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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 26, 2020 18:03:37 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKSReal readers, real reviews!  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2020 19:09:05 GMT -5
I wish I had time to contribute but right now I can't. Too much on my plate right now in my life. I will say I did like Daredevil Annual, Wonder Woman this week.
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 26, 2020 19:10:42 GMT -5
Usagi Yojimbo #12Art and Story by Stan Sakai Colors by Tom Luth Summary: Mifune loyalist Kato gives Usagi he seemingly can't refuse with a plan to embarrass Lord Hikiji politically. Plot: While the over all plot of the issue is solid, and I'm sure that the story will be important to Usagi as a character when it concludes...I have to say that in terms of energy I thought it felt a little flat over all. I think in part that maybe my negative feelings stem from the fact in my heart of hearts I know just how huge this story should be for Usagi and so I have this giant expectation that truthfully just can't realistically be met. Expectations aside though I do think there is at least one technical issue that is more objective and that is the fact that not only didn't Stan make me buy into Usagi's brief turn to a heel here for a single second and that misstep killed the tension you knew should be there in the build up to the visit of Shogun's Emissary to Usagi's village. Instead of the plot being thick with you wondering whether Usagi would actually risk {Spoiler: Click to show}
the destruction of his villagethe destruction of his village in order to strike at Lord Hikiji you are left only wanting to speed read through the pages until the inevitable team up with Kenichi which kills the pacing of the issue. Art: Although Gen is the character I most often associate with my favorite Samurai actor, Toshiro Mifune, with the hard edged look Stan gave Usagi in his heel scenes made me instantly see Mifune and then I couldn't un-see it making me read Usagi's voice as Mifune's for the whole issue. That ability to instantly take you away and and capture your senses is what really makes Stan's art so special; it looks simple at first glance but the tiny details are just breath taking. Grade:6/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 26, 2020 19:11:27 GMT -5
I wish I had time to contribute but right now I can't. Too much on my plate right now in my life. I will say I did like Daredevil Annual, Wonder Woman this week. I know the feeling, I struggled last week myself. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 27, 2020 9:06:06 GMT -5
Plunge #6Written by Joe Hill Art by Stuart Immonen Summary: The chips are down for what remains of the crew as Moriah swims down to the sunken vessel to release the child.
Plot: Joe Hill's take on Lovecraftian sea monsters has had a few rough spots along the way but in the final chapter he mostly sticks the landing. I say mostly because although the individual scenes work well on their own, delivering the appropriate amounts of tension and at times a little gross out/shock horror taken as a whole the pacing is a bit off as it races to the conclusion. The build up is nice with the alternating shots of the crew tied to the pillars as the tide comes in juxtaposed with Moriah nearing the strange vessel underwater, and the moment where Gage realizes his brother Clark had succumbed to hypothermia was beautiful in its quietness...but the monster had barely just escaped from the hatch before Gage had already figured out how to kill it and dispensed with the how through a single, giant, verbose word balloon which really brought the momentum of the story to a screeching halt and sucked any tension that could have been out of the finale. Still and all it was as entertaining as many a scfi-horror film as I've blissfully munched away on popcorn through in the past and sometimes that's enough.
Art: While Immonen had only a few scenes to play with his fully realized Lovecraftian horror before it was neatly dispatched by the hero I did really love how he portrayed the horror tearing at reality. The red on black designs viewed threw the tears in the sky were immediately arresting and the progression from cave paintings, to classical depictions of constellations, to jumbled layers of human bodies and finally just eyes was a truly great trip. It's just too bad it was over so quickly, I mean, I know that once you let the squid out of the box you have to put it back quickly but it would have been fun to somehow get more of it.
Grade:7/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 27, 2020 12:56:35 GMT -5
Batman: The Three Jokers #1Written by Geoff Johns Art by Jason Fabok Summary: On a single night three murders are committed at three separate locations in Gotham at exactly the same time...and the Joker did them all? Plot: Of late( and by that I mean around 2012ish) I've had something of a complicated relationship with Batman. The Caped Crusader is still hands down my favorite comic book superhero...but I've found his books to be some what lacking over what is now almost a whole decade with the Grant Morrison/ Paul Dini runs of the late naughties being the last time I've found the Batman books to be consistently good. I realize there are many others that have a dry patch going back to even before then( I'm lookin' at you shaxper  ) but it's something of a conundrum for me as before then I could say that no matter what I could find at least one good Batman story a month but I haven't for a while now. I liked the beginnings of Scott Snyder's stories, the idea of the Court of Owls was great, and I liked the way he re-imagined the Red Hood Gang and Robobat with Jim Gordon was entertaining...but his endings never seemed to stick their landings and when he latched onto the Joker it all went down hill and I jumped ship and for the first time in my life I was pulling zero Batbooks. I've tried to jump back on a number of times, not wanting to give up on a character that has always resonated with me, but neither Tom King, Peter Tomasi, James Tynion IV or even Warren Ellis have been able to get me to stay past a few issues for giving up again. I was starting to come to the point where I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe I had simply out grown Batman and could only enjoy what books I had liked in the past and no further adventures... but then came this along this long gestating story of a mystery of three Jokers and I was back at it again. I've read this issue a few times now and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. It's a book that almost seems tailor made to appeal to lapsed Batman readers like myself with the way it plays heavily on the greatest hits of the past with references to the Laughing Fish, the Five Way Revenge Batman 1989 and of course Death in the Family and Killing Joke. Further the opening draws on that classic pin up by Alex Ross of all the scars on Bruce's back; here Johns gives us the story of some of those scars belonging to battles with classic rogues like Killer Croc, Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman...and the Joker. Johns then takes the scars further looking at them metaphorically in how traumatic events leave their marks on us, and yes we get the alley scene with the pearls but we also get looks at how the Joker shaped both Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd which was far more interesting. That said, though it did appeal to sense of nostalgia, featured some of my favorite characters and it had a nice air of mystery to it however in the end it left me feeling slightly conflicted. Nothing about it was bad by any means...it's just that in the end it felt a little flat. It just seems to take itself a bit too seriously and although the idea of focusing on Bruce, Jason and Babs was a great way to explore different facets of the Joker it was a bit overwrought and in the end focused only on the surface details and the outcome was only violence and although the nostalgic elements were nice I have to wonder how things will unfold with only two issues remaining. Part of me wonders how much this story has changed since it was first teased four years ago? Would the pacing be different with other books to tie into it? Would it have been longer if it was taking place in the normal monthly book? With everything to unpack here concerning three separate Jokers from different eras of Batman's publication history I think that last concern is the most troubling. How do you tie up the concept of three Jokers coming together in such a short time? What's the purpose of using three versions? Johns often comes up with these big ideas but those kinds of plots can end up popping like a bubble just as often as they prove to be solid. All said and done, though hardly perfect hope that this story provides a sort of coda to an era of Batman I've always loved is enough lure to follow the story through to the end. Art: Though often beautiful( I especially loved the three Jokers) I think Fabok's art shares a little of the flaws of the plot it illustrates; it feels just a little too stiff at times. And although I do love the classic nine panel grid he employed through most of the issue I actually think the book would have benefited from a more cinematic feel at times to really play up the emotional side of the story and developing a greater sense of mood. Grade: 7/10 |
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 27, 2020 22:28:43 GMT -5
Batman: The Three Jokers #1Written by Geoff Johns Art by Jason Fabok Summary: On a single night three murders are committed at three separate locations in Gotham at exactly the same time...and the Joker did them all? Plot: Of late( and by that I mean around 2012ish) I've had something of a complicated relationship with Batman. The Caped Crusader is still hands down my favorite comic book superhero...but I've found his books to be some what lacking over what is now almost a whole decade with the Grant Morrison/ Paul Dini runs of the late naughties being the last time I've found the Batman books to be consistently good. I realize there are many others that have a dry patch going back to even before then( I'm lookin' at you shaxper ) but it's something of a conundrum for me as before then I could say that no matter what I could find at least one good Batman story a month but I haven't for a while now. I liked the beginnings of Scott Snyder's stories, the idea of the Court of Owls was great, and I liked the way he re-imagined the Red Hood Gang and Robobat with Jim Gordon was entertaining...but his endings never seemed to stick their landings and when he latched onto the Joker it all went down hill and I jumped ship and for the first time in my life I was pulling zero Batbooks. I've tried to jump back on a number of times, not wanting to give up on a character that has always resonated with me, but neither Tom King, Peter Tomasi, James Tynion IV or even Warren Ellis have been able to get me to stay past a few issues for giving up again. I was starting to come to the point where I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe I had simply out grown Batman and could only enjoy what books I had liked in the past and no further adventures... but then came this along this long gestating story of a mystery of three Jokers and I was back at it again. I've read this issue a few times now and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. It's a book that almost seems tailor made to appeal to lapsed Batman readers like myself with the way it plays heavily on the greatest hits of the past with references to the Laughing Fish, the Five Way Revenge Batman 1989 and of course Death in the Family and Killing Joke. Further the opening draws on that classic pin up by Alex Ross of all the scars on Bruce's back; here Johns gives us the story of some of those scars belonging to battles with classic rogues like Killer Croc, Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman...and the Joker. Johns then takes the scars further looking at them metaphorically in how traumatic events leave their marks on us, and yes we get the alley scene with the pearls but we also get looks at how the Joker shaped both Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd which was far more interesting. That said, though it did appeal to sense of nostalgia, featured some of my favorite characters and it had a nice air of mystery to it however in the end it left me feeling slightly conflicted. Nothing about it was bad by any means...it's just that in the end it felt a little flat. It just seems to take itself a bit too seriously and although the idea of focusing on Bruce, Jason and Babs was a great way to explore different facets of the Joker it was a bit overwrought and in the end focused only on the surface details and the outcome was only violence and although the nostalgic elements were nice I have to wonder how things will unfold with only two issues remaining. Part of me wonders how much this story has changed since it was first teased four years ago? Would the pacing be different with other books to tie into it? Would it have been longer if it was taking place in the normal monthly book? With everything to unpack here concerning three separate Jokers from different eras of Batman's publication history I think that last concern is the most troubling. How do you tie up the concept of three Jokers coming together in such a short time? What's the purpose of using three versions? Johns often comes up with these big ideas but those kinds of plots can end up popping like a bubble just as often as they prove to be solid. All said and done, though hardly perfect hope that this story provides a sort of coda to an era of Batman I've always loved is enough lure to follow the story through to the end. Art: Though often beautiful( I especially loved the three Jokers) I think Fabok's art shares a little of the flaws of the plot it illustrates; it feels just a little too stiff at times. And although I do love the classic nine panel grid he employed through most of the issue I actually think the book would have benefited from a more cinematic feel at times to really play up the emotional side of the story and developing a greater sense of mood. Grade: 7/10 I sometimes wonder if there’s ever going to be a good Joker story again. Death of the Family was certainly not it! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 28, 2020 5:44:44 GMT -5
Batman: The Three Jokers #1Written by Geoff Johns Art by Jason Fabok Summary: On a single night three murders are committed at three separate locations in Gotham at exactly the same time...and the Joker did them all? Plot: Of late( and by that I mean around 2012ish) I've had something of a complicated relationship with Batman. The Caped Crusader is still hands down my favorite comic book superhero...but I've found his books to be some what lacking over what is now almost a whole decade with the Grant Morrison/ Paul Dini runs of the late naughties being the last time I've found the Batman books to be consistently good. I realize there are many others that have a dry patch going back to even before then( I'm lookin' at you shaxper ) but it's something of a conundrum for me as before then I could say that no matter what I could find at least one good Batman story a month but I haven't for a while now. I liked the beginnings of Scott Snyder's stories, the idea of the Court of Owls was great, and I liked the way he re-imagined the Red Hood Gang and Robobat with Jim Gordon was entertaining...but his endings never seemed to stick their landings and when he latched onto the Joker it all went down hill and I jumped ship and for the first time in my life I was pulling zero Batbooks. I've tried to jump back on a number of times, not wanting to give up on a character that has always resonated with me, but neither Tom King, Peter Tomasi, James Tynion IV or even Warren Ellis have been able to get me to stay past a few issues for giving up again. I was starting to come to the point where I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe I had simply out grown Batman and could only enjoy what books I had liked in the past and no further adventures... but then came this along this long gestating story of a mystery of three Jokers and I was back at it again. I've read this issue a few times now and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. It's a book that almost seems tailor made to appeal to lapsed Batman readers like myself with the way it plays heavily on the greatest hits of the past with references to the Laughing Fish, the Five Way Revenge Batman 1989 and of course Death in the Family and Killing Joke. Further the opening draws on that classic pin up by Alex Ross of all the scars on Bruce's back; here Johns gives us the story of some of those scars belonging to battles with classic rogues like Killer Croc, Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman...and the Joker. Johns then takes the scars further looking at them metaphorically in how traumatic events leave their marks on us, and yes we get the alley scene with the pearls but we also get looks at how the Joker shaped both Barbara Gordon and Jason Todd which was far more interesting. That said, though it did appeal to sense of nostalgia, featured some of my favorite characters and it had a nice air of mystery to it however in the end it left me feeling slightly conflicted. Nothing about it was bad by any means...it's just that in the end it felt a little flat. It just seems to take itself a bit too seriously and although the idea of focusing on Bruce, Jason and Babs was a great way to explore different facets of the Joker it was a bit overwrought and in the end focused only on the surface details and the outcome was only violence and although the nostalgic elements were nice I have to wonder how things will unfold with only two issues remaining. Part of me wonders how much this story has changed since it was first teased four years ago? Would the pacing be different with other books to tie into it? Would it have been longer if it was taking place in the normal monthly book? With everything to unpack here concerning three separate Jokers from different eras of Batman's publication history I think that last concern is the most troubling. How do you tie up the concept of three Jokers coming together in such a short time? What's the purpose of using three versions? Johns often comes up with these big ideas but those kinds of plots can end up popping like a bubble just as often as they prove to be solid. All said and done, though hardly perfect hope that this story provides a sort of coda to an era of Batman I've always loved is enough lure to follow the story through to the end. Art: Though often beautiful( I especially loved the three Jokers) I think Fabok's art shares a little of the flaws of the plot it illustrates; it feels just a little too stiff at times. And although I do love the classic nine panel grid he employed through most of the issue I actually think the book would have benefited from a more cinematic feel at times to really play up the emotional side of the story and developing a greater sense of mood. Grade: 7/10 I sometimes wonder if there’s ever going to be a good Joker story again. Death of the Family was certainly not it! I used to think the same but Gotham Nights #6 by Mark Russell was an amazing Joker story that not only spoke to the modern world(having the Joker embrace TikTok challenges) but felt classic at the same time...and it didn't involve him killing half of Gotham. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2020 12:47:48 GMT -5
 Daredevil Annual 2020. Written by Chip Zdarsky. Art by Manuel Garcia and Chris Mooneyham. The return of Mike Murdock into the life of Daredevil. The Mike Murdock ID was used by Matt for the first time way back in 1967. It has been used infrequently since then. However when one of the Inhumans (Reader) helps Matt back in DD #606 he accidently creates a "fragment" of Matt - Mike Murdock. In this annual Mike uses a Norn Stone to rewrite reality and gain a true history with real memories. This annual tells the "new' history of Matt's childhood but with Mike now a part of it. Matt still becomes Daredevil and a successful lawyer. But Mike ends up running scams all over Hell's Kitchen with his childhood best friend Butch the son of Wilson Fisk. Usually big retcons like this are not my cup of tea but Zdarsky's passion and vision comes through making this idea interesting enough and very entertaining at least for awhile. 9/10. |
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Post by chadwilliam on Aug 28, 2020 20:25:52 GMT -5
I sometimes wonder if there’s ever going to be a good Joker story again. Death of the Family was certainly not it! I used to think the same but Gotham Nights #6 by Mark Russell was an amazing Joker story that not only spoke to the modern world(having the Joker embrace TikTok challenges) but felt classic at the same time...and it didn't involve him killing half of Gotham.  I thought the Gotham Nights issue thwhtguardian cited was alright and certainly miles ahead of most Joker tales since and including The Killing Joke, but it was issue four which really impressed me. Bruce Wayne is acting as a police informant against some of his rich and crooked high society "friends" and agrees to go to prison to get further goods on them. One hitch though, The Joker decides to break them out and offer them his services. The Joker is actually fun in this one - not the repetitive terrorist/mindless serial killer he's been for 30 + years - and as an added bonus, we get to see him interacting with Bruce Wayne in his bored playboy disguise. Kind of a trace of "The Joker's Happy Victims!" in this one. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Aug 29, 2020 14:56:46 GMT -5
I used to think the same but Gotham Nights #6 by Mark Russell was an amazing Joker story that not only spoke to the modern world(having the Joker embrace TikTok challenges) but felt classic at the same time...and it didn't involve him killing half of Gotham. I thought the Gotham Nights issue thwhtguardian cited was alright and certainly miles ahead of most Joker tales since and including The Killing Joke, but it was issue four which really impressed me. Bruce Wayne is acting as a police informant against some of his rich and crooked high society "friends" and agrees to go to prison to get further goods on them. One hitch though, The Joker decides to break them out and offer them his services. The Joker is actually fun in this one - not the repetitive terrorist/mindless serial killer he's been for 30 + years - and as an added bonus, we get to see him interacting with Bruce Wayne in his bored playboy disguise. Kind of a trace of "The Joker's Happy Victims!" in this one. Yeah, that was a solid story as well. I haven't been liking any of the mainstream Bat-books but Gotham Nights overall has been pretty solid. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 31, 2020 9:26:28 GMT -5
Thankful that Legion of Superheroes is going to continue, probably due in no small part due Bendis being at the helm. Yes it could move a little faster but I'm still really enjoying the series.
Not happy Hawkman is getting the axe. Sounds like Shazam will be coming back in some form, hopefully.
Going to try Eternals.
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) but it's something of a conundrum for me as before then I could say that no matter what I could find at least one good Batman story a month but I haven't for a while now. I liked the beginnings of Scott Snyder's stories, the idea of the Court of Owls was great, and I liked the way he re-imagined the Red Hood Gang and Robobat with Jim Gordon was entertaining...but his endings never seemed to stick their landings and when he latched onto the Joker it all went down hill and I jumped ship and for the first time in my life I was pulling zero Batbooks. I've tried to jump back on a number of times, not wanting to give up on a character that has always resonated with me, but neither Tom King, Peter Tomasi, James Tynion IV or even Warren Ellis have been able to get me to stay past a few issues for giving up again. I was starting to come to the point where I was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe I had simply out grown Batman and could only enjoy what books I had liked in the past and no further adventures... but then came this along this long gestating story of a mystery of three Jokers and I was back at it again.
