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Post by thwhtguardian on May 2, 2018 20:00:37 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 20:17:25 GMT -5
 Doctor Star #3.Written by Jeff Lemire. Art and Cover by Max Fiumara. Doctor Star goes to the moon looking for a cure for his son who has cancer. Instead he finds the Star Sheriff Squadron - a group of heroes that he inspired (think Green Lantern Corps). This issue suffers a bit as the story goes in a totally different direction. Dr Star is confronted by his son back in the late 60's in the Vietnam War after he returns to earth after 18 years in space. Then flash forward to the present as Dr Star gets sidetracked looking for a cure for his son. Hopefully Lemire will tie it all together in next month's conclusion. Definitely the weakest issue in this series so far. 6/10. |
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 20:22:56 GMT -5
 Fighting American: Ties That Bind #3. Written by Gordon Rennie. Art and Cover by Andie Tong. NO, NO, NO! How can a series derail so fast with just one issue? This issue just slams you over the head with everything that is wrong with our modern society as we see Speedboy being manipulated to make Fighting American look bad. Basically FA's old fashioned values are mocked & FA made to look like a hypocrite on a Jerry Springer type of TV show. This issue was just ugly & had all the subtleness of a brick. 2/10. |
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 20:33:58 GMT -5
DC Nation #0.
Joker by Tom King & Clay Mann. Prelude to Batman #50 as we see the Joker reacting to Batman's upcoming marriage to Catwoman. I am NOT a fan of King's work on Batman but I really liked this short story featuring the Joker. Creepy. Disturbing. 8/10.
Superman by Brian Michael Bendis & Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. Prelude to the Man of Steel by BMB. First a real pleasure to see JLGL's art again. Just beautiful. Loved the focus on the Daily Planet. Not sure how I feel about Lois' "absence". 7/10.
Justice League by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV & Joshua Williamson with art by Jorge Jimenez. Prelude to Justice League: No Justice. Beautiful art with scenes setting up the series that will re-launch the Justice League this summer. 6/10.
Overall I liked this approach. I hope DC & Marvel do books similar to this in the future. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 2, 2018 21:53:27 GMT -5
DC Nation #0.
Joker by Tom King & Clay Mann. Prelude to Batman #50 as we see the Joker reacting to Batman's upcoming marriage to Catwoman. I am NOT a fan of King's work on Batman but I really liked this short story featuring the Joker. Creepy. Disturbing. 8/10.
Superman by Brian Michael Bendis & Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. Prelude to the Man of Steel by BMB. First a real pleasure to see JLGL's art again. Just beautiful. Loved the focus on the Daily Planet. Not sure how I feel about Lois' "absence". 7/10.
Justice League by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV & Joshua Williamson with art by Jorge Jimenez. Prelude to Justice League: No Justice. Beautiful art with scenes setting up the series that will re-launch the Justice League this summer. 6/10.
Overall I liked this approach. I hope DC & Marvel do books similar to this in the future. I loved Clay Mann's art, and the Joker was well written...but I still have zero interest in this story so that's a pass still. I wasn't sure what to think of Bendis' Superman from Action #1000 given that it was mostly just action, and this new snippet didn't really give me a lot either. I liked the feel of Perry and the Planet and would love to see them have a large presence but I thought Clark's stammering was over the top. It worked for Reeve in the Motion Picture but it's not the Clark Kent I want anymore. Justice League was interesting though, I don't know if I'll stick with it in the long run as Snyder's stories tend to start well but fizzle at the end for my tastes, but this preview was enough to at least give it a try. |
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 22:49:28 GMT -5
Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever #1: Bill Golliher and Dan Parent present 4 new stories featuring Archies’s girls in this all ages book. I’m assuming each issue will have a theme and this issue is at the movies. Next issue is travel tales. The art is in the classic Archie house style. The first story has Betty and Veronica causing havoc at a movie studio, where Mr. Lodge is financing a film.
The second story was classic and funny. Betty and Veronica have movie dates with 2 new guys and they forget they made plans with Archie. They concoct a plan to rotate between their dates and Archie with very funny results. The 3rd story features the girls as extras in a movie filming in Riverdale and the final features a take on movies about possessed dolls (with a cameo from Veronica’s cousin Leroy). 2.99 for 4 stories that made me laugh and forget the world for a few minutes? Yes, please!
8/10
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Post by Deleted on May 2, 2018 22:57:28 GMT -5
DC Nation: The Joker story freaked me out. Very, very disturbing. I haven’t read a Joker story in many years and this one was just creepy and sad. Enjoyed the art too.
10/10
Superman: enjoyed seeing Clark doing his thing at the Daily Planet and I’m interested in the new character that was introduced. I didn’t care for the inks on Garcia-Lopez’s pencils. Some panels looked good while others seemed marred by the inking. This story reminded (fond memories) of a story that could’ve been featured in Superman Family. Actually really looking forward to Bendis now.
9/10
Justice League: this one didn’t grab me. Not a fan of some of the characters joining what is supposed to be the greatest DC super team. Nice to see Zatanna though. The art was pretty although Wonder Woman looked like she might snap in half in one panel.
4/10
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 3, 2018 9:32:15 GMT -5
Action Comics Special #1Written by Dan Jurgens Art by Will Conrad Summary: Someone has uncovered Superman's identity and now they're after the Man of Steel's family!
Plot: While I didn't enjoy Jurgen's Action run as much as the story going on in the pages of Superman, that's not a real put down so much as praise for Superman as Jurgens' stories were still really solid and could easily have been the high point of the Superman stable at just about any other year. Like the rest of his run, Jurgens really nailed the right balance between heart, action and family that I've come to love about Superman. It was such a simple scene but that one moment where Superman came home with take out pizza for him and Jon was just so perfect and natural that you couldn't help but smile from reading it. About the only negative to this coda to Jurgens' run that I saw was that it tipped the hand that the villain was an old Lex Luthor from the future way too soon. I think they could have played with the, "Is Lex evil again?" angle much better if they had left it more ambiguous. I know Bendis usually does a good job but it's sad to see these creators get interrupted when they're really firing on all cylinders, hopefully he lives up to the hype.
Art: Conrad's clean line work gives this story the classic feel it deserves. It feels like the kind of art we grew up on which is great for this kind of Bronze age homage. It's simple, efficient and full of great, iconic looking Superman poses.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 3, 2018 12:12:09 GMT -5
Xerxes #2Written and illustrated by Frank Miller Summary: The fall of the House of Darius continues as the Persian king perishes in an attempt to take Athens.
Plot: I praised the last issue as being an attempt at a more historical retelling of the Persian invasion and that I was glad that the fictionalized elements raised in the prequel film Rise of an Empire were not present...but I spoke too soon. I'm okay with fictionalizing why the Persians turned face at the Athenian coast but I didn't see a benefit to making King Darius I the leader of the Persian army, or why he should die off the coast of Athens and the same goes for his son Xerxes, why does he need the supernatural origin which was teased here? In addition, I can't help but feel like there should have been a pretty massive time jump here, we now only have 3 more issues to cover 134 years which means the pacing in these two issues is pretty darn languid in the scheme of things. That isnt to say the issue itself was slow, I thought the balance between showing the everyday life in Athens, the state of the Athenian army and the Persian army and the action of the battle was great...it's just that with the stated scope and issues allotted time is really at a premium so taking an entire issue to recap a single day seems crazy.
Art: To go along with the fictionalized plot we also get a fictionalized rendering of the Athenian Acropolis, but in this case I don't mind it at all. Miller's panoramic depiction of Athens was just plain stunning, the statues and the scope and scale of the whole city were truly awe-inspiring. This isn't how Greece actually was, but it definitely fits the hyper stylized, mythical feel that I think of when I imagine ancient Greece.
Grade:6/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 3, 2018 16:36:45 GMT -5
Avengers #1Written by Jason Aaron Art by Ed McGuinness Summary: Captain America, Thor and Iron Man meet in a bar to discuss getting the band back together as dead Celestials fall from the sky.
Plot: With stellar runs on Thor, Doctor Strange, Hulk and Ultimate Captain America Aaron has quickly become one of my favorite super hero writers around, so when it was announced that he'd be doing the Avengers I was immediately sold. On top of that pedigree I've loved the Avengers 1,000,000 BC teases from his past runs so their continuation here is an even bigger draw. And the issue itself? Well, it lived up to the hype. I loved the character moments of Cap, Thor and Tony talking about being the Avengers at the bar and the team of Doctor Strange and the Black Panther were equally fun. With Celestials falling dead from the sky and the arrival of a team of evil looking Celestials showing up at the end it looks like we are in for a crazy, cinematic adventure and I'm on board 100%.
Art: I've loved McGuinness' art since the early 2000's, he just does big, super hero fun so well. He has a look to his work that is like a fun Saturday morning cartoon, it's a not realistic look but it's expressive and full of energy which is perfect for the kind of story Aaron seems to be going for.
Grade:8/10 |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 3, 2018 17:07:14 GMT -5
 Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles 5. Written by Mark Russell. Art by Mike Feehan, Sean Parsons & Jose Marzon, Jr. Holy Shit-snacks! I'm not sure what I can say that's not going to spoil this. The plot takes a quantum leap forward as Snagglepuss has to decide whether to name-names to save Huck or stand for what he believes in. In the end the decision is taken out of his hands. This is the kind of comic we used to see coming out of Vertigo at its best. Powerful, compelling, sad, and thought-provoking. If you're not reading this book you should be. 10/10. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 3, 2018 17:11:15 GMT -5
Doctor Star #3.Written by Jeff Lemire. Art and Cover by Max Fiumara. Doctor Star goes to the moon looking for a cure for his son who has cancer. Instead he finds the Star Sheriff Squadron - a group of heroes that he inspired (think Green Lantern Corps). This issue suffers a bit as the story goes in a totally different direction. Dr Star is confronted by his son back in the late 60's in the Vietnam War after he returns to earth after 18 years in space. Then flash forward to the present as Dr Star gets sidetracked looking for a cure for his son. Hopefully Lemire will tie it all together in next month's conclusion. Definitely the weakest issue in this series so far. 6/10. You liked this less than I did. I agree that it's the weakest issue so far. But I still liked quite a bit. I particularly liked the idea that Doctor Star could inspire a galaxy wide movement while utterly failing in his personal life. 8/10. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on May 3, 2018 17:25:42 GMT -5
Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles 5. Written by Mark Russell. Art by Mike Feehan, Sean Parsons & Jose Marzon, Jr. Holy Shit-snacks! I'm not sure what I can say that's not going to spoil this. The plot takes a quantum leap forward as Snagglepuss has to decide whether to name-names to save Huck or stand for what he believes in. In the end the decision is taken out of his hands. This is the kind of comic we used to see coming out of Vertigo at its best. Powerful, compelling, sad, and thought-provoking. If you're not reading this book you should be. 10/10. Yeah, this is easily the best book DC is putting out right now. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 3, 2018 17:29:52 GMT -5
Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles 5. Written by Mark Russell. Art by Mike Feehan, Sean Parsons & Jose Marzon, Jr. Holy Shit-snacks! I'm not sure what I can say that's not going to spoil this. The plot takes a quantum leap forward as Snagglepuss has to decide whether to name-names to save Huck or stand for what he believes in. In the end the decision is taken out of his hands. This is the kind of comic we used to see coming out of Vertigo at its best. Powerful, compelling, sad, and thought-provoking. If you're not reading this book you should be. 10/10. Yeah, this is easily the best book DC is putting out right now. It's my favorite book right now. And my favorite for quite a while back. I'd not heard of Mark Russell prior to Flintstones (which I loved). But with this and Flintstones under his belt, he's right up there with Brubaker as my favorite current writer. |
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2018 20:36:12 GMT -5
Action Comics Special #1 ... based on your review here - thwhtguardian, I'm getting this from my LCS for my Free Comic Book Day. I'll have this book shipped to my home address.
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