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.
Showing posts with label mark waid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mark waid. Show all posts
Monday, July 19, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
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.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, April 16, 2010
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 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.
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.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Various Recent Single Issues
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow by Joss Whedon and Karl Moline.
This one-shot tells us a little bit of what happened to Willow between the end of the TV show and the beginning of the comic book series Season 8. Joss is as always perfect with dialog bringing in a lot of funny moments with his word play and his perfectly timed delivery. The story itself is not that great, but since it is a joy to read with the nice art and the great lines I would have to rank this comic highly. It is the best Buffy comic of the year (not that hard given the bad run on the comic book series).
Incorruptible #1 by Mark Waid and Jean Diaz.
Incorruptible is about a supervillain that decides to be a superhero. This first issue doesn't really tell us much. It shows how the villains employed by the supervillain are surprised at him helping cops and it shows how the supervillain tries to make a deal with a cop. Not much happens, but the series itself looks like it would be a fun ride, specially if you're reading Irredeemable as it is a companion series (Irredeemable is about a Superman like superhero who becomes a bad guy).
Chew #6 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
The most recent Chew issue is #7, but Chew #6 is so good it deserves a nice post about it. The issue starts the second arc in the series. It starts great right off the bat with a funny moment at the detective office and it gets better with the bank robbery where Agent Cho thinks he has to eat poop to figure the case (Agent Cho has the power to eat something and get all of its history). Getting Cho's partner back from issue 1 is nice because he seemed to be a funny guy and we are confirmed of that in this issue. Great issue on a fantastic series.
Chew #7 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
This issue is good but not as good as the series has been. The arc itself seems like its going to be a good one and a cool character was introduced but the issue wasn't as funny as others have been.
The art is top notch as usual. Guillory has been a great breakout in comics. I love his work on Chew. It is a crucial reason of why this series works so well. A fun cartoony style that can show the gore and the gross without making it seem ridiculous or out of place.
Amazing Spider-Man #611 by Joe Kelly and Eric Canete.
Just like Chew #6 is so good it deserves a post even if it is not the most recent issue, Amazing Spider-Man #611 deserves one too because of how funny it is. Joe Kelly manages to make joke after joke work perfectly in this hilarious issue. I highly recommend reading it to anyone.
With respect to the art, the art is almost distracting at first because it is so unusual, but after a while one gets used to it and then one gets to enjoy it because it is so full of energy (just like the jokes).
Fantastic issue. One of the best of the Spidey issues of the year, although for the best of the year I might have to pick something from Fred Van Lente who always knocks it out of the park when writing Spider-Man.
Irredeemable #9 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause.
This series has been one of my favorites of the year. This particular issue is not that great, but it is very interesting. Now that Plutonian is shown to be vulnerable, it is interesting to see how this affects the psyche of Charybdis, as his ego might be growing a bit too much.
The Last Days of American Crime #1 by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini.
Radical Comics has been a really cool new publisher that tries different things and this is an issue where that is exemplified. The issue is 64 pages instead of the standard 22 pages and it is only $4.99 (the standard is $2.99 but some even charge $3.99 for 22 pages).
Forgetting about the good price, I'd like to point out that the art is really beautiful and that the story is interesting. I am looking forward to the next two issues.
Daytripper #1 by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Ba (they co-wrote story and art).
This might be my favorite single issue of the year. The cover is great, the art is great and the story is great.
The story concerns an obituary writer on his 32nd birthday. On the day of his birthday, his father gets an award. But the story tells you a lot of information in very subtle ways, either through the art or by indirect dialog. You can only guess it is his birthday, it is never said out loud. You can only guess it is his 32nd birthday (32 is the title of the story). I like how a lot of the story is told by the images and I like how it begins with snippets from obituaries that the main character is writing.
Great issue, I am definitely going to read the series. The question will be to whether read it as the issues come out or wait for the trade.
God Complex #1 by Michael Avon Oeming and John Broglia.
I like the idea of a God living among people. The story has been told before but I wanted to read this comic to see what new idea can be brought to the table. This first issue is not great, but it is good enough to get me to read more of the series. The main character seems to be a bit too powerful to have given up godhood but maybe the powers will fade with time, or maybe the powers won't fade, I'll have to keep reading to find that out. I wouldn't recommend reading this issue.
Deadlocke by Arvid Nelson and Nick Stakal.
This is a one shot comic book. I was surprised that it didn't have any closure in my opinion. I thought there was good potential in the story but that there was not a good ending. Not a comic book I would recommend.
Sugarshock by Joss Whedon and Fábio Moon.
The one-shot is not great because it didn't include the last part of the story, however the whole story is fantastic. It made me laugh a lot. Joss really knows how to deliver the funny stuff and Fábio Moon is able to make the perfect images for this story. I highly recommend reading it. It is possible to read this for free online on MySpace Dark Horse
This one-shot tells us a little bit of what happened to Willow between the end of the TV show and the beginning of the comic book series Season 8. Joss is as always perfect with dialog bringing in a lot of funny moments with his word play and his perfectly timed delivery. The story itself is not that great, but since it is a joy to read with the nice art and the great lines I would have to rank this comic highly. It is the best Buffy comic of the year (not that hard given the bad run on the comic book series).
Incorruptible #1 by Mark Waid and Jean Diaz.
Incorruptible is about a supervillain that decides to be a superhero. This first issue doesn't really tell us much. It shows how the villains employed by the supervillain are surprised at him helping cops and it shows how the supervillain tries to make a deal with a cop. Not much happens, but the series itself looks like it would be a fun ride, specially if you're reading Irredeemable as it is a companion series (Irredeemable is about a Superman like superhero who becomes a bad guy).
Chew #6 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
The most recent Chew issue is #7, but Chew #6 is so good it deserves a nice post about it. The issue starts the second arc in the series. It starts great right off the bat with a funny moment at the detective office and it gets better with the bank robbery where Agent Cho thinks he has to eat poop to figure the case (Agent Cho has the power to eat something and get all of its history). Getting Cho's partner back from issue 1 is nice because he seemed to be a funny guy and we are confirmed of that in this issue. Great issue on a fantastic series.
Chew #7 by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
This issue is good but not as good as the series has been. The arc itself seems like its going to be a good one and a cool character was introduced but the issue wasn't as funny as others have been.
The art is top notch as usual. Guillory has been a great breakout in comics. I love his work on Chew. It is a crucial reason of why this series works so well. A fun cartoony style that can show the gore and the gross without making it seem ridiculous or out of place.
Amazing Spider-Man #611 by Joe Kelly and Eric Canete.
Just like Chew #6 is so good it deserves a post even if it is not the most recent issue, Amazing Spider-Man #611 deserves one too because of how funny it is. Joe Kelly manages to make joke after joke work perfectly in this hilarious issue. I highly recommend reading it to anyone.
With respect to the art, the art is almost distracting at first because it is so unusual, but after a while one gets used to it and then one gets to enjoy it because it is so full of energy (just like the jokes).
Fantastic issue. One of the best of the Spidey issues of the year, although for the best of the year I might have to pick something from Fred Van Lente who always knocks it out of the park when writing Spider-Man.
Irredeemable #9 by Mark Waid and Peter Krause.
This series has been one of my favorites of the year. This particular issue is not that great, but it is very interesting. Now that Plutonian is shown to be vulnerable, it is interesting to see how this affects the psyche of Charybdis, as his ego might be growing a bit too much.
The Last Days of American Crime #1 by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini.
Radical Comics has been a really cool new publisher that tries different things and this is an issue where that is exemplified. The issue is 64 pages instead of the standard 22 pages and it is only $4.99 (the standard is $2.99 but some even charge $3.99 for 22 pages).
Forgetting about the good price, I'd like to point out that the art is really beautiful and that the story is interesting. I am looking forward to the next two issues.
Daytripper #1 by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Ba (they co-wrote story and art).
This might be my favorite single issue of the year. The cover is great, the art is great and the story is great.
The story concerns an obituary writer on his 32nd birthday. On the day of his birthday, his father gets an award. But the story tells you a lot of information in very subtle ways, either through the art or by indirect dialog. You can only guess it is his birthday, it is never said out loud. You can only guess it is his 32nd birthday (32 is the title of the story). I like how a lot of the story is told by the images and I like how it begins with snippets from obituaries that the main character is writing.
Great issue, I am definitely going to read the series. The question will be to whether read it as the issues come out or wait for the trade.
God Complex #1 by Michael Avon Oeming and John Broglia.
I like the idea of a God living among people. The story has been told before but I wanted to read this comic to see what new idea can be brought to the table. This first issue is not great, but it is good enough to get me to read more of the series. The main character seems to be a bit too powerful to have given up godhood but maybe the powers will fade with time, or maybe the powers won't fade, I'll have to keep reading to find that out. I wouldn't recommend reading this issue.
Deadlocke by Arvid Nelson and Nick Stakal.
This is a one shot comic book. I was surprised that it didn't have any closure in my opinion. I thought there was good potential in the story but that there was not a good ending. Not a comic book I would recommend.
Sugarshock by Joss Whedon and Fábio Moon.
The one-shot is not great because it didn't include the last part of the story, however the whole story is fantastic. It made me laugh a lot. Joss really knows how to deliver the funny stuff and Fábio Moon is able to make the perfect images for this story. I highly recommend reading it. It is possible to read this for free online on MySpace Dark Horse
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