Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 8 #32 by Brad Meltzer and Georges Jeanty.
After a really good issue #31 we get an even better #32, the best since #15. Meltzer does a fantastic job in his first Buffy comic, making great use of his superhero writing experience. Buffy, who has just found out, has superpowers and Xander wants to test to see which superpowers she has. There's a really funny exchange about phasing, which is extra funny given that Joss Whedon loves the character Kitty Pride (her power is phasing). I love a panel where Warren, after finding out Buffy has superpowers, asks "think she can phase?".
While I am still not in love with Jeanty's art, he does a great job with backgrounds and with scenes that are close to the characters, I don't like how when characters are a bit far or move fast, the face has no detail and looks cartoony. I don't mind cartoony that much if it can express a little more than what it does in his art.
Fantastic issue that leaves me wishing I had the next one already to be able to read it right away.
God Complex #3 by Dan Berman, Michael Avon Oeming and John Broglia.
This is the final issue I ordered for God Complex, as I wanted to give it a three issue trial run. While the issue itself is good and left me curious to what would happen next, overall the series hasn't been what I was hoping it would be about. I was hoping the comic would be introspective, analyzing what makes mortality interesting to a God, what makes people so important and interesting, by looking at our world through the eyes of a God who shuns his immortality. The comic is a lot more about action and the issues seem to be an extended battle with nothing to make me think about. The battles are fun, but I was just hoping for a deeper book than this. For a fun romp about Gods fighting, I would rather read Incredible Hercules (which I'll start reading soon).
I liked this issue, but I am not continuing with the series, not my cup of tea.
Amazing Spider-Man #619 by Dan Slott and Marcos Martin.
This issue is the second part of the Mysterio arc. Mysterio looks really powerful and clever in this issue, although he seems to have gone too far with his illusions as Spider-Man figured out who is behind it. The scene where Spider-Man finds out reminded me of Matt Murdock finding out Kingpin is behind his fall in Daredevil #227 (first issue in the "Born Again" storyline). Since I have just read Born Again, the moment in Spider-Man felt cliché and was nowhere as powerful as Murdock's moment in DD #227.
The issue has a great cliffhanger and I am happy to see Carlie Cooper have more screen time. I was also happy to see a cop who likes Spidey and the reference to Jean DeWolffe. The issue also has fantastic art courtesy of Marcos Martin and the I am eager to read the next issue in the series. Spider-Man's comic is as good as I can remember, since they hit issue #600, the comic has been fantastic. A joy to be a Spidey fan nowadays.
Showing posts with label john broglia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john broglia. Show all posts
Friday, February 5, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
What I Read Today (Wednesday Jan. 6)
Today was a good day for me in terms of receiving comics. I got five single issues and three trade paperbacks. I haven't read the trades yet, those reviews will appear sometime this week. However I read the five issues and the reviews follow:
Murderer #1 by Robert Kirkman, Marc Silvestri and Nelson Blake II.
This one-shot is part of the Pilot Season program in Top Cow Productions. The idea is that five one-shots written by Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri will come out. Then readers vote on which one they like more. The winner becomes an ongoing series in Top Cow Productions (note that Top Cow is part of Image Comics).
I decided to buy Murderer because the premise looked interesting. Jason is a man who can hear people's thoughts. He has no control over it, so it doesn't feel very good. I won't spoil the particular story of this issue, but I will say that it was very well done. It made me want to read more of this series. The art was very simple and has a lot to improve. However, the writing very well done and makes for a great read.
Now, I am planning on reading the other one-shots. If any of the others is this good, it will be worth buying all four. If none of the others is as good as this one, then I'll happily vote for this one to be an ongoing, I wish it were an ongoing already.
Haunt #4 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane
The first three issues of Haunt were good. Each issue getting better. The third issue made me want to continue buying the series. Today I got the fourth issue and I was looking forward to reading it. I like the issue. The art is very good, which is not surprising as Ottley is a fantastic penciller.
The story is getting more interesting as more questions arise and we get to know the main character more. However, I was bothered by several unbelievable things that happen in this issue. There is one scene were a sports car is driven through a brick wall. In fact there are two scenes where this happens. I don't think this is possible, unless you have a very special car (tank). It did create a cool scene to watch, but it took me out of the story as it was too unbelievable.
Another problem I had was with the reaction Amanda has to the extreme violence. She witnesses a monster-looking thing brutally murder several people and then hugs him. That seemed very strange to me.
I am looking forward to next issue, but I have to say I didn't like this issue that much.
God Complex #2 by Michael Avon Oeming, Dan Berman and John Broglia
Another Image Comics book. The first issue of this comic was good, but not great. The second issue again is good but not great. The first issue made it seem like Paul (Apollo) would have a difficult challenge in this issue. It did take Paul 6 pages to get rid of the monsters threatening him, however, he was never really in trouble. It seems weird for a witch to summon powers of great Gods to create such lame adversaries.
After the initial six pages, the book actually gets good. We are introduced to a new character, Jimmy Wu, who has a lot of potential. I am interested in finding more about Jimmy as he seems to be more powerful than Paul, yet way calmer. It reminds me of a Jedi. The interactions between Jimmy and Paul are great.
I have to say that while I am not loving the series as much as I thought I would, I think the series will get better.
Amazing Spider-Man #615 by Fred Van Lente and Javier Pulido
Amazing Spider-Man has been a joy to read for the last 5 months. Every issue has been great, which must be hard to do if you have to publish three times a month as the title does. They rotate writers and all of them are great, but my favorite is Fred Van Lente. Van Lente did a wonderful one-shot about The Spot in Amazing Spider-Man #589 and then he wrote a great three issue arc #603-605 about the Chameleon. Van Lente is funny and his stories are very fun to read. This issue is no exception.
The issue is very funny and a lot of it comes from the great art work. Pulido has Spider-Man wearing a scarf and socks for winter and does a very good job of having Spidey look like Spider-Man. I don't exactly picture Peter Parker and Jameson the way he draws their faces, but the expressions he draws on them work quite well.
There was one scene that had me laughing a lot, so I'll share it:
Spider-Man comes to Betty to ask for some information on some guy. After Betty talks for a while, she turns left and sees the window open while she says "Spider-Man?". This is the last panel of one page. As we turn the page we see a looming Spider-Man on her right saying "I'm over here." It was such a funny scene, making a little fun of the often used stealthy superhero. This was a scene where the writing and the art were pitch perfect, this is the sort of scene that you can only do in comic books.
Excellent issue.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #58 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is a title for all ages. It is a fantastic comic book. The art is playful, the writing is funny and exciting. It is just a really good comic book. I don't know why, but a lot of "for all ages" products are better than the specific ones. If we look at Pixar, their movies are usually much better than the average movie. That is just one particular example, but this comic happens to be excellent and for all ages.
Let's talk about this issue in particular. We are introduced to a new character, the Blond Phantom, a superhero that makes money out of saving people's lives. She wants to recruit Spider-Man. The issue moves with a conversation between Spider-Man and Blond Phantom while we get some flashbacks to Spidey's day. I like the way the story is told and I love the new character. This issue is also great in that you don't need to read any other issue to get it. It works great as just one issue.
Again, there was one scene that deserves to be mentioned:
Spider-Man gets hit in the head by a pigeon. Spider-Man then talks to the pigeons about a girl. Blond Phantom is confused to which Spider-Man says "My Girlfriend, the girl I'm dating, can talk to animals. We had a fight. We're working through it, but for now we're too mad at each other to talk, so we're sending messages through pigeons. And yes, I know it's weird". Brilliant.
Murderer #1 by Robert Kirkman, Marc Silvestri and Nelson Blake II.
This one-shot is part of the Pilot Season program in Top Cow Productions. The idea is that five one-shots written by Robert Kirkman and Marc Silvestri will come out. Then readers vote on which one they like more. The winner becomes an ongoing series in Top Cow Productions (note that Top Cow is part of Image Comics).
I decided to buy Murderer because the premise looked interesting. Jason is a man who can hear people's thoughts. He has no control over it, so it doesn't feel very good. I won't spoil the particular story of this issue, but I will say that it was very well done. It made me want to read more of this series. The art was very simple and has a lot to improve. However, the writing very well done and makes for a great read.
Now, I am planning on reading the other one-shots. If any of the others is this good, it will be worth buying all four. If none of the others is as good as this one, then I'll happily vote for this one to be an ongoing, I wish it were an ongoing already.
Haunt #4 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane
The first three issues of Haunt were good. Each issue getting better. The third issue made me want to continue buying the series. Today I got the fourth issue and I was looking forward to reading it. I like the issue. The art is very good, which is not surprising as Ottley is a fantastic penciller.
The story is getting more interesting as more questions arise and we get to know the main character more. However, I was bothered by several unbelievable things that happen in this issue. There is one scene were a sports car is driven through a brick wall. In fact there are two scenes where this happens. I don't think this is possible, unless you have a very special car (tank). It did create a cool scene to watch, but it took me out of the story as it was too unbelievable.
Another problem I had was with the reaction Amanda has to the extreme violence. She witnesses a monster-looking thing brutally murder several people and then hugs him. That seemed very strange to me.
I am looking forward to next issue, but I have to say I didn't like this issue that much.
God Complex #2 by Michael Avon Oeming, Dan Berman and John Broglia
Another Image Comics book. The first issue of this comic was good, but not great. The second issue again is good but not great. The first issue made it seem like Paul (Apollo) would have a difficult challenge in this issue. It did take Paul 6 pages to get rid of the monsters threatening him, however, he was never really in trouble. It seems weird for a witch to summon powers of great Gods to create such lame adversaries.
After the initial six pages, the book actually gets good. We are introduced to a new character, Jimmy Wu, who has a lot of potential. I am interested in finding more about Jimmy as he seems to be more powerful than Paul, yet way calmer. It reminds me of a Jedi. The interactions between Jimmy and Paul are great.
I have to say that while I am not loving the series as much as I thought I would, I think the series will get better.
Amazing Spider-Man #615 by Fred Van Lente and Javier Pulido
Amazing Spider-Man has been a joy to read for the last 5 months. Every issue has been great, which must be hard to do if you have to publish three times a month as the title does. They rotate writers and all of them are great, but my favorite is Fred Van Lente. Van Lente did a wonderful one-shot about The Spot in Amazing Spider-Man #589 and then he wrote a great three issue arc #603-605 about the Chameleon. Van Lente is funny and his stories are very fun to read. This issue is no exception.
The issue is very funny and a lot of it comes from the great art work. Pulido has Spider-Man wearing a scarf and socks for winter and does a very good job of having Spidey look like Spider-Man. I don't exactly picture Peter Parker and Jameson the way he draws their faces, but the expressions he draws on them work quite well.
There was one scene that had me laughing a lot, so I'll share it:
Spider-Man comes to Betty to ask for some information on some guy. After Betty talks for a while, she turns left and sees the window open while she says "Spider-Man?". This is the last panel of one page. As we turn the page we see a looming Spider-Man on her right saying "I'm over here." It was such a funny scene, making a little fun of the often used stealthy superhero. This was a scene where the writing and the art were pitch perfect, this is the sort of scene that you can only do in comic books.
Excellent issue.
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #58 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli
Marvel Adventures Spider-Man is a title for all ages. It is a fantastic comic book. The art is playful, the writing is funny and exciting. It is just a really good comic book. I don't know why, but a lot of "for all ages" products are better than the specific ones. If we look at Pixar, their movies are usually much better than the average movie. That is just one particular example, but this comic happens to be excellent and for all ages.
Let's talk about this issue in particular. We are introduced to a new character, the Blond Phantom, a superhero that makes money out of saving people's lives. She wants to recruit Spider-Man. The issue moves with a conversation between Spider-Man and Blond Phantom while we get some flashbacks to Spidey's day. I like the way the story is told and I love the new character. This issue is also great in that you don't need to read any other issue to get it. It works great as just one issue.
Again, there was one scene that deserves to be mentioned:
Spider-Man gets hit in the head by a pigeon. Spider-Man then talks to the pigeons about a girl. Blond Phantom is confused to which Spider-Man says "My Girlfriend, the girl I'm dating, can talk to animals. We had a fight. We're working through it, but for now we're too mad at each other to talk, so we're sending messages through pigeons. And yes, I know it's weird". Brilliant.
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