Amazing Spider-Man #636 by Joe Kelly, Marco Checchetto and Michael Lark with a backup story by J.M. DeMatteis, Emma Rios and Max Fiumara and another backup by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin.
I was very interested in seeing how the writers would fix Spidey's death in the previous issue. I was happy that the explanation makes sense. Joe Kelly has really excelled in this series by making you think something is happening and something else happens. There is quite a bit of mysticism involved with the return from the dead of Kraven, but besides that, the story stays true to other Spidey stories where we don't get much mysticism.
This issue is not drawn by Michael Lark, despite my love for Lark's artwork, I was impressed with Checchetto as I hadn't realized it wasn't Lark for a bit. I also didn't notice a change when it changes back to Lark near the end of the issue. Great job by both of them.
I am interested with Kraven's reaction. He is very unhappy to be alive again. He has always been a bit unpredictable and now he is even more. I wonder what will happen. I am not thrilled at seeing him back, given that DeMatteis "Kraven't Last Hunt" was such a great comic, however, this story arc has been outstanding this far and I won't judge the resurrection yet.
The backup story was quite emotional. I was very saddened with Kaine's actions. It is interesting to see Kaine act heroically in the main story but act like a villain in the back up. An interesting reversal of roles. This is the best of the back ups between DeMatteis and Fiumara. Can't wait to see the ending of their mini arc.
The Spidey Sundays strip by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin was great. The page design by Martin is fantastic. I really liked it. Hard to know what will happen with the story since we only get two pages, but the art was really good. It seems like a nice memorable project.
Web of Spider-Man #10 by Fred Van Lente and Nick Dragotta with a backup by Marc Guggenhein and Sana Takeda.
The final part of the Extremist trilogy occurs in this issue. I have to say that I liked it a lot. The Extremist is an interesting new villain and I really liked how Spider-Man handled the situation. He used his intelligence and his humor to defeat the Extremist. This is a quintessential Spider-man issue. Fantastic.
The back up story was not bad. The art by Takeda is quite good. I don't really care for Jackpot, I thought she had died before so I am a bit confused. I also mostly forgot what happened in last month's issue, so I don't really understand Jackpot's urgency. However, this particular issue had an interesting ending and I liked the art, so overall I liked it. The main story was much better though.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Various Recent Single Issues by Small Companies
Comic Book Guy The Comic Book #1 by Ian Boothby and John Delaney. Bongo comics.
This comic is about the comic book guy in the Simpsons. He makes a funny video of himself acting out famous death scenes but is beaten out by another geek who made an even better video (although we don't get to see that video).
While the issue was funny at times, I didn't like the comic too much. I will read two more issues because I already ordered them, but unless they are fantastic, this will be it for me.
Shrapnel: Hubris #1 by Nick Sagan and Clinnette Minnis. Radical Comics.
The miniseries Shrapnel: Aristeia Rising was pretty good. It wasn't great but it was good enough to make me interested in getting this issue. This issue was actually very good. The issue builds up for another confrontation between Venus and the Solar alliance and I am looking forward to how it goes down.
I like how Radical Comics sells issues that are much longer than usual (over 60 pages instead of 22) and charges just $1 more than usual (they charge $4.99). One thing I don't like that much is the art. It looks too static. Some scenes are hard to understand and others just seem very unnatural. Overall, the art works fine enough, it doesn't detract too much from the story. I am looking forward to the next two issues.
Royal Historian of Oz #1 by Tommy Kovac and Andy Hirsch.
This issue started weakly with a not too interesting premise, however by the end I was hooked. The idea is that Oz really exists and a fan of the series discovers it. Since he really wants to tell a good Oz story he steals stuff from Oz and brings it into the real world. This creates issues with Oz as they don't like to mingle with the real world. It should create some fun issues in the future.
Mindfield #1 by J.T. Krul and Alex Konat.
Mindfield is a comic about four psychics that work for the CIA. They use their psychic powers to stop terrorists. The art in the early pages was really good, creating really dynamic scenes where we can see the psychic powers in action. I enjoyed it very much. The second half of the issue is a bit more calm, where we find out a bit more about the protagonists. I liked it as there are clear differences between the four members of the group.
There a couple of pages that don't relate yet to the main group. It seems to be setting up a difficult challenge for the protagonists. I am looking forward to finding out what happens. Solid first issue.
This comic is about the comic book guy in the Simpsons. He makes a funny video of himself acting out famous death scenes but is beaten out by another geek who made an even better video (although we don't get to see that video).
While the issue was funny at times, I didn't like the comic too much. I will read two more issues because I already ordered them, but unless they are fantastic, this will be it for me.
Shrapnel: Hubris #1 by Nick Sagan and Clinnette Minnis. Radical Comics.
The miniseries Shrapnel: Aristeia Rising was pretty good. It wasn't great but it was good enough to make me interested in getting this issue. This issue was actually very good. The issue builds up for another confrontation between Venus and the Solar alliance and I am looking forward to how it goes down.
I like how Radical Comics sells issues that are much longer than usual (over 60 pages instead of 22) and charges just $1 more than usual (they charge $4.99). One thing I don't like that much is the art. It looks too static. Some scenes are hard to understand and others just seem very unnatural. Overall, the art works fine enough, it doesn't detract too much from the story. I am looking forward to the next two issues.
Royal Historian of Oz #1 by Tommy Kovac and Andy Hirsch.
This issue started weakly with a not too interesting premise, however by the end I was hooked. The idea is that Oz really exists and a fan of the series discovers it. Since he really wants to tell a good Oz story he steals stuff from Oz and brings it into the real world. This creates issues with Oz as they don't like to mingle with the real world. It should create some fun issues in the future.
Mindfield #1 by J.T. Krul and Alex Konat.
Mindfield is a comic about four psychics that work for the CIA. They use their psychic powers to stop terrorists. The art in the early pages was really good, creating really dynamic scenes where we can see the psychic powers in action. I enjoyed it very much. The second half of the issue is a bit more calm, where we find out a bit more about the protagonists. I liked it as there are clear differences between the four members of the group.
There a couple of pages that don't relate yet to the main group. It seems to be setting up a difficult challenge for the protagonists. I am looking forward to finding out what happens. Solid first issue.
Various Recent Single Issues by Image Comics
Sweets #1 by Kody Chamberlain.
Chamberlain did everything in this issue. Pencil, ink, color, letter and write. It shows how much he cares about this project. His artwork is quite good and the story is also shaping up nicely. I am a little thrown off by the pacing as sometimes the panel transitions seemed weird, but overall I am happy with this issue and I'll stick with the miniseries.
The story is about a serial killer in New Orleans. A serial killer who has just killed a high profile priest. The best detective has been having marital and drinking problems (going through a divorce). A solid first issue.
Codebreakers #4 by Ross Richie, Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.
This is the last issue in the miniseries. I was confused at first because I didn't remember how the last issue ended, but once I got into the rhythm I enjoyed the issue. It has a nice ending and overall it was an okay series. I can't recommend it because I don't think it was that great. The title led me to believe that codebreaking would have a bigger impact in the story and that the characters would use their intelligence to solve crimes. This wasn't exactly the case and if I had known in advance that this wouldn't be the focus of the comic, I wouldn't have bought it.
Despite my disappointment with the series, I should point out that I thought the artwork by Godlewski was very good. He did a great job.
Turf #2 by Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards.
This series is quite interesting. The creators have managed to make a fun, compelling story with vampires, aliens and 1920s gangsters. I liked this issue a lot. The artwork is fantastic and I like that the comic is not afraid of throwing caution to the wind with a fun unusual story.
In this issue, a mobster fights with vampires, an alien allies himself with a mobster, there is a vote of no confidence for the vampire leader and a crooked cop betrays the cops to the vampires. Lots of cool things happen and I can't wait to read what will happen next.
Chew #12 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
Chew is possibly my favorite ongoing series right now. It is full of creativity, humor and just plain old fun. Layman is not afraid to do strange things, such as placing the 18th page at the beginning and joking about it with the audience and the art has maintained itself as a true gem in comic books. Guillory is a master of drawing action with humor.
In this issue, Tony Chu teams up with a chicken dealer to catch a bad guy that killed another man to get Poyo, the ultimate rooster. Guillory does a great job of drawing Poyo, showing us why Poyo is so awesome. Overall, the issue is great and this series keeps making it worth to buy the issues instead of waiting for the trade. Each issue has its own story and we still get an overall arc. Great job by Layman and Guillory.
Chamberlain did everything in this issue. Pencil, ink, color, letter and write. It shows how much he cares about this project. His artwork is quite good and the story is also shaping up nicely. I am a little thrown off by the pacing as sometimes the panel transitions seemed weird, but overall I am happy with this issue and I'll stick with the miniseries.
The story is about a serial killer in New Orleans. A serial killer who has just killed a high profile priest. The best detective has been having marital and drinking problems (going through a divorce). A solid first issue.
Codebreakers #4 by Ross Richie, Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.
This is the last issue in the miniseries. I was confused at first because I didn't remember how the last issue ended, but once I got into the rhythm I enjoyed the issue. It has a nice ending and overall it was an okay series. I can't recommend it because I don't think it was that great. The title led me to believe that codebreaking would have a bigger impact in the story and that the characters would use their intelligence to solve crimes. This wasn't exactly the case and if I had known in advance that this wouldn't be the focus of the comic, I wouldn't have bought it.
Despite my disappointment with the series, I should point out that I thought the artwork by Godlewski was very good. He did a great job.
Turf #2 by Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards.
This series is quite interesting. The creators have managed to make a fun, compelling story with vampires, aliens and 1920s gangsters. I liked this issue a lot. The artwork is fantastic and I like that the comic is not afraid of throwing caution to the wind with a fun unusual story.
In this issue, a mobster fights with vampires, an alien allies himself with a mobster, there is a vote of no confidence for the vampire leader and a crooked cop betrays the cops to the vampires. Lots of cool things happen and I can't wait to read what will happen next.
Chew #12 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
Chew is possibly my favorite ongoing series right now. It is full of creativity, humor and just plain old fun. Layman is not afraid to do strange things, such as placing the 18th page at the beginning and joking about it with the audience and the art has maintained itself as a true gem in comic books. Guillory is a master of drawing action with humor.
In this issue, Tony Chu teams up with a chicken dealer to catch a bad guy that killed another man to get Poyo, the ultimate rooster. Guillory does a great job of drawing Poyo, showing us why Poyo is so awesome. Overall, the issue is great and this series keeps making it worth to buy the issues instead of waiting for the trade. Each issue has its own story and we still get an overall arc. Great job by Layman and Guillory.
Various Recent SuperHero Single Issues
Amazing Spider-Man #635 by Joe Kelly and Michael Lark with a backup by J.M. DeMatteis and Max Fiumara and another back up by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin.
I really liked this issue. In the last issue we get the cliffhanger of Ezekiel coming back from the dead so I was very interested in what would happen. In the end of the issue we find out that Ezekiel is actually the chameleon, which makes complete sense. I was surprised how well they fooled me. I like how Kelly has been playing with spiritual forces but at the same time doesn't go too far with them. Overall the issue was really good, with great artwork by Michael Lark and an issue full of action and intensity. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, specially considering the incredible cliffhanger at the end of the issue.
The first backup, which is written by J.M. DeMatteis is pretty good. This is the second issue in this storyline about Kraven. I liked Fiumara's artwork more here then in the previous issue, he seems to have gotten a better hold on how to draw Kraven and Kaine. The issue was pretty good, I really like the interaction between Kraven and Kaine.
The last backup, the two pages by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin are interesting. Not as good as in the previous issue, but it seems to be setting a funny series. These two pages don't work as well in isolation, but hopefully it will work well once we have all the package together.
Superman #701 by J.M. Straczynski and Eddy Barrows.
After a lackluster prologue in #700, Straczynski finally starts his Superman story called "Grounded" in which Superman walks across America to find his roots and why he is a hero. This issue has a few flaws, places where Superman says strange things (such as saying the world is unfair by mentioning that John Lennon is dead) and seems a bit pretentious at times (quoting Thoreau near the end), however I liked it in whole. I liked that Superman is not nice to reporters, given that I hate reporters that just follow celebrities. I liked that Superman cares about saving one life. The scene where he cares about a girl about to kill herself is pretty good, although one has to wonder about this scene, given that Morrison had just done this in an "All Star Superman" issue.
The artwork in the issue is not great, but it is not bad either. I think in terms of storytelling it is okay, he just sometimes doesn't draw Superman's face as perfect as I imagine Superman. Sometimes he nails it, sometimes he doesn't.
I am looking forward to the rest of the series. It was a much better issue than the prologue and I think that once Straczynski goes into rhythm we'll get better issues.
Irredeemable #15 by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto.
Issue #14 ended with the Plutonian coming at the Paradigm in full force, so this issue starts with a lot of action. The heroes have a secret weapon that can destroy the Plutonian, a bullet that has a special wax inside that is known to make the Plutonian vulnerable. One of the Paradigm's leaders, Qubit, doesn't trust the Orion, an evil alien that is helping the Paradigm destroy the Plutonian. There is a bit of a struggle between the Paradigm deciding whether to kill the Plutonian, in which case they would be vulnerable to Orion and not destroying the Plutonian now in hopes of finding a way later on. Besides all these problems, the Paradigm doesn't know that who they think is their resurrected friend Samsara, is actually the villain Modeus. In other words, all sorts of chaos is going on in this series and I love it. Anything can happen. The end of this issue was incredible, making a victory seem like a loss.
While I miss Peter Krause's artwork a bit, Diego Barreto does a fantastic job of covering him. The action scenes are well drawn and he is able to clearly show complex situations in the book. I like his artwork quite a bit.
Overall this series continues to impress. I am glad I gave it a chance last year and I will continue to read it for a while.
Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine #2 by Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert.
I had already forgotten the end of the first issue, so I was confused with how this issue started. However, I shouldn't worry about being confused anyways, because later on I realized that the writer just skipped months in time between the end of last issue and the beginning of this issue. Last issue was based in prehistoric times where Wolverine leads a tribe while Spider-man tries to figure out how to get back in time. At the end of the issue, Spider-man and Wolverine are thrown in time to the future, a future where humanity ended and instead of humans, ape-people rule the world. Ape-people are pretty friendly and in fact Spidey has been teaching them science these months.
The issue is quite good. Once the threat arrives, planet Doom, the issue becomes incredible. I can't believe how much detail Kubert is able to put in his art and I can't believe how outrageous this comic has been. Really fun, unpredictable and exciting. An excellent combination. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, I am very happy I am reading this series.
I really liked this issue. In the last issue we get the cliffhanger of Ezekiel coming back from the dead so I was very interested in what would happen. In the end of the issue we find out that Ezekiel is actually the chameleon, which makes complete sense. I was surprised how well they fooled me. I like how Kelly has been playing with spiritual forces but at the same time doesn't go too far with them. Overall the issue was really good, with great artwork by Michael Lark and an issue full of action and intensity. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, specially considering the incredible cliffhanger at the end of the issue.
The first backup, which is written by J.M. DeMatteis is pretty good. This is the second issue in this storyline about Kraven. I liked Fiumara's artwork more here then in the previous issue, he seems to have gotten a better hold on how to draw Kraven and Kaine. The issue was pretty good, I really like the interaction between Kraven and Kaine.
The last backup, the two pages by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin are interesting. Not as good as in the previous issue, but it seems to be setting a funny series. These two pages don't work as well in isolation, but hopefully it will work well once we have all the package together.
Superman #701 by J.M. Straczynski and Eddy Barrows.
After a lackluster prologue in #700, Straczynski finally starts his Superman story called "Grounded" in which Superman walks across America to find his roots and why he is a hero. This issue has a few flaws, places where Superman says strange things (such as saying the world is unfair by mentioning that John Lennon is dead) and seems a bit pretentious at times (quoting Thoreau near the end), however I liked it in whole. I liked that Superman is not nice to reporters, given that I hate reporters that just follow celebrities. I liked that Superman cares about saving one life. The scene where he cares about a girl about to kill herself is pretty good, although one has to wonder about this scene, given that Morrison had just done this in an "All Star Superman" issue.
The artwork in the issue is not great, but it is not bad either. I think in terms of storytelling it is okay, he just sometimes doesn't draw Superman's face as perfect as I imagine Superman. Sometimes he nails it, sometimes he doesn't.
I am looking forward to the rest of the series. It was a much better issue than the prologue and I think that once Straczynski goes into rhythm we'll get better issues.
Irredeemable #15 by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto.
Issue #14 ended with the Plutonian coming at the Paradigm in full force, so this issue starts with a lot of action. The heroes have a secret weapon that can destroy the Plutonian, a bullet that has a special wax inside that is known to make the Plutonian vulnerable. One of the Paradigm's leaders, Qubit, doesn't trust the Orion, an evil alien that is helping the Paradigm destroy the Plutonian. There is a bit of a struggle between the Paradigm deciding whether to kill the Plutonian, in which case they would be vulnerable to Orion and not destroying the Plutonian now in hopes of finding a way later on. Besides all these problems, the Paradigm doesn't know that who they think is their resurrected friend Samsara, is actually the villain Modeus. In other words, all sorts of chaos is going on in this series and I love it. Anything can happen. The end of this issue was incredible, making a victory seem like a loss.
While I miss Peter Krause's artwork a bit, Diego Barreto does a fantastic job of covering him. The action scenes are well drawn and he is able to clearly show complex situations in the book. I like his artwork quite a bit.
Overall this series continues to impress. I am glad I gave it a chance last year and I will continue to read it for a while.
Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine #2 by Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert.
I had already forgotten the end of the first issue, so I was confused with how this issue started. However, I shouldn't worry about being confused anyways, because later on I realized that the writer just skipped months in time between the end of last issue and the beginning of this issue. Last issue was based in prehistoric times where Wolverine leads a tribe while Spider-man tries to figure out how to get back in time. At the end of the issue, Spider-man and Wolverine are thrown in time to the future, a future where humanity ended and instead of humans, ape-people rule the world. Ape-people are pretty friendly and in fact Spidey has been teaching them science these months.
The issue is quite good. Once the threat arrives, planet Doom, the issue becomes incredible. I can't believe how much detail Kubert is able to put in his art and I can't believe how outrageous this comic has been. Really fun, unpredictable and exciting. An excellent combination. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, I am very happy I am reading this series.
Underground
Underground by Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber is a miniseries consisting of issues 1-5 of Underground.
I had heard good things of this comic while it was being released in the monthly issues and decided to give it a try once it came out collected in trade paperback. I am very glad I did. The comic book is great. The comic is about a cave in Kentucky. A rich man in the region wants the cave to be open to the public, something that would help the economy in the region by creating jobs and bringing tourists. Some people (very few) are against it because it would hurt the cave. Some formations in the cave are millions of years old and too many tourists would be very bad for the cave. The rich man has a plan to convince the state and this plan consists of blasting off an opening to make it easy to see that it would be easy to make it into a tourist attraction. Things don't go well and two rangers end up in the cave thinking people want to kill them. This is the set up and the writer and artist make a great job of using this set up and giving us the best possible story. Let me mention the things I love about this comic:
I love that there aren't any clear villains. While one side does some wrong things, they don't have bad intentions. A lot of the danger comes from misunderstanding. No one is truly evil.
The art throughout is excellent. The artist does a great job of creating the feeling of claustrophobia that some parts of the cave would create. He also excels at showing the wonder in the cave, such as in his beautiful 2-page spread of the "ballroom" in the cave. The comic needed a very good handle of space and dark colors and the artist and colorist did as good a job as one could imagine.
The book also has plenty of action scenes and all of them seem plausible. I love that the heroes aren't sure of themselves. I think the comic was fantastic in portraying how people would react in this circumstances.
If Parker and Lieber team up again I will definitely read what they come up with. They did a fantastic job with this. I highly recommend this book.
I had heard good things of this comic while it was being released in the monthly issues and decided to give it a try once it came out collected in trade paperback. I am very glad I did. The comic book is great. The comic is about a cave in Kentucky. A rich man in the region wants the cave to be open to the public, something that would help the economy in the region by creating jobs and bringing tourists. Some people (very few) are against it because it would hurt the cave. Some formations in the cave are millions of years old and too many tourists would be very bad for the cave. The rich man has a plan to convince the state and this plan consists of blasting off an opening to make it easy to see that it would be easy to make it into a tourist attraction. Things don't go well and two rangers end up in the cave thinking people want to kill them. This is the set up and the writer and artist make a great job of using this set up and giving us the best possible story. Let me mention the things I love about this comic:
I love that there aren't any clear villains. While one side does some wrong things, they don't have bad intentions. A lot of the danger comes from misunderstanding. No one is truly evil.
The art throughout is excellent. The artist does a great job of creating the feeling of claustrophobia that some parts of the cave would create. He also excels at showing the wonder in the cave, such as in his beautiful 2-page spread of the "ballroom" in the cave. The comic needed a very good handle of space and dark colors and the artist and colorist did as good a job as one could imagine.
The book also has plenty of action scenes and all of them seem plausible. I love that the heroes aren't sure of themselves. I think the comic was fantastic in portraying how people would react in this circumstances.
If Parker and Lieber team up again I will definitely read what they come up with. They did a fantastic job with this. I highly recommend this book.
A God Somewhere
A God Somewhere by John Arcudi and Peter Snejbjerg is an original graphic novel.
A God Somewhere is an interesting graphic novel. It is about a man who one day becomes super powerful. Little by little he starts thinking of himself as a new God. The book in a way is a study of what could happen with a superhero on the real world. Comics have dealt with this question many times. While this is a topic that has been covered many times, I think this book was worth reading for several reasons. First of all, the book builds up slowly and has plenty of characterization. The first ten or so pages are about the normal lives of the main characters and there are some flashbacks throughout to give more depth to the characters. The wonderful art helps a lot in this, because a lot of the characterization comes through subtle drawings (such as facial expressions depicting disappointment when the dialogue doesn't make it evident, just as it would happen in real life). Another reason this is very good is that it follows the surroundings of the "hero" more than the hero. We get to see how his actions affect his family and his best friend. Finally, another great reason why this comic is very good is the conflict that the best friend has. It is interesting to see how a man reacts to seeing his best friend, a great man, become a monster. Very interesting.
The art in this comic is superb and the story is very good. Without too many pages (about 130) the comic changes a lot, from a superhero tale to a monster tale. The main drawback for me was how the transformation wasn't truly explained. The main character is very vague and his transformation is quite drastic. I think this makes the book very interesting but at the same time it feels like it could have used a few more pages. One could argue that all the information that is not in words is in the art.
A very interesting book. Worth reading and one that probably feels different if read multiple times since a lot of it is vague.
A God Somewhere is an interesting graphic novel. It is about a man who one day becomes super powerful. Little by little he starts thinking of himself as a new God. The book in a way is a study of what could happen with a superhero on the real world. Comics have dealt with this question many times. While this is a topic that has been covered many times, I think this book was worth reading for several reasons. First of all, the book builds up slowly and has plenty of characterization. The first ten or so pages are about the normal lives of the main characters and there are some flashbacks throughout to give more depth to the characters. The wonderful art helps a lot in this, because a lot of the characterization comes through subtle drawings (such as facial expressions depicting disappointment when the dialogue doesn't make it evident, just as it would happen in real life). Another reason this is very good is that it follows the surroundings of the "hero" more than the hero. We get to see how his actions affect his family and his best friend. Finally, another great reason why this comic is very good is the conflict that the best friend has. It is interesting to see how a man reacts to seeing his best friend, a great man, become a monster. Very interesting.
The art in this comic is superb and the story is very good. Without too many pages (about 130) the comic changes a lot, from a superhero tale to a monster tale. The main drawback for me was how the transformation wasn't truly explained. The main character is very vague and his transformation is quite drastic. I think this makes the book very interesting but at the same time it feels like it could have used a few more pages. One could argue that all the information that is not in words is in the art.
A very interesting book. Worth reading and one that probably feels different if read multiple times since a lot of it is vague.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Jack of Fables Vol. 5: Turning Pages
Jack of Fables Vol. 5: Turning Pages by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges and Russ Braun consists of issues 22-27 of Jack of Fables.
This volume consists of two three isssue stories. Surprisingly, after leaving us with a big cliffhanger on the end of the Americana storyline and then telling us a single issue story that didn't have any relevance to the cliffhanger situation, we start the book with another irrelevant story. Not the best timing to have this story. However, the story, about Jack's misadventures in the wild West in 1883 is quite good. In the story, Fabletown becomes worried that Jack's exploits are too public and incredible, creating a possible problem for the Fables that want magic to be secret. Fabletown hence sends Bigby (the big bad wolf) to track Jack down. Bigby is one of my favorite characters from Fables, so it was a fun little story. The story did not seem like a Jack of Fables because it didn't have as much humor (although it did have a joke in an extra page at the end of each issue). It felt more like a Fables story than a Jack of Fables story.
The second story finally addresses the cliffhanger at hand at the end of the Americana story. However, it does so in a kind of roundabout way, moving the story slowly and building it up for the next volume. Despite the slowness, I enjoyed it, because we finally get to know more about the Page sisters. Characters that are supposed to be important, but of which we know very little. In this story, "Turning Pages", we get to see a bit of the past of the characters, changing Priscilla quite a bit in my mind, showing the nice side of Robin and showing why Hillary wanted to meet her father so much. Overall it was well done, however I wish we had these issues before the 1883 story. I guess it happened this way to sync up the Fables Crossover later on.
A good volume, but so far the worst of the five. It seems like the sixth one will be a fun one though. I am looking forward to it.
This volume consists of two three isssue stories. Surprisingly, after leaving us with a big cliffhanger on the end of the Americana storyline and then telling us a single issue story that didn't have any relevance to the cliffhanger situation, we start the book with another irrelevant story. Not the best timing to have this story. However, the story, about Jack's misadventures in the wild West in 1883 is quite good. In the story, Fabletown becomes worried that Jack's exploits are too public and incredible, creating a possible problem for the Fables that want magic to be secret. Fabletown hence sends Bigby (the big bad wolf) to track Jack down. Bigby is one of my favorite characters from Fables, so it was a fun little story. The story did not seem like a Jack of Fables because it didn't have as much humor (although it did have a joke in an extra page at the end of each issue). It felt more like a Fables story than a Jack of Fables story.
The second story finally addresses the cliffhanger at hand at the end of the Americana story. However, it does so in a kind of roundabout way, moving the story slowly and building it up for the next volume. Despite the slowness, I enjoyed it, because we finally get to know more about the Page sisters. Characters that are supposed to be important, but of which we know very little. In this story, "Turning Pages", we get to see a bit of the past of the characters, changing Priscilla quite a bit in my mind, showing the nice side of Robin and showing why Hillary wanted to meet her father so much. Overall it was well done, however I wish we had these issues before the 1883 story. I guess it happened this way to sync up the Fables Crossover later on.
A good volume, but so far the worst of the five. It seems like the sixth one will be a fun one though. I am looking forward to it.
Jack of Fables Vol. 4: Americana
Jack of Fables Vol. 4: Americana by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges and Russ Braun consists of issues 17-21 of Jack of Fables.
This volume consists of a four issue story (continuing the main thread in the comic) and a short one issue story. The main story is called "Americana" and it is about the Fables from America. Fables such as Paul Bunyan. The reason Jack wants to go there is to find a treasure and in the way he meets up with Hillary Page. She is going there secretly to try to find something. I won't spoil what she tries to find as it is an important part of the story.
The journey in Americana is quite fun and it almost seems rushed as Jack goes through a lot of adventures in a few pages (specially in the third issue, where they go to different American parts such as Western stories, idyllic stories, among others). The writing keeps being humorous and fun. I really like this story. One of the best so far.
The single issue at the end is not that good. The Americana storyline ends on a kind of cliffhanger and having a story where Jack doesn't feature doesn't help out. Usually I welcome the single issue stories that Willingham and Sturges bring our way, and on paper it sounds great to have an issue focus on Gary (the pathetic fallacy), however this issue wasn't as great as other Jack of Fables issues.
Overall a good volume, as good as the previous one, but not as good as the second one.
This volume consists of a four issue story (continuing the main thread in the comic) and a short one issue story. The main story is called "Americana" and it is about the Fables from America. Fables such as Paul Bunyan. The reason Jack wants to go there is to find a treasure and in the way he meets up with Hillary Page. She is going there secretly to try to find something. I won't spoil what she tries to find as it is an important part of the story.
The journey in Americana is quite fun and it almost seems rushed as Jack goes through a lot of adventures in a few pages (specially in the third issue, where they go to different American parts such as Western stories, idyllic stories, among others). The writing keeps being humorous and fun. I really like this story. One of the best so far.
The single issue at the end is not that good. The Americana storyline ends on a kind of cliffhanger and having a story where Jack doesn't feature doesn't help out. Usually I welcome the single issue stories that Willingham and Sturges bring our way, and on paper it sounds great to have an issue focus on Gary (the pathetic fallacy), however this issue wasn't as great as other Jack of Fables issues.
Overall a good volume, as good as the previous one, but not as good as the second one.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Jack of Fables Vol. 3: The Bad Prince
Jack of Fables Vol. 3 The Bad Prince by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges and Tony Akins consists of issues 12-16 of Jack of Fables.
This volume has two stories. The first one consists of four issues and it is hard to describe. It does a lot in terms of giving the series more depth. It gives us more background on Revise, it shows us a lot of Jack's past by having him cross paths with Wicked John (a very similar guy to Jack in personality and in looks, the only difference seems to be the color of their hair). It introduces the notion of "Literals" which will have repercussions later and it gives a big spotlight on Gary, the pathethic fallacy. Even though this story seemed to not be very plot driven, I think it was very good, mainly because it has a ton of humor. Almost every page has a funny scene in it. In the volume, there are three pages that focus on Paul Bunyan's pet, and this pet is hilarious. Each one of those pages consists of the pet having delusions, such as being the inventor of graham crackers or a kind pirate.
The second story is one issue long. Another fairy tale kind of story. Doesn't have a huge impact on the overall story arc, but it is a nice short story involving Jack. This time it is about his time as Jack O'Lantern. Jack makes a deal with the devil and ends up being in our world without being alive. It is hilarious to see how reckless Jack is. This story is much weaker than the Jack Frost story in my opinion, but it is still worth telling. I really like the side stories that Willinghma gives us. It's been a great joy reading stories from his FABLES universe.
This volume has two stories. The first one consists of four issues and it is hard to describe. It does a lot in terms of giving the series more depth. It gives us more background on Revise, it shows us a lot of Jack's past by having him cross paths with Wicked John (a very similar guy to Jack in personality and in looks, the only difference seems to be the color of their hair). It introduces the notion of "Literals" which will have repercussions later and it gives a big spotlight on Gary, the pathethic fallacy. Even though this story seemed to not be very plot driven, I think it was very good, mainly because it has a ton of humor. Almost every page has a funny scene in it. In the volume, there are three pages that focus on Paul Bunyan's pet, and this pet is hilarious. Each one of those pages consists of the pet having delusions, such as being the inventor of graham crackers or a kind pirate.
The second story is one issue long. Another fairy tale kind of story. Doesn't have a huge impact on the overall story arc, but it is a nice short story involving Jack. This time it is about his time as Jack O'Lantern. Jack makes a deal with the devil and ends up being in our world without being alive. It is hilarious to see how reckless Jack is. This story is much weaker than the Jack Frost story in my opinion, but it is still worth telling. I really like the side stories that Willinghma gives us. It's been a great joy reading stories from his FABLES universe.
Jack of Fables Vol.2 : Jack of Hearts
Jack of Fables Vol. 2: Jack of Hearts by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges and Tony Akins consists of issues 6-11 of Jack of Fables.
This book has two stories. First it tells us about how Jack became Jack Frost. One thing that Willigham is great at, is in creating fairy tale stories for adults. In Fables, besides having the main story arcs, he always dedicates an issue or two between story arcs to give us a new fairy tale. He does this in Jack of Fables too and that is why we have the story of Jack Frost. Jack fools a goddess (winter) to give him her powers. He is excited about it, but then realizes the problems behind being a god that brings cold weather. It is really funny to see Jack realize the disadvantages and then the confrontation with the other season's goddesses is also hilarious. Great job with this story.
The second story is about Jack going to Vegas. He decides to go to Vegas to take advantage of Gary's powers (Gary is able to bring inanimate objects into life and make them do what he wants, for example, making a slot machine give him some quarters to pay for Jack's drinks). What ends up happening in Vegas is a really cool story. The story has as its main villain, Lady Luck. The character is a very attractive woman that eats brains to suck the luck of other people. She and Jack cross paths and a lot of cool things happen. A really good story arc, I specially like the little side story involving Aubrey, a nerd that has a lucky horseshoe. The comic gives us snippets of his blog here and there, and every entry is hilarious.
Overall, this is a great volume in Jack of Fables. It has a very different feel to Fables, being not so serious and very funny. I like it a lot.
This book has two stories. First it tells us about how Jack became Jack Frost. One thing that Willigham is great at, is in creating fairy tale stories for adults. In Fables, besides having the main story arcs, he always dedicates an issue or two between story arcs to give us a new fairy tale. He does this in Jack of Fables too and that is why we have the story of Jack Frost. Jack fools a goddess (winter) to give him her powers. He is excited about it, but then realizes the problems behind being a god that brings cold weather. It is really funny to see Jack realize the disadvantages and then the confrontation with the other season's goddesses is also hilarious. Great job with this story.
The second story is about Jack going to Vegas. He decides to go to Vegas to take advantage of Gary's powers (Gary is able to bring inanimate objects into life and make them do what he wants, for example, making a slot machine give him some quarters to pay for Jack's drinks). What ends up happening in Vegas is a really cool story. The story has as its main villain, Lady Luck. The character is a very attractive woman that eats brains to suck the luck of other people. She and Jack cross paths and a lot of cool things happen. A really good story arc, I specially like the little side story involving Aubrey, a nerd that has a lucky horseshoe. The comic gives us snippets of his blog here and there, and every entry is hilarious.
Overall, this is a great volume in Jack of Fables. It has a very different feel to Fables, being not so serious and very funny. I like it a lot.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Various Single Issues
Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #3 by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette.
This issue is great. It has a nice stand alone story while moving along the overall story arc of Bruce Wayne moving in time. I still have no idea how this is happening, but Morrison is doing some cool things with the time travel part of it. Specially as the whole issue focuses on one particular time. It is interesting that Bruce is getting his memories back little by little, it should create interesting stories as the series goes on.
Overall, a great issue, I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
Superman #700 by James Robinson, Benard Chang, Dan Jurgens, J. Michael Straczynski and Eddy Barrows.
There are three stories on this issue. The first one is by James Robinson and it serves as an epilogue to the last two years of Superman he had written. It was a romantic story about Superman and Lois being back together. I haven't read anything by James Robinson before, but I didn't like this story. Essentially nothing interesting happens. I guess for those following the story it might be nice to see clark and Lois together but I didn't are.
The second story is by Dan Jurgens and I liked it quite a bit. It was fun. It was kid of ordinary in that it had Robin getting in trouble after not following Batman's orders and it was obvious Superman would come in to save the day. However, the last two pages have one twist after another that made the story a bit different, fun and funny. I enjoyed it.
The third story is by J. Michael Straczynski. Straczynski had a great run in Spider-Man and he wrote one of my favorite comic books, Midnight Nation. He also wrote the TV series Babylon 5. A series I like a lot. He is a high profile writer and he is planning a thirteen issue story of Superman walking across America to get back into his roots. I like the idea, I think JMS is very good with this kind of story (he had an episode in Babylon 5 about it, also, Midnight Nation involves walking across America to finding oneself). It is the kind of story that JMS does over and over and I think he will do a good job with it. However, this prologue to that story was very weak. It gives a completely dumb reason for Superman to do that. I really can't see how a woman can blame Superman for her husband's death and how Superman can react to it that way. Superman must know better. JMS should have been able to find a better reason for Superman to want to understand his roots in America.
Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures #2 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli.
This is one of the issues that I have liked the least of this comic book series. It is not bad, but it is not that fun or interesting. The main thing I like is Carter Torino. A son of a mobster, but who doesn't want to be a criminal and who likes Spider-Man. It seems like good stories will come from playing with this.
Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures #3 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli.
The issue is pretty fun and at the end it gets interesting with Bullseye finally doing something. I really enjoy how this series is simple fun without trying to be grim and gritty. Peter acts like a teenager and there are cool supporting characters.
I am happy I am reading this series.
One complaint about the art in this issue is that there's a character whose jacket looks different colors in different panels. It seems like the colorist made a mistake.
This issue is great. It has a nice stand alone story while moving along the overall story arc of Bruce Wayne moving in time. I still have no idea how this is happening, but Morrison is doing some cool things with the time travel part of it. Specially as the whole issue focuses on one particular time. It is interesting that Bruce is getting his memories back little by little, it should create interesting stories as the series goes on.
Overall, a great issue, I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
Superman #700 by James Robinson, Benard Chang, Dan Jurgens, J. Michael Straczynski and Eddy Barrows.
There are three stories on this issue. The first one is by James Robinson and it serves as an epilogue to the last two years of Superman he had written. It was a romantic story about Superman and Lois being back together. I haven't read anything by James Robinson before, but I didn't like this story. Essentially nothing interesting happens. I guess for those following the story it might be nice to see clark and Lois together but I didn't are.
The second story is by Dan Jurgens and I liked it quite a bit. It was fun. It was kid of ordinary in that it had Robin getting in trouble after not following Batman's orders and it was obvious Superman would come in to save the day. However, the last two pages have one twist after another that made the story a bit different, fun and funny. I enjoyed it.
The third story is by J. Michael Straczynski. Straczynski had a great run in Spider-Man and he wrote one of my favorite comic books, Midnight Nation. He also wrote the TV series Babylon 5. A series I like a lot. He is a high profile writer and he is planning a thirteen issue story of Superman walking across America to get back into his roots. I like the idea, I think JMS is very good with this kind of story (he had an episode in Babylon 5 about it, also, Midnight Nation involves walking across America to finding oneself). It is the kind of story that JMS does over and over and I think he will do a good job with it. However, this prologue to that story was very weak. It gives a completely dumb reason for Superman to do that. I really can't see how a woman can blame Superman for her husband's death and how Superman can react to it that way. Superman must know better. JMS should have been able to find a better reason for Superman to want to understand his roots in America.
Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures #2 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli.
This is one of the issues that I have liked the least of this comic book series. It is not bad, but it is not that fun or interesting. The main thing I like is Carter Torino. A son of a mobster, but who doesn't want to be a criminal and who likes Spider-Man. It seems like good stories will come from playing with this.
Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures #3 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli.
The issue is pretty fun and at the end it gets interesting with Bullseye finally doing something. I really enjoy how this series is simple fun without trying to be grim and gritty. Peter acts like a teenager and there are cool supporting characters.
I am happy I am reading this series.
One complaint about the art in this issue is that there's a character whose jacket looks different colors in different panels. It seems like the colorist made a mistake.
Amazing Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-Man #631 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
This is the second issue in the "Shed" story arc. The issue is very dark. Maybe the darkest issue I've ever read on Spider-Man. After the Lizard killed several scientists in the first issue, now he's heading towards his son. Spider-Man tries to stop him and he kind of those, except that the kid has been kidnapped by ana Kravinoff. Spidey doesn't know where the kid is and Spidey has to save the life of the foster mother, in the meantime the Lizard can track his kid through smell.
The art in this issue is interesting. The panels are often much thinner than normal and they create a sense of chaos. The story is not as easy to read from panel to panel because of it, but I think it works in the sense that it gives the book a chaotic feel.
Amazing Spider-Man #632 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
After the intense ending to the previous issue, Spidey arrives to the scene to realize that Connors has Shed his skin. The Lizard is no longer Curt Connors. The Lizard has taken control and therefore is no longer human, it is completely reptilian. Not only that, but he has to power to tap into the primitive parts of other people's brains and make them act on instinct. This allows him to easily beat Spider-Man as Spidey's primitive brain tells him to flee (since the Lizard is a much bigger foe).
The ending on this issue is incredible. After reading this issue I really wanted to read the next one, specially knowing that the next issue would finish the storyline.
Amazing Spider-Man #633 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
This is the last issue in the "Shed" storyline and it is fantastic. A block of New York City is in complete chaos due to the Lizard. Spidey has an antidote to prevent his primitive brain from taking control of him, but it does nothing on the Lizard, since the Lizard is all primitive brain now. However, during the fight, the Lizard seems to understand the good side of having a monkey brain, by noticing how men have created airplanes, buildings and other things. It was interesting. But the best part was that the issue was fun and exciting. The art really works with these fight scenes and I also like how the last third of the issue is drawn by Emma Rios, bringing a very different style for a different environment, helping the story too by showing the less chaotic side of things. It was also nice to see Aunt May come back to normal, although I wish there were a better explanation of why she was able to go back to normal.
Great issue and overall a fantastic Spider-Man storyline. The best I've read in a long time, at least 20 issues.
Amazing Spider-Man #634 by Joe Kelly and Michael Lark with a backup from J.M DeMatteis and Max Fiumara and another back up by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin.
This issue starts the long awaited "Grim Hunt". The Kravinoff family has been creating havoc on Peter's life for a while now and they are finally attacking him straight. The issue is very good. We get to see Spidey fighting alongside Arachne against Alyosha and Ana Kravinoff. We get to see a beaten up Kaine warn Peter. We get to see Ezequiel again (one of my favorite Spidey characters) and we get to see a little bit more of the Kravinoffs, finally understanding what they are trying to do (although without understanding why their plan will work). A solid issue, hopefully it will be even better than "Shed". Joe Kelly is a great writer and I have high hopes for the rest of this series.
The back up issue by J.M. DeMatteis wasn't that great. The art was interesting and the story was okay, but we don't get much out of the issue. I think overall the story will be okay, it seems to be leading up to a Kraven versus Kaine confrontation, which should be cool.
The other back up is only two pages. The art by Martin is pretty cool and the series seems to lead up to a funny storyline. The story seems to be a bit inspired by Pinky and the Brain. We'll see what Stan Lee can do with it. I am hopeful.
This is the second issue in the "Shed" story arc. The issue is very dark. Maybe the darkest issue I've ever read on Spider-Man. After the Lizard killed several scientists in the first issue, now he's heading towards his son. Spider-Man tries to stop him and he kind of those, except that the kid has been kidnapped by ana Kravinoff. Spidey doesn't know where the kid is and Spidey has to save the life of the foster mother, in the meantime the Lizard can track his kid through smell.
The art in this issue is interesting. The panels are often much thinner than normal and they create a sense of chaos. The story is not as easy to read from panel to panel because of it, but I think it works in the sense that it gives the book a chaotic feel.
Amazing Spider-Man #632 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
After the intense ending to the previous issue, Spidey arrives to the scene to realize that Connors has Shed his skin. The Lizard is no longer Curt Connors. The Lizard has taken control and therefore is no longer human, it is completely reptilian. Not only that, but he has to power to tap into the primitive parts of other people's brains and make them act on instinct. This allows him to easily beat Spider-Man as Spidey's primitive brain tells him to flee (since the Lizard is a much bigger foe).
The ending on this issue is incredible. After reading this issue I really wanted to read the next one, specially knowing that the next issue would finish the storyline.
Amazing Spider-Man #633 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
This is the last issue in the "Shed" storyline and it is fantastic. A block of New York City is in complete chaos due to the Lizard. Spidey has an antidote to prevent his primitive brain from taking control of him, but it does nothing on the Lizard, since the Lizard is all primitive brain now. However, during the fight, the Lizard seems to understand the good side of having a monkey brain, by noticing how men have created airplanes, buildings and other things. It was interesting. But the best part was that the issue was fun and exciting. The art really works with these fight scenes and I also like how the last third of the issue is drawn by Emma Rios, bringing a very different style for a different environment, helping the story too by showing the less chaotic side of things. It was also nice to see Aunt May come back to normal, although I wish there were a better explanation of why she was able to go back to normal.
Great issue and overall a fantastic Spider-Man storyline. The best I've read in a long time, at least 20 issues.
Amazing Spider-Man #634 by Joe Kelly and Michael Lark with a backup from J.M DeMatteis and Max Fiumara and another back up by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin.
This issue starts the long awaited "Grim Hunt". The Kravinoff family has been creating havoc on Peter's life for a while now and they are finally attacking him straight. The issue is very good. We get to see Spidey fighting alongside Arachne against Alyosha and Ana Kravinoff. We get to see a beaten up Kaine warn Peter. We get to see Ezequiel again (one of my favorite Spidey characters) and we get to see a little bit more of the Kravinoffs, finally understanding what they are trying to do (although without understanding why their plan will work). A solid issue, hopefully it will be even better than "Shed". Joe Kelly is a great writer and I have high hopes for the rest of this series.
The back up issue by J.M. DeMatteis wasn't that great. The art was interesting and the story was okay, but we don't get much out of the issue. I think overall the story will be okay, it seems to be leading up to a Kraven versus Kaine confrontation, which should be cool.
The other back up is only two pages. The art by Martin is pretty cool and the series seems to lead up to a funny storyline. The story seems to be a bit inspired by Pinky and the Brain. We'll see what Stan Lee can do with it. I am hopeful.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Web of Spider-Man
Web of Spider-man #4 consists of three short stories:
Gauntlet Origins: Mysterio by Fred Van Lente and Barry Kitson.
This story was pretty good. It is set right before Mysterio becomes a criminal, showing us what inspired him and in the meantime giving us an unexpected Dr. Strange story. I liked this one quite a bit.
The Spectacular Spider-Girl in They First Make Mad by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz.
This story ends the "goblin" arc. It is not great.
Hammerhead in Western Promises by Frank Tieri and Eric Canete.
This is a really good short issue. It gives Hammerhead a bit more depth and I also like that the title is a little homage to the great movie "Eastern Promises".
Web of Spider-man #5 consists of three short stories:
Gauntlet Origins: Vulture by Fred Van Lente and Francis Portela.
Another solid story. Van Lente does a great job of making his villains be much more than their caricatures. Adrian Toomes (the vulture) really seems like a very intelligent guy in this story. Quite good and at the same time quite dark. I liked it.
The Spectacular Spider-Girl in Choosing Sides by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz.
The more I read Spider-Girl, the more I wish I was able to skip the story and read the next. For some reason, even if I don't like something, I have a tough time not reading it, if it is inside a book I care about. Something I should fix if I want to read more anthologies.
Ben Reilly in Nobody by J.M. DeMatteis and Chad Hardin.
A pretty good story. It must be tough being a clone, feeling like you are nobody. This short story explores that as well as you can in 10 pages. I want more Ben Reilly stories.
Web of Spider-man #8 by Fred Van Lente and Javier Rodriguez with a back up story called "Un Nuovo Inizio" by J.M. DeMatteis and Val Semeiks.
In this issue, Web of Spider-man changed its format. In a way losing its anthology status and just giving Van Lente a comic where he can tell Spider-man stories. This issue starts the first part of "The Extremist". The Extremist is a villain that believes that the world is black and white, either you are good or your bad. He hates gray areas and wants to eliminate them. In this issue he attacks a pundit who bashes superheroes. He believes superheroes have made the right choices and that it is wrong to humanize them and make them seem less good, in other words, he hates people putting in gray areas when they should be all white.
I liked the story a lot, looking forward to the rest of the arc.
The backup story was another Ben Reilly story. It was really good. It is nice to have a Peter Parker character which is not as balanced morally as the normal Peter Parker. Ben Reilly is very happy with a new beginning, shaping his life in nice ways, living in Rome. However, his lack of past creates troubles when he starts "dating" a daughter of a powerful man. It is interesting how Ben reacts to this. I really want to read more about Ben Reilly, I hope they put more back up stories about him in the series.
Web of Spider-man #9 by Fred Van Lente, Javier Rodriguez, Patrick Olliffe and Nick Dragotta with a back up story called "Jackpot Reflections" by Marc Guggenheim and Sana Takeda.
The main issue is the second part of "The Extremist". The issue explains a bit about the past about The Extremist. It is a really good villain. He is powerful and interestingly, his motives, while crazy, aren't specially evil. What he does is evil, but he really thinks he is doing the right thing. His motivations are not greed or power, they are quite different. This might be the best new Spider-man villain in over 10 years. Spidey had amazing villains in its early run, but it seems that most Spidey villains were created back then, whenever a new one would come, it wouldn't be a very good villain.
I have to talk about the art too, as I liked it a lot. The last third of the issue is drawn by Nick Dragotta and I thought he is excellent at drawing Spider-man. Javier Rodriguez did a great job with the last issue and with half of this issue, but I liked Dragotta more (of course, I am not sure how well he draws Peter, but he is excellent at drawing Spidey.
The back up tale was pretty good, even though it was about a character I care almost nothing about (Jackpot). I thought Jackpot had died in a Spidey Annual a couple of years ago and I don't even remember who she was. I just know that it teased us for a while making us think she was Mary Jane. Even with my indifference for the character, the cool drawings and the self contained story entertained me quite a bit. It ends in a "To be continued" and I want to know what happens (although, I prefer having a Ben Reilly story in the next issue).
Overall, I am glad I have been reading this series. The new format is excellent as now I get to read Fred Van Lente writing Spidey stories instead of just little origin stories about villains. Looking forward to more from this series.
Gauntlet Origins: Mysterio by Fred Van Lente and Barry Kitson.
This story was pretty good. It is set right before Mysterio becomes a criminal, showing us what inspired him and in the meantime giving us an unexpected Dr. Strange story. I liked this one quite a bit.
The Spectacular Spider-Girl in They First Make Mad by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz.
This story ends the "goblin" arc. It is not great.
Hammerhead in Western Promises by Frank Tieri and Eric Canete.
This is a really good short issue. It gives Hammerhead a bit more depth and I also like that the title is a little homage to the great movie "Eastern Promises".
Web of Spider-man #5 consists of three short stories:
Gauntlet Origins: Vulture by Fred Van Lente and Francis Portela.
Another solid story. Van Lente does a great job of making his villains be much more than their caricatures. Adrian Toomes (the vulture) really seems like a very intelligent guy in this story. Quite good and at the same time quite dark. I liked it.
The Spectacular Spider-Girl in Choosing Sides by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz.
The more I read Spider-Girl, the more I wish I was able to skip the story and read the next. For some reason, even if I don't like something, I have a tough time not reading it, if it is inside a book I care about. Something I should fix if I want to read more anthologies.
Ben Reilly in Nobody by J.M. DeMatteis and Chad Hardin.
A pretty good story. It must be tough being a clone, feeling like you are nobody. This short story explores that as well as you can in 10 pages. I want more Ben Reilly stories.
Web of Spider-man #8 by Fred Van Lente and Javier Rodriguez with a back up story called "Un Nuovo Inizio" by J.M. DeMatteis and Val Semeiks.
In this issue, Web of Spider-man changed its format. In a way losing its anthology status and just giving Van Lente a comic where he can tell Spider-man stories. This issue starts the first part of "The Extremist". The Extremist is a villain that believes that the world is black and white, either you are good or your bad. He hates gray areas and wants to eliminate them. In this issue he attacks a pundit who bashes superheroes. He believes superheroes have made the right choices and that it is wrong to humanize them and make them seem less good, in other words, he hates people putting in gray areas when they should be all white.
I liked the story a lot, looking forward to the rest of the arc.
The backup story was another Ben Reilly story. It was really good. It is nice to have a Peter Parker character which is not as balanced morally as the normal Peter Parker. Ben Reilly is very happy with a new beginning, shaping his life in nice ways, living in Rome. However, his lack of past creates troubles when he starts "dating" a daughter of a powerful man. It is interesting how Ben reacts to this. I really want to read more about Ben Reilly, I hope they put more back up stories about him in the series.
Web of Spider-man #9 by Fred Van Lente, Javier Rodriguez, Patrick Olliffe and Nick Dragotta with a back up story called "Jackpot Reflections" by Marc Guggenheim and Sana Takeda.
The main issue is the second part of "The Extremist". The issue explains a bit about the past about The Extremist. It is a really good villain. He is powerful and interestingly, his motives, while crazy, aren't specially evil. What he does is evil, but he really thinks he is doing the right thing. His motivations are not greed or power, they are quite different. This might be the best new Spider-man villain in over 10 years. Spidey had amazing villains in its early run, but it seems that most Spidey villains were created back then, whenever a new one would come, it wouldn't be a very good villain.
I have to talk about the art too, as I liked it a lot. The last third of the issue is drawn by Nick Dragotta and I thought he is excellent at drawing Spider-man. Javier Rodriguez did a great job with the last issue and with half of this issue, but I liked Dragotta more (of course, I am not sure how well he draws Peter, but he is excellent at drawing Spidey.
The back up tale was pretty good, even though it was about a character I care almost nothing about (Jackpot). I thought Jackpot had died in a Spidey Annual a couple of years ago and I don't even remember who she was. I just know that it teased us for a while making us think she was Mary Jane. Even with my indifference for the character, the cool drawings and the self contained story entertained me quite a bit. It ends in a "To be continued" and I want to know what happens (although, I prefer having a Ben Reilly story in the next issue).
Overall, I am glad I have been reading this series. The new format is excellent as now I get to read Fred Van Lente writing Spidey stories instead of just little origin stories about villains. Looking forward to more from this series.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Dingo
Dingo by Michael Alan Nelson and Francesco Biagini consists of issues 1-4 of Dingo.
Dingo is hard to describe without giving spoilers away. The main character in this story is Dingo, a guy with a mysterious past. He has to recover an item his rockstar brother lost. On his way, he meets a huge, scary looking dog. The adventure begins. The story follows Dingo in his interesting adventure full of action. The story is quite good and the writer made sure to give closure to the story while giving us little details on the past of the characters, something that could be exploited in subsequent series if they do more.
I liked this book quite a bit. The art is very good and the story is quite entertaining. I really like how the book has some dark humor in it and I liked the conclusion to the story. The scary dog is a very good character too, it must have been difficult to draw, but the artist did a great job with him.
If they do another Dingo series I'll be sure to check it out.
Dingo is hard to describe without giving spoilers away. The main character in this story is Dingo, a guy with a mysterious past. He has to recover an item his rockstar brother lost. On his way, he meets a huge, scary looking dog. The adventure begins. The story follows Dingo in his interesting adventure full of action. The story is quite good and the writer made sure to give closure to the story while giving us little details on the past of the characters, something that could be exploited in subsequent series if they do more.
I liked this book quite a bit. The art is very good and the story is quite entertaining. I really like how the book has some dark humor in it and I liked the conclusion to the story. The scary dog is a very good character too, it must have been difficult to draw, but the artist did a great job with him.
If they do another Dingo series I'll be sure to check it out.
Doom Patrol Book 3: Down Paradise Way
Doom Patrol Book 3: Down Paradise Way by Grant Morrison and Richard Case consists of issues 35-41 of Doom Patrol.
This comic starts with a story of a transvestite street. A conscious street that can move from one city to another. It was a fun story.
The next story was not that fun for me. It was full of interesting ideas, such as an abstract world called "kaleidoscope" and wars without words, etc. However, the story was a bit boring for me. Most of the story wasn't that funny and it wasn't that interesting. In fact, the most interesting part for me in this story arc was the prologue at the beginning of each issue, a prologue which had nothing to do with this story but was probably setting up the next story.
The art in this series is okay. I don't think it is that great, but it gets the job done and the job is quite difficult when you have to draw things that seem impossible to draw . So much imagination is flowing in this title, hard to keep up for the artist.
Overall, the series is quite interesting and it has plenty of funny moments, but I think it too often gets bog down by having so many concepts floating around at the same time. I'll read the next volume because I was intrigued with the prologues in the issues here, but if the next story is not great, I am going to stop reading this series.
This comic starts with a story of a transvestite street. A conscious street that can move from one city to another. It was a fun story.
The next story was not that fun for me. It was full of interesting ideas, such as an abstract world called "kaleidoscope" and wars without words, etc. However, the story was a bit boring for me. Most of the story wasn't that funny and it wasn't that interesting. In fact, the most interesting part for me in this story arc was the prologue at the beginning of each issue, a prologue which had nothing to do with this story but was probably setting up the next story.
The art in this series is okay. I don't think it is that great, but it gets the job done and the job is quite difficult when you have to draw things that seem impossible to draw . So much imagination is flowing in this title, hard to keep up for the artist.
Overall, the series is quite interesting and it has plenty of funny moments, but I think it too often gets bog down by having so many concepts floating around at the same time. I'll read the next volume because I was intrigued with the prologues in the issues here, but if the next story is not great, I am going to stop reading this series.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Sleeper Season 2
Sleeper Season 2 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips consists of issues 1 through 12 of Sleeper Season Two.
I just recently reread the whole Sleeper series and it was a very entertaining read. I usually don't like rereading books I've read before, but Sleeper is a complex story that can be enjoyed in multiple readings. In this particular book, we find Carver in an interesting situation as he seems to have decided to be a villain. However, his undercover handler, Lynch, is out of a coma, so he wants to use him to get him out. The story just gets better and better.
Brubaker does a great job of giving us cool stories here. Besides the main plot being very exciting and interesting, there are little gems here and there, such as a hilarious origin story for a villain that parodies Spider-man's origin story.
One thing I really like about this volume, is that we get to know a lot more about Tao. Tao is one of the most interesting villains I have seen. I always enjoy villains that are very intelligent, and Tao really seems like the most intelligent man on Earth. I enjoyed reading any time he was on a panel. Brubaker did a great job of writing intelligent dialogue for Tao. I am always amazed by how some writers can do a great job of doing this, while other writers fail at it.
The book gives an ending to the Sleeper series, and what an ending it is. I highly recommend this comic, comics like this are why I read comic books. Fantastic book.
I just recently reread the whole Sleeper series and it was a very entertaining read. I usually don't like rereading books I've read before, but Sleeper is a complex story that can be enjoyed in multiple readings. In this particular book, we find Carver in an interesting situation as he seems to have decided to be a villain. However, his undercover handler, Lynch, is out of a coma, so he wants to use him to get him out. The story just gets better and better.
Brubaker does a great job of giving us cool stories here. Besides the main plot being very exciting and interesting, there are little gems here and there, such as a hilarious origin story for a villain that parodies Spider-man's origin story.
One thing I really like about this volume, is that we get to know a lot more about Tao. Tao is one of the most interesting villains I have seen. I always enjoy villains that are very intelligent, and Tao really seems like the most intelligent man on Earth. I enjoyed reading any time he was on a panel. Brubaker did a great job of writing intelligent dialogue for Tao. I am always amazed by how some writers can do a great job of doing this, while other writers fail at it.
The book gives an ending to the Sleeper series, and what an ending it is. I highly recommend this comic, comics like this are why I read comic books. Fantastic book.
Sleeper Season 1
Sleeper Season 1 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips consists of issues 1 through 12 of Sleeper.
Sleeper is one of my favorite series. In this comic, we follow a sleeper agent, Holden Carver, who is undercover in a super powered criminal organization. The leader of this organization is a genius man called Tao. Tao creates random acts of violence around the world and Carver is supposed to find out why Tao acts like that and hopefully get intelligence for the government. The problem is that the only government agent that knows that Carver is undercover is in a coma after being shot a few months ago.
Holden Carver is in the dilemma that nobody can take him out of his undercover job and that escaping the organization would be extremely difficult. This is why the first story arc is called "Out in the Cold", a title that reflects what our protagonist is going through.
The first story arc is fantastic in getting us into this world. Making us feel what Carver is going through and see the contradictions he lives, as his best friends are super villains and the woman he once loved is trying to capture him (thinking he went rogue).
The second story arc really elevates the story to a whole new level. One spy finds out that Carver is an undercover agent and he tries to get him out. The three part story is fantastic, leading to one of the best issues I've ever read in comics, Sleeper #8, the story is superb, and the art is really incredible. Sean Phillips draws noir better than anyone and he really makes one feel for Carver in this book.
The season has a good ending while showing us a cliffhanger moment to set up the next season. This is a truly fantastic series. I highly recommend it.
Sleeper is one of my favorite series. In this comic, we follow a sleeper agent, Holden Carver, who is undercover in a super powered criminal organization. The leader of this organization is a genius man called Tao. Tao creates random acts of violence around the world and Carver is supposed to find out why Tao acts like that and hopefully get intelligence for the government. The problem is that the only government agent that knows that Carver is undercover is in a coma after being shot a few months ago.
Holden Carver is in the dilemma that nobody can take him out of his undercover job and that escaping the organization would be extremely difficult. This is why the first story arc is called "Out in the Cold", a title that reflects what our protagonist is going through.
The first story arc is fantastic in getting us into this world. Making us feel what Carver is going through and see the contradictions he lives, as his best friends are super villains and the woman he once loved is trying to capture him (thinking he went rogue).
The second story arc really elevates the story to a whole new level. One spy finds out that Carver is an undercover agent and he tries to get him out. The three part story is fantastic, leading to one of the best issues I've ever read in comics, Sleeper #8, the story is superb, and the art is really incredible. Sean Phillips draws noir better than anyone and he really makes one feel for Carver in this book.
The season has a good ending while showing us a cliffhanger moment to set up the next season. This is a truly fantastic series. I highly recommend it.
Jack of Fables Vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape
Jack of Fables Vol. 1: The (Nearly) Great Escape by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges and Tony Akins consists of issues 1 through 5 of Jack of Fables.
After I read the Great Fables Crossover (a story that I loved in Fables), I became a little more interested in the Jack of Fables series. I decided to read the series and I am not disappointed, the first volume is quite good. It has a very different feel to Fables as Jack of Fables is more humorous and incorporates meta fiction much more (something that happened in the Crossover).
Jack is an annoying guy, but his personality creates a lot of humor. Jack is an arrogant, egotistical character, but he actually is quite powerful, so he can back up a lot of that arrogance.
I think it is worth checking out, specially for those that enjoyed the Fables Crossover. The book is different enough that it could appeal to people that don't like Fables, but I guess the fact that it is a spinoff makes that unlikely.
After I read the Great Fables Crossover (a story that I loved in Fables), I became a little more interested in the Jack of Fables series. I decided to read the series and I am not disappointed, the first volume is quite good. It has a very different feel to Fables as Jack of Fables is more humorous and incorporates meta fiction much more (something that happened in the Crossover).
Jack is an annoying guy, but his personality creates a lot of humor. Jack is an arrogant, egotistical character, but he actually is quite powerful, so he can back up a lot of that arrogance.
I think it is worth checking out, specially for those that enjoyed the Fables Crossover. The book is different enough that it could appeal to people that don't like Fables, but I guess the fact that it is a spinoff makes that unlikely.
More Single Issues
Shield #2 by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver.
I love this comic. The first issue was awesome, but this might be even better. The story is just so interesting. This comic has made me interested in reading other stuff by Hickman. I have read the first two issues of Secret Warriors because of this and I am planning on getting his first Fantastic Four trade paperback soon. This series is the reason I try out new series. Every once in a while you discover a series that makes you realize why comics are so good.
The art is incredible, I have become a fan of Dustin Weaver with this series. There is outstanding detail in the pencils, there are creative panels and the storytelling is great. I can't ask for more from Dustin Weaver.
Codebreakers #3 by Ross Richie, Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.
I am starting to lose interest in this series. However, the series ends next issue, so it comes at the right time. The issue ends with a big cliffhanger making me want to see what happens in the final issue of the series, but I have to say that I am not that impressed with the story so far. I was expecting more mathematics in a series about codebreaking. I guess I was spoiled with the terrific book "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson.
Irredeemable #14 by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto.
This series is very good and this issue is great. I really like the direction the series is taking and how Waid has made me feel like I know these characters. The last panel makes for a great cliffhanger for the next issue. I can't wait to find out what Modeus is up to.
The comic book started being about a hero gone wrong, but it keeps getting deeper and deeper as the series goes on. I really like this series.
Chew #11 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
I love Chew. I think Shield was better this month, but Chew was a close second. The series is just hilarious while at the same time having an interesting plot behind it. I love it.
This issue has Tony Chu have his first date. The date goes exactly like one would expect in this comic. The date has danger, gore and jokes. I get excited every time I get a new issue in this series.
Chip #2 by Richard Moore.
The 2-issue miniseries ends in this issue. The story is quite simple, but it is humorous and it has a nice feel. I like it. The art is very good. It is a nice comic book for kids.
I love this comic. The first issue was awesome, but this might be even better. The story is just so interesting. This comic has made me interested in reading other stuff by Hickman. I have read the first two issues of Secret Warriors because of this and I am planning on getting his first Fantastic Four trade paperback soon. This series is the reason I try out new series. Every once in a while you discover a series that makes you realize why comics are so good.
The art is incredible, I have become a fan of Dustin Weaver with this series. There is outstanding detail in the pencils, there are creative panels and the storytelling is great. I can't ask for more from Dustin Weaver.
Codebreakers #3 by Ross Richie, Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.
I am starting to lose interest in this series. However, the series ends next issue, so it comes at the right time. The issue ends with a big cliffhanger making me want to see what happens in the final issue of the series, but I have to say that I am not that impressed with the story so far. I was expecting more mathematics in a series about codebreaking. I guess I was spoiled with the terrific book "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson.
Irredeemable #14 by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto.
This series is very good and this issue is great. I really like the direction the series is taking and how Waid has made me feel like I know these characters. The last panel makes for a great cliffhanger for the next issue. I can't wait to find out what Modeus is up to.
The comic book started being about a hero gone wrong, but it keeps getting deeper and deeper as the series goes on. I really like this series.
Chew #11 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
I love Chew. I think Shield was better this month, but Chew was a close second. The series is just hilarious while at the same time having an interesting plot behind it. I love it.
This issue has Tony Chu have his first date. The date goes exactly like one would expect in this comic. The date has danger, gore and jokes. I get excited every time I get a new issue in this series.
Chip #2 by Richard Moore.
The 2-issue miniseries ends in this issue. The story is quite simple, but it is humorous and it has a nice feel. I like it. The art is very good. It is a nice comic book for kids.
Various Recent Single Issues
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37 by Karl Kessel, Paulo Siqueira, Kurt Busiek and Pat Olliffe.
The annual consists of two stories. The first one by Kessel and Siqueira and the next one by Busiek and Olliffe. The first story is about the first meeting between Captain America and Spider-Man. It was a fun issue. I like how Kessel treated Cap. The art was also quite good. I liked the second story more though. I thought it was a fun story, it made me want to read the other issues that Busiek wrote about Spidey's first year. It was worth buying.
Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #2 by Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving.
This issue is about Puritan Batman. The issue is not as good as the first one, but it was quite good. I liked how Bruce would use his power to save people from superstition. We are starting to learn a little bit more of why it is dangerous for Bruce to go back to the present, but it is still mysterious.
The next issue is Pirate Batman. I am looking forward to that, I have the issue right next to me, I will read it tomorrow. The cover is great.
Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1 by Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert.
I loved this issue. I was very surprised by it. I was not expecting an issue set in the past starting Spider-Man and Wolverine. The issue slowly explains how Peter and Logan ended up in prehistoric times, which I think works great. Jason Aaron really knows how to write and it doesn't hurt to have a superstar artist like Adam Kubert to help. Kubert has very detailed pencils. The images are very sharp and clean, I really like the feel of the story. I also like that Kubert is not afraid to put more things into the panels by putting the camera farther back. Really good stuff.
I am looking forward to the rest of this miniseries, it is shaping up to be a fantastic one.
Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures #1 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man was rebooted into Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures and it starts with a solid first issue. I really like this series. It is full of joy and fun adventures with Spider-Man. Paul Tobin does a really good job with a teenage Spidey and I really like Chat, she is a nice supporting character.
Nemesis: The Impostors #4 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.
I am a little disappointed with this series. The art is really good (the best I've seen from Cliff Richards), but I think they should have put some kind of recap at the beginning of the first issue or something. Maybe I misunderstood the story, but it seems to me like the series depends on a previous series. I just didn't get the significance of anything that happened in this issue and I kind of didn't care about what happened.
I think it was a mistake to read this miniseries. I recommend reading another nemesis story first before trying to get into this one.
The annual consists of two stories. The first one by Kessel and Siqueira and the next one by Busiek and Olliffe. The first story is about the first meeting between Captain America and Spider-Man. It was a fun issue. I like how Kessel treated Cap. The art was also quite good. I liked the second story more though. I thought it was a fun story, it made me want to read the other issues that Busiek wrote about Spidey's first year. It was worth buying.
Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #2 by Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving.
This issue is about Puritan Batman. The issue is not as good as the first one, but it was quite good. I liked how Bruce would use his power to save people from superstition. We are starting to learn a little bit more of why it is dangerous for Bruce to go back to the present, but it is still mysterious.
The next issue is Pirate Batman. I am looking forward to that, I have the issue right next to me, I will read it tomorrow. The cover is great.
Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1 by Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert.
I loved this issue. I was very surprised by it. I was not expecting an issue set in the past starting Spider-Man and Wolverine. The issue slowly explains how Peter and Logan ended up in prehistoric times, which I think works great. Jason Aaron really knows how to write and it doesn't hurt to have a superstar artist like Adam Kubert to help. Kubert has very detailed pencils. The images are very sharp and clean, I really like the feel of the story. I also like that Kubert is not afraid to put more things into the panels by putting the camera farther back. Really good stuff.
I am looking forward to the rest of this miniseries, it is shaping up to be a fantastic one.
Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures #1 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man was rebooted into Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures and it starts with a solid first issue. I really like this series. It is full of joy and fun adventures with Spider-Man. Paul Tobin does a really good job with a teenage Spidey and I really like Chat, she is a nice supporting character.
Nemesis: The Impostors #4 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.
I am a little disappointed with this series. The art is really good (the best I've seen from Cliff Richards), but I think they should have put some kind of recap at the beginning of the first issue or something. Maybe I misunderstood the story, but it seems to me like the series depends on a previous series. I just didn't get the significance of anything that happened in this issue and I kind of didn't care about what happened.
I think it was a mistake to read this miniseries. I recommend reading another nemesis story first before trying to get into this one.
Local
Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly consists of issues 1 through 12 of Local.
Local is a comic book that was conceived to be about different cities. It would consist of 12 standalone stories set in different cities around North America. However, as the series progressed and the creators started liking their protagonist more and more, the book became more than just its premise and it was about the life of Megan.
For me, the overall story about Megan wasn't as good as the standalone stories. To me, the impact of the book came through the great short stories. My favorite is the one based in Richmond. It is about a band that just separated and the comic tells the story by using an interview in the background. I think the creators did a fantastic job of making me feel like I knew these people and their music in only 24 pages.
There are other great stories in the book, in fact most issues are great (there was only one short story that I didn't like). One problem that some readers may have is that most stories are a bit depressing. The stories are slice of life stories, hence there is not really a plot and they depend on the great character development that the creators do. Therefore, since one is very attached to Megan and the city she lives in, it is a bit sad to see her have to leave yet another city.
I was really happy when I would recognize the city that Megan was in, such as when she was in Burlington. Even though I have been to most cities covered in the book, the only one I could recognize was Burlington, as the image is from downtown, unlike other issues where the action doesn't necessarily happen downtown.
A really good book with great extras too. I recommend it.
Local is a comic book that was conceived to be about different cities. It would consist of 12 standalone stories set in different cities around North America. However, as the series progressed and the creators started liking their protagonist more and more, the book became more than just its premise and it was about the life of Megan.
For me, the overall story about Megan wasn't as good as the standalone stories. To me, the impact of the book came through the great short stories. My favorite is the one based in Richmond. It is about a band that just separated and the comic tells the story by using an interview in the background. I think the creators did a fantastic job of making me feel like I knew these people and their music in only 24 pages.
There are other great stories in the book, in fact most issues are great (there was only one short story that I didn't like). One problem that some readers may have is that most stories are a bit depressing. The stories are slice of life stories, hence there is not really a plot and they depend on the great character development that the creators do. Therefore, since one is very attached to Megan and the city she lives in, it is a bit sad to see her have to leave yet another city.
I was really happy when I would recognize the city that Megan was in, such as when she was in Burlington. Even though I have been to most cities covered in the book, the only one I could recognize was Burlington, as the image is from downtown, unlike other issues where the action doesn't necessarily happen downtown.
A really good book with great extras too. I recommend it.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Justice League International Vol. 1
Justice League International Vol. 1 by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin MaGuire consists of issues 1-6 of Justice League and issue 7 of Justice League International.
I had to start reading this acclaimed series at some point. I've heard so many good things and J.M. DeMatteis was hilarious in a series of issues in Spectacular Spider-Man (the Legion of Losers storyline). I finally bought this book and after reading it, I have to say that while it is very good, it is not as good as I expected. However, it seems like it would get better in the next volume as this volume was more about setting things up.
In this comic, we have the Justice League, which at this time consists of Batman, Guy Gardner (a Green Lantern), Dr. Fate, Martian Manhunter and others. Gardner wants to be in charge, but Batman quickly takes the lead as it is in his personality. The dynamic between Gardner and Batman is a gem for comedy pieces. The writers take full advantage of this and they also use the penciller wisely, as he is excellent at facial expressions, something very important in comedy.
I am not sure I would recommend this book, I would have to read the next one before knowing, but it is a very funny book and the story is not bad.
I had to start reading this acclaimed series at some point. I've heard so many good things and J.M. DeMatteis was hilarious in a series of issues in Spectacular Spider-Man (the Legion of Losers storyline). I finally bought this book and after reading it, I have to say that while it is very good, it is not as good as I expected. However, it seems like it would get better in the next volume as this volume was more about setting things up.
In this comic, we have the Justice League, which at this time consists of Batman, Guy Gardner (a Green Lantern), Dr. Fate, Martian Manhunter and others. Gardner wants to be in charge, but Batman quickly takes the lead as it is in his personality. The dynamic between Gardner and Batman is a gem for comedy pieces. The writers take full advantage of this and they also use the penciller wisely, as he is excellent at facial expressions, something very important in comedy.
I am not sure I would recommend this book, I would have to read the next one before knowing, but it is a very funny book and the story is not bad.
Silverfin: A Young James Bond Adventure
Silverfin: A Young James Bond Adventure by Charles Higson and Kev Walker.
Silverfin is an adaptation of a book of the same name about a young James Bond. In the story, James Bond is the orphaned nephew of a great spy. He goes to vacation to the hills and discovers something weird going on in a nearby castle. He teams up with a cool kid to figure out the mystery behind the castle.
I think the art in the comic is very well done. The story is easy to follow without needing much dialogue and it services the story exceptionally. The story is quite simple and not that interesting, however it is entertaining and definitely good for young readers.
A good but not great comic book.
Silverfin is an adaptation of a book of the same name about a young James Bond. In the story, James Bond is the orphaned nephew of a great spy. He goes to vacation to the hills and discovers something weird going on in a nearby castle. He teams up with a cool kid to figure out the mystery behind the castle.
I think the art in the comic is very well done. The story is easy to follow without needing much dialogue and it services the story exceptionally. The story is quite simple and not that interesting, however it is entertaining and definitely good for young readers.
A good but not great comic book.
A Tale of One Bad Rat
A Tale of One Bad Rat by Bryan Talbot.
A Tale of One Bad Rat is a story about a teenage girl, Helen, who runs away from her
house because of sexual abuse. She has a pet rat and she loves to draw. Being a fan of
Beatrix Potter, a woman that was opressed in her house in a different way, she was
inspired to go to the beautiful places where Potter drew (and wrote) her nice children's books. Helen little by little gains confidence and starts fighting the inner demons that come from sexual abuse.
The book is fantastic. The drawings are beautiful, yet simple to understand. The story is very emotional. It is clear that the writer put his soul into this project.
A fantastic comic book.
A Tale of One Bad Rat is a story about a teenage girl, Helen, who runs away from her
house because of sexual abuse. She has a pet rat and she loves to draw. Being a fan of
Beatrix Potter, a woman that was opressed in her house in a different way, she was
inspired to go to the beautiful places where Potter drew (and wrote) her nice children's books. Helen little by little gains confidence and starts fighting the inner demons that come from sexual abuse.
The book is fantastic. The drawings are beautiful, yet simple to understand. The story is very emotional. It is clear that the writer put his soul into this project.
A fantastic comic book.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Daredevil: Return of the King
Daredevil: Return of the King by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark and David Aja consists of issues 116 to 119 and issue 500 (renumbered) of Daredevil.
Ed Brubaker is one of my favorite writers. His run on Captain America has been excellent, I love Sleeper, Incognito, Criminal and essentially anything I read by him. Daredevil is no exception. He started Daredevil in issue #82 with a fantastic storyline and while the middle of his run wasn't stellar, his last two story arcs have been fantastic. From the beginning of Brubaker's arc, Kingpin has been a main character. This story arc starts with a Kingpin centered issue that is absolutely heart breaking. It leads to the Kingpin coming back to New York and making a deal with Daredevil to do something about crime in New York City.
The art in Daredevil is fantastic. Michael Lark is really good at drawing things in the night. David Aja came on board for a bit too and he was also excellent, being a very good artist for movement.
The conclusion to the story was amazing and it got me interested enough to continue reading the title even though Brubaker is no longer at the helm.
Ed Brubaker is one of my favorite writers. His run on Captain America has been excellent, I love Sleeper, Incognito, Criminal and essentially anything I read by him. Daredevil is no exception. He started Daredevil in issue #82 with a fantastic storyline and while the middle of his run wasn't stellar, his last two story arcs have been fantastic. From the beginning of Brubaker's arc, Kingpin has been a main character. This story arc starts with a Kingpin centered issue that is absolutely heart breaking. It leads to the Kingpin coming back to New York and making a deal with Daredevil to do something about crime in New York City.
The art in Daredevil is fantastic. Michael Lark is really good at drawing things in the night. David Aja came on board for a bit too and he was also excellent, being a very good artist for movement.
The conclusion to the story was amazing and it got me interested enough to continue reading the title even though Brubaker is no longer at the helm.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Daredevil Volume 3
Daredevil Volume 3 by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Frank Miller's run on Daredevil is quite famous. Marvel recently reprinted all of it in three volumes. Volume 1 has issues 158-172, but the early issues were drawn by him but not written. The good stuff starts in #168 where he introduces Elektra. Volume 2 takes us from issue 173 to 184. It really makes Kingpin into the main villain for Daredevil, making Kingpin the quintessential Daredevil villain (instead of a Spider-Man villain). Volume 3, this volume contains issues 185 through 191, issue 219 and a graphic novel he did with Bill Sienkiewicz.
The volume is fantastic. One of the best Daredevil issues is the last issue in Frank Miller's run, issue 191. The issue could be read at anytime, it doesn't really depend on previous issues. It is an issue where Daredevil talks to a comatose Bullseye while debating whether he should be fighting crime. I have had doubts about myself all the time and it is nice to see Daredevil be so open about his doubts and give an interesting point of view with respect to violence. A fantastic issue to end a fantastic run by Frank Miller.
The issues before 191 were really good. Since issue 168, Miller has changed the landscape of Daredevil by introducing Elektra and giving depth to The Hand, an organization that is really important in current Daredevil issues. He also introduced Stick, Daredevil's mentor and in this volume we get to see the past of Stick. It was all wonderful.
Issue 219 was a bit strange and I wasn't in love with it, but the graphic novel with Bill Sienkiewicz was great. Sienkiewicz brings a very different style to Daredevil and it worked great in this story.
Overall a great volume. I would suggest reading all of Miller's run, starting with issue 168 all the way up to 191 and then reading Born Again. Born Again is by far the best Daredevil story I've ever read.
Frank Miller's run on Daredevil is quite famous. Marvel recently reprinted all of it in three volumes. Volume 1 has issues 158-172, but the early issues were drawn by him but not written. The good stuff starts in #168 where he introduces Elektra. Volume 2 takes us from issue 173 to 184. It really makes Kingpin into the main villain for Daredevil, making Kingpin the quintessential Daredevil villain (instead of a Spider-Man villain). Volume 3, this volume contains issues 185 through 191, issue 219 and a graphic novel he did with Bill Sienkiewicz.
The volume is fantastic. One of the best Daredevil issues is the last issue in Frank Miller's run, issue 191. The issue could be read at anytime, it doesn't really depend on previous issues. It is an issue where Daredevil talks to a comatose Bullseye while debating whether he should be fighting crime. I have had doubts about myself all the time and it is nice to see Daredevil be so open about his doubts and give an interesting point of view with respect to violence. A fantastic issue to end a fantastic run by Frank Miller.
The issues before 191 were really good. Since issue 168, Miller has changed the landscape of Daredevil by introducing Elektra and giving depth to The Hand, an organization that is really important in current Daredevil issues. He also introduced Stick, Daredevil's mentor and in this volume we get to see the past of Stick. It was all wonderful.
Issue 219 was a bit strange and I wasn't in love with it, but the graphic novel with Bill Sienkiewicz was great. Sienkiewicz brings a very different style to Daredevil and it worked great in this story.
Overall a great volume. I would suggest reading all of Miller's run, starting with issue 168 all the way up to 191 and then reading Born Again. Born Again is by far the best Daredevil story I've ever read.
Bone
Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume by Jeff Smith includes all Bone issues, it has 1300 pages.
Bone is a fantastic series. It started in 1990 and ended in 2004. Jeff Smith draws every single panel and tells us an epic story that has plenty of humor, fantasy and drama.
I love many things about this comic. It has very cute moments, by having Phone Bone fall in love. It has very dramatic moments, such as a 20 page chapter that has essentially no dialogue and has one in suspense as to what will happen to our heroes. It has plenty of comedy, coming mainly from Phoney Bone, a trickster. It has a complicated storyline that spans for many pages. It is just a wonderful story. I am not surprised this story has been so popular.
Another thing I love about this book is that it is kind of universal. Kids, teenagers, young adults, old adults, anybody can enjoy this tale.
I highly recommend it.
Bone is a fantastic series. It started in 1990 and ended in 2004. Jeff Smith draws every single panel and tells us an epic story that has plenty of humor, fantasy and drama.
I love many things about this comic. It has very cute moments, by having Phone Bone fall in love. It has very dramatic moments, such as a 20 page chapter that has essentially no dialogue and has one in suspense as to what will happen to our heroes. It has plenty of comedy, coming mainly from Phoney Bone, a trickster. It has a complicated storyline that spans for many pages. It is just a wonderful story. I am not surprised this story has been so popular.
Another thing I love about this book is that it is kind of universal. Kids, teenagers, young adults, old adults, anybody can enjoy this tale.
I highly recommend it.
Models Inc.
Models Inc. by Paul Tobin and Vicenc Villagrassa consists of issues 1 through 4 of Models Inc.
Being a fan of the Project Runway show and seeing Tim Gunn on the cover, I had to give this comic book a shot, specially since it is written by Paul Tobin, a writer I like on Marvel Adventures Spider-man. I mean how can you say no to "Tim Gunn in the Iron Man suit". Well, the Tim Gunn story is just a back up for the first issue, and it is actually the best story out of the 4 issues. It was funny to see Tim Gunn talk about fashion in comic books and it was awesome seeing him take on the Iron Man suit to take the day. A fun story.
The four issues themselves are not that great. It is fashion week and several models are doing photo shoots. One photographer is murdered and Millie the model is the main suspect. There is an annoying cop looking for headlines, a model that is a superhero (don't remember her name), a model dating the Human Torch and a few models trying to learn how to fight. The story is fine, but it was not worth reading. I would have been glad just reading the Tim Gunn back up.
Being a fan of the Project Runway show and seeing Tim Gunn on the cover, I had to give this comic book a shot, specially since it is written by Paul Tobin, a writer I like on Marvel Adventures Spider-man. I mean how can you say no to "Tim Gunn in the Iron Man suit". Well, the Tim Gunn story is just a back up for the first issue, and it is actually the best story out of the 4 issues. It was funny to see Tim Gunn talk about fashion in comic books and it was awesome seeing him take on the Iron Man suit to take the day. A fun story.
The four issues themselves are not that great. It is fashion week and several models are doing photo shoots. One photographer is murdered and Millie the model is the main suspect. There is an annoying cop looking for headlines, a model that is a superhero (don't remember her name), a model dating the Human Torch and a few models trying to learn how to fight. The story is fine, but it was not worth reading. I would have been glad just reading the Tim Gunn back up.
City of Dust
City of Dust by Steve Niles and Zid.
I was introduced to Steve Niles by his series Simon Dark. A series which I enjoyed a lot, at least the first 12 issues (the last 6 weren't as good). I decided to read this book because I liked Simon Dark and because I like the publisher. Radical Comics is a new publishing house (well, almost 2 years old now) and they put a lot of effort in putting out quality books for affordable prices. I haven't liked one of their books (Freedom Formula), but I have liked the other two I've read (Shrapnel and City of Dust).
This comic is a futuristic tale. It follows a cop, Phillipe Krome, whose job is to burn books, it reminds me of Fahrenheit 451. However, in this book, we have some monsters attacking people. It becomes a sort of detective story mixed with horror in a future world. I think the story does a good job and it is helped by the astonishing visuals of Zid. However, I think the last chapter in the story was weak. I think there was more potential in this book.
A good but not great book.
I was introduced to Steve Niles by his series Simon Dark. A series which I enjoyed a lot, at least the first 12 issues (the last 6 weren't as good). I decided to read this book because I liked Simon Dark and because I like the publisher. Radical Comics is a new publishing house (well, almost 2 years old now) and they put a lot of effort in putting out quality books for affordable prices. I haven't liked one of their books (Freedom Formula), but I have liked the other two I've read (Shrapnel and City of Dust).
This comic is a futuristic tale. It follows a cop, Phillipe Krome, whose job is to burn books, it reminds me of Fahrenheit 451. However, in this book, we have some monsters attacking people. It becomes a sort of detective story mixed with horror in a future world. I think the story does a good job and it is helped by the astonishing visuals of Zid. However, I think the last chapter in the story was weak. I think there was more potential in this book.
A good but not great book.
Amazing Spider-Man
I fell behind on Spider-Man reading and I've done most of it this week, today I'll post about Amazing Spider-man and this week I'll write two other posts, one on Web of Spider-man and another one on miscellaneous Spidey titles I've read recently.
Amazing Spider-man #525 by Joe Kelly and Max Fiumara.
This issue is sad, but Kelly does some great job with Spidey's dialogue throughout, making the story a little lighter, which I think is the way to do Spider-man.
Amazing Spider-man #526 by Fred Van Lente and Michael Gaydos.
The issue is good but not great. I liked seeing Spidey in trouble by temporarily losing his powers and I was interested in seeing the lady Scorpion as a character. The art worked better than I thought it would. I remember Gaydos from his work on Alias and I thought his style served better in noir stories than in Spider-man, but as Michael Lark has shown, noir style pencillers work great on Spider-man.
Amazing Spider-man #527 by Roger Stern and Lee Weeks.
This is the first part of a trilogy called "Something Can Stop the Juggernaut" that kind of serves as a sequel to the famous "Nobody can stop the Juggernaut". I was very interested in finding out who stopped the Juggernaut and I was glad that it was revealed in this issue.
Amazing Spider-man #528 by Roger Stern and Lee Weeks with a backup feature by Mark Waid and Todd Nauck.
The second part of the trilogy, this raises some good questions about who is Captain Universe, since he doesn't seem to understand his role as a superhero. We have a fun fight between Spidey and Captain Universe and Juggernaut joins in to create an interesting set up.
The backup feature was great. I really like how Todd Nauck draws Spidey and the supporting characters and the story itself was a fun quintessential Spidey story. Spider-Man has a job interview. The interviewer gets stopped in traffic due to a villain popping out on the street and so he interviews Spidey on the phone. Of course this becomes problematic once Spidey has to fight the villain in front of the car of the interviewer. Fun stuff.
Amazing Spider-man #529 by Roger Stern and Lee Weeks with a backup feature by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
The conclusion of the "Something Can Stop the Juggernaut" story is the best of the bunch, by far. First, we learn who Captain Universe is. Second, we learn how this connects to the "Nothing can Stop the Juggernaut" story. Third, we get a nice life lesson, another great take on "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility". This is a perfect story for Spider-man. Nothing very original, something a bit bizarre by having a cosmic power in the story, but a story that tells us what Spidey is all about.
The back up was pretty cool too. It is a prologue to the next storyline by Zeb Wells, called "Shed". It looks like it will be a much darker storyline, but it looks exciting.
Amazing Spider-man #530 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
This is the first part of "Shed". We had a prologue in the previous issue and we also had a related story in a recent Web of Spider-man. The story will center on Dr. Connors.
The issue is very good. We get to see Connors having a bad life and slowly losing control to his reptilian side. We also see Spidey have some romantic problems as the Black Cat makes it very clear that she's not interested in a relationship, she just wants to have fun.
A really good issue that has me very excited about the next two parts in the story. I haven't been as excited about a Spidey story in many issues, not since Van Lente's chameleon story in the early 600s.
Amazing Spider-man #525 by Joe Kelly and Max Fiumara.
This issue is sad, but Kelly does some great job with Spidey's dialogue throughout, making the story a little lighter, which I think is the way to do Spider-man.
Amazing Spider-man #526 by Fred Van Lente and Michael Gaydos.
The issue is good but not great. I liked seeing Spidey in trouble by temporarily losing his powers and I was interested in seeing the lady Scorpion as a character. The art worked better than I thought it would. I remember Gaydos from his work on Alias and I thought his style served better in noir stories than in Spider-man, but as Michael Lark has shown, noir style pencillers work great on Spider-man.
Amazing Spider-man #527 by Roger Stern and Lee Weeks.
This is the first part of a trilogy called "Something Can Stop the Juggernaut" that kind of serves as a sequel to the famous "Nobody can stop the Juggernaut". I was very interested in finding out who stopped the Juggernaut and I was glad that it was revealed in this issue.
Amazing Spider-man #528 by Roger Stern and Lee Weeks with a backup feature by Mark Waid and Todd Nauck.
The second part of the trilogy, this raises some good questions about who is Captain Universe, since he doesn't seem to understand his role as a superhero. We have a fun fight between Spidey and Captain Universe and Juggernaut joins in to create an interesting set up.
The backup feature was great. I really like how Todd Nauck draws Spidey and the supporting characters and the story itself was a fun quintessential Spidey story. Spider-Man has a job interview. The interviewer gets stopped in traffic due to a villain popping out on the street and so he interviews Spidey on the phone. Of course this becomes problematic once Spidey has to fight the villain in front of the car of the interviewer. Fun stuff.
Amazing Spider-man #529 by Roger Stern and Lee Weeks with a backup feature by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
The conclusion of the "Something Can Stop the Juggernaut" story is the best of the bunch, by far. First, we learn who Captain Universe is. Second, we learn how this connects to the "Nothing can Stop the Juggernaut" story. Third, we get a nice life lesson, another great take on "With Great Power comes Great Responsibility". This is a perfect story for Spider-man. Nothing very original, something a bit bizarre by having a cosmic power in the story, but a story that tells us what Spidey is all about.
The back up was pretty cool too. It is a prologue to the next storyline by Zeb Wells, called "Shed". It looks like it will be a much darker storyline, but it looks exciting.
Amazing Spider-man #530 by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo.
This is the first part of "Shed". We had a prologue in the previous issue and we also had a related story in a recent Web of Spider-man. The story will center on Dr. Connors.
The issue is very good. We get to see Connors having a bad life and slowly losing control to his reptilian side. We also see Spidey have some romantic problems as the Black Cat makes it very clear that she's not interested in a relationship, she just wants to have fun.
A really good issue that has me very excited about the next two parts in the story. I haven't been as excited about a Spidey story in many issues, not since Van Lente's chameleon story in the early 600s.
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane: Sophomore Jinx
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane: Sophomore Jinx by Terry Moore and Craig Rousseau
I am a longtime Spider-Man fan. I heard great things about author Terry Moore and I decided to check this book out because the covers looked cool. I was happy to try this book out. It is very different to the normal Spider-Man series, as this focuses on Mary Jane's life in high school. Hence there are no supervillains and it is mostly about a young girl going through her first years in high school.
I think the story was pretty good, not many interesting things happen, but the writer and artist do a good job of making us care for Mary Jane. She goes through some trivial issues (not trivial for a teenager though) and she does it with grace.
I think this is a pretty good comic for teenagers. I am glad I read it.
I am a longtime Spider-Man fan. I heard great things about author Terry Moore and I decided to check this book out because the covers looked cool. I was happy to try this book out. It is very different to the normal Spider-Man series, as this focuses on Mary Jane's life in high school. Hence there are no supervillains and it is mostly about a young girl going through her first years in high school.
I think the story was pretty good, not many interesting things happen, but the writer and artist do a good job of making us care for Mary Jane. She goes through some trivial issues (not trivial for a teenager though) and she does it with grace.
I think this is a pretty good comic for teenagers. I am glad I read it.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Doom Patrol Book 2: The Painting that Ate Paris
Doom Patrol Book 2: The Painting that Ate Paris by Grant Morrison and Richard Case consists of issues 26 through 34 of Doom Patrol.
This comic is amazing. The creativity and inventiveness that come out of the book are very enjoyable. In this comic, the Doom Patrol faces a dadaist enemy. An enemy that makes the absurd real. As the title suggest, there is a painting that eats Paris. The Justice League can't do anything about it, but the Doom Patrol is perfect for this sort of case.
Throughout the issues we travel inside the painting to different art styles such as impressionism and surrealism. The intellectual playfulness is incredible. I don't know how the artist was able to pull off these crazy ideas, but he manages to do it and do it well.
The book contains a few more stories besides the one in the title. It has a really good one-shot story in the mind of Crazy Jane, a woman that has 64 personalities. It is an interesting issue where Robotman tries to get Crazy Jane out of a self-imposed coma by going into her mind. Great stuff.
Overall, this comic is fantastic. I am glad I didn't put it down after the lackluster Book 1. I am looking forward to reading the rest of Morrison's run.
This comic is amazing. The creativity and inventiveness that come out of the book are very enjoyable. In this comic, the Doom Patrol faces a dadaist enemy. An enemy that makes the absurd real. As the title suggest, there is a painting that eats Paris. The Justice League can't do anything about it, but the Doom Patrol is perfect for this sort of case.
Throughout the issues we travel inside the painting to different art styles such as impressionism and surrealism. The intellectual playfulness is incredible. I don't know how the artist was able to pull off these crazy ideas, but he manages to do it and do it well.
The book contains a few more stories besides the one in the title. It has a really good one-shot story in the mind of Crazy Jane, a woman that has 64 personalities. It is an interesting issue where Robotman tries to get Crazy Jane out of a self-imposed coma by going into her mind. Great stuff.
Overall, this comic is fantastic. I am glad I didn't put it down after the lackluster Book 1. I am looking forward to reading the rest of Morrison's run.
Doom Patrol Book 1: Crawling From the Wreckage
Doom Patrol Book 1: Crawling From the Wreckage by Grant Morrison and Richard Case consists of issues 19 through 25 of Doom Patrol.
The Doom Patrol consists of a group of superheroes that solve creepy cases. In this volume, we are introduced to a few new members to the team as the team faces strange villains.
I don't love this volume, but it introduced the characters to set up amazing stories later on. Worth reading to be able to read the next volume which is amazing.
The Doom Patrol consists of a group of superheroes that solve creepy cases. In this volume, we are introduced to a few new members to the team as the team faces strange villains.
I don't love this volume, but it introduced the characters to set up amazing stories later on. Worth reading to be able to read the next volume which is amazing.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Invincible Iron Man: Most Wanted Book 2 (Vol. 3)
Invincible Iron Man: Most Wanted Book 2 (Vol. 3) by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca consists of issues 14 through 19 of Invincible Iron Man.
I like this volume more than the previous one. First of all, we have more excitement, since Iron Man is becoming less intelligent.
One thing I like about this comic is that you get unexpected heroes. I like to see people stand up to authority whenever the authority is clearly wrong (in this case, the authority being Norman Osborn).
The comic has a lot of funny moments, good action and suspense, as I didn't know what would happen to Iron Man, Pepper or Maria Hill.
A good series, I'll keep on reading it.
I like this volume more than the previous one. First of all, we have more excitement, since Iron Man is becoming less intelligent.
One thing I like about this comic is that you get unexpected heroes. I like to see people stand up to authority whenever the authority is clearly wrong (in this case, the authority being Norman Osborn).
The comic has a lot of funny moments, good action and suspense, as I didn't know what would happen to Iron Man, Pepper or Maria Hill.
A good series, I'll keep on reading it.
Invincible Iron Man: Most Wanted Vol. 1
Invincible Iron Man: Most Wanted Vol. 1 by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca consists of issues 8 through 13 of Invincible Iron Man.
After the events of Secret Invasion, Tony Stark gets fired as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D and furthermore, since he refuses to give some secret documents to the new head of security, Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin), he becomes a fugitive of the law.
In this comic, Iron Man starts erasing his brain little by little. He needs the help of Pepper Potts and Maria Hill. The adventure of Maria Hill becomes an interesting side story in the comic book.
After Civil War, it has been tough to like Iron Man, however the great movies and Fraction's stellar writing have made this book a great read.
After the events of Secret Invasion, Tony Stark gets fired as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D and furthermore, since he refuses to give some secret documents to the new head of security, Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin), he becomes a fugitive of the law.
In this comic, Iron Man starts erasing his brain little by little. He needs the help of Pepper Potts and Maria Hill. The adventure of Maria Hill becomes an interesting side story in the comic book.
After Civil War, it has been tough to like Iron Man, however the great movies and Fraction's stellar writing have made this book a great read.
Unauthorized Puffed Movie Adaptation
Unauthorized Puffed Movie Adaptation by John Layman and Dave Crosland.
I love John Layman's Chew, therefore I decided to give a try to this comic book. While the name makes it seem like a movie called Puffed exists, imdb does not list any such movie, which makes me think the title is a joke.
Puffed is the story of a young guy who works at a theme park as a mascot. He has to wear a suit that needs the assistance of another person to put on (and to get out off). He gets kidnapped and thrown into the inner city in his suit and he can't get out of it. Therefore, downtown now has a guy in a dinosaur costume walking around.
The comic has a few funny scenes and overall is pretty good. I don't think the comic was great, so I wouldn't recommend it.
I love John Layman's Chew, therefore I decided to give a try to this comic book. While the name makes it seem like a movie called Puffed exists, imdb does not list any such movie, which makes me think the title is a joke.
Puffed is the story of a young guy who works at a theme park as a mascot. He has to wear a suit that needs the assistance of another person to put on (and to get out off). He gets kidnapped and thrown into the inner city in his suit and he can't get out of it. Therefore, downtown now has a guy in a dinosaur costume walking around.
The comic has a few funny scenes and overall is pretty good. I don't think the comic was great, so I wouldn't recommend it.
Invincible Ultimate Collection Vol. 5
Invincible Ultimate Collection Vol. 5 by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley consists of issues 48 through 59 plus Astounding Wolf Man #11.
Invincible is a comic about a very powerful teenage superhero. Robert Kirkman does a great job of humanizing the character while at the same time giving us tons of fun adventures. One thing I love about Kirkman is that he keeps developing subplots in issues while finishing previous subplots. This way, every issue seems important while at the same time it creates moments where a bunch of subplots come into the forefront creating a big mess for our hero. I love this. You never know where Invincible will be in the next issue. There are countless villains making up their own plans and who knows when they will attack.
I read this volume in one sitting and it made me eager to get more issues of Invincible. This series is so good that it seems like waiting a year for the next collected hardcover is too long a wait.
I love this series. I read a lot of comics and this might be my favorite series. I highly recommend it.
Invincible is a comic about a very powerful teenage superhero. Robert Kirkman does a great job of humanizing the character while at the same time giving us tons of fun adventures. One thing I love about Kirkman is that he keeps developing subplots in issues while finishing previous subplots. This way, every issue seems important while at the same time it creates moments where a bunch of subplots come into the forefront creating a big mess for our hero. I love this. You never know where Invincible will be in the next issue. There are countless villains making up their own plans and who knows when they will attack.
I read this volume in one sitting and it made me eager to get more issues of Invincible. This series is so good that it seems like waiting a year for the next collected hardcover is too long a wait.
I love this series. I read a lot of comics and this might be my favorite series. I highly recommend it.
All Star Superman (Vol. 2)
All Star Superman (Vol. 2) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely consists of issues 7 through 12 of All Star Superman.
I read the first volume two years ago and I read the eleventh issue about half a year ago. I wasn't in love with the book, but it has so much praise that I had to give it a read. I like the comic, but I don't love it. I think it has a lot of cool ideas, great artwork and that it does a great job of making every issue have its own story while still developing an overarching arc to the whole series. However, I just didn't find myself caring that much for what would happen. Superman is dying, but I had a hard time thinking he would die.
I can see why a lot of people love this book, but it just didn't astound me.
I read the first volume two years ago and I read the eleventh issue about half a year ago. I wasn't in love with the book, but it has so much praise that I had to give it a read. I like the comic, but I don't love it. I think it has a lot of cool ideas, great artwork and that it does a great job of making every issue have its own story while still developing an overarching arc to the whole series. However, I just didn't find myself caring that much for what would happen. Superman is dying, but I had a hard time thinking he would die.
I can see why a lot of people love this book, but it just didn't astound me.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Famous Players: Mysterious Death Of William Desmond Taylor
Famous Players: Mysterious Death Of William Desmond Taylor by Rick Geary.
Rick Geary has written many comics about famous murders. This one is about the death of William Desmond Taylor, a popular movie director in the 1920's. Geary does a great job of setting the mood with his precise drawings. I really liked how Hollywood changes throughout time. The story shows us Hollywood before becoming the film mecca.
After reading this, I think I'll read more of Geary's books. I liked this one a lot.
Rick Geary has written many comics about famous murders. This one is about the death of William Desmond Taylor, a popular movie director in the 1920's. Geary does a great job of setting the mood with his precise drawings. I really liked how Hollywood changes throughout time. The story shows us Hollywood before becoming the film mecca.
After reading this, I think I'll read more of Geary's books. I liked this one a lot.
Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth
Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H. Papadimitriou, Alecos Papadatos and Annie Di Donna.
Logicomix is a comic about the history of Logic. It focuses on Bertrand Russell's life, but the main theme of the book is Logic. It gives good reasons to care about the topic and it gives very good ways of explaining different difficult mathematical concepts.
The comic also breaks the fourth wall a bit by showing us how the creators were having difficulty in terms of how much mathematics to show and how to move the story along. I really liked this breaks in the story.
One scene I loved in the book is a scene where Bertrand Russell explains the different kinds of infinity to his girlfriend by using the notion of an infinite hotel (Hilbert's hotel). It reminded me of many times when I have excitedly explained interesting mathematics to my wife. It made me laugh, as Bertrand's girlfriend seemed as interested in the story as my wife (which is, not much).
I highly recommend this book.
Logicomix is a comic about the history of Logic. It focuses on Bertrand Russell's life, but the main theme of the book is Logic. It gives good reasons to care about the topic and it gives very good ways of explaining different difficult mathematical concepts.
The comic also breaks the fourth wall a bit by showing us how the creators were having difficulty in terms of how much mathematics to show and how to move the story along. I really liked this breaks in the story.
One scene I loved in the book is a scene where Bertrand Russell explains the different kinds of infinity to his girlfriend by using the notion of an infinite hotel (Hilbert's hotel). It reminded me of many times when I have excitedly explained interesting mathematics to my wife. It made me laugh, as Bertrand's girlfriend seemed as interested in the story as my wife (which is, not much).
I highly recommend this book.
Random Acts of Violence
Random Acts of Violence by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Giancarlo Caracuzzo.
This comic, initially solicited as "Splatterman", starts with two young comic artists that have just finished writing a horror comic book. The comic they write becomes a hit and it leads to serial killer copycats.
The comic is much better than I thought it would be. The story is very good and it made me very interested in its resolution. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with the end. While the last 2 pages are very good, the climax that came a little bit before was disappointing to me. I guess I was mainly bothered by one page, but I won't spoil the story to other readers.
Since the comic was a great read overall, I would still recommend checking it out. I had a lot of fun reading it.
This comic, initially solicited as "Splatterman", starts with two young comic artists that have just finished writing a horror comic book. The comic they write becomes a hit and it leads to serial killer copycats.
The comic is much better than I thought it would be. The story is very good and it made me very interested in its resolution. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with the end. While the last 2 pages are very good, the climax that came a little bit before was disappointing to me. I guess I was mainly bothered by one page, but I won't spoil the story to other readers.
Since the comic was a great read overall, I would still recommend checking it out. I had a lot of fun reading it.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Various Recent Single Issues
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 by Grant Morrison, Chris Sprouse and Karl Story.
About a year and a half ago, Batman was sent back in time by Darkseid during Final Crisis. I haven't read comics from the DC Universe since Final Crisis (except for series on the sidelines, such as Secret Six and Nemesis: The Impostors), so I don't know much of what is going on in Gotham (I do know that Dick Grayson is Batman now and Damian Wayne is Robin). I am attracted to this series because it looks like it is going to be fun and because Grant Morrison is very good at writing weird stuff, so I am curious how he will return Bruce Wayne.
The first issue has an amnesiac Bruce Wayne in caveman times. He doesn't speak, as caveman don't understand him. He gets into trouble in the middle of a fight between two tribes and he has to flee. Overall, not much happens in the comic, but the comic is great. Several questions arise during the issue setting up interesting things for following issues, but at the same time, the issue has a self contained story that doesn't depend on the past or the future to be fun.
Overall, a great read, I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
The Last Days of American Crime #2 by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini.
I might be misremembering the first issue, but the coloring here seemed very different than what I remember from the first issue. Greg Tocchini is really good at drawing action scenes and his style is distinctive. However, I am not a fan of his close ups. The faces are too blurry for me.
With respect to the story. I like it. There are a lot of cool action scenes and there is one very funny moment. It is strange that the series is supposed to be about a heist, but the story hasn't really focused on much about the heist, there are too many things going around for the heist to get center focus.
I am liking the series. It seems like the third issue will come out late as the third issue was canceled, meaning that it will probably take 4 or 5 more months before it arrives. That is a bummer, but since the issues are almost triple sized, I can forgive them.
Haunt #7 by Robert Kirkman, Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane.
This is the last of the issues I have ordered for this series. I am not in love with the series, so this issue would have had to be fantastic for me to keep going with the series. The last issue was great, but this issue wasn't great. The very first scene was ridiculous, I just don't buy gangsters acting so recklessly over someone they could just beat up. I don't hear of too many murders in the US, so I don't think gangsters just kill whenever someone insults them a little bit.
Robert Kirkman has two great series: The Walking Dead and Invincible, so I have been giving this comic a try for a while. If I hear great reviews in the future, I might give this comic another try, but for now, I am done with this series.
Marvel Origins by Fred Van Lente and many others.
Fred Van Lente is my favorite among the writers in charge of Spider-Man right now, so when I saw his name in the solicits, I decided to give this one-shot a try. I probably misunderstood what this comic was about. If I had known it was just one page stories retelling the origins of several Marvel heroes and villains, I would not have ordered this comic. Van Lente does a good job of telling us enough about each character, but for most characters I already knew their origin and for the ones I didn't, I didn't really care (except maybe for Dr. Strange). A few of the pages are not written by Van Lente, but by Jim McCann.
For a while I couldn't understand how Marvel could charge $3.99 for this. But I guess the answer is that, you are not really buying a story but art. Each page is done by a different artist and a lot of them are fantastic. My favorite was the page for Bucky Barnes (the new Captain America). The art consists of 4 vertical panels in the upper half and one triangular panel in the bottom half. The first and third panel are light colored, while the second and fourth have a lot of red in them. The bottom half is tainted blue. Overall, it gives the effect of the American flag, as we have red, white and blue with stars (as Captain America has a star on his chest and on his shield). It looks awesome.
Overall, not an issue I would recommend.
Without trying, the issues are ordered from the one I like the most to the one I liked the least.
About a year and a half ago, Batman was sent back in time by Darkseid during Final Crisis. I haven't read comics from the DC Universe since Final Crisis (except for series on the sidelines, such as Secret Six and Nemesis: The Impostors), so I don't know much of what is going on in Gotham (I do know that Dick Grayson is Batman now and Damian Wayne is Robin). I am attracted to this series because it looks like it is going to be fun and because Grant Morrison is very good at writing weird stuff, so I am curious how he will return Bruce Wayne.
The first issue has an amnesiac Bruce Wayne in caveman times. He doesn't speak, as caveman don't understand him. He gets into trouble in the middle of a fight between two tribes and he has to flee. Overall, not much happens in the comic, but the comic is great. Several questions arise during the issue setting up interesting things for following issues, but at the same time, the issue has a self contained story that doesn't depend on the past or the future to be fun.
Overall, a great read, I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
The Last Days of American Crime #2 by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini.
I might be misremembering the first issue, but the coloring here seemed very different than what I remember from the first issue. Greg Tocchini is really good at drawing action scenes and his style is distinctive. However, I am not a fan of his close ups. The faces are too blurry for me.
With respect to the story. I like it. There are a lot of cool action scenes and there is one very funny moment. It is strange that the series is supposed to be about a heist, but the story hasn't really focused on much about the heist, there are too many things going around for the heist to get center focus.
I am liking the series. It seems like the third issue will come out late as the third issue was canceled, meaning that it will probably take 4 or 5 more months before it arrives. That is a bummer, but since the issues are almost triple sized, I can forgive them.
Haunt #7 by Robert Kirkman, Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane.
This is the last of the issues I have ordered for this series. I am not in love with the series, so this issue would have had to be fantastic for me to keep going with the series. The last issue was great, but this issue wasn't great. The very first scene was ridiculous, I just don't buy gangsters acting so recklessly over someone they could just beat up. I don't hear of too many murders in the US, so I don't think gangsters just kill whenever someone insults them a little bit.
Robert Kirkman has two great series: The Walking Dead and Invincible, so I have been giving this comic a try for a while. If I hear great reviews in the future, I might give this comic another try, but for now, I am done with this series.
Marvel Origins by Fred Van Lente and many others.
Fred Van Lente is my favorite among the writers in charge of Spider-Man right now, so when I saw his name in the solicits, I decided to give this one-shot a try. I probably misunderstood what this comic was about. If I had known it was just one page stories retelling the origins of several Marvel heroes and villains, I would not have ordered this comic. Van Lente does a good job of telling us enough about each character, but for most characters I already knew their origin and for the ones I didn't, I didn't really care (except maybe for Dr. Strange). A few of the pages are not written by Van Lente, but by Jim McCann.
For a while I couldn't understand how Marvel could charge $3.99 for this. But I guess the answer is that, you are not really buying a story but art. Each page is done by a different artist and a lot of them are fantastic. My favorite was the page for Bucky Barnes (the new Captain America). The art consists of 4 vertical panels in the upper half and one triangular panel in the bottom half. The first and third panel are light colored, while the second and fourth have a lot of red in them. The bottom half is tainted blue. Overall, it gives the effect of the American flag, as we have red, white and blue with stars (as Captain America has a star on his chest and on his shield). It looks awesome.
Overall, not an issue I would recommend.
Without trying, the issues are ordered from the one I like the most to the one I liked the least.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Various Single Issues
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #35 by Brad Meltzer and Georges Jeanty.
This issue is the final issue in the Twilight arc. The arc started very strong, but I wasn't so impressed with the last two issues. I am very excited about the finale coming up, as it is written by Joss Whedon himself.
The art in this issue is pretty good. Georges Jeanty does a good job of conveying Buffy's feelings.
Codebreakers #2 by Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.
The first issue was good but not great. This issue made me more interested in the story. We now know a little bit more of the villain and the hero. I am looking forward to the next issue.
Irredeemable #13 by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto.
Irredeemable is a series I've been enjoying quite a bit. This issue is very good. It focuses on Bette Noir, showing us how she could have prevented deaths with her knowledge of the Plutonian's weakness. The reaction of her dad was very surprising to me. I really liked how this series is shaping up.
The issue was another relaxed issue that takes us away from the action, but I think it was a good issue right now, as we needed to get to know Bette Noir better.
Hellboy in Mexico by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben.
I had to read this issue since it is a One-shot and it is set in Mexico. The story is not great, but it is fun and entertaining. I am not a big fan of Hellboy, but I like the way the comic deals with the supernatural.
The art is great. Corben does a very good job of making all the supernatural characters look cool. I also liked how he drew the Mexican fighters. Really cool artwork.
A solid comic, worth the price and it was worth it, even though I know little of the Hellboy story.
Nemesis: The Impostors #3 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.
The series has been hard to follow for me as I know nothing about this character. Despite that, the issue was interesting.
I have to mention that the art by Cliff Richards has been phenomenal in this series. I had only seen his work on Buffy and it wasn't very good there. The way he draws Batman is perfect and overall the action has been really well drawn. I love it.
Tales Designed to Thrizzle #1 by Michael Kupperman.
I have heard many people rave about this comic, so I was expecting something fantastic. The comic consists of many surrealistic jokes. A lot of the jokes are very funny, but some aren't funny. Even with the very funny ones, I wouldn't crack up, I would just smile. I think this kind of humor is just not my cup of tea. It is intelligent, but not that funny.
Secret Warriors #1 by Jonathan Hickman, Brian Michael Bendis and Stefano Caselli.
After loving the Shield comic last month and since I have a subscription to Marvel digital, I decided to read other things Jonathan Hickman has done. Marvel Digital has the first two issues of Secret Warriors, so I decided to read them. The first one is pretty good. The issue itself doesn't tell us much of what is going on, showing us a few spy missions and ending with a confusing cliffhanger. However, it was good enough to get me to read the second issue.
Secret Warriors #2 by Jonathan Hickman and Stefano Caselli.
This issue explains the confusing ending to last issue. The premise is actually very interesting, the premise is that Hydra has been successfully spying and manipulating S.H.I.E.L.D for many years. I am very interested in seeing what Nick Fury we'll do with this development.
This series looks very cool, I will keep reading it.
This issue is the final issue in the Twilight arc. The arc started very strong, but I wasn't so impressed with the last two issues. I am very excited about the finale coming up, as it is written by Joss Whedon himself.
The art in this issue is pretty good. Georges Jeanty does a good job of conveying Buffy's feelings.
Codebreakers #2 by Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.
The first issue was good but not great. This issue made me more interested in the story. We now know a little bit more of the villain and the hero. I am looking forward to the next issue.
Irredeemable #13 by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto.
Irredeemable is a series I've been enjoying quite a bit. This issue is very good. It focuses on Bette Noir, showing us how she could have prevented deaths with her knowledge of the Plutonian's weakness. The reaction of her dad was very surprising to me. I really liked how this series is shaping up.
The issue was another relaxed issue that takes us away from the action, but I think it was a good issue right now, as we needed to get to know Bette Noir better.
Hellboy in Mexico by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben.
I had to read this issue since it is a One-shot and it is set in Mexico. The story is not great, but it is fun and entertaining. I am not a big fan of Hellboy, but I like the way the comic deals with the supernatural.
The art is great. Corben does a very good job of making all the supernatural characters look cool. I also liked how he drew the Mexican fighters. Really cool artwork.
A solid comic, worth the price and it was worth it, even though I know little of the Hellboy story.
Nemesis: The Impostors #3 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.
The series has been hard to follow for me as I know nothing about this character. Despite that, the issue was interesting.
I have to mention that the art by Cliff Richards has been phenomenal in this series. I had only seen his work on Buffy and it wasn't very good there. The way he draws Batman is perfect and overall the action has been really well drawn. I love it.
Tales Designed to Thrizzle #1 by Michael Kupperman.
I have heard many people rave about this comic, so I was expecting something fantastic. The comic consists of many surrealistic jokes. A lot of the jokes are very funny, but some aren't funny. Even with the very funny ones, I wouldn't crack up, I would just smile. I think this kind of humor is just not my cup of tea. It is intelligent, but not that funny.
Secret Warriors #1 by Jonathan Hickman, Brian Michael Bendis and Stefano Caselli.
After loving the Shield comic last month and since I have a subscription to Marvel digital, I decided to read other things Jonathan Hickman has done. Marvel Digital has the first two issues of Secret Warriors, so I decided to read them. The first one is pretty good. The issue itself doesn't tell us much of what is going on, showing us a few spy missions and ending with a confusing cliffhanger. However, it was good enough to get me to read the second issue.
Secret Warriors #2 by Jonathan Hickman and Stefano Caselli.
This issue explains the confusing ending to last issue. The premise is actually very interesting, the premise is that Hydra has been successfully spying and manipulating S.H.I.E.L.D for many years. I am very interested in seeing what Nick Fury we'll do with this development.
This series looks very cool, I will keep reading it.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Ex Machina: Ring Out the Old (Vol. 9)
Ex Machina: Ring Out the Old (Vol. 9) by Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris consists of issues 40 through 44 of Ex Machina plus the Green Special.
When I started reading Ex Machina, 6 trades had come out and I read through them quickly. I loved it. Since then, I have had to wait about half a year for each trade and because of that, I often forget what has been going on and have a hard time loving the series as much as I did the first time. With this trade, I didn't have that problem. The comic starts with a fun "meta" issue with Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris written into the story. Then it has another one shot issue about paper. The next four issues (41-44) are the heart of it, the issues that give the book its name. They are fantastic. We get to know more back story about Mitchell, we get teased about how he got his powers, we get a cool villain and the politics heat up as Mitchell is continuing his pragmatic style of governing.
This comic got me very excited about the conclusion that comes up in November in trade format (the final issue comes out in June or July). The comic has shown us three years of government and the last six issues will focus on the last year (2005). With the introduction of new villains, the political pressure and the mysterious outside forces, I am eagerly awaiting the final chapter.
When I started reading Ex Machina, 6 trades had come out and I read through them quickly. I loved it. Since then, I have had to wait about half a year for each trade and because of that, I often forget what has been going on and have a hard time loving the series as much as I did the first time. With this trade, I didn't have that problem. The comic starts with a fun "meta" issue with Brian K. Vaughan and Tony Harris written into the story. Then it has another one shot issue about paper. The next four issues (41-44) are the heart of it, the issues that give the book its name. They are fantastic. We get to know more back story about Mitchell, we get teased about how he got his powers, we get a cool villain and the politics heat up as Mitchell is continuing his pragmatic style of governing.
This comic got me very excited about the conclusion that comes up in November in trade format (the final issue comes out in June or July). The comic has shown us three years of government and the last six issues will focus on the last year (2005). With the introduction of new villains, the political pressure and the mysterious outside forces, I am eagerly awaiting the final chapter.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Kafka
Kafka by David Zane Marowitz and Robert Crumb.
This book is a biography of Franz Kafka. Throughout the book we get summaries of Kafka's important works and we get to see Crumb's visual interpretation of these stories. That is the best part of the book for me. The biographical side is also very good, explaining a bit of why Kafka wrote like that.
While reading the book, I felt like it is hard to call most of it a comic book, because it has a lot of prose. The parts of the book where we get to see Crumb interpret Kafka's stories definitely feel like a comic book, but the biography section doesn't. However, I thinks this works very well in the book, it makes the stories more alive when the images tell more than just being a drawing.
I enjoyed the book, it is worth reading.
This book is a biography of Franz Kafka. Throughout the book we get summaries of Kafka's important works and we get to see Crumb's visual interpretation of these stories. That is the best part of the book for me. The biographical side is also very good, explaining a bit of why Kafka wrote like that.
While reading the book, I felt like it is hard to call most of it a comic book, because it has a lot of prose. The parts of the book where we get to see Crumb interpret Kafka's stories definitely feel like a comic book, but the biography section doesn't. However, I thinks this works very well in the book, it makes the stories more alive when the images tell more than just being a drawing.
I enjoyed the book, it is worth reading.
Godland: Hello Cosmic (Vol. 1)
Godland: Hello Cosmic (Vol. 1) by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli consists of issues 1 through 6 of Godland.
I had heard great things about this comic, how fun it is, how outrageous, etcetera. But when I was reading it, I wasn't into it. While the art is very good and the story is okay, I just thought that not much was going on.
Adam Archer is a nice hero, he has a sister that is jealous of his powers. There is a junkie villain which brings some nice comedy into the story and there are subplots which make it clear that there are plans for future issues. This is what makes me think of getting the second trade, but while reading the book, I just didn't feel the excitement I feel when reading other comic books.
I think the comic is well made, but it just isn't my kind of comic. Worth checking out.
I had heard great things about this comic, how fun it is, how outrageous, etcetera. But when I was reading it, I wasn't into it. While the art is very good and the story is okay, I just thought that not much was going on.
Adam Archer is a nice hero, he has a sister that is jealous of his powers. There is a junkie villain which brings some nice comedy into the story and there are subplots which make it clear that there are plans for future issues. This is what makes me think of getting the second trade, but while reading the book, I just didn't feel the excitement I feel when reading other comic books.
I think the comic is well made, but it just isn't my kind of comic. Worth checking out.
Birdhouse
Birdhouse by Vernon White.
Birdhouse is a comic about a princess that wants to leave her castle and leave near the ocean. The king is a tyrant and he doesn't let her do much. He also is not well liked in his country.
Not much happens in the comic and the story is not very interesting. However, I liked that the comic was able to move along with few words, making this a very visual experience. I think Vernon White does a great job with the artwork. I particularly liked how a scene from the same angle looked different when it was a memory and when it was real. In the memory, the scene looks more beautiful. The scene was subtle, but when I finished the book it made me look at the images again.
I think the comic is meant for a younger audience, and I think it is a good book for children or young teenagers. I don't think the comic was very good for older readers.
Birdhouse is a comic about a princess that wants to leave her castle and leave near the ocean. The king is a tyrant and he doesn't let her do much. He also is not well liked in his country.
Not much happens in the comic and the story is not very interesting. However, I liked that the comic was able to move along with few words, making this a very visual experience. I think Vernon White does a great job with the artwork. I particularly liked how a scene from the same angle looked different when it was a memory and when it was real. In the memory, the scene looks more beautiful. The scene was subtle, but when I finished the book it made me look at the images again.
I think the comic is meant for a younger audience, and I think it is a good book for children or young teenagers. I don't think the comic was very good for older readers.
Thunderbolts: Caged Angels
Thunderbolts: Caged Angels by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr. consists of issues 116 through 121 of Thunderbolts.
Since Warren Ellis gets a lot of praise, I've been trying to read more of his comics. I recently read Nextwave and another Thunderbolts storyline. I haven't loved them, but I have enjoyed them. This is another solid story. I think it is much better than the first storyline Ellis wrote for the Thunderbolts. Here we get to see a lot of interesting things. We get to witness the heroics of Songbird, the return of the Green Goblin, a lot of cool fights (Swordsman versus Venom, Swordsman versus Green Goblin, Moonstone versus Penance) and we get to see mind-controlling rogues almost destroy the Thunderbolts.
A lot of things happen in this comic and it was a fun ride. It got me interested in knowing more about Songbird and Penance. I think Ellis did a very good job of making this title more interesting. The art by Deodato Jr. is excellent, with a lot of detail and amazing fight scenes.
This comic is not only worth reading, but it made "Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters" worth reading too.
Since Warren Ellis gets a lot of praise, I've been trying to read more of his comics. I recently read Nextwave and another Thunderbolts storyline. I haven't loved them, but I have enjoyed them. This is another solid story. I think it is much better than the first storyline Ellis wrote for the Thunderbolts. Here we get to see a lot of interesting things. We get to witness the heroics of Songbird, the return of the Green Goblin, a lot of cool fights (Swordsman versus Venom, Swordsman versus Green Goblin, Moonstone versus Penance) and we get to see mind-controlling rogues almost destroy the Thunderbolts.
A lot of things happen in this comic and it was a fun ride. It got me interested in knowing more about Songbird and Penance. I think Ellis did a very good job of making this title more interesting. The art by Deodato Jr. is excellent, with a lot of detail and amazing fight scenes.
This comic is not only worth reading, but it made "Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters" worth reading too.
Flight Vol. 1
Flight is an anthology published by Image comics. The idea is to have young creators make short stories about flight. There are six volumes out there and this is the first one. I enjoyed reading it. The nice thing about anthologies is that if you don't like one story, the story is short enough to not matter and if you like one story, you can look for more things from that author online. This anthology has several good stories, I liked both stories written by Kibuishi, the editor of the comic. Both of them were funny. Near the end of the book there's another story I liked a lot, it is called "The Bowl". It is a nice story told without words, the art is very strong and the author, Clio Chang, was able to express complex things through her art. Other stories I liked include "Hugo Earhart" by Jake Parker, "Tug McTaggart, Circus Detective" by Phil Cravenand "The Maiden and the River Spirit" by Derek Kirk Kim.
A good comic, worth checking out.
A good comic, worth checking out.
Dark Knight Returns
Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.
This is one of the first graphic novels I read. I read it in High School, about ten years ago. Today I read it for the first time since then. It was interesting seeing how much denser it is than most comics nowadays. It took me over three hours, which is about double what it would take to read the same number of Walking Dead pages. A lot of the pages are full of panels, there are very few splash pages, no double splashes and almost every panel has writing in it. I love to see narration during fighting sequences (something not done much since) and this book has great narration from Batman whenever he is fighting. It is so cool to see what he thinks and I also enjoy that the narration is sometimes repetitive, such as "Lucky old man". Being repetitive makes sense, because that is how we talk and think.
The first time I read this book I really enjoyed the fight between Batman and Superman. This time, I feel like I enjoyed many other things. I like how it uses news channels to give us the information about what shape the world is in. I like how crazy the Joker is, I like how each issue has a different menace, but it all seems natural, as part of a bigger story. I like how there is constant debate over whether Batman is a good thing.
The beginning of this comic is very strange, as the mutants are weird villains, however, by the second issue I got into the comic, once the new Robin was introduced and the subplots were starting to form.
This is a great comic, worthy of the praise it gets.
This is one of the first graphic novels I read. I read it in High School, about ten years ago. Today I read it for the first time since then. It was interesting seeing how much denser it is than most comics nowadays. It took me over three hours, which is about double what it would take to read the same number of Walking Dead pages. A lot of the pages are full of panels, there are very few splash pages, no double splashes and almost every panel has writing in it. I love to see narration during fighting sequences (something not done much since) and this book has great narration from Batman whenever he is fighting. It is so cool to see what he thinks and I also enjoy that the narration is sometimes repetitive, such as "Lucky old man". Being repetitive makes sense, because that is how we talk and think.
The first time I read this book I really enjoyed the fight between Batman and Superman. This time, I feel like I enjoyed many other things. I like how it uses news channels to give us the information about what shape the world is in. I like how crazy the Joker is, I like how each issue has a different menace, but it all seems natural, as part of a bigger story. I like how there is constant debate over whether Batman is a good thing.
The beginning of this comic is very strange, as the mutants are weird villains, however, by the second issue I got into the comic, once the new Robin was introduced and the subplots were starting to form.
This is a great comic, worthy of the praise it gets.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Various Single Issues
Shield #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver.
The best single issue I've read in a long time. For almost a month, I hadn't read anything that made me excited about comics, but then I read this issue and my faith in comicdom was back. The comic is just a blast of fun. We get to meet Imhotep 2000 years ago defending us from aliens, we get to see a Chinese warrior fight an eternal, we get to see Galileo saving us from Galactus, Leonardo Da Vinci in a jetpack.
The premise is that S.H.I.E.L.D is an organization that has existed for a long time and it has protected the planet from danger and this leads us to all sorts of fun snippets from the past. The story is set in 1953 where Leonid is brought to the Immortal city (a city under Rome). Not much is revealed about him, but I am sure more will come in future issues.
I highly recommend this issue and I am looking forward to more from this series.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #34 by Brad Meltzer and Georges Jeanty.
After a series of great Buffy issues we get this one which is above average. The issue is very sexualized and while Jeanty does a great job depicting sex and making the story flow nicely from panel to panel, the premise of this issue is not something I like too much. The story is becoming more and more magical, which has been a trend since Season 4 of Buffy, but what made Buffy great at first was the interpersonal relationships between the characters and I fear we are going to far away from that. In any case, I can't complain too much, because I love having Buffy and Angel together.
Solid issue. I think the issue will be controversial, given that Buffy is a popular brand and this issue is definitely in the border between pornographic and artistic. I think Jeanty did a fantastic job, but I could see parents complaining about their kids reading this.
Nemesis: The Impostors #2 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.
I really liked the first issue and all the questions it brought up, but I wasn't into this issue that much because I had forgot what questions were brought up earlier. I am starting to feel lost because I hadn't read the previous miniseries and it seems like I am losing out on the fun by not knowing much of the backstory.
Despite my lack of knowledge of this character, this particular issue works pretty great as a single issue. It has a cool fight against Batman, it has a nice escape and it makes one think about identities. Batman, is not Bruce Wayne anymore, he is Dick Grayson, so when Nemesis tells him "You're not Batman", he is actually right. I thought the artwork was great. I still don't know how this artist is the same artist that drew mediocre Buffy issues. Maybe this explains why inkers are important.
Chip #1 by Richard Moore.
This is a cute little story about a tiny gargoyle that wants to be scary. This is the first of two issues and I am looking forward to the next issue. A good read.
The best single issue I've read in a long time. For almost a month, I hadn't read anything that made me excited about comics, but then I read this issue and my faith in comicdom was back. The comic is just a blast of fun. We get to meet Imhotep 2000 years ago defending us from aliens, we get to see a Chinese warrior fight an eternal, we get to see Galileo saving us from Galactus, Leonardo Da Vinci in a jetpack.
The premise is that S.H.I.E.L.D is an organization that has existed for a long time and it has protected the planet from danger and this leads us to all sorts of fun snippets from the past. The story is set in 1953 where Leonid is brought to the Immortal city (a city under Rome). Not much is revealed about him, but I am sure more will come in future issues.
I highly recommend this issue and I am looking forward to more from this series.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #34 by Brad Meltzer and Georges Jeanty.
After a series of great Buffy issues we get this one which is above average. The issue is very sexualized and while Jeanty does a great job depicting sex and making the story flow nicely from panel to panel, the premise of this issue is not something I like too much. The story is becoming more and more magical, which has been a trend since Season 4 of Buffy, but what made Buffy great at first was the interpersonal relationships between the characters and I fear we are going to far away from that. In any case, I can't complain too much, because I love having Buffy and Angel together.
Solid issue. I think the issue will be controversial, given that Buffy is a popular brand and this issue is definitely in the border between pornographic and artistic. I think Jeanty did a fantastic job, but I could see parents complaining about their kids reading this.
Nemesis: The Impostors #2 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.
I really liked the first issue and all the questions it brought up, but I wasn't into this issue that much because I had forgot what questions were brought up earlier. I am starting to feel lost because I hadn't read the previous miniseries and it seems like I am losing out on the fun by not knowing much of the backstory.
Despite my lack of knowledge of this character, this particular issue works pretty great as a single issue. It has a cool fight against Batman, it has a nice escape and it makes one think about identities. Batman, is not Bruce Wayne anymore, he is Dick Grayson, so when Nemesis tells him "You're not Batman", he is actually right. I thought the artwork was great. I still don't know how this artist is the same artist that drew mediocre Buffy issues. Maybe this explains why inkers are important.
Chip #1 by Richard Moore.
This is a cute little story about a tiny gargoyle that wants to be scary. This is the first of two issues and I am looking forward to the next issue. A good read.
Recent Spider-Man Issues
Amazing Spider-Man #622 by Greg Weisman, Luke Ross, Fred Van Lente and Joe Quinones.
I love the TV cartoon "Spectacular Spider-Man" written by Greg Weisman, I was happy to find that his TV writing translated well into a great story about Flash Thompson. In the last couple of years, there have been a couple of very good Flash stories in the Spider-Man comic and I am happy to have them. We get Spidey three times a month, so I don't mind this issue not having the presence of Spidey be important. However, for those that would get bothered by this, there is a nice back up issue written by Van Lente, a writer I love when it comes to Spider-Man.
I should also point out that the art by Luke Ross was very good. Luke Ross was a great penciller for Spider-Man in the early 90s and while his style has changed, he still draws a great Spidey.
Amazing Spider-Man #623 by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta with a great Michael Lark cover.
The cover for this issue is wonderful. It is my favorite Spider-Man cover. The issue itself is pretty good. I don't like how Azaceta draws Spidey, but he draws good sequences and he does a great job drawing the Vulture. This issue is the first of a two-parter.
Amazing Spider-Man #624 by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta.
This issue is the second part. We get to see how Spidey defeats the Vulture (mostly by convincing him to stop attacking him and J Jonah). The second half of the issue has Peter losing his job and his reputation after J Jonah denounces him for fraud in a picture that Peter PhotoShopped to save J Jonah's political situation. It was interesting to see an honest side to J Jonah, including how bad he felt over the aid that lost his life to protect him. However it was very sad to see Peter go down so low, over a small mistake.
I am looking forward to the next issue, however I didn't renew my subscription in time, so the next issue I will receive is supposed to be #627, I already got my comic book store to order #626, but #625 is out of print, so I'll have to find it somewhere.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #61 by Paul Tobin and Christian Nauck.
I have been enjoying this series very much up to the last couple of issues. This issue explains why Chat has been acting so weird and in doing so makes the rpevious issues a bit better. The comic is going from being $2.99 to $3.99 and for the jump they are going to renumber, which makes this the last issue of this series. The issue was pretty good, but it wasn't what one would expect of a final issue (the numbering is also weird in that respect). The next issue, which will be labeled #1, is meant to follow the story developing here, but they did manage to make it more accessible to new readers by having Peter no longer in a relationship.
I like how this comic dealt with Emma Frost and I really like the character of Chat. I am looking forward to more issues of this comic.
Web of Spider-Man #6 by Fred Van Lente, Jefte Palo, Ron Frenz, Tom DeFalco, Zeb Wells and Xurxo Penalta.
The first story is about the origin of the Lizard. I thought the story was pretty good, not great, but not bad. The art was very good and that made it worthwhile. The Spider-Girl story was average. I want to know more about Black Tarantula, he is an interesting guy. The third story was a prelude to a Lizard story to come in Amazing Spider-Man. The issue was average. Maybe I made a mistake by coming back to buying this series after I left it for two issues (I skipped issues 4 and 5).
Web of Spider-Man #7 by Fred Van Lente, Phillipe Briones, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood.
The first story is pretty good. I have high expectations for stories written by Van Lente as he has written some of my favorite Spidey stories this year and he wrote a cool origin story for Rhino. This Kraven story wasn't great.
The Spider-Girl story is actually good, with an interesting villain called "Wild Card". Wild Card seems like a cool guy and somehow I think it is Peter Parker trying to get his daughter out of the gang war. This issue really makes me consider buying Spider-Girl #1. In fact, I think I will.
I was excited to see that the last story would be about PaperDoll. While the paparazzi arc in the #560s of Amazing Spider-Man wasn't critically acclaimed, I really liked it. I loved the art, I thought the villain was interesting, and I loved seeing the ethical issues for Peter in working as a paparazzi. With all that in mind, I was looking forward to reading this story by Joe Casey. While the story wasn't bad, the art threw me out of the story often, as the art is very strange. One thing I liked about the art was the sound effects, specially the "Twip" for when Spidey is throwing webbing.
Overall, the issue wasn't great. I won't stop buying this comic, mainly because it is changing its style from #8 forward, by no longer telling origin stories and going more for new stories.
I love the TV cartoon "Spectacular Spider-Man" written by Greg Weisman, I was happy to find that his TV writing translated well into a great story about Flash Thompson. In the last couple of years, there have been a couple of very good Flash stories in the Spider-Man comic and I am happy to have them. We get Spidey three times a month, so I don't mind this issue not having the presence of Spidey be important. However, for those that would get bothered by this, there is a nice back up issue written by Van Lente, a writer I love when it comes to Spider-Man.
I should also point out that the art by Luke Ross was very good. Luke Ross was a great penciller for Spider-Man in the early 90s and while his style has changed, he still draws a great Spidey.
Amazing Spider-Man #623 by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta with a great Michael Lark cover.
The cover for this issue is wonderful. It is my favorite Spider-Man cover. The issue itself is pretty good. I don't like how Azaceta draws Spidey, but he draws good sequences and he does a great job drawing the Vulture. This issue is the first of a two-parter.
Amazing Spider-Man #624 by Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta.
This issue is the second part. We get to see how Spidey defeats the Vulture (mostly by convincing him to stop attacking him and J Jonah). The second half of the issue has Peter losing his job and his reputation after J Jonah denounces him for fraud in a picture that Peter PhotoShopped to save J Jonah's political situation. It was interesting to see an honest side to J Jonah, including how bad he felt over the aid that lost his life to protect him. However it was very sad to see Peter go down so low, over a small mistake.
I am looking forward to the next issue, however I didn't renew my subscription in time, so the next issue I will receive is supposed to be #627, I already got my comic book store to order #626, but #625 is out of print, so I'll have to find it somewhere.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #61 by Paul Tobin and Christian Nauck.
I have been enjoying this series very much up to the last couple of issues. This issue explains why Chat has been acting so weird and in doing so makes the rpevious issues a bit better. The comic is going from being $2.99 to $3.99 and for the jump they are going to renumber, which makes this the last issue of this series. The issue was pretty good, but it wasn't what one would expect of a final issue (the numbering is also weird in that respect). The next issue, which will be labeled #1, is meant to follow the story developing here, but they did manage to make it more accessible to new readers by having Peter no longer in a relationship.
I like how this comic dealt with Emma Frost and I really like the character of Chat. I am looking forward to more issues of this comic.
Web of Spider-Man #6 by Fred Van Lente, Jefte Palo, Ron Frenz, Tom DeFalco, Zeb Wells and Xurxo Penalta.
The first story is about the origin of the Lizard. I thought the story was pretty good, not great, but not bad. The art was very good and that made it worthwhile. The Spider-Girl story was average. I want to know more about Black Tarantula, he is an interesting guy. The third story was a prelude to a Lizard story to come in Amazing Spider-Man. The issue was average. Maybe I made a mistake by coming back to buying this series after I left it for two issues (I skipped issues 4 and 5).
Web of Spider-Man #7 by Fred Van Lente, Phillipe Briones, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood.
The first story is pretty good. I have high expectations for stories written by Van Lente as he has written some of my favorite Spidey stories this year and he wrote a cool origin story for Rhino. This Kraven story wasn't great.
The Spider-Girl story is actually good, with an interesting villain called "Wild Card". Wild Card seems like a cool guy and somehow I think it is Peter Parker trying to get his daughter out of the gang war. This issue really makes me consider buying Spider-Girl #1. In fact, I think I will.
I was excited to see that the last story would be about PaperDoll. While the paparazzi arc in the #560s of Amazing Spider-Man wasn't critically acclaimed, I really liked it. I loved the art, I thought the villain was interesting, and I loved seeing the ethical issues for Peter in working as a paparazzi. With all that in mind, I was looking forward to reading this story by Joe Casey. While the story wasn't bad, the art threw me out of the story often, as the art is very strange. One thing I liked about the art was the sound effects, specially the "Twip" for when Spidey is throwing webbing.
Overall, the issue wasn't great. I won't stop buying this comic, mainly because it is changing its style from #8 forward, by no longer telling origin stories and going more for new stories.
Recent Single Issues from Image Comics
Haunt #6 by Robert Kirkman, Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane.
I liked this issue. It takes a detour from the main story, by giving us background information on the woman introduced in the last issue. She was Kurt's lover. The issue is pretty good.
Turf #1 by Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards.
This issue came out in a very strong week for new comics with Shield and Codebreakers coming out. I liked this more than Codebreakers but Shield was my favorite by far. This issue has a lot of potential, because I really liked Eddie and since it seems that Eddie will be the main character, it seems like I will enjoy this comic. I am not enthused about aliens, but I am digging the beautiful artwork, the noir feel and the vampires. It seems like aliens, detectives, vampires and 1930s won't mix that well, but since the first issue was so good, I have high expectations for the rest of the series. This is one of those stories that have to be told in comic book form.
Chew #10 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
Chew is a hilarious comic book and I have been loving it. This issue wraps up the second story arc and the issue is strong, however it isn't as funny as usual. I have high hopes for the next arc because now we know more about the main villain.
It was interesting for me to find that the tiny governor had good intentions and wasn't bad as I thought he was. He was just trying to make his island wealthier.
Once more, I should point out that the artist is fantastic. Guillory is the perfect fit for this comic.
I liked this issue. It takes a detour from the main story, by giving us background information on the woman introduced in the last issue. She was Kurt's lover. The issue is pretty good.
Turf #1 by Jonathan Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards.
This issue came out in a very strong week for new comics with Shield and Codebreakers coming out. I liked this more than Codebreakers but Shield was my favorite by far. This issue has a lot of potential, because I really liked Eddie and since it seems that Eddie will be the main character, it seems like I will enjoy this comic. I am not enthused about aliens, but I am digging the beautiful artwork, the noir feel and the vampires. It seems like aliens, detectives, vampires and 1930s won't mix that well, but since the first issue was so good, I have high expectations for the rest of the series. This is one of those stories that have to be told in comic book form.
Chew #10 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
Chew is a hilarious comic book and I have been loving it. This issue wraps up the second story arc and the issue is strong, however it isn't as funny as usual. I have high hopes for the next arc because now we know more about the main villain.
It was interesting for me to find that the tiny governor had good intentions and wasn't bad as I thought he was. He was just trying to make his island wealthier.
Once more, I should point out that the artist is fantastic. Guillory is the perfect fit for this comic.
Recent Single Issues from BOOM Studios
Irredeemable #12 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause.
This issue was quite good. Every time I have hope that Plutonian will be good again, I get to see him do something terrible. However, the comic is more about the Paradigm, then Plutonian and the Paradigm gets in deep trouble now that the US military is going against them. We find out there is a way to defeat the Plutonian (even though, Survivor already thinks he can do it himself) and that Bette knew all along. She feels guilty about not saying it before, having the weight of millions of deaths on her shoulders must be tough to overcome.
The comic continues to be great. I love it.
Codebreakers #1 by Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.
The issue is a strong first issue. There's good dialogue and the art is very good. The issue is about a group of FBI agents whose job is to crack codes. One of them killed himself in the middle of the issue and the boss doesn't think that makes sense, so he goes out to look for him, believing he was kidnapped. It was a very good first issue, but it came out in the same week as Turf and Shield, two comics that were even better.
Irredeemable: Special #1 by Mark Waid, Howard Chaykin, Paul Azaceta and Emma Rios.
This special issue contains three stories involving characters in the "Irredeemable Universe". The first story is about Hornet, which is kind of a Batman analogue in this world. In the first issue of Irredeemable he gets killed and we finally find out a little bit more about this character here. It was nice to get to know the character if only for eight pages.
The second story is about Kaidan. It was not great. It had the standard idea of self sacrifice being the key to defeat a villain. The third story was about Max Damage, the main character in the spinoff series "Incorruptible". Here we get to find out how Max and Jailbait got to meet each other. It was an okay story, but since I don't read Incorruptible it wasn't that important to me.
The issue is not worth checking out, in my opinion. The only story that enhances the story in the Irredeemable comic is the Hornet story, but I imagine that the key point in the story will be revealed in the main series anyway.
This issue was quite good. Every time I have hope that Plutonian will be good again, I get to see him do something terrible. However, the comic is more about the Paradigm, then Plutonian and the Paradigm gets in deep trouble now that the US military is going against them. We find out there is a way to defeat the Plutonian (even though, Survivor already thinks he can do it himself) and that Bette knew all along. She feels guilty about not saying it before, having the weight of millions of deaths on her shoulders must be tough to overcome.
The comic continues to be great. I love it.
Codebreakers #1 by Carey Malloy and Scott Godlewski.
The issue is a strong first issue. There's good dialogue and the art is very good. The issue is about a group of FBI agents whose job is to crack codes. One of them killed himself in the middle of the issue and the boss doesn't think that makes sense, so he goes out to look for him, believing he was kidnapped. It was a very good first issue, but it came out in the same week as Turf and Shield, two comics that were even better.
Irredeemable: Special #1 by Mark Waid, Howard Chaykin, Paul Azaceta and Emma Rios.
This special issue contains three stories involving characters in the "Irredeemable Universe". The first story is about Hornet, which is kind of a Batman analogue in this world. In the first issue of Irredeemable he gets killed and we finally find out a little bit more about this character here. It was nice to get to know the character if only for eight pages.
The second story is about Kaidan. It was not great. It had the standard idea of self sacrifice being the key to defeat a villain. The third story was about Max Damage, the main character in the spinoff series "Incorruptible". Here we get to find out how Max and Jailbait got to meet each other. It was an okay story, but since I don't read Incorruptible it wasn't that important to me.
The issue is not worth checking out, in my opinion. The only story that enhances the story in the Irredeemable comic is the Hornet story, but I imagine that the key point in the story will be revealed in the main series anyway.
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