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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 28, 2017 10:06:32 GMT -5
Off the Racks: Real Reviews by Real Readers(Just like you!)
Archie:Big Moose#1Boom!:Joyride #12 Ladycastle #3 Lumberjanes #37 Regular Show 2017 Special #1 Steven Universe #3 Dark Horse:Aliens: Dead Orbit #1 Aliens Defiance #11 Conan The Slayer #8 Lobster Johnson Pirates Ghost #2Prometheus Life And Death #1 Rebels #2The Visitor #3 DC:Action Comics #978Batgirl #10 Batman Beyond #7 Batman The Shadow #1Blue Beetle #8 Clean Room #18 Detective Comics #955Doom Patrol #6 Flash #21Hal Jordan #19 Hellblazer #9 Justice League Of America #5 Kamandi Challenge #4 Mother Panic #6 Scooby-Doo Team-Up #25 Suicide Squad #16 Supergirl Being Super #3 Teen Titans Go #21 Teen Titans #7 Unfollow #18 Wonder Woman #21Dynamite:Doc Savage Ring Of Fire #2 Image:Bitch Planet #10 Black Monday Murders #5 Black Road #9 Hadrians Wall #6 Image Plus #13 Kill Or Be Killed #8 Loose Ends #4 Old Guard #3 Savage Dragon #223 Stray Bullets Sunshine And Roses #23 Underwinter #2 Marvel:Ben Reilly The Scarlet Spider #1Black Panther #13 Elektra #3 Great Lakes Avengers #7 Hulk #5 Infamous Iron Man #7 Man-Thing #3 Mighty Captain Marvel #4 Mighty Thor #18 Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #18 Occupy Avengers #6 Old Man Logan #22 Patsy Walker #17 Rocket Raccoon #5 Star Wars Darth Maul #3 Thanos #6 Ultimates 2 #6 Weapon X #2 X-Men Blue #2 Valiant: XO Manowar #2 |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 11:05:13 GMT -5
Action 978: Superman's "This Is Your Life" continues as this issues tells more of his history. Elements from post-Crisis and Flashpoint are blended as his story is told. We see a very cool splash page that pays tribute to the Superman movie (Lois falling from the helicopter) and his story unfolds from there. One fairly major character (From The Death of Superman) is missing from his story--which makes me wonder if this character has been erased from continuity or if the character's story is going to be told at some point. After reviewing his history, Superman mentions that he feels something is missing (could it be the missing character?). The Superman Revenge Squad also assembles in this issue. The art was a bit cartoony for my taste.
7.5/10
Wonder Woman #21: Great art, but a story where nothing really happens until the end of the book. There are some nice scenes with Wonder Woman and Steve doing battle with Dr. Poison and her soldiers. The story seems to be moving towards the resolution of where Paradise Island really is, but we get more questions than answers in what has turned out to be a very long story.
6/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 28, 2017 15:15:46 GMT -5
Batman/ Shadow #1 was a pretty decent read. I was originally wary as I'm not a fan of Orlando and Snyder's work is hit or miss with me(with his Batman being more miss than hit, but the concept was alluring enough for me to check it out despite my misgivings. In part those negative feeling did bear out, the pacing was uneven(especially in the middle where Batman question's the Shadow's former associates) and Batman's dialog was wooden in most places. I think a lot of that latter issue had to do with the fact that other than the brief encounters with the Shadows aging partners Batman's only other dialog is directed at the Batcomputer, making it all almost short commands which leaves little room for characterization. I think if they had chosen to give Batman a little of his usual supporting cast we could have gotten a much more human view of Batman and how he measures up against to the Shadow.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 28, 2017 15:41:20 GMT -5
I liked Wonder Woman quite a bit more than usual this week.
And I really liked most of the Cassandra Cain parts of the latest issue of Detective Comics. Overall, it's still not a great series, but this is the first time ever that I've cared much for Cassandra Cain. Some of the dialogue indicates that she might drop the "Orphan" identity and adopt the name "Cassandra," which, if true, is a step in the right direction.
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 28, 2017 15:43:31 GMT -5
And I also got Batgirl, Kamandi Challenge, Doom Patrol, Hulk and The Comic Book History of Comics, and I pretty much enjoyed all of them, if you consider that I blocked out all the really dumb parts in Detective #955.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 28, 2017 18:07:46 GMT -5
Lobster Johnson: The Pirate's Ghost #2 Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi Art by Tonci Zonjic Summary: The Lobster searches for a connection between a missing reporter and the appearance of a ghostly pirate ship, but he's running out of time.
Plot: While I'm glad we got some forward motion, and some solid character moments from the Lobster's crew I was a little disappointed that the ghost ship not only turned out to be fake but that it was revealed so soon and with out any build up. Although the first ghost turned out to be absolute bunk we quickly saw that another "haunted" Ward but what it has to do with the Lobster and his possible past there isn't much to say.
Art: I think my favorite part of the whole issue was the Tarzan sequence at the movie theater; I loved the black and white look of the art and the wild look that Zonjic gave Tarzan. As much as I love him on the Lobster I'd kill to see him do Tarzan after this issue.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 18:28:33 GMT -5
Bought WW #21/Flash #21/X-O Manowar #2/Big Moose One Shot.
WW & Flash were OK. Loved X-O & Moose.
Will get around to my reviews tomorrow.
If anyone reads Mighty Thor I'm curious if they like it. I keep going back & forth about trying it since I dropped Capt America & will be dropping Batman (again!) after next month. |
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Apr 28, 2017 18:43:35 GMT -5
Buy Thor, buy it now, buy it loud, buy it proud. The way Aaron and Dauterman have handled the gods is very well done, from the bluster(filibluster...?) of Volstagg to the tragedy/heroism of a terminally ill lead. The latest story, the Shi'Ar/Asgard War explores cultural diversity in the deity crowd, the art is breathtaking, and we even had someone vying with Loki for the Vilest of the Vile championship.
The Mjolnir story thing a while back is the only cringeworthy aspect of the last 4 years or so of Aarons stellar run.
As always this is IMHO, which means its right...
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 28, 2017 18:58:39 GMT -5
Rebels #2 Written by Brian Wood Art by Andrea Mutti Summary: John Abbott divides his time between the construction of the USS Constitution and dabbling in the raucous and sometimes violent political intrigues happening around him.
Plot: The wars with the Barbary pirates has long been a favorite period of American history of mine, and I love seeing it get attention here from Wood. I love the way he weaves in the big set pieces of the sea battles, political demonstrations and the small character beats and the balance between the three is stunning as no one element feels more important than the others. I think my favorite part of the issue though was the use of the actual Congressional act that authorized the building of the USS Constitution set against the destruction of an American merchant ship at sea; the destruction of the ships contrasts wonderfully with the stoic prose of the act creating a real sense of loss and wonder.
Art: I've said before, although I love the tall ships I'm no real nautical aficionado but the details that Mutti pits into each image really feel real to me. The real excitement is yet to come though, I've actually been aboard the Constitution several times so it'll be cool to get to see it on page.
Grade:10/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 28, 2017 20:43:44 GMT -5
Scarlet Spider #1  This was a complete impulse buy for me, I loved Ben Reilly back in the day and the new design for his costume looked cool so I gave it a go. The art was good, but I'm not really sure a slightly amoral Spider-Man is a good enough hook for a book in my mind.
Grade:6/10 |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 22:16:46 GMT -5
Cover by Cory Smith.
This book featured 3 stories with 40 pages of art. The first story was 10 pages by Sean Ryan & Cory Smith. Have you ever had a wrinkled dollar bill that a vending machine would not take? This is what happened to Moose in this story. Moose sits in Physics class with an empty stomach. He runs to the vending machines at the end of class. However he has no money. Jughead gives him a dollar. Moose becomes frustrated that it will not work. He keeps trying over & over. Finally he gives up & the one vending machine falls over, breaks & Moose stuffs himself with candy. Later Midge is annoyed on their date because Moose is full. This was a very enjoyable & fun story that all of us could identify with. I really liked the art in this story. 10/10.
Story #2 is 20 pages by Ryan Cady & Thomas Pitilli. It tells what one week is like for Moose. It shows him interacting with his family. Then everyone at school. He manages to get everything done that he sets out to do that week. Get a B+ on his English paper. Take Midge on a picnic date. Win a football game. He does this by helping everyone else along the way. He helps out at home. He beats up Reggie to get Dilton's homework back that Reggie stole. Meanwhile others stick up for Moose & support him. Dilton, Betty, Jughead, his parents, his coach. I liked the glimpse into Moose's life. It was effective in fleshing out his character. Great story. The art was good but a little sketchy for me. 9/10.
#3 is a 10 page story by Gorf & Ryan Jampole. A new kid at school tries to make friends with Moose. He is handicapped & Moose sort of ignores him at first. This was my least favorite story. It was too heavy handed & the art was way too cartoony. 4/10.
Overall this one shot was awesome. The first two stories were perfect for Moose. This book fleshed out his character & showed his place in Riverdale. I hope it leads into a mini series.
Highly recommended! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2017 22:41:11 GMT -5
 Written by Matt Kindt. Art by Tomas Giorello. Cover by Kenneth Rocafort. The issue starts with Aric talking to Shanhara (the armor). He is assigned a team to lead on a suicide mission attacking the targeting tower in the city. Aric leads the team killing many of the opposing forces. He saves his team by grabbing a grenade in his right hand which appears to have a portion of the armor covering his hand. He makes his way into the control room & kills the man guarding the control room. His mission completed Aric tries to leave but now he is commanded to capture the emperor in order to be set free. Aric realizes he will never be free unless he ends this war... This relaunch is amazing. Having Aric start over on a new world has revitalized the character. This is a brutal book. The art is beautiful. Some have said X-O was "Conan in a can". This relaunch is "Conan in space". This may be my favorite X-O series if the book stays this good. This is great hero-science fiction-fantasy. All mixed together in a wonderful balance. Highly Recommended. 10/10. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2017 6:59:43 GMT -5
 Written by Joshua Williamson. Art by Howard Porter. Cover by Jason Fabok. Continued from Batman #21 (which was one long fight scene with Reverse Flash. Batman gets beaten to a pulp. Reverse Flash is killed by an unseen foe. Saturn Girl has another cameo similar to the Rebirth Special). This issue was all over the place in quality. The good: I loved how Bruce & Barry's friendship was written. It was nice to see Bruce written as "human" rather than Bat God. I like the detective aspect connection between the two. Another Johnny Thunder cameo alluding to the JSA (again similar to his cameo in the Rebirth Special). The return of the Cosmic Treadmill. The scenes of the JLA that shows Batman & Flash parts of their past that are missing. The lost & found storage area of the JLA. Batman coming face to face with Flashpoint Thomas Wayne. The bad: a beaten Batman suddenly can be back to normal? A bunch of scenes like a slideshow aren't a story. Overall this issue was much better than the Batman issue. Still some rough spots but I hope this crossover reveals more & we can get some clarity with the Legion & JSA. 7/10. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2017 7:07:58 GMT -5
Buy Thor, buy it now, buy it loud, buy it proud. The way Aaron and Dauterman have handled the gods is very well done, from the bluster(filibluster...?) of Volstagg to the tragedy/heroism of a terminally ill lead. The latest story, the Shi'Ar/Asgard War explores cultural diversity in the deity crowd, the art is breathtaking, and we even had someone vying with Loki for the Vilest of the Vile championship. The Mjolnir story thing a while back is the only cringeworthy aspect of the last 4 years or so of Aarons stellar run. As always this is IMHO, which means its right... Thanks for the feedback. I am going to jump in with #20 & if I like it go back & fill in the back issues. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2017 7:10:02 GMT -5
My assessment as well. It still baffles me that I enjoy the even # issues but the pacing in the odd # issues leaves me bored. |
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