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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 14, 2019 10:38:10 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKS! If you read it, let us know here! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 14, 2019 15:36:07 GMT -5
Star Wars Adventures Annual 2019Written by Cavan Scott and Elsa Charriatier Art by Mauricet and Margaux Saltel Summary: In the early days of the New Republic Jaxxon and Lando must find a lost relic in order to defeat an Imperial Remnant. Meanwhile at the infancy of the Rebellion a young Princess Leia learns about the former Queen of Naboo. Plot: Much to the delight of the tens of fans of Jaxxon (like myself and Confessor) the giant green Lepi's appearance in the Star Wars Adventures annuals seems to be becoming something of a tradition. Although it's an all ages title, making the tone much lighter than Jaxxon's original appearance under Roy Thomas' pen the action here is quick and the humor's smart. The plot itself is a tad simplistic, the Imperials are suppressing a native species that far outnumbers their military strength and all that is stopping the natives from throwing off their yolk is a missing idol which Lando and Jaxxon must acquire but it's played perfectly straight with a hint of condescension making it a solid all ages comic. Despite my love of Jaxxon I think I liked the second feature a tad bit more as the artist's depiction of Leia as toddler was adorable. Grade:7/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 14, 2019 17:36:52 GMT -5
Sonata #3Written by David Hine Art by Brian Haberline Summary: Sonata continues her journey in the unknown reaches of the Southlands as her family enters the valley of the Sleeping Gods.
Plot: In this third installment Hine continues to slowly unpack the mystery behind his sci-fi fantasy with the inclusion of dueling creation myths against the backdrop of the very real Sleeping Gods. The compare and contrast between the peaceful legends of the Ranns and the warlike birth of the Tayans would come across as a simplistic attempt at deepening the star-crossed lover trope on it's own but the growing duplicitous nature of the natives and the presence of actual god like beings adds just enough intrigue to make it worthwhile. As the story unfolds the "primitive" natives continue to be that main source of complexity; last issue we saw that they were not technologically inferior and now here in this issue we see that the air of subservience is but a guise as well which builds a fantastic mood of suspense as we wait for the other shoe to drop. It's that deconstruction of the noble savage trope that makes the world so interesting and I look forward to seeing it play out.
Art: Above all of that the main draw so far is the art by Haberline and the coloring by Van Dyke; together they bring a complexity to the mood and depth of characterization purely by images that the plot itself mostly fails to do. It a world of muted beauty that simply stuns the senses and immerses you completely into the world.
Grade:8/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 14, 2019 18:15:53 GMT -5
Usagi Yojimbo #3Written and Illustrated by Stan Sakai Colored by Tom Luth Summary: Usagi and Sasuke rout the puppet troupe once and for all.
Plot: I think this just might be the first time Stan Sakai and his intrepid Rabbit Ronin have ever disappointed me, but that's the rub of it. While I've enjoyed the past adventures of Usagi and Sasuke the demon hunter in the past for how they served to enlarge Usagi's world the plot here did none of that. The puppets were simply revealed too early, there was no mystery to them and with out that there was no terror...they were just ordinary. On top of that nothing occured here that told us anything about Usagi or even Sasuke which makes all the blander and further at three issues long it's more the pity that so many pages were used to say so little.
Art: While the story itself was disappointing the art continued to be top notch, the cityscapes our heroes dashed through here were so real feeling that I couldn't help but stop and just soak it all in.
Grade:5/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 14, 2019 20:22:18 GMT -5
Black Hammer/Justice League #2Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Michael Walsh Summary: As the League settles into life on the Farm the Spiral City heroes are met with skepticism from Earth's remaining heroes.
Plot: I started off last issue being really intrigued about what Lemire might have to say about the Justice League by dissecting them on the farm this issue was a lot of treading water. Instead of advancing the introspective journey we just got repetitive fish out of water scenes with Bruce getting dressed down by the Sherif for "patrolling" and Gail finding she can't swear in the DCU that we already saw last issue. It was fun to see once but more than that and it gets dull. There's great promise in the concept of getting to use "real" superheroes to explore the nature of superhero fiction and Lemire's proved he's equal to the task but right now he just isn't delivering the goods.
Art:The saving grace of the issue was that Walsh really proved he was the right man for the job here. Where Ormston worked so well on the regular Black Hammer series specifically because his style didn't look like your traditional superhero book Walsh's style definitely fits that modern big two look while still being able to deliver the unique Black Hammer weirdness as well. The scenes with Colonel Weird and Jon Stewart in the para-zone were just fantastic in their pure other-worldly fun.
Grade:6/10 |
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Aug 15, 2019 8:56:56 GMT -5
Once and Future #1 Written by Kieron Gillen Penciled and inked by Dan Mora  I was looking forward to this for the last month or so when I first found out about it. I'm a big fan of Dan Mora's work, especially when he was doing work for Power Rangers. Premiere issue here was okay. Typical setup. Essentially you have a grandmother who recruits her socially awkward grandson into what seems like a centuries old conflict dating back to the days of King Arthur. I guess I was expecting a home run in the debut read, but perhaps the expectation was too high. I have to say I was immediately turned off by the grandmother character, and I get the feeling I wasn't supposed to hate her. Oh well. The ball did get rolling here, so I'm going to at least give it a few issues. |
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Aug 15, 2019 9:08:44 GMT -5
Powers of X #2 Written by Johnathan Hickman Penciled/inked by RB Silva  Well, this was the big release of the week, and the alternating X-Books will probably continue to do so for the rest of the mini series every week. I think I liked maybe 2/3 of this one. The last couple of pages really confused me. The rundown of societies, and the intelligence scales. I guess I didn't feel like I had enough of a reason to care to read all of that, process it, and see how it relates to the story thus far (I did read all of the descriptions). Just felt like Hickman is introducing a lot of big ideas that aren't necessarily warranted. At least not now. BTW, this doesn't feel like a good jumping on title for new readers. I don't know anything about the Phalanx story arc, so I was lost there, and felt like I was supposed to know something. Weird, the more they go into the future, the less invested I feel. I recall someone making a comparison to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and when I heard that I thought it was spot on. Definitely not as vague as that film thus far or left up to personal interpretation, but with the big ideas, and expository dump via what seems like pages from a D&D player's guide manual I think I'm going to need a cup of coffee for these and/or read them a second time each week. Next week looks like things might pick up with House. Cover looks dope I have to say. RB Silva is killing it with the art on this book, so if I stick around at least I'll be able to be a recipient to that.  |
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Aug 15, 2019 9:19:28 GMT -5
Batman and the Outsiders #4 Written by Bryan Hill Penciled/inked by Dexter Soy  I'm still liking this book, even though the last two issues have been the team essentially trying to plan their next move while working for Bruce, and I guess still learning to be a team after getting their butts handed to them in the second issue by Ishmael, Ra's al Ghul's overpowered minion. This resulted in the loss of a meta-human girl getting kidnapped, and now they have to get her back as they fear she is being turned into a weapon by Ra's. Strangely, this is more of the same in issue 3 with the team taking a step back, but I liked this issue more so. Somehow, Bryan Hill has kept it from getting stale. It really appears things are going to pop off next issue so hopefully that's the case. I want to see the squad get another crack at it fixing stuff. I'm also really enjoying the conversations between Black Lightening and Batman. Hill's dialogue they have for both of them seems really slick at times. I also love the art on this book a lot. So much, that I'm going to take a look at Red Hood and the Outlaws with Soy. I also wanted to read that anyway since I like teams of 3, and it seems like a reverse trinity setup. Gotta say though, the covers have been pretty misleading about stuff that actually happens in the book, which is funny. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 15, 2019 9:22:47 GMT -5
Black Hammer/Justice League #2Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Michael Walsh Summary: As the League settles into life on the Farm the Spiral City heroes are met with skepticism from Earth's remaining heroes.
Plot: I started off last issue being really intrigued about what Lemire might have to say about the Justice League by dissecting them on the farm this issue was a lot of treading water. Instead of advancing the introspective journey we just got repetitive fish out of water scenes with Bruce getting dressed down by the Sherif for "patrolling" and Gail finding she can't swear in the DCU that we already saw last issue. It was fun to see once but more than that and it gets dull. There's great promise in the concept of getting to use "real" superheroes to explore the nature of superhero fiction and Lemire's proved he's equal to the task but right now he just isn't delivering the goods.
Art:The saving grace of the issue was that Walsh really proved he was the right man for the job here. Where Ormston worked so well on the regular Black Hammer series specifically because his style didn't look like your traditional superhero book Walsh's style definitely fits that modern big two look while still being able to deliver the unique Black Hammer weirdness as well. The scenes with Colonel Weird and Jon Stewart in the para-zone were just fantastic in their pure other-worldly fun.
Grade:6/10 This is the first time that I've had absolutely no interest in Black Hammer. I'm just not a fan of inter-company crossovers. They just almost always seem forced. |
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Post by BigPapaJoe on Aug 15, 2019 9:31:49 GMT -5
Go Go Power Rangers #22 Written by Ryan Parrott, Sina Grace Penciled/inked by Francesco Mortarino  After catching up the last 5 or 6 issues last month, this book really seems "meh", and kind of dragging on for me. It's actually been two issues after I think yet another reality reset even though Shattered Grid wasn't that long ago. Perhaps I'm not remembering correctly, but this was supposed to be a book before the arrival of Tommy...and I guess it still is that, but not really since Tommy is around...but went off on his own. Really, ever since Shattered Grid happened, and Kyle Higgins left the main book Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, things have just started to lull. Dropped that book a while back too. The art isn't that strong to necessarily keep me around, so if there isn't a knockout issue in the next couple of reads, might have to just move on. Sucks, because in 2018 everything was clicking so well. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 15, 2019 10:58:48 GMT -5
Black Hammer/Justice League #2Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Michael Walsh Summary: As the League settles into life on the Farm the Spiral City heroes are met with skepticism from Earth's remaining heroes.
Plot: I started off last issue being really intrigued about what Lemire might have to say about the Justice League by dissecting them on the farm this issue was a lot of treading water. Instead of advancing the introspective journey we just got repetitive fish out of water scenes with Bruce getting dressed down by the Sherif for "patrolling" and Gail finding she can't swear in the DCU that we already saw last issue. It was fun to see once but more than that and it gets dull. There's great promise in the concept of getting to use "real" superheroes to explore the nature of superhero fiction and Lemire's proved he's equal to the task but right now he just isn't delivering the goods.
Art:The saving grace of the issue was that Walsh really proved he was the right man for the job here. Where Ormston worked so well on the regular Black Hammer series specifically because his style didn't look like your traditional superhero book Walsh's style definitely fits that modern big two look while still being able to deliver the unique Black Hammer weirdness as well. The scenes with Colonel Weird and Jon Stewart in the para-zone were just fantastic in their pure other-worldly fun.
Grade:6/10 This is the first time that I've had absolutely no interest in Black Hammer. I'm just not a fan of inter-company crossovers. They just almost always seem forced. I'm not usually a fan either, but from what was given last issue it seemed like a commentary on those big crossovers in much the same way Black Hammer was a commentary of Superhero comics. Lemire still could still attain that but in this issue it just fell flat for me as the fish out of water gag can only really be played once and he did it already in the first issue. Hopefully something meaningful happens next issue, or else I think I'll be dropping it. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 15, 2019 11:03:29 GMT -5
Once and Future #1 Written by Kieron Gillen Penciled and inked by Dan Mora I was looking forward to this for the last month or so when I first found out about it. I'm a big fan of Dan Mora's work, especially when he was doing work for Power Rangers. Premiere issue here was okay. Typical setup. Essentially you have a grandmother who recruits her socially awkward grandson into what seems like a centuries old conflict dating back to the days of King Arthur. I guess I was expecting a home run in the debut read, but perhaps the expectation was too high. I have to say I was immediately turned off by the grandmother character, and I get the feeling I wasn't supposed to hate her. Oh well. The ball did get rolling here, so I'm going to at least give it a few issues. Yeah, this didn't grab me all that much either but I might give it another try. I'm not sure the idea of a group of White British Nationalists co-opting King Arthur is a plus or minus for me at this point, but it's certainly something new so we'll see how it plays out. |
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 16, 2019 15:02:33 GMT -5
I haven't participate in this thread for a while, but I bought FIVE comics this week (that's a lot for me; some weeks I don't get anything) and I wanted to stop by and say a few words about all of them. The Amazing Spider-Man #27I haven't bought Spider-Man regularly since the late 1980s and I haven't picked up brand-new Spidey off the racks since the early 1990s. But I saw this cover and thought it looked interesting and picked up my regular comics … and then went back and added The Amazing Spider-Man #27 to the stack. I love the villains and a super-villain team consisting of all women was certainly intriguing. Female versions of old-timey male characters has been a thing for a while, and I have no objections, as long it's well-done and not too contrived. And this issue of Spider-Man worked very well for me. A little humor, a little action, a little revenge accompanying the profit motive, these elements all helped make this a pretty good second chapter of an ongoing storyline. It was nice to see Aunt May doing something (starting a facility for the homeless) instead of just forgetting her meds, washing Peter's socks and having heart attacks. It was nice to see somebody making an effort to give Boomerang a personality. He's been around since the 1960s, running around in Tales to Astonish wearing one of the Silver Age's silliest costumes but you hardly noticed because he was drawn by Bill Everett. And I'm having trouble remembering ever having an opinion on him. The current characterization is definitely a step in the right direction. The best thing was the members of the Syndicate. The Beetle, Electro, Lady Octopus, Trapstr, Skorpia and the White Rabbit are an awesome team and I loved the way they worked together to beat Boomerang and Spider-Man and then focused on the mission. I want to see this bunch again, and I might start reading Spider-Man again if the creators can resist the urge to bring back Norman Osborne again or revisit the Clone Saga. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 16, 2019 17:45:28 GMT -5
I haven't participate in this thread for a while, but I bought FIVE comics this week (that's a lot for me; some weeks I don't get anything) and I wanted to stop by and say a few words about all of them. I haven't bought Spider-Man regularly since the late 1980s and I haven't picked up brand-new Spidey off the racks since the early 1990s. But I saw this cover and thought it looked interesting and picked up my regular comics … and then went back and added The Amazing Spider-Man #27 to the stack. I love the villains and a super-villain team consisting of all women was certainly intriguing. Female versions of old-timey male characters has been a thing for a while, and I have no objections, as long it's well-done and not too contrived. And this issue of Spider-Man worked very well for me. A little humor, a little action, a little revenge accompanying the profit motive, these elements all helped make this a pretty good second chapter of an ongoing storyline. It was nice to see Aunt May doing something (starting a facility for the homeless) instead of just forgetting her meds, washing Peter's socks and having heart attacks. It was nice to see somebody making an effort to give Boomerang a personality. He's been around since the 1960s, running around in Tales to Astonish wearing one of the Silver Age's silliest costumes but you hardly noticed because he was drawn by Bill Everett. And I'm having trouble remembering ever having an opinion on him. The current characterization is definitely a step in the right direction. The best thing was the members of the Syndicate. The Beetle, Electro, Lady Octopus, Trapstr, Skorpia and the White Rabbit are an awesome team and I loved the way they worked together to beat Boomerang and Spider-Man and then focused on the mission. I want to see this bunch again, and I might start reading Spider-Man again if the creators can resist the urge to bring back Norman Osborne again or revisit the Clone Saga. I had no idea Lady Octopus was a thing outside of Into the Spiderverse(which I loved) anyone know if this is her first "real" appearance or if there are others? |
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 16, 2019 19:21:25 GMT -5
Detective Comics #1009Mr. Freeze isn't in it very much. Deadshot's new costume is TERRIBLE! And Bruce Wayne comes off like a rude idiot who's not nearly as charming as he (or the writer) thinks he is. (Way too much like the Robert Downey Jr. version of Tony Stark.) But I liked this comic in spite of a number of misfires and bad decisions. That's quite a cliffhanger, guys!
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