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Post by Gene on Oct 7, 2016 11:11:29 GMT -5
All-New Wolverine #13: The story opens with Wolverine the only survivor of a massacre in a small town in California. Flashing back to a few days prior, we see her decide to leave New York after she receives an unmarked package containing a deadly reminder of her past as an assassin. Packing up their car, Laura takes her young clone/ sister Gabby and their pet wolverine Jonathan on a road trip to California to lay low in one of Logan's old hideouts. Laura leaves Gabby back at the cabin while she goes into town for supplies and we learn the horrible truth of who killed the citizens of the town.
This issue kicks off the Enemy of the State II storyline following the lackluster events of the Civil War II tie-in. Thankfully, it's also a return to form for the book as it begins to follow up on the threads left dangling by the very promising first arc of this series. A good portion of the issue recounts Laura Kinney's life prior to meeting the X-Men and reintroducing Kimura and the Facility into Laura's life. If you're interested in checking this series out, this issue is a good introduction to the new Wolverine. Recommended.
(The X-Men are having a good week, so far.)
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 7, 2016 11:18:17 GMT -5
Green Valley #1  Written by Max Landis Penciled by Giuseppe Gamuncoli Inked by Cliff Ratherburn Colored by Jean-Francois Beaulieu Summary: The mythic Knights of Kelodia have faced many monsters and done many a glorious deed, but when faced with the Barbarian Horde they may have finally met their match.
Plot: Max Landis, the son of one of my favorite film makers John Landis, is one of those writers who often has really great ideas for stories but often flounders with the execution. I've really liked some of his work like Chronicle and Superman: American Alien but other projects like Victor Frankenstein and American Ultra fell incredibly flat so I approached this book with mild skepticism. He promised a fantasy story like we've never seen, and that after reading this issue we'd have no idea what's coming and that, "nothing you've seen so far has betrayed just how complicated our story is." but to that I ask, "Why?" I mean, if you have a great new story idea why obfuscate it with a basic revenge plot in the beginning with out even the subtlest hint of where you intend to go with that? The character work is decent enough but the plot was so basic that I don't feel the need to go on despite his promise that it's something new. All kinds of writers do "something new" every week and most don't need to sound like a circus barker to convince me it's a novel idea...they just do it and I really think that's what Max should have done here. Maybe issue two proves me wrong and you need this cliche beginning for the twist to work but unless the reviews are really good I'll never know.
Art: The one saving grace of this book is the stunning art put out by Gamuncoli, Ratherburn and Beaulieu. Their picturesque art lives up to the high fantasy setting, looking like something out of your memories of what your childhood picture books were like. It's like watercolor paintings come to life as though the lines and coloring are soft the action is swift and easy to follow. If the story followed the art this book would be near perfect in the vain of Hal Forester's Prince Valiant.
Conclusion: Though beautiful to look at the quality of the narrative sadly falls well short of the hype.
Grade: 6/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 7, 2016 12:55:01 GMT -5
Future Quest #5
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Evan "Doc" Shaner
Colored by Hi-Fi
Summary: Team Quest is on the trail for more artifacts that may help them battle the entity when agents of FEAR strike their camp unexpectedly...but have no fear because the Mighty Mightor is back!
Plot: Jeff Parker succeeds once again in introducing old Hannah Barbara characters to his wacky sci-fi adventure story. You'd think it would be hard to come up with a plausible reason for these various characters to interact with each other but he makes it look so simple and he perfectly nails each of their voices and best of all, unlike some of the other updates of nostalgic properties, he keeps that fun, all ages, Saturday morning cartoon feel with out being too juvenile. About the only negative I can come up with is the fact that each issue has a separate back up feature introducing yet more cartoon classics which has hampered the forward momentum a lot. We're now at issue five and we still don't have a great idea of what the villain is, why it's attacking Earth or the plan to stop it. Each issue has been fun but at this point I was expecting a little more and with out that progress it's feeling a little repetitive.
Art: Evan Shaner handles the art duties on the main feature and these old cartoon classics have never looked better. Their features look just like you remember them, the action is smooth and energetic and despite an ever growing cast of characters his panels never look jumbled which is damned impressive. On the back up feature we have Craig Rousseau, whose more cartoony style, while not as picture perfect a translation from the TV as you may remember, fits the tone of the Impossibles perfectly.
Conclusion: While plot progression may be taking a back seat in this book the character moments are perfect and the art is stunning so despite it's flaws it's still a must read.
Grade: 8/10
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Post by Gene on Oct 7, 2016 14:53:53 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #14: The mysteries of the Someday Corporation come to a head as the identity of the person using its clients as weapons is revealed. After nearly pushing Psylocke to kill a prisoner in order to learn their adversary's identity, Magneto attacks Someday's headquarters and comes face to face with a dangerous figure from his past. As the fight rages on, Magneto learns that he might be more responsible for recent divides between human and mutant than anyone thought. The real question is: Does he care?
As Magneto's fight plays out, Psylocke leads the combined forces of the X-Men and the Hellfire Club against an army of Someday's Sleepers in the streets of Washington DC. After the smoke clears, tensions between Magneto and Psylocke reach their breaking point and one issues the other an ultimatum: Play by the rules or die.
Of the three team books in the franchise right now, this is the one that most feels like a proper X-Men comic. Where the other two have mostly paid lip service to the current status quo in favor of crossover nonsense, Uncanny continues to address the "fight for survival" stakes of mutants in the MU. The moral ambiguity that Magneto and his team have to operate with drives home the point that they have to do whatever it takes to survive. Regardless of what Marvel's marketing department tells you, this is the real flagship X-Book.
That being said: It's not a great comic. It's probably not even a good comic. The dialogue sounds like it's been ripped right from the 90s. The cast is overstuffed, leaving a lot of them without much to do and without compelling characterization. All I'll say about the art is that it's provided by Greg Land. As a lifelong fan of the X-Men, I've found the series to be enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone trying to decide which of the three team books to read, but anyone else should steer clear.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 7, 2016 15:03:41 GMT -5
Uncanny X-Men #14: The mysteries of the Someday Corporation come to a head as the identity of the person using its clients as weapons is revealed. After nearly pushing Psylocke to kill a prisoner in order to learn their adversary's identity, Magneto attacks Someday's headquarters and comes face to face with a dangerous figure from his past. As the fight rages on, Magneto learns that he might be more responsible for recent divides between human and mutant than anyone thought. The real question is: Does he care? As Magneto's fight plays out, Psylocke leads the combined forces of the X-Men and the Hellfire Club against an army of Someday's Sleepers in the streets of Washington DC. After the smoke clears, tensions between Magneto and Psylocke reach their breaking point and one issues the other an ultimatum: Play by the rules or die. Of the three team books in the franchise right now, this is the one that most feels like a proper X-Men comic. Where the other two have mostly paid lip service to the current status quo in favor of crossover nonsense, Uncanny continues to address the "fight for survival" stakes of mutants in the MU. The moral ambiguity that Magneto and his team have to operate with drives home the point that they have to do whatever it takes to survive. Regardless of what Marvel's marketing department tells you, this is the real flagship X-Book. That being said: It's not a great comic. It's probably not even a good comic. The dialogue sounds like it's been ripped right from the 90s. The cast is overstuffed, leaving a lot of them without much to do and without compelling characterization. All I'll say about the art is that it's provided by Greg Land. As a lifelong fan of the X-Men, I've found the series to be enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone trying to decide which of the three team books to read, but anyone else should steer clear. I'm not currently reading any marvel books off the shelf these days but I've been liking your views. It gives the section a balance for once and keeps me abreast of what's happening there incase there is something really interesting that pops up. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Oct 7, 2016 15:17:10 GMT -5
Death of X #1: Finally, we get the story of what led to the conflict between the X-Men and Inhumans. Shortly after Black Bolt's release of the Terrigen cloud on the world, Cyclops, Emma Frost and their squad of X-Men travel to Muir Island to investigate a distress call from the research center's staff. I haven't read any mainstream Marvel in years, so this really caught me by surprise. Didn't the Terrigen Cloud thing happen more than two years ago? On the one hand, I'm a big fan of continuity. On the other, still shedding light on events that transpired that long ago seems a tad laborious by this point, not to mention alienating to new readers. I love continuity because it allows characters and titles to grow as a result of past experiences, and it allows those experiences to carry impact. But if one uses continuity to keep cycling back to the past instead of moving forward, well I think that's the wrong direction to be heading in. Sounds like a good story otherwise, but is this typical of what continuity looks like in the Marvel Universe these days? Yes, that happened quite a while ago.. before the Secret Wars reset. In addition to the reset, there was a time jump of 8 months (I think), so many titles had massive, unexplained changes. Cyclops being dead (or MIA) was one, which they've been teasing about since. Why it took so long, I can't say, but it has been somewhat front and center the whole time |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 7, 2016 15:36:37 GMT -5
Death of Hawkman #1-I enjoyed it, although the story in the first issue was more about Adam Strange. The issue revolves around Adam not being able to be Zeta beamed back to Rann to be with Alanna (who looks nothing like the Alanna I am familiar with. I am assuming this is one of the new 52 changes). Apparently there is some conflict with Rann and Thanagar that both Hawkman and Adam will be drawn into, based on the first few pages of the book. The story was interesting enough to keep my interest and Adam was very relatable. I bought the book mainly for Hawkman, so hopefully he will appear more as the series progresses. Hoping he doesn't die as the title implies, haha! The art was nice. Very clear and classic. The panel layout was easy on the eyes. Not a bad start for the series, looking forward to see where this all goes. 7/10 I plan or reading Superman tonight. Flipped through it and it looks fun! Death of Hawkman #1  Written by Marc Andreyko Penciled by Aaron Lopresti Inked by LiveSay Colored by Blond Summary: Adam Strange is at the RMV trying to get his licesence renewed when his wrist watch goes off telling him that there's a Zetabeam coming to take him back to Rann(his home away from home) but when he gets to the location nothing happens. After exhausting all help from his Justice League connections he gives up wondering whether he'll ever get back. However, just when he least expects it he's zapped back at last only to find Rann a war torn ruin from the hands of the Thanagarians.
Plot: It may sound bad to say it but when I hear the name Marc Andreyko the first thing that comes to mind is "substitute". He's the guy you get when a creator suddenly becomes unavailable, like after Williams left Batwoman, or that fill in for Birds of Prey when Gail was having health issues, he's just that guy who is quick and he tells serviceable(if a tad unremarkable) stories. It wasn't always that way, his run on Manhunter and then the back ups in Streets of Gotham were both fantastic but since then he's just average...and sadly that continues here. There's nothing offensively terrible about Death of Hawkman, other than the fact that the originally solicited Hawkman and Adam Strange: Out of Time was a much better title, but there is nothing that really makes you pause and think or feel either. The best that can be said is that it really is an accessible book considering the continuity issues involved with these characters, you don't need any out side information to jump into this and it does a great job of introducing Adam Strange to anyone who may not know what his deal is...but other than that it's just kind of there.
Art: Unfortunately, if you've managed to read this far, the art by Aaron Lopresti manages to match the plot provided by Andreyko perfectly. On any other day that would be a truly praise worthy feat but when the plot is pretty white bread saying the art matches it isn't really saying much. Again there's nothing bad about Lopresti's art...there's just nothing fantastic either. It tells the story competently enough but nothing more, nothing that makes you admire it.
Conclusion: This is a book that when it was announced, like Deadman, I was tremendously excited. I love Adam Strange and when done right Hawkman is really interesting, but here, while not terrible there's nothing to love either. I may give it one more issue just to see what caused the war this time but I'm not expecting greatness.
Grade: 6/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 7, 2016 17:16:06 GMT -5
Romulus #1 Written by Byran Hill Art by Nelson Blake II Summary: The world is in need of a hero...and her name is Ashlar. Trained from birth to be a soldier for the secret masters that have ruled the world behind the scenes for over a millennia and then betrayed in the name of a new, more pliable warrior class Ashlar is set to make right what generations of her family have let go wrong.
Plot: Okay, so I'm not going to lie...I bought this for the cover(I've been doing this a lot lately). It has a beautifully simple design to it that immediately drew my eye, and thankfully what was inside the cover lived up to that promise. Within a few pages Bryan Hill accomplishes what would perhaps take three or four for most modern comic book storytellers: he introduces a world ruled by the Illuminati, a class of warrior women sworn to protect it, the main character and her mother, a betrayal by a new warrior class and a plan for revenge. It's a fast paced, tightly woven narrative that while containing a lot of information never feels like an exposition dump and despite its speed never feels rushed. And while a story of a hero seeking vengeance is hardly novel the world established and the characters presented are more than compelling to make up for it.
Art: I've never heard of Nelson Blake II but a guy who pencils, inks and colors his own work in this day in age is pretty darn impressive. Add to that a great eye for portraying action and a knack for great facial expressions and you have a regular renaissance man in the comics that has me excited to see what else he's given to draw.
Conclusion: Though it contains a simple plot the world that Hill and Blake create is incredibly rich and I look forward to exploring it further.
Grade:8/10 |
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Post by Gene on Oct 7, 2016 19:17:21 GMT -5
I'm not currently reading any marvel books off the shelf these days but I've been liking your views. It gives the section a balance for once and keeps me abreast of what's happening there incase there is something really interesting that pops up. Thank you for the kind words. I'd like to make it a point to contribute to the reviews more, so I'm glad someone likes them. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 7, 2016 19:59:34 GMT -5
Superman #8 Written by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason Penciled by Doug Mahnke Inked by Jaime Mendoza Colored by Wil Quintana Summary: When Jon's science project inexplicably melds with the fortress' crystalline structure it takes on a life of its own and transports them to a mysterious island full of dinosaurs...and the remains of the Losers.
Plot: Tomasi and Gleason continue to shoot for the moon with their run on Superman, and this latest ride is pretty solid. I mean, Superman takes his son and Krypto to and island and they fight dinosaurs...what's not to love> It's not an earth shaking issue, but it's just good old fashioned fun. I particularly liked the paternal streak they showed in Superman as he talked to his son about the WWII era ships and the scene where he seals up the US soldiers' remains in their tank with his heat vision while talking about honoring their sacrifices was fantastic. On top of a great, fatherly Superman we also get a fun allusion to Darwyn Cooke's take on the last Losers story from New Frontier as Superman, Jon and Krypto follow in their footsteps.
Art: While I was initially disappointed that Gleason wasn't on art duty here Doug Mahnke did an admirable job. His dinosaurs were great and the look on Jon's face when he thought Krypto was eaten was perfect. I still missed Gleason's bombastic style but Manhke delivered the goods in this fun story.
Conclusion: As I said above it's a story about a father, his son and their dog...fighting dinosaurs. If that doesn't sound like a good comic to you then I don't think we can be friends any more.
Grade: 8/10 |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Oct 8, 2016 10:19:58 GMT -5
I'm not currently reading any marvel books off the shelf these days but I've been liking your views. It gives the section a balance for once and keeps me abreast of what's happening there incase there is something really interesting that pops up. Thank you for the kind words. I'd like to make it a point to contribute to the reviews more, so I'm glad someone likes them. More than one someone  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2016 11:02:18 GMT -5
thwhtguardianI'm seriously thinking of getting Future Quest ... loved the art and I've might add that to my pull list and I just love Doc Shaner's art and all that.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 8, 2016 11:04:46 GMT -5
thwhtguardian I'm seriously thinking of getting Future Quest ... loved the art and I've might add that to my pull list and I just love Doc Shaner's art and all that. It's a really fun book, it feels just like a Saturday morning cartoon. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2016 11:07:14 GMT -5
thwhtguardian I'm seriously thinking of getting Future Quest ... loved the art and I've might add that to my pull list and I just love Doc Shaner's art and all that. It's a really fun book, it feels just like a Saturday morning cartoon. I thought so too ... and will check it out on Next Monday for sure! |
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Post by Gene on Oct 8, 2016 18:22:15 GMT -5
Jessica Jones #1: The last time readers saw Jessica Jones, she was living the quiet (or at least as quiet as it gets) family life with her husband, Luke Cage, and their daughter. Now, she's recently released from jail and back to operating as the owner and sole employee of Alias Investigations. While investigating a case for a woman who suspects her husband has been replaced with an alternate universe doppelganger, Jessica is confronted on separate occasions by Misty Knight and Jessica Drew. They're both looking for a missing child and think Jones is tied to its disappearance. She gets away from both, telling them to let an unnamed "him" know not to get involved. Later that night, Misty and Drew's client confronts Jones directly wanting to know the whereabouts of the missing child.
The Jessica Jones of Alias is back, courtesy of original creators Brian Bendis and Michael Gaydos. For anyone who's been disappointed with the character's portrayal since the end of her first series, this is the return to form that you've been waiting for. She's back to being a rude, foul mouthed, hard drinking, down on her luck P.I. and I personally wouldn't have her any other way. The story being told in this first issue has me hooked. If the short synopsis above has you thinking this is another typical decompressed Bendis book, believe me when I say it's not. This issue is packed with the kind of story that doesn't deserve to be spoiled on a message board. Bendis usually thrives when playing with his own toys, and nowhere is that more apparent than in this book. Bringing back Gaydos on art and David Mack on covers was the final piece of the Jessica Jones puzzle, as seeing their images immediately pulled me back into the grimy back alleys of the MAX series. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Alias or the Netflix series.
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