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Post by thwhtguardian on May 24, 2017 9:52:12 GMT -5
Once more into the breech...wait that's not how this starts! This is Off the Racks; real comic reviews by real readers...just like you, so join in and tell us what you read! Archie:Archies #1Boom!Death Be Damned #4 Power Of The Dark Crystal #3Lumberjanes 038 Victor LaValles Destroyer #1 Dark Horse:Angel Season 11 #5 Black Hammer #9 Buffy Season 11 #7 Conan The Slayer #9 Dept H #14 Mass Effect: Discovery #1 Rebels: These Free And Independent States #3Shaolin Cowboy: Who'll Stop The Reign #2 DC:Action Comics #980Batgirl #11Batman Beyond #8 Batman/The Shadow #2Blue Beetle #9 Deathstroke #19 Detective Comics #957Hal Jordan #21 Hellblazer #10 Justice League Of America #7 Kamandi Challenge #5Looney Tunes #237 Mother Panic #7 Scooby-Doo Team-Up #26 Suicide Squad #18 Wonder Woman #23 further thoughts by hoosierXDynamite:Doc Savage Ring Of Fire #3 Red Team: Double Tap Center Mass #9 Felix Leiter #5 KISS #8 Pathfinder: Runescars #1 IDW:GI Joe #240 Ghostbusters 101 #3 Highlander: American Dream #4 Mickey Mouse #20 My Little Pony #54 Optimus Prime #7 Powerpuff Girls Time Tie #1 Saucer State #1 Star Trek: Boldly Go #8Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Universe #10 Image:Beauty #15 Deadly Class #28 Dying And The Dead #4 East Of West #33 Old Guard #4 Plastic #2 Rat Queens #3 Redneck #2 Ringside #10 Savage Dragon #224 Seven To Eternity #6 Sun Bakery #3 Underwinter #3
Marvel:All-New Guardians Of The Galaxy #2 The Scarlet Spider #2 Black Panther #14 Steve Rogers #17 The Sorcerers Supreme #8 Elektra #4 Guardians Of The Galaxy: Mother Entropy #4 I Am Groot #1 Infamous Iron Man #8 Jean Grey #2 Mighty Captain Marvel #5 Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #19 Mosaic #8 Secret Warriors #2 Star-Lord v3 Annual #1 Totally Awesome Hulk #19 X-Men Blue #4 Titan: Anno Dracula #3Valiant: XO #3 |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2017 11:32:03 GMT -5
Slow week for me:
Wonder Woman #23. The Archies #1. X-O Manowar #3.
Last week I think I had 9 books!
Probably will do my reviews tomorrow. |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 24, 2017 18:10:21 GMT -5
Let's see, I got Batgirl #11, Detective #957, Kamandi Challenge #5 and Wonder Woman #23 but I haven't had a chance to read them yet.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 24, 2017 19:20:29 GMT -5
 Anno Dracula #3 by Kim Newman and Paul McCaffrey Dracula's Jubilee moves forward and his forces hone in on the resistance...who are planning to disrupt the festivities...with a bang. And what exactly does Fu Manchu want out of the situation. The plot moves forward, if at a leisurely pace. It is interesting to see the take on Count Orlok. 8/10 |
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2017 22:25:09 GMT -5
Wonder Woman #23: The truth about Paradise Island is revealed in this issue that explains much of what has happened to Wonder Woman since Rebirth. I did enjoy this issue although the big reveal and anti-climatic ending were not what I was expecting. Wonder Woman saves the day in a way only she could, but there is still loss and sadness at the end. Thinking back on this arc makes me think it would have been much better if not stretched out over a year. The art is very nice throughout most of the book but is inconsistent. Ares is very handsome and I enjoyed reading his story. Deimos and Phobos are genuinely creepy both in attitude and appearance. The cover is awesome. I had to reread this issue for the story to sink in. I wish the rest of this arc had been as well done as this issue.
8/10
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2017 22:49:22 GMT -5
The Archies One Shot: The origin of The Archies revealed! This is a fun one shot and hope to see more of The Archies in the other titles. Archie has a chance of realizing his dream of singing (thanks to blast from the past Bingo Wilkin from That Wilkin Boy) but first he must assemble a band. After auditions he, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica come together. There is a falling out which brings Reggie into the mix.
This is a fun, light, well written and drawn story. I liked the asides from Archie and the scenes with Reggie were funny. I loved the last panel of the story. This book made me smile!
8/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 25, 2017 11:16:10 GMT -5
Batman/The Shadow #2 Written by Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando Art by Riley Rossmo Summary: As Batman confronts the Shadow he learns that his prior deductions may have been wrong, as he encounters a being known as the Stag who only preys upon the best among us.
Plot: My biggest complaint last time was that because so much of the story was just Batman on his own, only speaking to give orders to the bat-computer which gave Bruce a stunted wooden feeling. In the second issue they really turned that feeling around with more dialogue with other people making Bruce feel more human than machine. I'm not a fan of talking while fighting but the dialogue was needed badly so I'm willing to over look that here. Aside from that I really enjoyed the feeling of mystery that Snyder and Orlando built here with the introduction of the Stag who is a kind of anti-Shadow. It's a fun concept that fits perfectly into both the worlds of the Shadow and Batman. That said, though I do enjoy the noir feel to the story the pacing is a tad slow; the amount of plot we got in these first two issues could have easily fit into one and I'm not sure what we got by stretching it into two.
Art: Rossmo continues to really be the best part of this book, from the distinctive dress he gives to each character to the smooth portrayal of action is just perfect.
Grade: 7/10 |
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2017 11:50:15 GMT -5
Wonder Woman #23: The truth about Paradise Island is revealed in this issue that explains much of what has happened to Wonder Woman since Rebirth. I did enjoy this issue although the big reveal and anti-climatic ending were not what I was expecting. Wonder Woman saves the day in a way only she could, but there is still loss and sadness at the end. Thinking back on this arc makes me think it would have been much better if not stretched out over a year. The art is very nice throughout most of the book but is inconsistent. Ares is very handsome and I enjoyed reading his story. Deimos and Phobos are genuinely creepy both in attitude and appearance. The cover is awesome. I had to reread this issue for the story to sink in. I wish the rest of this arc had been as well done as this issue. 8/10 Wonder Woman #23 by Greg Rucka & Liam Sharp.
I agree with mrjupiter. Rucka was on point with this issue. I don't get why his writing is so hit or miss. His writing on this run of WW has been all over the place. Some issues were the best I ever read. Some were the worst. Sharp's art felt a little rushed but overall it was great.
8/10.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2017 11:55:56 GMT -5
 Written by Alex Segura and Matthew Rosenberg. Art by Joe Eisma. Cover by Jaime Hernandez. Another great One Shot set in the New Riverdale. As mrjupiter stated in his review this was the origin of the Archies in the New Riverdale universe. And it was awesome! It featured Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica with Reggie joining in later. I hope this sells well enough to get a miniseries. Great script & art. It even had Bingo Wilkin!  And this was a 40 page fun story! 9/10. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 25, 2017 12:02:12 GMT -5
Star Trek: Boldly Go #8  Written by Mike Johnson Art by Megan Levans Summary: Time is running out quickly at the peace conference as Kirk and the crew rush to solve the mystery of who killed the Romulan ambassador.
Plot: What started as a fun book of political intrigue and mystery ended as a far too convenient, rushed mess. The build up and the character development of the last two issues was pretty solid but it all came to a head with Kirk showing up just in time with the bad guy in hand and the motives easily found by a mind meld with the dead ambassador which gave it the feel of a lesser episode of Scooby Doo. There's nothing terrible here, but it's not challenging in any way and it could have been; it's like Johnson didn't really know how to end what he began.
Art: This continues to be a turn off for me, I really don't understand why IDW doesn't get better artists for it's Star Trek books. Although the story was only mediocre my feeling was ultimately more negative because the art was muddled in the action scenes and even the characters weren't that great as I didn't know one of the characters was Dr. McCoy until someone referred to him by name.
Grade:5/10.
I'm going to be dropping this until I hear a story that sounds fun. |
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2017 12:05:26 GMT -5
 Written by Matt Kindt. Art by Tomas Giorello. Cover by Kenneth Rocafort. The re launch of X-O continues. Aric is on an alien world. Pulled into a war he does not want to fight. But Aric is a soldier. He fights well & is a natural leader. He excels & the men follow him towards victory. The other leaders notice & promote him. The armor continues to taunt Aric that this is his life & wants him to bond again with the armor... Wow! This re launch has been amazing. 3 issues in & the book keeps topping itself. Kindt is writing an epic tale of Aric that will be one of the best X-O stories IMO. Giorello's art is lush, beautiful & brutal all at once. Best this week. 10/10. |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 25, 2017 16:48:52 GMT -5
Wonder Woman #23I liked this issue well enough when I read it. But boyoboy did it take way too long to get here! And then I thought about it a bit. I think it's a bit silly to create a group of very badass women warriors and then make sure nobody can find them to free Ares. Why do they have to be such excellent warriors if nobody can find them? How do they get such a reputation as warriors if they are hidden so well and never fight anybody outside of Themiscyra? How do they stay in practice? Do they have intermural warrior competitions all the time? This is just as silly as an invisible plane, giant kangaroos, Mouse Man or Etta Candy saying "Woo Woo!" all the time. It's just a different kind of silly.
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Post by Hoosier X on May 25, 2017 16:59:37 GMT -5
Detective Comics #957The best issue of Detective Comics since Rebirth started! Which isn't something to brag about, really. Actually, I liked this a lot, and not just because Clayface was nowhere to be seen. I really like Stephanie Brown. As the Spoiler. As Robin (for a short time). As Batgirl. (Her short-lived Batgirl series pre-New 52 was a heckuva lot of fun.) She hasn't had too much to do in Rebirth, but she's been there with the Bat Strike Squad and then in the background. Now she's back! The latest in a sporadic series of entities who think Batman is bad for Gotham because of all the loonies he attracts and the way the police and the citizens depend on him too much. The people in the past who have thought this way might have had a point worth pursuing, but they always turn out to be loonies themselves, opportunists or just generally corrupt and self-serving. But not Steph! She actually has a philosophy and a plan. I liked this issue a lot! I really hope "The Wrath of the Spoiler" lives up to the promise of this opening chapter. And wait until you see the surprise guest star at the ending! It's a character I'm fairly indifferent to, so I'm not too concerned about whether the Rebirth version is random, arbitrary and/or stupid.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2017 22:58:39 GMT -5
Action Comics #980: Action continues to showcase great stories and art--although this issue may be classified as filler, what filler it is! The Revenge Squad assembles to free Zod from Belle Reve. Superman pursues and gets trapped in a weird barrier with properties from the phantom zone. Eradicator and Cyborg Superman use this to continue looking for Zod, free of Superman. There's a cameo by Batman, Lois and Superman talk with Jon about moving to Metropolis (an idea he hates), and Cyborg Superman's origin retold. The art is solid throughout with sweeping splash pages and excellent colors. This issue read like a Bronze Age story to me.
9/10
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Post by Hoosier X on May 26, 2017 1:55:03 GMT -5
Kamandi Challenge #5Kamandi and Vila the plant girl escape from the Kanga Rat Murder Society by falling off a cliff and landing in the water where Vila turns into a boat. But after some time at sea, Kamandi awakens to finds himself on the ship that rescued him but unfortunately Vila had gone dormant and not realizing that the boat was a dormant sentient being, the ships crew had just left Vila in the ocean! Boooo! Kamandi eventually starts hanging out with a Tiger detective who talks a lot and they go deep into the jungle (I think it's somewhere in Indonesia) looking for some animal doctor dude. This issue seemed a little more random than usual, but it's still a fun series. The best part is the way the writers are exploring the parts of the A.D. (After Disaster) map that were never depicted in the 59 issues of the 1970s series.
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