contrived by inventions.  And what a wonderful play on this characters that we now know and love.  We see a way to make them interesting in an alternative timeline and some sense of bittersweet irony in the way Ben Grimm approaches the invention they made for him.  It all works well together.  Neil Edwards’ pencil are alright, there are some rough spots, but hey, that’s the Fantastic Four in a nutshell.  This one is worth checking out.

Technorati Tags: R.E.B.E.L.S.,Vril Dox,Brainiac,Lyrl Dox,Tony Bedard,Claude St. Aubin,Red Robin,Fabian Nicieza,Secret Six,Gail Simone,J. Califiore,Brightest Day,Geoff Johns,Shadowland: Bullseye,Ben Urich,John Layman,Sean Chen,Superman,J. Michael Strazynski,Eddy Barrows,Fantastic Four,Jonatham Hickman,Neil Edwards

Quick Comic Book Reviews – August 15th, 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