UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE #6
The end of series one, with a promise of another series later this year. This has been a surprise hit for some. The art is nice, the story solid and its just fun from beginning to end. The kids (no all grown up) rally against one of their own to save the world.
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #4
It’s hard to tell if this book is important or just a ‘cheap’ Batman-run version of the JLA. Much of the issue is devoted to Batgirl and Green Arrow working out their differences as the both join the team. It is well written but its hard to tell where things are going.
BIRDS OF PREY #115
Black Alice joins the team and clashes with Misfit. Oracle in the role of mother-figure just doesn’t work for me.. and possibly that’s the point as it does not go well. The Huntress and Zinda story is far more interesting, even if it does have similarities to the Marvel’s Alias story with the Purple Man.
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #10
Superman in the Middle Ages and the original Teen Titans (as kids). This issue doesn’t really go anywhere. The Challengers of the Unknown, currently holding the book of Destiny (and DC swore they wouldn’t cross mainstream with Vertigo). The Superman story is short and pointless, the Teen Titans story reads more as an advertisement to Teen Titans Year 1
CATWOMAN #76
More Salvation Run crossover. Catwoman is either trapped in her own head or jumping through the Multiverse. Her own series appears to be in a holding pattern until Salvation Run is finished.
CHECKMATE #23
The first part of Pawn 502, which follows up on the story started nearly a year ago. A Checkmate agent that infiltrated Cobra nearly a year ago makes an emergency call to be extracted, leading to the revelation of a much bigger plot. Its DC’s version of SHIELD with more intrigue and less flying hellicarriers
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 10
Ten to go before Countdown 0. In the final run to the end the big changes start to happen. Revelations and changes for Mary Marvel, Holly and Harley. I still don’t know why Karate Kid is there. Piper nearly becomes and god and Brother Eye levels up in a big way.
DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #6
In contrast to Countdown, this series just doesn’t make sense. Maybe I don’t know enough about the Fourth World to appreciate it (it’s a gap in my comic reading) but the big reveals of who’s doing what don’t mean anything. It’s obviously going to be relevant to Final Crisis so maybe it’ll be something to read again after its all done.
EX MACHINA #34
New storyine, this issue focuses on the Chief of police’s relationship with major Hundred over the last 5-10yrs. The ending hints at a change in the status quo, but could be going down the wrong path. I trust Brian Vaughn to keep things on track though.
FLASH #237
Wally tests his children to see if they’re made of the right moral fibre to be heroes. It’s a good excuse for a Superman guest star. Flash has become a book about a family of heroes, rather than just the speedster himself. Some of it works, some of it could be seen as going nowhere fast.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #18
JLA vs Suicide Squad.. well not really. It’s a minor squabble at best and really its one of those things that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Sending Suicide Squad to raid the JLA’s moonbase doesn’t seem like a rational thing to do, even for someone with as big an ego as Amanda Waller. It does serve as the trigger for JLA to get involved in Salvation Run as of next issue though.
ROBIN #171
Robin loses his girlfriend, takes detective tips from Alfred and does other ‘stuff’. Not very memorable but continues to hint at the fact that a crime fighting career and a normal teenage life just don’t mix.
SHADOWPACT #22
End of the story involving Nightmaster’s home dimension. Probably a good jumping off point for the series. It started out clever and trying to make a place for magic in the DCU.. now it may as well just be another super-team
SUPERMAN BATMAN #46
Silver kryptonite makes Superman see cartoons?!? The Kryptonite story so far has been quite good, this issue was a serious letdown. Between Superman acting like a child and Batman stubbornly arguing with Zatanna that magic doesn’t exist (which makes no sense at all given he’s followed his own mystical paths on more than one occasion) the issue doesn’t resolve anything. Hopefully the next issue goes back to what I’d expect from the writing.
UN-MEN #7
Self contained, but with a history of its own. The original Un-Men concept goes back to Anton Arcane and Swamp Thing. This book focuses on life (and death) in what is effectively a freak town. Vertigo’s version of Mutant Town without the superpowers and gaudy costumes.
WILDSTORM REVELATIONS #4
Backlash talks with Backlash whilst Savant and Nemesis break into IO. It’s been revealed that the next Wildstorm series is called ‘Number of the Beast’ so the best we can expect form the last two issues of this mini-series is a set-up for the next big event.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #551
Blah. Spider-man is a public menace again already. Peter’s working for the Daily Bugle and making lots more money (you just know its all going to go wrong again soon). Jackpot comes across as a sidekick and a politician dies because of it.
HULK #2
How many hulks are there? Green Hulk, Red Hulk and now the Abomination looks more like Blue Hulk than anything else. Obviously the series is taking its time about revealing everything, but it feels like the secrets are getting in the way of the potential story.
IMMORTAL IRON FIST ORSON RANDALL GREEN MIST DEATH
Another one-shot special for Iron Fist. The specials are required reading for anyone reading the main story (which means they need to be in the collected editions too) as they fill in the background of characters that are being introduced in the primary book. The timing and the writing of both specials has worked extremely well, developing the history and characters of the Seven Sacred Cities.
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #114
Hercules goes nuts, Hercules breaks things, Hercules becomes sane again. You can see why its been said that Hercules was the ‘orignal’ Hulk. All that and Amadeus Cho starts to stray towards the dark side.
IRON MAN #26
Iron Man vs the Mandarin. The reinvention of the Mandarin makes him a villain to be taken seriously (rather than a guy in flowing robes with glowing rings). The corporate spin on him feels borrowed from the Red Skull but still works well. The nuke’em from orbit policy is used to deal with a drastic threat, leaving us to wonder what’s happened to Shellhead.
MIGHTY AVENGERS #9
Whilst Dr Doom is seen as the FF’s major villain, this issue does a very good job of lining Iron Man and Dr Doom up as opposites. The 4 double page spreads (8 pgs) of battle seemed a little extravagant and could have been put to better use to tell more story, but the ending goes in a direction very few would expect (and no, its not a skrull reveal)
ORDER #8
This book has probably been under-appreciated. The writing is solid and the characters increasing well explored. The concept of a new team struggling to survive in a registered world (and have Tony Stark looking over your shoulder) should have been picked up a lot more than it has been. Latest news is the series is to be cancelled, but until then its still worth a read.
RUNAWAYS #29
I can’t remember when the last issue of Runaways came out, nor do I remember any statement saying this was to become a book released every 2-3 months. The story has far too many characters to be able to keep track of and with the kids all in the past there’s no sense of them belonging anywhere except in their own series. No doubt there will be longer running repercussions for all the characters as a result of the current story but that would require it to finish first.
TERROR INC #5
Last issue of the mini series. It was an interesting read. I can’t imagine the character really has a future beyond this story and it would be hard to have it fit anywhere inside the Marvel U. Otherwise it’s nice and self contained, without promising anymore than it delivered.
ULTIMATE HUMAN #2
Hulk vs Iron Man.. well for the first few pages. Then Tony ‘cures’ Bruce and offers him free run of the Stark Labs to perfect his super soldier serum. There’s a good conversation between them which explains a lot of why Banner did what he did, giving the characters an added depth. Pete Wisdom as the Leader still takes some getting used to, but overall this appears to be a solid story so far.
ULTIMATE X-MEN #91
Apocalypse, ultimate style. He kills and sucks people powers, oh and he used to be Sinister. Anyone else lost? Apocalypse, like him or hate him, is one of the big hitters in the Marvel U. The Ultimate U version of him seems rushed and two dimensional. Maybe there’s a history there we just haven’t seen yet.
ULTIMATES 3 #3
Spoilers in this one, if only to highlight the insanity of it. The Avengers head to the Savage Land. Why? Well the Savage land was really created by Scarlet Witch’s powers when she got upset. Now she’s dead and Quicksilver is missing the Avengers head there (with Wolverine in tow) to track down Magneto. Something seriously miraculous would need to happen to make this series come anywhere close to the standards set by the first two.
JENNA JAMESONS SHADOW HUNTER #1
Why oh why? Why was this written? Why did I buy it? The good – the artwork is quite nice. It’s a little stylised and suits the subject manner. The bad – everything else. I would go so far as to say it is one of the worst scripted comics I’ve ever read. Whilst the concept could be interesting, the text is nothing more than 30+ pages of exposition and jagged scene changes without a point. Virgin Comics missed on this one though the Superbowl ad spot for it (the only reason I picked it up) may still boost the first issues sales higher than they deserve.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Week in review (comics released 06/02)
ABE SAPIEN THE DROWNING #1
The story of Abe’s first solo adventure (ie. no Hellboy). It still feels very BRPD and serves well to flesh out the background and history of the Hellboy universe.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #11
It still doesn’t feel quite right. There are elements of the story, even some very specific scenes that would work so much better on the small screen. Joss can write for TV and he can write comics, it almost feels like those two writing styles are at war with each other here though. More of the ‘big bad’ for this season, but in the usual fashion of not really telling the audience all that much
ALL NEW ATOM #20
This issue reveals the bad guy of the last 19 issues before. All the madness in Ivy City can get traced back to a B grade villain who sold his soul and time travels. Unfortunately, as fun as the series is, this felt like a let down.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 12
The issue is call Convergence, but probably should have been titled ‘All Roads Lead to Apokalips’. After the Monitor/Monarch/Superman Prime war reached its conclusion (as far as we know) last issue, this issue manages to take every other storyline that has run through Countdown and send the all to Apokalips by the end of the issue (some work better than others). Less than 3 months to Final Crisis and the Darkseid story is about to take off.
DETECTIVE COMICS #841
Back to the Paul Dini, single issue stories. This time it’s the Mad Hatter. All of these stories are really well done, through I prefer the two-parters to the stand-alones.
EXTERMINATORS #26
Ancient bug conspiracies, literary brothels, reborn gods and a team of pest exterminators. There’s no way of telling which direction this story is going next. Two years in and the story now has a definite feeling of purpose to it and most of all, it’s fun.
FABLES #69
The end of the ‘Good Prince’ storyline. Flycatcher’s kingdom is under threat and he takes the battlefield in an unexpected way. It’s the end of a fairytale but with subtle reminders that the real war is yet to begin.
INFINITY INC #6
One of the weaker spin-offs of 52. The real problem is you just don’t care about any of the characters. Steel’s appearances always feel forced, as if it’s the only way they can tie the story to current continuity. I don’t really expect this series to last another year despite a few good ideas.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #12
The series that is being heralded as the ‘real’ sequel to Kingdom Come. Superman from that era is already part of the JSA now and the current recruitment drive the JSA are undertaking is adding new and old characters to the roster. The villain is not far away though, and this issue finally hints at who it is.
METAL MEN #6
Confusing and fun. The story is told in up to three different time zones, running parallel, with the same characters. Time travel, sentient metal and a liberal splash of chemistry 101 make it a fun ride regardless. Ultimately, though, it needs to be read all at once.
NIGHTWING #141
New creative team and a new direction (kind of) for Dick Grayson. There is even a conversation with Wally West where Dick says he’s done with crisis and whether or not he should be dead (a subtle dig at Dan Dido’s original intention to kill him off). A new hideout, new characters, but enough guest stars to make sure the reader feels everything is still in the same world.
NORTHLANDERS #3
A Viking version of Grand Theft Auto. A viking returns from having seen the world as part of the roman army and now has to deal with his homeland under the control of a power hungry uncle.
SCALPED #14
SUPERGIRL #26
Since her return, Supergirl really hasn't been written well. The Superman/Batman intrductory story did the character justice, the current series doesn't seem to know what its doing. Now she's left Teen Titans the only DCU character she's interacting with seems to be Superman again. Character development needed.
TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE #2
VINYL UNDERGROUND #5
Vertigo is still by far the best publisher of magic in comics. This series has four twenty somethings solving crime and dealing with the occult in London. Imagine a young Constantine in modern day Londern
WILDSTORM REVELATIONS #3
DARKNESS #2
Series relaunch after the recent First Born crossover/mini-series. The art is wonderfully coloured and the story is so far interesting. Jackie has a small country of his own and is pushing the powers of the Darkness even further (he has half his country enslaved on a drug made from the byproduct of his powers). Well worth the read.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549
Ok, so I forgot to cancel this series. I’m desperately trying to give it a chance but I still fail to be impressed. The Jackpot character (which we’re being led to believe is MJ, but probably won’t be) is unbelievable and so much of the Spidey universe just doesn’t make sense anymore.
ANITA BLAKE VH GUILTY PLEASURES #8
ANNIHILATION CONQUEST #4
Warlock and Quasar, Mantis, Rocket Racoon and Starlord all make sense in this galactic epic. The Phalanx as the bad guys are suitably epic and nasty. Wraith is just confusing. Unfortunately the series is let down by the use of Ultron as the leader of the Phalanx and The HIgh Evolutionary as the manipulator of Warlock. Not as good as the previous Annihilation storyline.
CLANDESTINE #1
I can barely remember when Alan Davis introduced Clandestine, a family of superheroes with an immortal father. It looks interesting but without knowing all the history behind the characters it feels like you’re starting a story from the middle of second season.
MOON KNIGHT #15
Psychotic super-heroes are always a little hit or miss. This one hits the mark. There’s no way to tell if Marc Spector is insane or really talking to the god of vengeance, either way he’s unbalanced and vicious.. and a licensed, registered hero, much to Tony Stark’s dismay.
MS MARVEL #24
Ms Marvel with Binary powers vs the Brood Mother. What's more interesting is the lead in to Secret Invasion crossover as of next issue. Oh, and Machine Man from NextWave is worth every printed word.
SILVER SURFER IN THY NAME #4
TWELVE #2
I have to wonder whether The Twelve or Alex Ross’s Superpowers was conceived of first. Both deal with super-hero teams from the past being brought forward to current day. JMS is doing a solid piece of writing here.
UNCANNY X-MEN #495
The first issue of ‘Divided We Stand’. The X-Men are disbanded (though we all know that won’t last). The most interesting part of this is the changes that have been made to Cyclops’s character over the last couple of years. Gone is the weak self-doubting mutant that should never have been the X-Men’s leader. Now he’s calculating, planning and someone you don’t want to cross.
BOYS #15
Back to the earlier storyline of Starlight dealing with joining the Seven, and finding that the hero business isn't all its made out to be. Hughie makes a deal to find out more about the Butcher's crew. Its over the top, excessive violence and sex and a whole lot of fun regardless. Preacher with superheroes.
The story of Abe’s first solo adventure (ie. no Hellboy). It still feels very BRPD and serves well to flesh out the background and history of the Hellboy universe.
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #11
It still doesn’t feel quite right. There are elements of the story, even some very specific scenes that would work so much better on the small screen. Joss can write for TV and he can write comics, it almost feels like those two writing styles are at war with each other here though. More of the ‘big bad’ for this season, but in the usual fashion of not really telling the audience all that much
ALL NEW ATOM #20
This issue reveals the bad guy of the last 19 issues before. All the madness in Ivy City can get traced back to a B grade villain who sold his soul and time travels. Unfortunately, as fun as the series is, this felt like a let down.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 12
The issue is call Convergence, but probably should have been titled ‘All Roads Lead to Apokalips’. After the Monitor/Monarch/Superman Prime war reached its conclusion (as far as we know) last issue, this issue manages to take every other storyline that has run through Countdown and send the all to Apokalips by the end of the issue (some work better than others). Less than 3 months to Final Crisis and the Darkseid story is about to take off.
DETECTIVE COMICS #841
Back to the Paul Dini, single issue stories. This time it’s the Mad Hatter. All of these stories are really well done, through I prefer the two-parters to the stand-alones.
EXTERMINATORS #26
Ancient bug conspiracies, literary brothels, reborn gods and a team of pest exterminators. There’s no way of telling which direction this story is going next. Two years in and the story now has a definite feeling of purpose to it and most of all, it’s fun.
FABLES #69
The end of the ‘Good Prince’ storyline. Flycatcher’s kingdom is under threat and he takes the battlefield in an unexpected way. It’s the end of a fairytale but with subtle reminders that the real war is yet to begin.
INFINITY INC #6
One of the weaker spin-offs of 52. The real problem is you just don’t care about any of the characters. Steel’s appearances always feel forced, as if it’s the only way they can tie the story to current continuity. I don’t really expect this series to last another year despite a few good ideas.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #12
The series that is being heralded as the ‘real’ sequel to Kingdom Come. Superman from that era is already part of the JSA now and the current recruitment drive the JSA are undertaking is adding new and old characters to the roster. The villain is not far away though, and this issue finally hints at who it is.
METAL MEN #6
Confusing and fun. The story is told in up to three different time zones, running parallel, with the same characters. Time travel, sentient metal and a liberal splash of chemistry 101 make it a fun ride regardless. Ultimately, though, it needs to be read all at once.
NIGHTWING #141
New creative team and a new direction (kind of) for Dick Grayson. There is even a conversation with Wally West where Dick says he’s done with crisis and whether or not he should be dead (a subtle dig at Dan Dido’s original intention to kill him off). A new hideout, new characters, but enough guest stars to make sure the reader feels everything is still in the same world.
NORTHLANDERS #3
A Viking version of Grand Theft Auto. A viking returns from having seen the world as part of the roman army and now has to deal with his homeland under the control of a power hungry uncle.
SCALPED #14
SUPERGIRL #26
Since her return, Supergirl really hasn't been written well. The Superman/Batman intrductory story did the character justice, the current series doesn't seem to know what its doing. Now she's left Teen Titans the only DCU character she's interacting with seems to be Superman again. Character development needed.
TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE #2
VINYL UNDERGROUND #5
Vertigo is still by far the best publisher of magic in comics. This series has four twenty somethings solving crime and dealing with the occult in London. Imagine a young Constantine in modern day Londern
WILDSTORM REVELATIONS #3
DARKNESS #2
Series relaunch after the recent First Born crossover/mini-series. The art is wonderfully coloured and the story is so far interesting. Jackie has a small country of his own and is pushing the powers of the Darkness even further (he has half his country enslaved on a drug made from the byproduct of his powers). Well worth the read.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549
Ok, so I forgot to cancel this series. I’m desperately trying to give it a chance but I still fail to be impressed. The Jackpot character (which we’re being led to believe is MJ, but probably won’t be) is unbelievable and so much of the Spidey universe just doesn’t make sense anymore.
ANITA BLAKE VH GUILTY PLEASURES #8
ANNIHILATION CONQUEST #4
Warlock and Quasar, Mantis, Rocket Racoon and Starlord all make sense in this galactic epic. The Phalanx as the bad guys are suitably epic and nasty. Wraith is just confusing. Unfortunately the series is let down by the use of Ultron as the leader of the Phalanx and The HIgh Evolutionary as the manipulator of Warlock. Not as good as the previous Annihilation storyline.
CLANDESTINE #1
I can barely remember when Alan Davis introduced Clandestine, a family of superheroes with an immortal father. It looks interesting but without knowing all the history behind the characters it feels like you’re starting a story from the middle of second season.
MOON KNIGHT #15
Psychotic super-heroes are always a little hit or miss. This one hits the mark. There’s no way to tell if Marc Spector is insane or really talking to the god of vengeance, either way he’s unbalanced and vicious.. and a licensed, registered hero, much to Tony Stark’s dismay.
MS MARVEL #24
Ms Marvel with Binary powers vs the Brood Mother. What's more interesting is the lead in to Secret Invasion crossover as of next issue. Oh, and Machine Man from NextWave is worth every printed word.
SILVER SURFER IN THY NAME #4
TWELVE #2
I have to wonder whether The Twelve or Alex Ross’s Superpowers was conceived of first. Both deal with super-hero teams from the past being brought forward to current day. JMS is doing a solid piece of writing here.
UNCANNY X-MEN #495
The first issue of ‘Divided We Stand’. The X-Men are disbanded (though we all know that won’t last). The most interesting part of this is the changes that have been made to Cyclops’s character over the last couple of years. Gone is the weak self-doubting mutant that should never have been the X-Men’s leader. Now he’s calculating, planning and someone you don’t want to cross.
BOYS #15
Back to the earlier storyline of Starlight dealing with joining the Seven, and finding that the hero business isn't all its made out to be. Hughie makes a deal to find out more about the Butcher's crew. Its over the top, excessive violence and sex and a whole lot of fun regardless. Preacher with superheroes.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Week in review (comics released 23/01)
AUTHORITY PRIME #4 (OF 6)
The Authority and Stormwatch Prime do the usual fight each other until something bigger and badder comes along that they both need to fight together. I still live in hope that one day these teams will be written by Ellis again so I'll care what happens.
BLUE BEETLE #23
Blue Beetle is fun. Its like Spider-man when Peter Parker was still in school, just with an ethnic edge. This issue is the build up to the final battle with the Reach, the aliens Jamie knows are trying to take over the world (and who created the scrab he gets his powers from).
COUNTDOWN LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS #4 (OF 6)
I still remember the Extremists from JLI as the team that 'killed' the Justice League back then. It was a much more serious story in what was otherwise a light hearted book. In this series there is no humor. It's all on an alternate Earth and Monarch has a grudge with them. It should be relevant to Countdown, but mostly its just confusing with a bunch or heroes and villains (and its impossible to tell which are which) with histories we know nothing about.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 14
The war on Earth 52 continues. The long hinted at return(?) of Red Robin. Superman Prime goes a little more nuts. Donna Troy gets herself an army. No mention has been made of the Fourth World story for a few issues now so I'm guessing Countdown won't finish that. (And I still don't believe the Monarch character to be credible)
COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY #5 (OF 8)
Spectre, Eclipso in one story, Doctor Fate in the other. This book is really just setup for where the characters are going to sit in the DCU. Another book which could be seen as a set-up for Final Crisis.
CRIME BIBLE THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #4 (OF 5)
The concept here was interesting. Each story focusing on a less of the crime bible and also serving as a good way of showing off Montoya as the new Question. Unfortunately one story per issue is not enough to tell the story well. In need of a better writer or more pages to tell stories of more substance.
GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #4 (OF 9)
Part Batman, part Salvation Run, part Villains United. Its more a story of how Gotham's villains are dealing with power struggles and being hunted, with the Bat family supporting characters. An interesting read.
JLA CLASSIFIED #51
The Classified series vary in quality from story to story. Mostly just an opportunity to tell stories with characters that may be otherwise unavailable due to current continuity. The current JLA Classified story deals with an alien threat and tells an 'untold' story inside another untold story. Not too bad, not too great, otherwise unlikely to be of any consequence. And John Byrne's art unfortunately isn't what it used to be.
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #38
Jim Shooter's second LSH issue. Lots of legionnaires and Lightning Lad not coping with leadership. I still preferred the Legion all grown up when Giffen was writing it, but the current run definitely has the feel of what the Legion used to be. Of course, with three different Legions out there until Final Crisis comes along, the future is an uncertain place.
SUPERMAN BATMAN #45
Superman and Batman decide to rid the planet of Kryptonite. Aquaman (the new, younger one) questions them both as to their real reasons for doing so. It's a good way of dealing with the fact that any two bit hood could lay their hands on kryptonite these days.
TEEN TITANS #55
The Aftermath of the Titans Tomorrow storyline. Some Titans leave, some stay, some get jealous, others go a little nuts. Its enjoyable to read but afterwards you can't help but wonder if its not just 90210 with costumes.
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #5 (OF 8)
An understated enjoyable read. Palamotti appears to have been given free reign to write the series and does so with a sense of respect tot he characters he's giving voice to. Superheroes that have to deal with the government and who don't always do the right thing. Red Bee goes nuts, wanting to take over the world for her hive.
WONDER WOMAN #16
The latest issue of Gail Simone's new run and the story is starting to fir together. What originally felt as though is was an attempt to twist the character into her own, now feels more like solid storytelling.. though I'm still not sure about giant apes and nazis.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #548
Brand New Day part 3.. and its no better than the previous two parts. This will probably end my purchasing of Spidey for a while. The writing isn't that bad, the story and the events that led to it have destroyed any sense of history for the character though. New bad guys, new support characters, still don't care. See the 'With Great Power' posting tomorrow for more detail.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #24
Part 6 of 6 of the Breakworld saga, or so it's advertised.. pity its actually part 6 of 7, with the last part of the story being told in a giant-sized special next month. It's still great, well written, fantastic art, I just wish I hadn't read it thinking it was going to end. I would have saved this issue to read when the special came out.
IRON MAN #25
Stark finally figures out what's going on with the Mandarin and Leonard Samson tells him why he's going slowly insane (there's a pattern here with stories this month). This story would be better read in a collected edition as its just too spaced out at the moment. The climatic battle is due next month.
MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #4 (OF 5)
Overdone. The original concept of Marvel Zombies (in Ultimate FF) was clever and an unexpected success. The first series was interesting as an alternate Earth type thing. That's where is should have stopped. Set in the future, the remains of the human race and a few zombies who no longer hunger, try to defend against still hunger, galactic powered ex-super-hero zombies. It's all very silly.
ORDER #7
One of the good things to come out of Civil War. The Order find themselves dealing with a surrendered Namor at the same time as trying to prevent their city from turning into a riot zone. Each issue so far has been interspersed with interview-like conversations with each character in order to introduce them. This one takes the interview model and shows you both sides.
SHE-HULK 2 #25
I can see that Peter David is trying to make the character his own, and that She-Hulk has gone through more than a few tragedies lately. The 'I'm not going to be a hero anymore' line she's using sounds a lot more like a petulant child than seven foot woman able to knock buildings down. With Skrulls (that aren't part of Secret Invasion) and an untold story of why She-Hulk's attitude has changed, its still interesting enough to read to find out what happens next.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #50
Ultimate Thanos and the Ultimate Cosmic Cube. The Ultimate version of FF is even more cosmic than the original series lately. Again, this would probably be better as a collected edition if only because so much is going on in each issue its hard to keep track.
ULTIMATE IRON MAN II #2 (OF 4)
Not as 'wow' as the first series but still solid storytelling. Tony Stark as a teenager trying to run his father's company. There's a lot more of the boy-genius here and it will be interesting to see how he becomes the character that is now in the Ultimates.
ULTIMATES 3 #2 (OF 5)
Unfortunately this series feels like you're reading about an entirely different group of people from the first two series. On its own is probably wouldn't be too bad but in comparison to the last two series this feels like WildCATS, not the Avengers.
WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH DAMAGE CONTROL #1 (OF 3)
This looks like it could be fun. Damage Control are contracted by Tony Stark to rebuild New York and they appear to know exactly what's needed. Super-powered contractors and characters that looks at the destruction of a city as part of a normal day's work.
X-MEN #207
The end of Messiah Complex and a stand-out for the week. Messiah Complex changes the mutant universe as much as Civil War did for the rest of the super-human community. Deaths, secrets, new roles and a much darker time lies ahead for any of the teams with an X in their name. Three new series spawn out of this epic and two others are effectively cancelled.
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 (OF 6)
Patriot, grandson of the 'original' black Captain America, wonders what his place in the world is with Captain America now dead. He tracks down Bucky (a bit of a stretch admittedly) to have a conversation with him about what it means to be a hero and a patriot. Its a nice story to acknowledge the Young Avengers characters are still around, but it does feel like Marvel's really not sure what to do with them yet.
DAN DARE #3 (OF 7)
Dan Dare was an icon of British comics back when you could defend the universe with an ideal and a ray gun. This series is set a couple of decades after Dan and his friends saved the universe from the evil Mekon. Pulled out of retirement when a new threat arrives, its not long before he finds himself on an barren planet, chased by monsters ad trying to protect civilians. Its an indulgence for anyone who's read Dan Dare before, but may not mean much for anyone unfamiliar with the character.
The Authority and Stormwatch Prime do the usual fight each other until something bigger and badder comes along that they both need to fight together. I still live in hope that one day these teams will be written by Ellis again so I'll care what happens.
BLUE BEETLE #23
Blue Beetle is fun. Its like Spider-man when Peter Parker was still in school, just with an ethnic edge. This issue is the build up to the final battle with the Reach, the aliens Jamie knows are trying to take over the world (and who created the scrab he gets his powers from).
COUNTDOWN LORD HAVOK AND THE EXTREMISTS #4 (OF 6)
I still remember the Extremists from JLI as the team that 'killed' the Justice League back then. It was a much more serious story in what was otherwise a light hearted book. In this series there is no humor. It's all on an alternate Earth and Monarch has a grudge with them. It should be relevant to Countdown, but mostly its just confusing with a bunch or heroes and villains (and its impossible to tell which are which) with histories we know nothing about.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 14
The war on Earth 52 continues. The long hinted at return(?) of Red Robin. Superman Prime goes a little more nuts. Donna Troy gets herself an army. No mention has been made of the Fourth World story for a few issues now so I'm guessing Countdown won't finish that. (And I still don't believe the Monarch character to be credible)
COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY #5 (OF 8)
Spectre, Eclipso in one story, Doctor Fate in the other. This book is really just setup for where the characters are going to sit in the DCU. Another book which could be seen as a set-up for Final Crisis.
CRIME BIBLE THE FIVE LESSONS OF BLOOD #4 (OF 5)
The concept here was interesting. Each story focusing on a less of the crime bible and also serving as a good way of showing off Montoya as the new Question. Unfortunately one story per issue is not enough to tell the story well. In need of a better writer or more pages to tell stories of more substance.
GOTHAM UNDERGROUND #4 (OF 9)
Part Batman, part Salvation Run, part Villains United. Its more a story of how Gotham's villains are dealing with power struggles and being hunted, with the Bat family supporting characters. An interesting read.
JLA CLASSIFIED #51
The Classified series vary in quality from story to story. Mostly just an opportunity to tell stories with characters that may be otherwise unavailable due to current continuity. The current JLA Classified story deals with an alien threat and tells an 'untold' story inside another untold story. Not too bad, not too great, otherwise unlikely to be of any consequence. And John Byrne's art unfortunately isn't what it used to be.
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #38
Jim Shooter's second LSH issue. Lots of legionnaires and Lightning Lad not coping with leadership. I still preferred the Legion all grown up when Giffen was writing it, but the current run definitely has the feel of what the Legion used to be. Of course, with three different Legions out there until Final Crisis comes along, the future is an uncertain place.
SUPERMAN BATMAN #45
Superman and Batman decide to rid the planet of Kryptonite. Aquaman (the new, younger one) questions them both as to their real reasons for doing so. It's a good way of dealing with the fact that any two bit hood could lay their hands on kryptonite these days.
TEEN TITANS #55
The Aftermath of the Titans Tomorrow storyline. Some Titans leave, some stay, some get jealous, others go a little nuts. Its enjoyable to read but afterwards you can't help but wonder if its not just 90210 with costumes.
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #5 (OF 8)
An understated enjoyable read. Palamotti appears to have been given free reign to write the series and does so with a sense of respect tot he characters he's giving voice to. Superheroes that have to deal with the government and who don't always do the right thing. Red Bee goes nuts, wanting to take over the world for her hive.
WONDER WOMAN #16
The latest issue of Gail Simone's new run and the story is starting to fir together. What originally felt as though is was an attempt to twist the character into her own, now feels more like solid storytelling.. though I'm still not sure about giant apes and nazis.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #548
Brand New Day part 3.. and its no better than the previous two parts. This will probably end my purchasing of Spidey for a while. The writing isn't that bad, the story and the events that led to it have destroyed any sense of history for the character though. New bad guys, new support characters, still don't care. See the 'With Great Power' posting tomorrow for more detail.
ASTONISHING X-MEN #24
Part 6 of 6 of the Breakworld saga, or so it's advertised.. pity its actually part 6 of 7, with the last part of the story being told in a giant-sized special next month. It's still great, well written, fantastic art, I just wish I hadn't read it thinking it was going to end. I would have saved this issue to read when the special came out.
IRON MAN #25
Stark finally figures out what's going on with the Mandarin and Leonard Samson tells him why he's going slowly insane (there's a pattern here with stories this month). This story would be better read in a collected edition as its just too spaced out at the moment. The climatic battle is due next month.
MARVEL ZOMBIES 2 #4 (OF 5)
Overdone. The original concept of Marvel Zombies (in Ultimate FF) was clever and an unexpected success. The first series was interesting as an alternate Earth type thing. That's where is should have stopped. Set in the future, the remains of the human race and a few zombies who no longer hunger, try to defend against still hunger, galactic powered ex-super-hero zombies. It's all very silly.
ORDER #7
One of the good things to come out of Civil War. The Order find themselves dealing with a surrendered Namor at the same time as trying to prevent their city from turning into a riot zone. Each issue so far has been interspersed with interview-like conversations with each character in order to introduce them. This one takes the interview model and shows you both sides.
SHE-HULK 2 #25
I can see that Peter David is trying to make the character his own, and that She-Hulk has gone through more than a few tragedies lately. The 'I'm not going to be a hero anymore' line she's using sounds a lot more like a petulant child than seven foot woman able to knock buildings down. With Skrulls (that aren't part of Secret Invasion) and an untold story of why She-Hulk's attitude has changed, its still interesting enough to read to find out what happens next.
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #50
Ultimate Thanos and the Ultimate Cosmic Cube. The Ultimate version of FF is even more cosmic than the original series lately. Again, this would probably be better as a collected edition if only because so much is going on in each issue its hard to keep track.
ULTIMATE IRON MAN II #2 (OF 4)
Not as 'wow' as the first series but still solid storytelling. Tony Stark as a teenager trying to run his father's company. There's a lot more of the boy-genius here and it will be interesting to see how he becomes the character that is now in the Ultimates.
ULTIMATES 3 #2 (OF 5)
Unfortunately this series feels like you're reading about an entirely different group of people from the first two series. On its own is probably wouldn't be too bad but in comparison to the last two series this feels like WildCATS, not the Avengers.
WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH DAMAGE CONTROL #1 (OF 3)
This looks like it could be fun. Damage Control are contracted by Tony Stark to rebuild New York and they appear to know exactly what's needed. Super-powered contractors and characters that looks at the destruction of a city as part of a normal day's work.
X-MEN #207
The end of Messiah Complex and a stand-out for the week. Messiah Complex changes the mutant universe as much as Civil War did for the rest of the super-human community. Deaths, secrets, new roles and a much darker time lies ahead for any of the teams with an X in their name. Three new series spawn out of this epic and two others are effectively cancelled.
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 (OF 6)
Patriot, grandson of the 'original' black Captain America, wonders what his place in the world is with Captain America now dead. He tracks down Bucky (a bit of a stretch admittedly) to have a conversation with him about what it means to be a hero and a patriot. Its a nice story to acknowledge the Young Avengers characters are still around, but it does feel like Marvel's really not sure what to do with them yet.
DAN DARE #3 (OF 7)
Dan Dare was an icon of British comics back when you could defend the universe with an ideal and a ray gun. This series is set a couple of decades after Dan and his friends saved the universe from the evil Mekon. Pulled out of retirement when a new threat arrives, its not long before he finds himself on an barren planet, chased by monsters ad trying to protect civilians. Its an indulgence for anyone who's read Dan Dare before, but may not mean much for anyone unfamiliar with the character.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Week in review (comics released 16/01)
Whilst this is not an attempt to review everything that’s come out in the week I’ll use it to do a brief rundown of the highlights and the low-lights of the week. From there, you can make your own decisions (or post replies to argue otherwise). I’ll try not to post much in the way of spoilers without some sort of warning beforehand.
In order of publisher (because that’s the list I work from):
UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE #5 (OF 6)
Really enjoying this series. It’s self contained and yet has a history of its own. It feels a lot like Hellboy in the early days but has a distinct sense of identity. Super-hero kids all grown up in a world with talking monkeys and doomsday machines.
BIRDS OF PREY #114
An interesting issue and Oracle spirals into obsession... again. The series seems to have lost its way a little (maybe since Black Canary left) and there’s no real point to it anymore. Nicola Scott’s artwork is looking better and better though.
BOOSTER GOLD #6
I still can’t work out if this series is going to be pivotal to Final Crisis events or not. Time is broken, Rip Hunter and Booster Gold try to fix it. The return of Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) in this issue and there looks to be a happy ending. That said, it’s time travel and I guarantee it will all be bad next month (that and I read the synopsis for the next issue, Max Lord rules the world)
CATWOMAN #75
Tie in to Salvation Run. You need to read one if you’re reading the other. Catwoman, who’s been more on the side of angels than not over the last few years in trapped on Death World with a who’s who of bad guys.
CHECKMATE #22
Second part of a two-part fill-in story. Its about one of the secondary characters so doesn’t really engage all that much. Checkmate as an ongoing series remains interesting, however. It’s SHIELD for the DC Universe but works a lot better.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 15
14 issues to go. We find out what Ray palmer’s really been up to (and whilst I’m sure it’ll be relevant in the next few months it was very much a ‘huh, what?’ type moment). Monarch is still a poor choice of villain. It just doesn’t makes sense that Captain Atom is inside the suit, I’d say he was a skrull except it’s the wrong company. All the disparate threads are tying together slowly though and the ending should be worthwhile.
FLASH #236
The last part of the re-introduction of the Flash story, with his super-powered kids in tow. It has aliens, the JLA, back story and a happy ending, but again I just didn’t care too much. I really enjoyed Waid writing Flash last time he was on the title, this time it just fails to grab me.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17
The cover means nothing. Black Lighting is not composed entirely of lightning, despite what it implies (yes, that was a spoiler, kind of). The story, however, is good set-up to JLA vs Suicide Squad and keeps the team book in the middle of the DC Universe still.
ROBIN #170
All the bat titles are undergoing a slight revamping (new creative teams) after the Ra’s story. Robin’s not going anywhere yet.
SHADOWPACT #21
Losing interest. Unfortunately most books about teams of magic heroes just look like poorly written books about teams of normal super-heroes. This follows the same vein.
WILDSTORM REVELATIONS #2 (OF 6)
Maybe if this leads into another re-boot of the Wildstorm Universe they’ll get it right this time. I’m not holding my breath. The story suffers from the fact the reader isn’t allowed to know anything until the end of the story, despite what the characters might think they know.
FELL #9
Outstanding as usual. Story and art are the perfect package, proving that you don’t have to write 80pg specials or charge US$5.99 to sell a good story.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #547
Spider-man is the biggest disappointment of this year.. and it’ll be hard work for anything to replace it even though its only Jan. If you liked Spider-man in the 80s, then read this because that’s all marvel has done to the character. Kinda makes me wonder why they bother with Ultimate Spider-man now.
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #12
Highlight of the week. Iron Fist is in my top 5 these days. Solid story, good use of characters, everything you’ve come to expect from Brubaker (and Faction). If you’re not reading it, read it.
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #113
This is fun. There’s some foreshadowing in here as Hercules talks to his sister and is told Amadeus Cho could be the next big hero or the worst villain on the planet. Herc vs Ares. Amadeus vs SHIELD. Chaos ensues.
NEW EXILES #1
Claremont and mutants. The only guarantee is it will be a story with a thousand sub-plots. Throw in travel between alternate dimensions as well and it has the feel of being Claremont’s playground rather than a solid story.
NEW WARRIORS #8
Disappointing after a relatively strong start. NW is being set-up as the opposition to the Initiative, that later being government sponsored, the former being rebels (made up mostly of de-powered, now power-suited mutants). It’s no where near as well written and feels as b-grade as the team itself.
NEW X-MEN #46 MC
Messiah Complex continues to impress. An X crossover that’s solidly written, has characters acting for ‘real’ reasons and enough surprises to make you want to buy the next issue just to find out what happens next. A credit to Brubaker and the others involved. (the predator X involvement feels like a forced plot device but can be forgiven)
PENANCE RELENTLESS #4 (OF 5)
So Speedball was a joke and now Penance can potentially destroy a country, out-thinks Doc Doom, Stark and Osborn. It’s a stretch to say the least. One issue to go and I’m interested to see where it goes but have a feeling it won’t have any lasting effects.
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #21
Deadpool vs Wolverine. The biggest problem is the fact that they’ve remained true to Deadpool as he’s bee written for the last few years, ie. an insane humorous character. Unfortunately, up until now, this book has been nothing but serious. It just feels wrong.
WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH WARBOUND #2 (OF 5)
Uninspiring. The characters are too new to care about and the Master just can’t be taken seriously. Read Un-Men from Vertigo if you want outcasts in an isolated town.
ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #3
The comment ‘just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should’ has been used to describe both the new Buffy and Angel series. LA is in Hell and divided up by various demons. Rather than a continuation of the story from the TV series the creators (Whedon included) have used this as an opportunity to put all the characters in new situations which have you wondering what’s happened over a period of time to get them to that state. Its an over-used writing technique these days (see Heroes, Lost, etc) and doesn’t work all that well here. Mostly its just confusing.
In order of publisher (because that’s the list I work from):
UMBRELLA ACADEMY APOCALYPSE SUITE #5 (OF 6)
Really enjoying this series. It’s self contained and yet has a history of its own. It feels a lot like Hellboy in the early days but has a distinct sense of identity. Super-hero kids all grown up in a world with talking monkeys and doomsday machines.
BIRDS OF PREY #114
An interesting issue and Oracle spirals into obsession... again. The series seems to have lost its way a little (maybe since Black Canary left) and there’s no real point to it anymore. Nicola Scott’s artwork is looking better and better though.
BOOSTER GOLD #6
I still can’t work out if this series is going to be pivotal to Final Crisis events or not. Time is broken, Rip Hunter and Booster Gold try to fix it. The return of Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) in this issue and there looks to be a happy ending. That said, it’s time travel and I guarantee it will all be bad next month (that and I read the synopsis for the next issue, Max Lord rules the world)
CATWOMAN #75
Tie in to Salvation Run. You need to read one if you’re reading the other. Catwoman, who’s been more on the side of angels than not over the last few years in trapped on Death World with a who’s who of bad guys.
CHECKMATE #22
Second part of a two-part fill-in story. Its about one of the secondary characters so doesn’t really engage all that much. Checkmate as an ongoing series remains interesting, however. It’s SHIELD for the DC Universe but works a lot better.
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 15
14 issues to go. We find out what Ray palmer’s really been up to (and whilst I’m sure it’ll be relevant in the next few months it was very much a ‘huh, what?’ type moment). Monarch is still a poor choice of villain. It just doesn’t makes sense that Captain Atom is inside the suit, I’d say he was a skrull except it’s the wrong company. All the disparate threads are tying together slowly though and the ending should be worthwhile.
FLASH #236
The last part of the re-introduction of the Flash story, with his super-powered kids in tow. It has aliens, the JLA, back story and a happy ending, but again I just didn’t care too much. I really enjoyed Waid writing Flash last time he was on the title, this time it just fails to grab me.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #17
The cover means nothing. Black Lighting is not composed entirely of lightning, despite what it implies (yes, that was a spoiler, kind of). The story, however, is good set-up to JLA vs Suicide Squad and keeps the team book in the middle of the DC Universe still.
ROBIN #170
All the bat titles are undergoing a slight revamping (new creative teams) after the Ra’s story. Robin’s not going anywhere yet.
SHADOWPACT #21
Losing interest. Unfortunately most books about teams of magic heroes just look like poorly written books about teams of normal super-heroes. This follows the same vein.
WILDSTORM REVELATIONS #2 (OF 6)
Maybe if this leads into another re-boot of the Wildstorm Universe they’ll get it right this time. I’m not holding my breath. The story suffers from the fact the reader isn’t allowed to know anything until the end of the story, despite what the characters might think they know.
FELL #9
Outstanding as usual. Story and art are the perfect package, proving that you don’t have to write 80pg specials or charge US$5.99 to sell a good story.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #547
Spider-man is the biggest disappointment of this year.. and it’ll be hard work for anything to replace it even though its only Jan. If you liked Spider-man in the 80s, then read this because that’s all marvel has done to the character. Kinda makes me wonder why they bother with Ultimate Spider-man now.
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #12
Highlight of the week. Iron Fist is in my top 5 these days. Solid story, good use of characters, everything you’ve come to expect from Brubaker (and Faction). If you’re not reading it, read it.
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #113
This is fun. There’s some foreshadowing in here as Hercules talks to his sister and is told Amadeus Cho could be the next big hero or the worst villain on the planet. Herc vs Ares. Amadeus vs SHIELD. Chaos ensues.
NEW EXILES #1
Claremont and mutants. The only guarantee is it will be a story with a thousand sub-plots. Throw in travel between alternate dimensions as well and it has the feel of being Claremont’s playground rather than a solid story.
NEW WARRIORS #8
Disappointing after a relatively strong start. NW is being set-up as the opposition to the Initiative, that later being government sponsored, the former being rebels (made up mostly of de-powered, now power-suited mutants). It’s no where near as well written and feels as b-grade as the team itself.
NEW X-MEN #46 MC
Messiah Complex continues to impress. An X crossover that’s solidly written, has characters acting for ‘real’ reasons and enough surprises to make you want to buy the next issue just to find out what happens next. A credit to Brubaker and the others involved. (the predator X involvement feels like a forced plot device but can be forgiven)
PENANCE RELENTLESS #4 (OF 5)
So Speedball was a joke and now Penance can potentially destroy a country, out-thinks Doc Doom, Stark and Osborn. It’s a stretch to say the least. One issue to go and I’m interested to see where it goes but have a feeling it won’t have any lasting effects.
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #21
Deadpool vs Wolverine. The biggest problem is the fact that they’ve remained true to Deadpool as he’s bee written for the last few years, ie. an insane humorous character. Unfortunately, up until now, this book has been nothing but serious. It just feels wrong.
WORLD WAR HULK AFTERSMASH WARBOUND #2 (OF 5)
Uninspiring. The characters are too new to care about and the Master just can’t be taken seriously. Read Un-Men from Vertigo if you want outcasts in an isolated town.
ANGEL AFTER THE FALL #3
The comment ‘just because you can do it doesn’t mean you should’ has been used to describe both the new Buffy and Angel series. LA is in Hell and divided up by various demons. Rather than a continuation of the story from the TV series the creators (Whedon included) have used this as an opportunity to put all the characters in new situations which have you wondering what’s happened over a period of time to get them to that state. Its an over-used writing technique these days (see Heroes, Lost, etc) and doesn’t work all that well here. Mostly its just confusing.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Why?
It's always good to start with a post about your intentions for these kind of things, even if you look back at it later and find you're miles away from where you thought you'd be. There are already a myriad of sites, blogs, forums, etc devoted to comics and all things comic-like. We all read them, we all have our own opinions. Instead of maintaining a regular set of conversations through email, this puts everything in one spot.
Hopefully this will mean a weekly round-up of comics and then rants or opinions of the wider world of comics, stories, movies inspired be, etc.
We'll see how it goes..
Hopefully this will mean a weekly round-up of comics and then rants or opinions of the wider world of comics, stories, movies inspired be, etc.
We'll see how it goes..
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