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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 4, 2019 19:34:38 GMT -5
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 4, 2019 20:23:07 GMT -5
Immortal Hulk #16Written by Al Ewing Art by Joe Bennett Summary: Bruce and Doc Sampson travel to Shadow base to look for clues about Rick Jones' missing body only to find a trap.
Plot: Despite a great start with Banner transforming into the Hulk as the sun set with the quip, "I'm sorry Doc, but we've run out of time for this session." I was initially a little disappointed in this issue. There wasn't anything bad per say but we've seen the Hulk punch gamma mutants how many times now? The action was good enough and it is fun to see the Hulk just let loose but it had a tedious element to it that I just couldn't escape from. However, despite that misstep the end was really awesome with the reveal of what seemed like a new version of Joe Fixit in Bruce's body which has some fantastic possibilities.
Art: Bennett is really knocking it out of the park with these transformations, they're gruesome and so much fun.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 22:50:31 GMT -5
Betty and Veronica #4: prom season arrives in Riverdale as all the secrets and misunderstandings come to a head at the Senior Prom! We learn a bit about what’s going on with Reggie and his family and it’s quite sad. Moose passes his GED, thanks to Betty. At the prom all the misunderstandings come to a head as Archie has an accident thanks to his clumsiness, leaving Betty and Verona wondering how they are going to get this mess straightened out. I absolutely love this mini series. It reminded me of how complex surviving high school can be and just how deep misunderstandings can go. Teen drama at its finest!
8/10
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 22:56:45 GMT -5
Young Justice #4: Amethyst gets some screentime as we learn she’s not very highly thought of by the Gemworld higher ups. There’s another revelation about Superboy. Also an absolutely awesome group hug with Superboy, Robin, Wondergirl, And Impulse. Jinny and Teen Lantern don’t have much to do in this issue, which is filled with tons of dialogue and the story jumps around from the present to a few hours earlier and then forward again. The scenes with Amethyst and the Gemworld folks weren’t very interesting, especially trying to read through all the dialogue. Also, I’m wondering if the team’s time as Teen Titans has been wiped away as they seem very much like their original Young Justice selves. The art is great and I do like the way Gemworld was depicted.
7/10
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bran
Full Member
Posts: 227 
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Post by bran on Apr 5, 2019 0:55:34 GMT -5
Now this is a good week: We got Curse Words special (prequels continue; Margaret was a beautiful, normal human baby...), Walking Dead 190 (with pretty good resolution of story arc that looks better in hindsight) and new Paper Girls.
EDIT: Also the final issue of William Gibson's Alien 3 (DH) |
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Post by Hoosier X on Apr 5, 2019 10:20:56 GMT -5
Love and Rockets #3This is actually from 2017. But it was one of my slow weeks. None of my regular comic books came out. So on my slow weeks, I browse, and I frequently get one or two issues of comics I'm thinking about but I haven't actually started reading yet. That's how I started reading Tank Girl last year. And that's also how I've accumulated Hey Kids! Comics! #1 to #4 over the last few months. This week, I flipped through all the issues they have of the current Love and Rockets series and I picked the one with the cover I like the most. I started reading the first series in the late 1980s, around #30, when Poison River was the main serial. I've read most of the storylines from the first series through reprints and the collected editions. (Which reminds me - I still have never read Human Diastorphism.) As expected, I love the new Love and Rockets as much as I ever loved the old Love and Rockets. As it only come out two or three times a year, it's pretty easy to stay caught up, so I'll probably get all the issues I missed before the next issue (#7) comes out. I especially like the Doctor Who homage and of course the new stories of Maggie and Hopey, although I admit, I didn't recognize Hopey at first.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Apr 5, 2019 18:40:46 GMT -5
Conan The Barbarian #5Written by Jason Aaron Art by Mahmud Asrar Summary: Conan learns too late that a stolen idol he carries is much more than a hunk of wood.
Plot: Man, I'm not sure if I'll be reading too much further here after this issue. It's not that Aaron's story issue was absolutely terrible or unreadable, it was a decent bit of monster slaying but it was just that the bones where there for it to be so much more than that if he had just taken his time to develop it more. The whole bit about the idol actually being a seed to a terrible tentacled god-monster was a fantastically Lovecraftian idea that not only fits well in Conan's world but is also a great metatextual connection to Howard's and Lovecraft's friendship...and instead of playing that up and writing a slow burning horror piece ripe with tension and atmosphere we got Conan hacking monsters with out real sense of purpose. Perhaps it's not fair to judge a book by what it could be rather than what it is, but in this case what it could be is so front and center that I just can't separate it from what's on the page.
Art: Despite the failings of the story Asrar continued to really nail the look of Conan and I loved his monsters.
Grade:4/10
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2019 9:19:06 GMT -5
No time for any real reviews so some quick thoughts: Immortal Hulk - the first half was average but the second half was incredible (pun intended!). Conan - I liked it more than thwhtguardian but this series isn't as good as I had hoped. Young Justice - It's OK. I really don't like all the stuff dealing with Gem World. Green Lantern - this book just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Not sure if that is a good thing. Definitely a different take on Hal. |
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Post by senatortombstone on Apr 6, 2019 13:26:22 GMT -5
Conan The Barbarian #5Written by Jason Aaron Art by Mahmud Asrar Summary: Conan learns too late that a stolen idol he carries is much more than a hunk of wood.
Plot: Man, I'm not sure if I'll be reading too much further here after this issue. It's not that Aaron's story issue was absolutely terrible or unreadable, it was a decent bit of monster slaying but it was just that the bones where there for it to be so much more than that if he had just taken his time to develop it more. The whole bit about the idol actually being a seed to a terrible tentacled god-monster was a fantastically Lovecraftian idea that not only fits well in Conan's world but is also a great metatextual connection to Howard's and Lovecraft's friendship...and instead of playing that up and writing a slow burning horror piece ripe with tension and atmosphere we got Conan hacking monsters with out real sense of purpose. Perhaps it's not fair to judge a book by what it could be rather than what it is, but in this case what it could be is so front and center that I just can't separate it from what's on the page.
Art: Despite the failings of the story Asrar continued to really nail the look of Conan and I loved his monsters.
Grade:4/10
I began reading the Darkhorse and the original Marvel Conan runs back in 2012. I still have not completed all of Marvel CtB issues and some of the shorter Marvel runs, but I did complete SSoC and about issues 180-275 of CtB. What is being produced by Marvel now is not as good as what Darkhorse was doing and not nearly as good as what Marvel did the first time around. There seemed to be way more to the original issues than what is currently offered. It only takes about 5-10 minutes to read an issue of the new Marvel Conan, while it could take as long as a half hour to absorb the stories that were being told by Roy Thomas. An old issue of SSoC could easily take 45 minutes to an hour to take in - the new SSoC is another 5-10 minute read. it's a shame that Darkhorse was not able to adapt all the REH Conan stories. I thought Conan the Slayer was a good book and it was very unfortunate to see it end abruptly, especially considering what it was replaced with. Still, that's not as tragic as Marvel losing Conan in the first place. Had that not happened, we could be in the 600s of both CtB and SSoC. That said, I will still continue to buy CtB and SSoC for now, as they are the only titles that I am currently reading - I also enjoy visiting the local comic shop. However, I did cancel Age of Conan: Belit. Issue 1 as beyond bad. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2019 22:41:13 GMT -5
Betty and Veronica Friends Forever:Pets #1: 4 stories in the classic Archie style featuring B&V and pets. Story 1 has Veronica launching an unsolved mysteries style investigation to find Betty’s missing cat, Caramel. Story 2 finds the girls volunteering at an animal shelter. Story 3 features Betty’s job as a dog walker going wrong. The final story is about a new friend the girls make and his unusual pets. Fun for all ages.
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Post by Paste Pot Paul on Apr 7, 2019 12:25:10 GMT -5
I'm liking the new Conan books so far, although as above, I find I keep expecting Savage Sword to be like its predecessor.
To be fair to the new books, the previous Marvel series did degenerate into monster/wizard of the month so Aaron is doing ok so far IMHO.
Im on the fence about the Ross covers, theres something a bit modern squeaky clean about his dirty barbarian that isnt sitting right with me.
Love the Garney, like the Asrar, and really like the Esad Ribic.
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bran
Full Member
Posts: 227
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Post by bran on Apr 8, 2019 17:13:36 GMT -5
Here is the mini-review for The Walking Dead 190 When this (Commonwealth) story arc begun, it looked as if Kirkman's perhaps having a fatigue with the series. It doesn't look that way now. He realized he doesn't have to kill great characters that he created, when their stories are told (finished). If the death does not serve some narrative purpose just let them run out of scope, live their lives off the page (and allow readership's imagination to do the rest). Two years from now he may have a great idea for some of them, or particular character can make a cameo appearance, just for the fun of it. As for the rest, it's up to readership to picture what they are doing. Hermann is having a great time with that in his Jeremiah series. We had a chance to meet Julio and Romea again, Stonebridge of course, and several others. Can you imagine organs market, human trafficking, slavery, in post-apocalyptic society? Now that's creepy - zombies, mutants.. they are not even close. Human is a king of depravity. That leads us to another thing that Kirkman is unpacking here: It's now established - Commonwealth is a new normal. As far as how towns/communities look like - visually. Real differences are in how people are organized (is it autocracy, meritocracy, semi-anarchy, elitist semi-socialism type of thing, mixture of all of the above or whatever else), and in characters in charge - rather than the 'furniture'. In other words there are no TV-gimmicks such pantomime junk-yard people, aqua-people or what have you. Way more interesting direction. Third thing - Rick is no longer in epicenter of everything. He no longer has control (or full knowledge) of everything that's going on. (Have to bring Jeremiah again, it's perfect in that regard - The main characters there are more like very prominent side characters. Their efforts however, often are a key, or extra push to some final outcome). We'll see how it stands with the readers, AFAIC 10/10 for this one. |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 24, 2019 21:09:45 GMT -5
Conan The Barbarian #5Written by Jason Aaron Art by Mahmud Asrar Summary: Conan learns too late that a stolen idol he carries is much more than a hunk of wood.
Plot: Man, I'm not sure if I'll be reading too much further here after this issue. It's not that Aaron's story issue was absolutely terrible or unreadable, it was a decent bit of monster slaying but it was just that the bones where there for it to be so much more than that if he had just taken his time to develop it more. The whole bit about the idol actually being a seed to a terrible tentacled god-monster was a fantastically Lovecraftian idea that not only fits well in Conan's world but is also a great metatextual connection to Howard's and Lovecraft's friendship...and instead of playing that up and writing a slow burning horror piece ripe with tension and atmosphere we got Conan hacking monsters with out real sense of purpose. Perhaps it's not fair to judge a book by what it could be rather than what it is, but in this case what it could be is so front and center that I just can't separate it from what's on the page.
Art: Despite the failings of the story Asrar continued to really nail the look of Conan and I loved his monsters.
Grade:4/10
I was pretty down on this one, too. Throwing in a Lovecraftian monster was neat, but it was done as such as throw away, it seemed a waste. The plot was so unreal, too. Why did pirates have surgical latex gloves on hand? How did it take 3 weeks for a rat to take a nibble of one of the bodies? Why not toss'em all overboard once he had the ship going and the monsters wouldn't be on top of him? Or why not try to burn them? Never mind the resolution, and Aaron trying to tell us Conan is really a people person. I'm on board at least for the start of the next arc, but yeah, this one was really disappointing. |
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