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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 7, 2018 19:49:25 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2018 20:14:03 GMT -5
Doctor Star #1. Written by Jeff Lemire. Art and Cover by Max Fiumara.
A spin off mini series from Black Hammer. This issue tells the origin of how Dr James Robinson becomes Dr Star back in the 40's. It also sets up a sub plot in the present where Dr Robinson's son is dying from cancer. I suspect the two are connected. It is partially a homage to James Robinson's Starman series at DC.
Beautifully written. I can "feel" the emotions of the Robinson family as James ignores his wife & son to be able to "touch the stars" with his invention the para-wand. He is addicted to being a hero. The art is beautiful at capturing these emotions. It sells the emotions... the elation & the sadness.
This is really good stuff.
9/10. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2018 20:23:46 GMT -5
Fighting American: Ties That Bind #1. Written by Gordon Rennie. Art by Andie Tong. Cover by Jerry Ordway.
Titan is doing each arc as a mini series. An interesting way to # an ongoing series. I think Hellboy also does this.
FA & SB are adjusting to life in the 21st century. SB more than FA. We discover FA doesn't know SB real name. This causes SB to move out of their apt. Meanwhile Agent Rutherford is kicked off being FA's handler (& helping him adjust to 2018) by the FBI because one of FA's enemies Double-Header is the new director of the FBI. We also discover FA may have a grandson here in 2018....
Great series. I love the writing. I like the twist that FA may have a grandson. I like the new artist Tong. Still cartoony but more polished than Mighten.
8/10. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2018 20:30:08 GMT -5
Superman #42. Written by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. Art and Cover by Patrick Gleason.
First of all I hate Bizarro. The dialog gives me a headache.
However Tomasi & Gleason tell the story of Bizarro & his family & it is interesting mixing in the family dynamics. So this makes this different than other Bizarro stories. Plus Gleason's art is amazing. Hopefully as this arc goes on I will like it even more.
7/10. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2018 20:37:16 GMT -5
 Captain America #699. Written by Mark Waid. Art and Cover by Chris Samnee. Cap fights the Hulk, recruits the Thing & overthrows King Babbington (who looks like an eraser). Wow. That happened fast. Next issue the aftermath as Cap rebuilds the USA? This arc is so... off. Even Samnee's art was not his best. 6/10. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2018 20:47:37 GMT -5
 Nightwing #40. Written by Sam Humphries. Art and Cover by Bernard Chang. Nightwing escapes the Judge's trap. He then goes after the Judge...again. The Judge is putting into motion his final plan to destroy Bludhaven. Next issue the conclusion of this arc & Humphries/Chang's run on this title. This arc has had beautiful art with average writing. 7/10. |
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Post by Batflunkie on Mar 8, 2018 7:32:24 GMT -5
Prism Stalker #1  Focuses on the life of a girl who's been abducted/rescued from her home planet by giant birds and lives in the bio-organic work colony of some sentient organism. Really not sure what to make of it, it's interesting though. I'm curious to see where exactly the book leads |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 8, 2018 12:03:36 GMT -5
Star Wars #44Written by Kieron Gillen Art by Salvador Larroca Summary: Leia and the gang head off to the water world of Mon Cala to enlist the aid of the people of Admiral Ackbar.
Plot: I've read a lot of Star Wars stories, though certainly not all so I can't be totally sure, but in this issue I think we see a story I've always been curious about for the first time on page; how does the Rebel Alliance go from a group that seems to be hard pressed to scramble together a handful of fighters in A New Hope go to being able to field a fleet large enough to go toe to toe with the Empire's best above the moon of Endor in Return of the Jedi? Gillen's still pre-battle of Hoth here but the strength and determination of Leia as she tries to scrape together a real fleet goes a long way towards answering that big question.
Art: I've been ragging on Larroca a lot recently for his copious traces, and they are certainly present here as well, but they weren't nearly as obvious in this issue so I'm hoping that continues through out this story.
Grade: 8/10 |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 8, 2018 12:14:59 GMT -5
 Exit Stage Left #3. Written by Mark Russell. Art by Mike Feehan and Mark Morales. One could complain about this issue. It really doesn't move the plot forward at all (unless it does in a way that will become apparent later on). But one would be nuts to complain about that because this issue is just so incredibly good. In a book where we've seen a lot of cameos and a lot of historical figures pop their heads up we get even more. But they never seem shoe-horned in because they fit the theme of the issue. The theme is the difference between actors and stars. To that end we get to see Marilyn Monroe who wants to be an actor and is instead a star...and her being torn between Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller and how their needs play in. And we get a not very thinly veiled Clint Eastwood. We also get to see a little bit more of Huckleberry Hound and a bit more of Peter Potomus. And we are introduced to Quick-Draw McGraw who is a cop taking payoffs from the Stonewall Inn which gets a lovely portrayal in the book. Honestly this book is just amazing. Though the less said about Sasquatch Detective, the better. 10/10. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 8, 2018 12:32:31 GMT -5
Fighting American: Ties That Bind #1. Written by Gordon Rennie. Art by Andie Tong. Cover by Jerry Ordway.
Titan is doing each arc as a mini series. An interesting way to # an ongoing series. I think Hellboy also does this.
FA & SB are adjusting to life in the 21st century. SB more than FA. We discover FA doesn't know SB real name. This causes SB to move out of their apt. Meanwhile Agent Rutherford is kicked off being FA's handler (& helping him adjust to 2018) by the FBI because one of FA's enemies Double-Header is the new director of the FBI. We also discover FA may have a grandson here in 2018....
Great series. I love the writing. I like the twist that FA may have a grandson. I like the new artist Tong. Still cartoony but more polished than Mighten.
8/10. Very fun book. I liked the first series and this one is keeping things rolling. The interplay between FA and SB is a hoot. And the satire is pretty spot on...and given where we are in the country right now, with a living, breathing caricature as POTUS it's hard to make satire that isn't already preempted by real life. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 8, 2018 12:36:38 GMT -5
Rasputin #5Written by Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson Art by Christopher Mitten Summary: The young Professor Bruttenholm and Sandhu finally come face to face with the Rasputin but come up short in stopping his plans.
Plot: Roberson and Mignola bring their thrilling WWII espionage story to an explosive close with this fifth issue and it's one of the first mini-series in a very long time that didn't sag in the middle. Although never an issue in his earlier years many series post War on Frogs have had an issue of having too much exposition in the beginning a too short middle leading up to the conclusions feeling rushed but here they finally got it right with a bare bones intro that said, "Hey here's the Professor during the war!" and just running from there with plenty of time for great characterization and plenty of action and an ending that really left me wanting more. That said, I was sad to see Sandhu go here at the end, I thought he was a great supporting character ever since he was introduced in the Rise of the Black Flame a few years back and I was really hoping for more war years stories with him and the Professor, still with the way it ended with Rasputin victorious and walking off into the shadows it looks like we will get more of these war stories.
Art: I really love Mitten's sense of action, he really gives you the feeling that these people are alive and moving here rather than just being a series of static images. And while his look is more closer to Mignola's own in terms of mood I think he does a better job in creating more concrete and realistic settings where Mignola kind of just hints at the back drops; don't get me wrong I love that focus on atmosphere but have a greater sense of place really helped in a story like this, giving it a sense of reality in grounding in the war.
Grade:10/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 8, 2018 12:43:39 GMT -5
Exit Stage Left #3. Written by Mark Russell. Art by Mike Feehan and Mark Morales. One could complain about this issue. It really doesn't move the plot forward at all (unless it does in a way that will become apparent later on). But one would be nuts to complain about that because this issue is just so incredibly good. In a book where we've seen a lot of cameos and a lot of historical figures pop their heads up we get even more. But they never seem shoe-horned in because they fit the theme of the issue. The theme is the difference between actors and stars. To that end we get to see Marilyn Monroe who wants to be an actor and is instead a star...and her being torn between Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller and how their needs play in. And we get a not very thinly veiled Clint Eastwood. We also get to see a little bit more of Huckleberry Hound and a bit more of Peter Potomus. And we are introduced to Quick-Draw McGraw who is a cop taking payoffs from the Stonewall Inn which gets a lovely portrayal in the book. Honestly this book is just amazing. Though the less said about Sasquatch Detective, the better. 10/10. Sometimes it's okay to focus more on characterization over plot, and this issue is prime example of why really getting deep into these characters really enriches the world they inhabit which is only going to make the story more enjoyable in the long run. But man, I gotta question who ever thought the creation of Sasquatch cop was a good idea, and even more; who thought it was a good second feature for this book? In the scheme of things I think a more noir styled story would have been a much better back up. I could see a hard nosed tale of Magilla Gorilla as a PI as being a fantastic second feature, but really just about anything else would be better. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 8, 2018 13:03:23 GMT -5
 Incognegro: Renaissance #2. Writing by Mat Johnson. Art by Warren Pleece The plot moves forward as Zane tries to find the mystery woman who fled from the murder in issue one. His attempts to learn her identity as a black reporter are stonewalled. So upon finding that she frequents The Cotton Club he straightens his hair, lightens his skin and learns to walk like a white man so he can gain entry to the Club (no blacks allowed in The Cotton Club as patrons). Unfortunately all does not go as planned and he's forced to flee the club...only to find himself in a very very dangerous predicament. A good issue that moves the plot, gives us more insight into the main characters and shows us more about a way of life most don't know about in a time that is becoming long-ago history. Being a bit of a jazz aficionado I'm familiar with a lot of the history here. This is a nice blend of history and mystery that's well worth reading. 8/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 8, 2018 13:55:51 GMT -5
Koshchei the Deathless #3Written by Mike Mignola Art by Ben Stenbeck Summary: Koshchei slays the last of the dragons, a man who became his adoptive father, and then descends into darkness.
Plot: This book started out really strong, delving deeply into one of Hellboy's most interesting foes, but in this third chapter things go from being a tightly paced action story to a some what meandering tale with out any satisfying end in sight. In the first book we saw the birth of Koshchei, in the second we saw him learn of his quest and in the third it seemed like we were going to just see him end that quest but it didn't end there but continued on with a series of meandering mini adventures that neither give us insight into Koshchei or develop his world. This really seems like a case where having to write for the trade has really hurt Mignola's style; it feels like he had a short story and then had to stretch it only instead of being overly long at the start or slogging in the middle it seems to be an ending that lingers instead and for my tastes that's a far worse narritive mistake.
Art:Although the story is a little lack luster Stenbeck's art is in top form like always. The features on all the characters faces are perfect, in particular the look of resignation on Koshchei's face when he learned that the last dragon was the man who saved him was absolutely stunning. The depth of sadness expressed by Stenbeck's pen in that scene was just amazing; it moved me and that's pretty hard to do.
Grade:6/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Mar 8, 2018 16:44:00 GMT -5
Doctor Strange: Damnation #2Written by Donny Cates and Nick Spencer Art by Szymon Kudranski Summary: Wong and Bats the wonder dog travel the world to assemble a team of mystic Avengers to take back Vegas and save Doctor Strange.
Plot: Although I like the general thrust of the plot, and the cast of characters Cates and Spencer assembled here are some of my favorite characters in the Marvel universe the pacing in this issue was so damn slow, so ultimately nothing really happened. If these were all brand new characters sure, give them each a page or two in order to be established but they're all staples of the MCU so it's just a gratuitous amount of time spent introducing these guys. I mean sure, they're not all A-listers so there might be some out there who wouldn't recognize Doctor Voodoo for instance but in what should be a quick, fun super hero slug fest you don't need this kind of set up. There's nothing deep here, so the pacing should reflect the content and sadly it just didn't.
Art: I don't think I've ever heard of Kudranski before this, and I won't even try to pronounce his name, but despite the snorefest that was the plot of this book I really enjoyed how he drew these characters. His Ghost Rider in particular was fantastic, I mean yeah, it's a flaming skull but man does this guy draw a great flaming skull.
Grade:5/10
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