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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 30, 2020 12:38:50 GMT -5
OFF THE RACKSReal Readers, Real Reviews  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2020 13:41:28 GMT -5
 Wonder Woman #763. Written by Mariko Tamaki. Art by Carlo Barberi and Matt Santorelli. The end of Tamaki's first arc on WW. This arc started off great but has fizzled. Basically WW is paired with Max Lord because someone is using his tech to mind control people. If he helps he gets to stay out of jail. However the person behind these mind attacks? His daughter. The Good: Tamaki just nails Diana's personality, her voice and what makes her unique in the world of heroes in the DCU. The concepts of Diana having to be teamed with Lord. The art by Barberi while a little cartoony was detailed. The Bad: The switch in artists just 2 issues in. The twist that the new villain is Lord's daughter fell flat. Plus she was too easily defeated by Lord. The ending to this arc felt rushed. Mixed feelings. Tamaki gets Diana like no other writer has in a long time. Her ideas are good. But her execution of her ideas are a little boring. She needs to develop her stories a bit better and "stick the landing" in the conclusion of an arc. Overall I see potential so WW stays on my pull list.
6/10. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 30, 2020 16:09:38 GMT -5
Wonder Woman #763. Written by Mariko Tamaki. Art by Carlo Barberi and Matt Santorelli. The end of Tamaki's first arc on WW. This arc started off great but has fizzled. Basically WW is paired with Max Lord because someone is using his tech to mind control people. If he helps he gets to stay out of jail. However the person behind these mind attacks? His daughter. The Good: Tamaki just nails Diana's personality, her voice and what makes her unique in the world of heroes in the DCU. The concepts of Diana having to be teamed with Lord. The art by Barberi while a little cartoony was detailed. The Bad: The switch in artists just 2 issues in. The twist that the new villain is Lord's daughter fell flat. Plus she was too easily defeated by Lord. The ending to this arc felt rushed. Mixed feelings. Tamaki gets Diana like no other writer has in a long time. Her ideas are good. But her execution of her ideas are a little boring. She needs to develop her stories a bit better and "stick the landing" in the conclusion of an arc. Overall I see potential so WW stays on my pull list.
6/10. I really liked her run on She-Hulk from a few years back, I might need to check her Wonder Woman out. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 30, 2020 16:38:24 GMT -5
John Constantine: Hellblazer #10Written by Simon Spurrier Art by Matias Bergara Summary: As John sleeps off his latest bender his future self comes to call in his dreams and they're far from sweet dreams.
Plot: For such a short run it's felt like such a long and winding road but with the tale here it really feels like we're on the end run. Though mostly made up of a series of short story arcs there have been small hints at connective tissue going back to the opening where we saw a mortally wounded Constantine sell his soul...to himself...for a chance at a fresh start. The purposes behind the elder Constantine's designs on the younger Constantine's soul were never clear and there wasn't much light shed on them now but the questions raised by what we were shown were incredibly enticing. It's clear the shadow monster was after the elder Constantine so it would seem he desires our Constantine's soul to battle the monster...but is it a completely self serving move simply to get his own a$# out of a sling or is the shadow monster the same creature that "killed" our Constantine and was in the process of devouring all of reality and the elder Constantine is stealing the younger's soul in a#%hole like attempt to safe the world? We don't know which, if either, option is right...but both motivations fit Constantine perfectly which is why it's such a great story. It would be easy to slap a goatee on the elder Constantine and just make him a mirror universe evil Constantine, but by making him so similar to the character we know his motivations are much more mysterious and make for a much more satisfying read. I'll be sad when this run is over because the ride has just been so fantastic but I'm sure I'll smile because it was so well done.
Art: I loved the way Bergara portrayed the dream quest here, every image is just so delicious. Everything feels just slightly off, and the further the story progresses into the minds of the two Constantines the more bizarre the imagery became.
Grade:10/10 |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 30, 2020 19:07:00 GMT -5
Batman: The Three Jokers #2Written by Geoff Johns Art by Jason Fabok Summary: As Jason Todd, the Red Hood, chases down a lead on the Jokers he ultimately finds himself in a very familiar place.
Plot: Two issues into this mini and I'm really left wondering what Geoff Johns is trying to say here; which is troubling because at this point page wise we would have already read The Killing Joke and although relatively short by modern standards that's a book that never once felt rushed...which makes it painfully obvious just how bloated and meandering this book is. Now, with the cast as large as it is you'd expect a slightly larger page count but that still doesn't explain away the efficiency of page use, especially as the whole concept of three Jokers is one of the main time soaks at this point. And while that wouldn't be terrible if we were getting in-depth characterization of the Joker...but we're not, and more than that it seems like one of them was just about unnecessary as other than a little bit of family drama over his death among the Bat-family the death has had next to no impact on the mystery. It literally had three panels devoted to it...and if he was so inconsequential why include him at all? Why not Two Jokers?? And that question brings us to elephant in the room as we haven't gotten any closer to why there are duplicates of the Joker to begin with. I don't expect to know the whole thing out right but at this point we should have a good guess but so far all we have are reasons why we didn't need more than one.
That said, I don't want to make it out like I abhor this book; from a certain point of view it's a pretty decent read...it's just that the point of view it works best as isn't the main focus. If you're looking for another iconic Joker story the above paragraph spells out why it falls short but as a story about Jason Todd and his journey from Robin to Red Hood and his future with the Bat-family the book really does nearly sing. The scenes where Bruce talks with Barbara about why Jason deserves a modicum of understanding about killing one of the Jokers give us a real sense that these people are an actual family underneath all the craziness of their comic book world and the scene where Jason and Barbara discuss how they dealt with their trauma at the hands of the Joker was a real, honest to goodness human moment. If that was the real core of the book my esteem for it would rise considerably...but instead Johns is fixated on explaining away the differences between the characterizations of the Joker over Batman's long publication history which is a story that really doesn't need to be told. There's still time to improve but if I'm honest with myself I doubt it will really come together but I think I'll keep reading just to see the parts that really do work around the edges.
Art: Jason Fabok's art continues to be the true strongest point of the book. Not only does he nail the sheer brutality of the plot, both physically and emotionally but he finds a way to bring balance to it as well with quiet, humanizing scenes that are beautiful. That balance isn't easy but it really works here with out having any scene feel dissonant to the bleak, almost horror film like mood of the overall story.
Grade:6/10
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 1, 2020 8:43:52 GMT -5
Tamaki gets Diana like no other writer has in a long time. Her ideas are good. But her execution of her ideas are a little boring. How would you compare her to Perez? I adored his characterization, but hated his plots. I kept reading anyway so long as Diana and her supporting cast were growing/evolving in meaningful ways. |
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Oct 1, 2020 8:47:25 GMT -5
but as a story about Jason Todd and his journey from Robin to Red Hood and his future with the Bat-family the book really does nearly sing. The scenes where Bruce talks with Barbara about why Jason deserves a modicum of understanding about killing one of the Jokers give us a real sense that these people are an actual family underneath all the craziness of their comic book world and the scene where Jason and Barbara discuss how they dealt with their trauma at the hands of the Joker was a real, honest to goodness human moment. If that was the real core of the book my esteem for it would rise considerably... Serious WOW. It's my general belief that the Batman franchise hasn't had anything left to offer me for decades now, but this might be worth checking out. I'll wait to see your impressions of the thing as a whole once it concludes. Thanks for this! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2020 9:12:44 GMT -5
Tamaki gets Diana like no other writer has in a long time. Her ideas are good. But her execution of her ideas are a little boring. How would you compare her to Perez? I adored his characterization, but hated his plots. I kept reading anyway so long as Diana and her supporting cast were growing/evolving in meaningful ways. too early to tell. Her focus has been on Diana not her supporting cast so far. |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Oct 1, 2020 16:10:31 GMT -5
but as a story about Jason Todd and his journey from Robin to Red Hood and his future with the Bat-family the book really does nearly sing. The scenes where Bruce talks with Barbara about why Jason deserves a modicum of understanding about killing one of the Jokers give us a real sense that these people are an actual family underneath all the craziness of their comic book world and the scene where Jason and Barbara discuss how they dealt with their trauma at the hands of the Joker was a real, honest to goodness human moment. If that was the real core of the book my esteem for it would rise considerably... Serious WOW. It's my general belief that the Batman franchise hasn't had anything left to offer me for decades now, but this might be worth checking out. I'll wait to see your impressions of the thing as a whole once it concludes. Thanks for this! My feeling right now is that it might not be worth checking out. There are individual scenes that are really solid, like I mentioned above, but the over all tapestry they are apart of just doesn't do it for me. In my mind, when it comes to the Joker less is definitely more so adding in two other Jokers was sort of a misstep right out of the gate for me especially since one can be killed off and have absolutely zero impact of the plot moving forward. We'll see though, Johns has written some solid stories in the past so he could pull it together but I feel like he should have gone smaller here because those scenes are great. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Oct 1, 2020 17:52:44 GMT -5
X-Factor #4. Written by Leah Williams. Art by Carlos Gomez and Israel Silva.
We interrupt your regular, just starting series of Missing Mutant Investigators X-Factor to present to you part 2 of our current massive crossover, Sword of X. In Part 1 of the crossover the mutants of Krakoa went to Otherworld to battle the demonic forces of Krakoa's sister-island, but were betrayed by their guide Summoner. The conflict ended with Rictor and Rockslide deadly injured before Opal Luna Saturnyne, ruler of Otherworld stopped the conflict and forced both sides to agree to a duel instead.
This issue deals with the fallout of the previous chapter: Rictor and Rockslide's resurrection process is started while Polaris is wrecked with guilt as she felt that she could have prevented Rockslide's death and Apocalypse is dealing with his own failure.
The Good: Not much, I'm happy to see Apocalypse showing some human emotions. Too often he's written as just this emotionless monster, while he now can show guilt and regret. The focus is still on Polaris, though I don't think this issue added much new to her character. And we get a bit more info on the new way Otherworld is now organized (probably inspired by the Seelie/Unseelie Court of Scottish folklore).
The Bad: X-Factor was just finding its own niche. The first issue was very promising, the next two were not my preferred direction but still dealt with the team itself and the search for missing mutants. This time the issue is completely disconnected from the ongoing series so far. Of the cast members only Polaris and Rachel make appearances and only Polaris has any significant role.
There is a bit of bad writing in here as well, as I can see why they felt the need to complicate the resurrection process to raise the stakes for the duel set up, but the way it's done is very "won't work because plot-reasons" couched in techno-babble. Another go at the script may have not made this so clunky.
My most disliked type of crossover where every issue of an ongoing series just get replaced with a chapter from another story. I generally prefer (if I have to have a crossover) that the individual titles still retain their cast and overall tone and just show how each character or team is dealing with the overarching story. Especially for a new series like this which is still establishing its own cast, this is very frustrating.
4/10.
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Post by profholt82 on Oct 6, 2020 20:23:01 GMT -5
My book of the week was: The Department of Truth #1James Tynion IV has weaved a thought provoking tale here, and the eyebrow raising ending left me looking forward to the next issue. The gist of the story seems to be that many of our major conspiracy theories (Kennedy assassination, moon landing, flat earth, etc) are indeed real, and there is a government organization called the Department of Truth which makes sure that these things remain conspiracy theories and the truth is not revealed. It's rather X-Files-esque. Apart from the interesting subject matter, what sets this book apart, and really makes it work, is the incredible artwork by Martin Simmons. It is impressionistic and often vague in an open-ended sense, allowing us to better identify with the protagonist who has been drugged and is learning of these incredible truths for the first time. And the colors are just as important to the story as the words, as in the mysterious woman in red who stands out from the rest. We get the impression that there is more to each panel than initially meets the eye. This was a captivating first issue.  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2020 0:15:20 GMT -5
My book of the week was: The Department of Truth #1James Tynion IV has weaved a thought provoking tale here, and the eyebrow raising ending left me looking forward to the next issue. The gist of the story seems to be that many of our major conspiracy theories (Kennedy assassination, moon landing, flat earth, etc) are indeed real, and there is a government organization called the Department of Truth which makes sure that these things remain conspiracy theories and the truth is not revealed. It's rather X-Files-esque. Apart from the interesting subject matter, what sets this book apart, and really makes it work, is the incredible artwork by Martin Simmons. It is impressionistic and often vague in an open-ended sense, allowing us to better identify with the protagonist who has been drugged and is learning of these incredible truths for the first time. And the colors are just as important to the story as the words, as in the mysterious woman in red who stands out from the rest. We get the impression that there is more to each panel than initially meets the eye. This was a captivating first issue. I enjoyed this issue quite a bit as well. Simmonds art evokes a Sienkiewicz feel for me, and I like it quite a bit. I also quite liked the idea that reality is created/reinforced by the belief of the people (much like the gods in Gaiman's American Gods). Conspiracy theories can become the reality if enough people believe in them as reality shapes itself to belief, and if that transformation occurs, it is retroactive. The Department of Truth's job is to ensure that enough doubt exists in these conspiracy theories exists and to reinforce people's beliefs in the current reality to prevent such transformations from happening-as seen in the first issue with the flat earthers-if their gambit to persuade people that the earth was flat via the excursion to the wall in Antarctica had succeeded, and people believed in a flat earth, the earth would have transformed itself to become flat and reality would have shifted so that it had always been flat and history itself would have been changed. The concept that reality is fluid and manifests itself based on a zeitgeist of sorts is an interesting extrapolation from things like Shroedinger's cat and uncertainty principles and eigenstates. And that surrealistic feel to the art adds tot he headiness of the reading experience. Of course the revelation of the head of the Department of Truth was a nice karmic touch too. -M PS I would up with the Jenny Frisson variant as that is what my lcs pulled...  -M |
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Post by hondobrode on Oct 12, 2020 3:23:42 GMT -5
Just read and enjoyed this. Anxious to see where it goes.
Also, the art is sort of a blend of Sienkiewicz and David Mack.
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