Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters (Vol.1) by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato Jr. collects issues 110-115 of Thunderbolts.
The Thunderbolts are a group of super-villains that are trying to redeem themselves by being superheroes. They work for the government and with the Civil War going on in the Marvel Universe, the government has chosen a new leader, Norman Osborn, for the group and new teammates, Bullseye, Venom and Moonstone, all of which are evil. However the government really needs talented people to arrest the superheroes that don't to register.
I've heard great things about this comic and the author Warren Ellis, an author that wrote the series of Nextwave which I recently read, and liked a lot. The book is pretty good, but it is not great. It has some fun moments and it is interesting to see a crazy person in charge of something so dangerous, however, besides Norman Osborn, I care little about the rest of the characters.
The art is pretty good, there is a really cool sequence where American Eagle fights Swordsman and that fight sequence is amazing. The artist plays with the panels and really enhances the scene by making it feel dynamic without sacrificing great detail in the scene. I like how Deodato plays with the panels, creating different transitions. I know that sometimes it is the writer who instructs such decisions with panels, but I've seen Deodato do this with other writers, so I am inclined to think that it was his idea.
The comic is good, showing us different Marvel characters and creating interesting situations. The art is great. However I am not convinced that this comic is a must read, it is a good comic that is forgettable. Good but not great. Almost reaches 4 stars, but it doesn't make it.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E
Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E by Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen collects issues 1 through 12 of Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.
Nextwave is a group of C-list superheroes that worked for H.A.T.E (Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort), but broke off when they found out that H.A.T.E was sponsored by the Beyond Corporation, a front for a terrorist organization called S.I.L.E.N.C.E. Nextwave then looks for the weapons of mass destruction developed by the Beyond Corporation and tries to destroy them, in the way they accidentally destroy cities and run into all sorts of trouble. The group gets to fight a giant dragon, a corrupt Transformers-like cop, mindless lava beasts, a dinosaur, snakes on a plane, hamburger-shooting-Elvis-clones, among many other crazy over the top villains.
One thing I like about the comic, is that its story arcs are two issues long. While there is an overall story arc for the 12 issues, each adventure takes two issues. It is nice to read a comic that doesn't stretch (decompress) its stories. The comic also plays a lot with its medium, there is a sequence where we get six double-splashes in a row, not only displaying the great artwork by Immonen showcasing hundreds of funny villains, but also making fun of the overuse of double splashes in some comics. I like how it makes fun of titles, by sometimes having the tile of the comic multiple times throughout the issues. The issue with the 6 double-splashes has the tile at least 8 times (one for every double-splash, one at the beginning and one at the end), while other issues also have it 3 or 4 times.
The art is really good. I like that Immonen has a loose style but is still able to show a lot of detail. The scenes are very clean and they have a very nice cartoon look. A great artist was needed to make all the goofy villains work. I really like the designs for the villains.
Overall, this is a very funny comic that makes a lot of jokes about the medium and tells good stories. A great comic.
Nextwave is a group of C-list superheroes that worked for H.A.T.E (Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort), but broke off when they found out that H.A.T.E was sponsored by the Beyond Corporation, a front for a terrorist organization called S.I.L.E.N.C.E. Nextwave then looks for the weapons of mass destruction developed by the Beyond Corporation and tries to destroy them, in the way they accidentally destroy cities and run into all sorts of trouble. The group gets to fight a giant dragon, a corrupt Transformers-like cop, mindless lava beasts, a dinosaur, snakes on a plane, hamburger-shooting-Elvis-clones, among many other crazy over the top villains.
One thing I like about the comic, is that its story arcs are two issues long. While there is an overall story arc for the 12 issues, each adventure takes two issues. It is nice to read a comic that doesn't stretch (decompress) its stories. The comic also plays a lot with its medium, there is a sequence where we get six double-splashes in a row, not only displaying the great artwork by Immonen showcasing hundreds of funny villains, but also making fun of the overuse of double splashes in some comics. I like how it makes fun of titles, by sometimes having the tile of the comic multiple times throughout the issues. The issue with the 6 double-splashes has the tile at least 8 times (one for every double-splash, one at the beginning and one at the end), while other issues also have it 3 or 4 times.
The art is really good. I like that Immonen has a loose style but is still able to show a lot of detail. The scenes are very clean and they have a very nice cartoon look. A great artist was needed to make all the goofy villains work. I really like the designs for the villains.
Overall, this is a very funny comic that makes a lot of jokes about the medium and tells good stories. A great comic.
More Single Issues
Casanova #1 and #2 by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Bá.
I had heard great things about this comic, so I had to try it out. The comic is all over the place and hard to understand at times. It took me a while to get into the style. I like the art and I like how the characters break the fourth wall to give us some jokes, however I didn't get interested in the characters.
While I can see why some people would love this series, it is not my cup of tea. I won't read the next issues, I just didn't get excited about what was going on.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #60 by Paul Tobin and Christian Nauck.
I have been loving the Marvel Adventures Spider-man, however, this issue is not very good. While it was cool seeing Spidey with a badge and I am still wondering how Chat lost her memory, I just wasn't into this issue as much as before. Spidey was very funny and it was very Peter Parker-y for Spider-Man to mess up this new found opportunity, however I am not a big fan of my hero messing up an opportunity so quickly.
The next issue is the last of the series, deciding to renumber after it, going back to #1. I noticed that #1 will be $3.99 instead of $2.99, so maybe that's the reason for the renumbering, that's unfortunate, but maybe this will inspire them to make an extra good last issue and then an extra good first issue.
I had heard great things about this comic, so I had to try it out. The comic is all over the place and hard to understand at times. It took me a while to get into the style. I like the art and I like how the characters break the fourth wall to give us some jokes, however I didn't get interested in the characters.
While I can see why some people would love this series, it is not my cup of tea. I won't read the next issues, I just didn't get excited about what was going on.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #60 by Paul Tobin and Christian Nauck.
I have been loving the Marvel Adventures Spider-man, however, this issue is not very good. While it was cool seeing Spidey with a badge and I am still wondering how Chat lost her memory, I just wasn't into this issue as much as before. Spidey was very funny and it was very Peter Parker-y for Spider-Man to mess up this new found opportunity, however I am not a big fan of my hero messing up an opportunity so quickly.
The next issue is the last of the series, deciding to renumber after it, going back to #1. I noticed that #1 will be $3.99 instead of $2.99, so maybe that's the reason for the renumbering, that's unfortunate, but maybe this will inspire them to make an extra good last issue and then an extra good first issue.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Recent Single Issues
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #32 by Brad Meltzer and Georges Jeanty.
After a year long of mediocre stories, Buffy got back on track last month with issue #31 and this issue is also great. I liked this issue even more, mainly because I am emotionally invested on the characters. Issue #31 made me laugh a lot and it was great, but this issue was so good, I flew past it and then read it again to see if I missed anything. Angel is my favorite characters in the Buffy Verse, so having him back was awesome.
A very good issue, I am looking forward to getting more Buffy comics.
Chew #9 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
This series is just great. Each issue is fun, works as a solo issue and works as a part for a bigger story. I love that Layman and Guillory do that. I also like how they play with form. Every issue has a prologue, but issue 8 had more than one (it had three if I remember correctly), and not this issue has more than one cliffhanger, in fact it has three. The issue is packed with jokes. I can't say enough about how much I like Guillory's art, without his art I don't think I would love this book. The art makes the jokes funnier. It is nice to see a comic not go for ultra realistic, but use the comic form to enhance the stories with good visual storytelling.
Chew is a fantastic ongoing series. I highly recommend it.
Obamouse by Joe Dunn and Ben Dunn.
When I read the solicits for Obamouse, solicits which talked about Hen Beck, Sarah Penguin, Joe Bison, John McCrane, Steven Colbear, etc. I decided I had to buy the comic. The comic is an independent, it is in black and white and has simple lettering, however the art is pretty good. The issue contains three stories. One is Obamouse as a spy trying to stop Owl Caida and the Fat Cat. He succeeds somehow, I think this was poorly written. The second story is where all the funny animal versions of famous political figures come into play. It has Obamouse watching the jokes about him on TV, then has him talk to John McCrane about the economy among other things. It wasn't great, but it has some funny moments and it was closer to what I imagined the comic would be. This was the longest story. The third story has Obamouse in another planet. Asrah Naplin (note that it is an anagram of Sarah Palin) explains to him how the culture in the planet was destroyed by the partisands. It was interesting reading how polarization can hurt the country, but overall there wasn't much weight behind the words. A simple story that led nowhere.
The issue wasn't good, but the penciling was well done and it had some funny moments.
Nemesis: The Impostors #1 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.
I think the issue was great. I think it is a great first issue because it generated a lot of questions and it makes me want to read more to find out what is going on. The narrative structure is weird as at times it is unclear whether what is on the panel is what is happening now or someone telling a story. Also, it seems that the issue begins midway through the story and later one we find out how we got to where the issue starts. It is confusing, however, it intrigued me.
The art in this comic was very good. I am surprised because I wasn't in love with Cliff Richards when he drew in the Buffy comic, but here I think he does a great job. Maybe he just does better with darker tones in the colors, but I liked his artwork.
A great first issue, we'll have to wait to see how good the miniseries is.
Amazing Spider-Man #621 by Dan Slott and Michael Lark.
I liked this issue. The issue was a good one shot, with a fun adventure. It is always good to see Black Cat and I am interested on seeing when Aunt May will go back to being nice. The art was great. Michael Lark, one of my favorite artists for noir stories, worked before on Daredevil, a great run with Ed Brubaker. His style translated well for Spider-Man, although it is good that is only for one issue, as his style is not optimistic enough for a long run with Spidey. I here he will be back for a four issue story by Joe Kelly around issue #634. It should be cool, I love his art.
After a year long of mediocre stories, Buffy got back on track last month with issue #31 and this issue is also great. I liked this issue even more, mainly because I am emotionally invested on the characters. Issue #31 made me laugh a lot and it was great, but this issue was so good, I flew past it and then read it again to see if I missed anything. Angel is my favorite characters in the Buffy Verse, so having him back was awesome.
A very good issue, I am looking forward to getting more Buffy comics.
Chew #9 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
This series is just great. Each issue is fun, works as a solo issue and works as a part for a bigger story. I love that Layman and Guillory do that. I also like how they play with form. Every issue has a prologue, but issue 8 had more than one (it had three if I remember correctly), and not this issue has more than one cliffhanger, in fact it has three. The issue is packed with jokes. I can't say enough about how much I like Guillory's art, without his art I don't think I would love this book. The art makes the jokes funnier. It is nice to see a comic not go for ultra realistic, but use the comic form to enhance the stories with good visual storytelling.
Chew is a fantastic ongoing series. I highly recommend it.
Obamouse by Joe Dunn and Ben Dunn.
When I read the solicits for Obamouse, solicits which talked about Hen Beck, Sarah Penguin, Joe Bison, John McCrane, Steven Colbear, etc. I decided I had to buy the comic. The comic is an independent, it is in black and white and has simple lettering, however the art is pretty good. The issue contains three stories. One is Obamouse as a spy trying to stop Owl Caida and the Fat Cat. He succeeds somehow, I think this was poorly written. The second story is where all the funny animal versions of famous political figures come into play. It has Obamouse watching the jokes about him on TV, then has him talk to John McCrane about the economy among other things. It wasn't great, but it has some funny moments and it was closer to what I imagined the comic would be. This was the longest story. The third story has Obamouse in another planet. Asrah Naplin (note that it is an anagram of Sarah Palin) explains to him how the culture in the planet was destroyed by the partisands. It was interesting reading how polarization can hurt the country, but overall there wasn't much weight behind the words. A simple story that led nowhere.
The issue wasn't good, but the penciling was well done and it had some funny moments.
Nemesis: The Impostors #1 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.
I think the issue was great. I think it is a great first issue because it generated a lot of questions and it makes me want to read more to find out what is going on. The narrative structure is weird as at times it is unclear whether what is on the panel is what is happening now or someone telling a story. Also, it seems that the issue begins midway through the story and later one we find out how we got to where the issue starts. It is confusing, however, it intrigued me.
The art in this comic was very good. I am surprised because I wasn't in love with Cliff Richards when he drew in the Buffy comic, but here I think he does a great job. Maybe he just does better with darker tones in the colors, but I liked his artwork.
A great first issue, we'll have to wait to see how good the miniseries is.
Amazing Spider-Man #621 by Dan Slott and Michael Lark.
I liked this issue. The issue was a good one shot, with a fun adventure. It is always good to see Black Cat and I am interested on seeing when Aunt May will go back to being nice. The art was great. Michael Lark, one of my favorite artists for noir stories, worked before on Daredevil, a great run with Ed Brubaker. His style translated well for Spider-Man, although it is good that is only for one issue, as his style is not optimistic enough for a long run with Spidey. I here he will be back for a four issue story by Joe Kelly around issue #634. It should be cool, I love his art.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Various Single Issues
Marvels: Eye of the Camera #6 by Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern and Jay Anacleto.
This is the final issue in a six part miniseries. I read the first five issues about 6 months ago and I kept waiting for this issue to come out. The issue was quite good, giving us the back story on Maggie (from the mutant issue on the original Marvels) and giving a nice ending to the series. I think this series was worth it. It is not as good as the original, but it is a nice comic analyzing superheroes. I enjoyed it a lot. The artwork was great and while the issue itself is not fantastic, overall, the miniseries was very good.
Irredeemable #11 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause.
Now that the Plutonian is vulnerable, the comic is getting better and better. We found out about the past between Bette Noir and Plutonian and we found out some of the bad things Plutonian did as a child. The story is great and the art is very good (although, I think Krause is not that good on close ups as he is on the rest). A great series that I recommend people to check out.
Daredevil #226 by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
The last issue of the Frank Miller run that I hadn't read (his last issue was 233). Although I have not read Daredevil: Man of Fear, I'd say that is outside the run. This issue is a pretty good one-shot. It sets up the attraction that Foggy has for Matt's girlfriend, it has the Gladiator (a character who shouldn't be interesting but Miller and Brubaker have made interesting) and it has great art by Mazzucchelli.
It was worth reading. A nice one shot before the masterpiece that is Daredevil: Born Again.
Amazing Spider-Man #620 by Dan Slott, Marcos Martin and Javier Pulido.
The third issue in the three part story on Mysterio. I think the issue was pretty good. It was nice to see Mysterio be a competent villain and I liked the jokes. The art was great, I was surprised the art was consistent even though there were two artists. I think Marcos Martin is great when it comes to drawing Spider-Man.
Haunt #5 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Todd McFarlane.
The issue is good. An important character dies, changing the scene quite a bit and we find out a bit more about the past of the ghost. It is a bit surprising to me that there is almost no back story to the main character, but a lot of back story to the ghost character. Hopefully we'll find out more to get to be interested in the characters more.
I am starting to have second doubts about continuing with these series. It is not that it is bad, but I think that it is the weakest of the series I get monthly. I will give it a few more issues.
Not a recommended series, but not bad.
This is the final issue in a six part miniseries. I read the first five issues about 6 months ago and I kept waiting for this issue to come out. The issue was quite good, giving us the back story on Maggie (from the mutant issue on the original Marvels) and giving a nice ending to the series. I think this series was worth it. It is not as good as the original, but it is a nice comic analyzing superheroes. I enjoyed it a lot. The artwork was great and while the issue itself is not fantastic, overall, the miniseries was very good.
Irredeemable #11 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause.
Now that the Plutonian is vulnerable, the comic is getting better and better. We found out about the past between Bette Noir and Plutonian and we found out some of the bad things Plutonian did as a child. The story is great and the art is very good (although, I think Krause is not that good on close ups as he is on the rest). A great series that I recommend people to check out.
Daredevil #226 by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli.
The last issue of the Frank Miller run that I hadn't read (his last issue was 233). Although I have not read Daredevil: Man of Fear, I'd say that is outside the run. This issue is a pretty good one-shot. It sets up the attraction that Foggy has for Matt's girlfriend, it has the Gladiator (a character who shouldn't be interesting but Miller and Brubaker have made interesting) and it has great art by Mazzucchelli.
It was worth reading. A nice one shot before the masterpiece that is Daredevil: Born Again.
Amazing Spider-Man #620 by Dan Slott, Marcos Martin and Javier Pulido.
The third issue in the three part story on Mysterio. I think the issue was pretty good. It was nice to see Mysterio be a competent villain and I liked the jokes. The art was great, I was surprised the art was consistent even though there were two artists. I think Marcos Martin is great when it comes to drawing Spider-Man.
Haunt #5 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley and Todd McFarlane.
The issue is good. An important character dies, changing the scene quite a bit and we find out a bit more about the past of the ghost. It is a bit surprising to me that there is almost no back story to the main character, but a lot of back story to the ghost character. Hopefully we'll find out more to get to be interested in the characters more.
I am starting to have second doubts about continuing with these series. It is not that it is bad, but I think that it is the weakest of the series I get monthly. I will give it a few more issues.
Not a recommended series, but not bad.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)