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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 18, 2023 14:18:54 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS!Real Readers, Honest Reviews  What did you pick up this week? |
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Post by DubipR on Jul 18, 2023 20:14:12 GMT -5
Not a whole lot in the downloads this week.
- World's Finest #17
- Black Panther #2
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 19, 2023 15:44:30 GMT -5
World's Finest #17Written by Mark Waid Art by Dan Mora Summary: Numazo's AI assault comes to its conclusion as Batman and Superman enlist...Amazo(!?) to aid them in bringing peace to the world.
Plot: I don't think I've had this much fun reading a book since Jeff Parker's Future Quest back in 2016 (which doesn't seem that long ago but that was back in 2016) but Waid really gets what makes super hero comics so fun. And while this conclusion to the AI war was a little light on plot, focusing mostly on big action set piece style battles than actual character moments but the quick pace and snappy dialog still make for a really fun read and I love the almost who's who of heroes and villains as there were so many crammed in here which gave it an old school event feel. While I definitely preferred the smaller murder mystery feel that the story started with over the bombastic event style of the ending Waid was still able to pull that kind of story off better than just about anyone else who has turned their hand at it of late.
Art: With Waid putting all the toys on the table with this big event style conclusion Dan Mora really had free reign to pull out all the stops and really have a blast on every page. And even though it all has a bombastic, over the top feeling to it Mora still manages to capture a feeling of urgency and seriousness as well, bringing a sense of reality to the cartoony action that makes it all feel really well balanced.
Grade:8/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 19, 2023 16:44:14 GMT -5
Hawkgirl #1Written by Jadzia Axelrod Art by Amancay Nahuelpan Summary: Hawkgirl moves to Metropolis and while helping Superman, Supergirl and Powergirl fend off an invasion she encounters a new hero named Galaxy.
Plot: This is one of those books that Off The Racks was made for because it really shows the difference between an actual reader's review and pure, unadulterated corporate shill that you see on comic book news sites. I generally like to read others reviews so I often peruse Comicbook Dispatch, Geek Dad and But Why Tho? after I read my books to see what others are saying and while I sometimes disagree slightly this is a time when all the reviews are bright and sunny and talking about how great a start the book is while I'm looking to light the book on fire and never think about it again. I picked up Hawkgirl because I loved Robert Venditti's Hawkman and how easily it simplified the Hawk's continuity mess so I figured with the stage clear this could be a fun sci-fi kind of romp...but it was anything but fun. From start to finish the book is just full of awfully flat, stunted dialog with people repeating the same things again and again with out any nuance or voices unto themselves. On top of that so many pages are spent setting up a character and villain that have little impact on this particular issue and the new hero Galaxy just feels incredibly out of place despite me loving her corgi side kick. It's just an utter mess and I really can't see how anyone could give it a 9 or 10.
Art: The art continues my feelings about the plot, it's just so uneven through out the book. In some scenes Hawkgirl is lithe and athletic while in others she's bulky in the extreme. I'm not opposed to Hawkgirl looking like a female body builder, there's definitely room for other body types in art but you have to pick a direction and this didn't.
Grade:3/10
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Post by majestic on Jul 19, 2023 20:24:55 GMT -5
This helps solidify my decision to skip Hawkgirl. I too read the reviews that praised the book but readers gave it awful scores. So I was conflicted because I like Hawkman/Hawkgirl. So knowing your tastes I know I will dislike it too. So tomorrow when I get my books I won't pull this one off the racks.
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Post by majestic on Jul 20, 2023 16:03:28 GMT -5
Only picked up World's Finest this week. Still a great book. The ending was a bit under whelming.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 21, 2023 15:31:58 GMT -5
Only picked up World's Finest this week. Still a great book. The ending was a bit under whelming. Yeah, Waid definitely painted himself into a corner by creating such a powerful new bad guy so it was probably always doomed to a quick surprise ending but it was ultimately still fun. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 21, 2023 15:48:12 GMT -5
Black Panther #2Written by Eve Ewing Art by Chris Allen Summary:T’Challa’s humbling mission to patrol the streets of Burnin T’Chaka continues as he tries to get back in touch with himself and Wakanda.
Plot: Eve Ewing continues her street level exploration of Black Panther and while it has a good amount of action and Wakandan world building there are several times where I kind of felt like I was reading a Batman comic. The whole tussle with the thief Beisa and then the Black Panther's hunt of her latter on and his discovery that she's not just a thief but is looking for a lost person just felt so much like a repainted adventure of Batman and Catwoman. And while I'm definitely interested in exploring Wakanda's working class side and I like the concept of a street level look at the Black Panther I think more work has to go into making it feel uniquely like a Black Panther book.
Art: Allen does a good job of making Burnin T’Chaka a unique with a design aesthetic all its own but the action scenes were a little static and with how much of the issue was a fight scene between Black Panther and Beisa it was a little flat in places.
Grade:5.5/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 21, 2023 17:17:06 GMT -5
Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1Written by David Pepose Art by Marcelo Ferreira Summary: With the help of Hunter's Moon, Moon Knight travels to the city of the dead in order to rescue a boy's soul from the judgment of Osiris.
Plot: In this first issue of his new miniseries David Pepose sets the Fist of Khonshu on a journey to the ancient Egyptian underworld that's full of action with a few touches of interesting mythology. And while it was definitely an entertaining read with a solid enough story and plenty of Egyptian imagery and Moon Knight fighting action, there was a lot of noise to wade through for such a simple plot. At its heart this is a pretty simple quest type of story where the hero has to set out into a strange land to retrieve a special object(in this case a boy's soul) and faces a series of speed bumps along the way. In this case though, for such a quick issue there are a lot off speed bumps and they come off as a little repetitive as we get the same Anubis both alive and then dead souls in the after life but at neither junction did we get any information about them. We have no idea who they are, what they want or why they worship Anubis so they feel pretty one dimensional and with their repeat performance nothing new was added so I found myself checking the page count a little bit to see how much more was left. Don't get me wrong, it was a decent enough punch em' up story and I liked how it incorporated Layla from the Moon Knight show but I do wish there was a little bit deeper characterization wise.
Art: As much as I found the action scenes a little repetitive Ferreira's art was incredibly impactful(can't help it!) with each blow really feeling like they were bringing the hurt. On top of that his use of shadow and light really made the panels come alive, creating an overall unsettling atmosphere that was perfect for the underworld city.
Grade: 7/10 |
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Post by majestic on Jul 21, 2023 18:41:39 GMT -5
Didn't realize this mini series came out. I will have to get it tomorrow when I'm running some errands. Yet another reason OTR exists!
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 22, 2023 15:18:54 GMT -5
Didn't realize this mini series came out. I will have to get it tomorrow when I'm running some errands. Yet another reason OTR exists! Definitely worth picking up, it's more standard superhero fair than the current run but still fun enough. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 22, 2023 16:16:47 GMT -5
Guardians of the Galaxy #4Written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing Art by Kev Walker Summary: On a planet called Refuge there's a lone lawman whose job is to shoot down each new Groot that comes to town but one day he misses Plot:
 I knew this book was going to reach another level when we finally saw what Rocket was up to in the wake of Groot becoming a planet eating monster but I didn't expect it to hit this hard. Every day Rocket wakes up and in order to save a planet of misfits he has to shoot down his former best friend ... what kind of monster comes up with that plot!? Lanzing and Kelly must need tears in order to complete some pact with the devil to forward their careers or something because I can't think of any other reason why you'd write a plot that just guts you so totally as this one does.
But in all seriousness Lanzing and Kelly really out did themselves here, I already thought this was a fun book before with its excellent genre bending of sci-fi and western tropes but this issue was the best yet. It had great action, brilliant character moments between Rocket, his new robot deputy "groot" and the evil Grootling and tone that went from playful to poignant on the turn of a dime. If you're only going to try one Guardians of the Galaxy issue this year, make it this one!
Art: I absolutely love the rusty, lived in feel that Kev Walker brought to the planet Refuge here. It was rough, rugged and real despite its assortment of alien residents. Not since the cantina scene in Star Wars have I wanted to visit a setting as much as I did here; it was really that cool.
Grade:10/10
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 26, 2023 18:57:41 GMT -5
I haven't seen anyone mention it much, but I've been really enjoying TMNT: The Last Ronin Lost Years .. not sure if this was the last of it, but the 'lost day special' came out this week... purely focusing on what I have been referring to as 'TMNT, The Next Generation'. These were bits merged into Mikey's ronin journey that were 'the present time'... 10 years after The events in the last ronin and maybe years or so in the future.
The new turtles are different enough that Eastman isn't just doing a rehash, and his semi-future New York is a really interesting setting that is worth exploring. I hope it becomes an actual series.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jul 28, 2023 23:08:24 GMT -5
Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1Written by David Pepose Art by Marcelo Ferreira Summary: With the help of Hunter's Moon, Moon Knight travels to the city of the dead in order to rescue a boy's soul from the judgment of Osiris.
Plot: In this first issue of his new miniseries David Pepose sets the Fist of Khonshu on a journey to the ancient Egyptian underworld that's full of action with a few touches of interesting mythology. And while it was definitely an entertaining read with a solid enough story and plenty of Egyptian imagery and Moon Knight fighting action, there was a lot of noise to wade through for such a simple plot. At its heart this is a pretty simple quest type of story where the hero has to set out into a strange land to retrieve a special object(in this case a boy's soul) and faces a series of speed bumps along the way. In this case though, for such a quick issue there are a lot off speed bumps and they come off as a little repetitive as we get the same Anubis both alive and then dead souls in the after life but at neither junction did we get any information about them. We have no idea who they are, what they want or why they worship Anubis so they feel pretty one dimensional and with their repeat performance nothing new was added so I found myself checking the page count a little bit to see how much more was left. Don't get me wrong, it was a decent enough punch em' up story and I liked how it incorporated Layla from the Moon Knight show but I do wish there was a little bit deeper characterization wise.
Art: As much as I found the action scenes a little repetitive Ferreira's art was incredibly impactful(can't help it!) with each blow really feeling like they were bringing the hurt. On top of that his use of shadow and light really made the panels come alive, creating an overall unsettling atmosphere that was perfect for the underworld city.
Grade: 7/10 I pretty much agree... makes me wonder, was there supposed to be a Moon Knight Season 2? Or a Scarlet Scarab spin off? Seems odd timing to focus on Layla NOW. The Hippo-ish monster in the desert I really liked! Doesn't seem like anyone mentioned the Days of Future Past: Doomsday book. It was decent... about as expected. Some fun scenes... nothing spectacular, but I'm glad I pulled it. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Jul 31, 2023 17:46:18 GMT -5
I haven't seen anyone mention it much, but I've been really enjoying TMNT: The Last Ronin Lost Years .. not sure if this was the last of it, but the 'lost day special' came out this week... purely focusing on what I have been referring to as 'TMNT, The Next Generation'. These were bits merged into Mikey's ronin journey that were 'the present time'... 10 years after The events in the last ronin and maybe years or so in the future. The new turtles are different enough that Eastman isn't just doing a rehash, and his semi-future New York is a really interesting setting that is worth exploring. I hope it becomes an actual series. It's been pretty fun, I wish the dueling vignettes in the future were tied more closely to Mikey's journey making the future stories more of a tightly woven framing narrative where they learn something from reading the journal but on their own they're fun. |
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