More Reviews of Single Issues

Amazing Spider-Man #616 by Fred Van Lente and Javier Pulido.

The issue continues on the Sandman story introduced in the previous issue. The issue continues with the great artwork and great writing. I particularly liked the artwork on a two page spread where the panel snakes up as Sandman is snaking up. The panel is creative and it makes the action look much better than if the panel were just a rectangle.

The ending in the issue is sad. It made me think about the government taking children away from parents because of negligence. Movies, comics and books many times put this in a bad light, but then again, abusive parents must be held accountable somehow. It is a tough subject. I think child's services is better for society than not having it, but some situations are just sad.

A very good issue.

What If Aunt May had Died instead of Uncle Ben? by Ed Brubaker and Andrea Di Vito.

The story is told as if the narrator was a comic book store owner talking to another comic book fan. It is nice that the owner has a T-shirt with The Watcher in it, as The Watcher is usually the narrator in the What If? storylines.

The story is a fun read. It makes it clear how important Aunt May is in the Spider-Man universe. Without someone to ground him, Spider-Man would lose control and go through more experiences before becoming a good superhero.

It was a good story and I really liked the way it was handled with the two superhero fans discussing this.

Star Wars: Purge Seconds to Die by John Ostrander and Jim Hall

The comic is about a Jedi that tries to take down the Emperor after Order 666. She acts as if she wants to be Sith. The Emperor tells her that he'll take her as a student as long as she defeats Darth Vader. Therefore we get a pretty good fight scene between them.

The issue was good. It established a character I didn't know in one issue and it made me care about what would happen to her.

A solid issue.

Marvel Adventures #57 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli

This issue was great. It had humor, romance, action, Peter having moral dilemmas. Essentially it had everything that a Spider-Man comic needs.

The humor came in the guise of Emma Frost as the Silencer. She became a "villain" essentially to see Spider-Man in action, as her best friend Chat is Spidey's girlfriend. In the issue we get a lot of good dialogue between Chat and Emma, between Spidey and Chat and between Peter and Chat. This is the issue where Spidey and Chat have a fight, as Chat confesses that she knows he is Spider-Man and this fight is what generated the funny line I posted about yesterday "...we're sending messages through pigeons now..."

The series is fantastic.

Web of Spider-Man #1,#2,#3 by J.M. DeMatteis, Fred Van Lente, among others.

The first issue is not very good. It has a good but not great story about Kaine written by J.M. DeMatteis. It has a story about Spider-Girl, which I don't care much about, and it has a story about Frog-Man, which was funny but not much. I felt like the first issue wasn't worth buying.

The second issue has the origin of Electro, which was a good story. It had a better Spider-Girl story (now I start to care a bit more) and it has a pretty good final story involving Jameson. This issue is almost worth the price of admission, but it is not there yet.

The third issue has the origin of Rhino, which is a great story. I have a little more respect for Rhino after reading this. Then it has a good Spider-Girl story, which made me want to get the next issue to find out the conclusion to the Spider-Girl current arc. Finally, it has another J.M. DeMatteis story. This time he writes a nice short about May and JJJ Sr.'s honeymoon. It is a moving piece and very funny too. It is nice how he manages to make it touching and funny.

The third issue is very good and that is the reason I'l; get the next couple of issues.

Haunt #1,#2,#3 by Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Greg Capullo and Todd McFarlane.

This title generated a lot of news as it brings back Todd McFarlane into creating a character. McFarlane created this character with Kirkman and now inks the series. The comic is about a priest Daniel Kilgore, whose brother is a secret agent, Kurt Kilgore. Kurt dies and somehow his ghost can still talk to Daniel and if he gets inside Daniel's body, they become a powerful being called Haunt. This is the set up.

The first issue is a good start. The story moves fast and we are introduced to the two main characters, Daniel and Kurt,effectively. I like the first issue.

The second issue is even better than the first. We know more about Daniel and we find out that he has a thing for Kurt's wife. It is also fun to see how Daniel reacts to his newfound powers. The interaction between Daniel and Kurt is quite fun.

The third issue reveals to us a lot more. A creepy Bolivian woman calls him Haunt, somehow she's able to sense the ghost of Kurt. We also learn more about where Kurt worked before, as Daniel is there in their jail (while they try to find out how he was able to get into the secret facility). It is a very good issue. The series keeps getting better and better.

As mentioned yesterday, the fourth issue wasn't so great. The series however has great potential.

That wraps up all the issues I have read in the last two months, so I won't be reviewing any more single issues until next Wednesday when a new batch comes in. However I'll be reviewing a lot more trade paperbacks in the coming days.

Star Wars: Dark Empire

Star Wars: Dark Empire by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. 152 pages.

Dark Empire is one of the first Star Wars stories outside of the movies. It came out after the first non-Lucas Star Wars book, but before the sequels (the first book was part of a trilogy called "Thrawn Trilogy" written by Timothy Zahn). Dark Empire was a big hit and it had positive reviews. However, I didn't like it. I think the most important aspect of Luke Skywalker is that he rejected the dark side of the Force. To have a book where that part of the character is taken away just doesn't make sense. However, even if we allow that nonsense, the book is full of completely illogical sequences, such as the Emperor (who is alive because of cloning) making Skywalker a commander. It seems like someone as bright as the Emperor, wouldn't do something so foolish, specially without making Skywalker do some kind of test. He should have also put limits to the power he gave Skywalker over his forces. I understand that Emperor Palpatine is a very arrogant person, so arrogant that it led to his downfall in the movies, but to also have to accept that he is stupid is too much for me.

I also had some problems with the artwork. The characters are not close to how they looked in the movie, and while I understand that in comics one has to give the artist a chance to bring his style into the mix, I had an issue with how different Leia would look between panels.

One thing I would rescue out of the comic is the interesting information regarding the other Jedi who have tried to learn about the dark side. It made me want to learn more. I liked those bits with the Jedi cube.

Overall, I would recommend avoiding this comic book. There are a lot of better Star Wars stories to read (such as the Thrawn Trilogy).