Jovian Reviews

I've decided to just start a one-stop place where I can throw all of my reviews (of various and dubious quality) onto this site.I know I've done posts similar to this before on the main comics board, but I've decided to consolidate my humble opinions in one spot.

TONS of SPOILERS to follow!

Here's my first entry:

Flash Gordon #2

Jeff Parker, Evan 'Doc' Shaner, and Jordie Bellaire

Dynamite

3.99I liked this one a lot more than I did the previous issue. The last one bought itself one more in my book, based mostly on the artwork of Doc Shaner. Forget the 70's movie stuff, this is the story of a fun-loving and empty-headed adventurer and his two partners in an alien land. This book is pure fun. And it's from Dynamite. If not for the art by Shaner, I never would have given this a look. I am so glad I did. I hope they hold on to Shaner, because Parker and Bellaire are turning in their A-game as well.

Wonder Woman #31

Brian Azzarello and Goran Sudzuka

DC

2.99

Family and political drama comes to a head in the best darn run this title has ever seen, in my humble. I love that, as Azzarello brings his streak on this book to a close, he is starting to draw his storylines together. The sons of the Amazons are given their due in this issue, for one thing. I also like that, not only was Zola's son Zeke stolen from her in this issue, but that very thread is brought to an end before the pages run out. That's not to say that there is no cliffhanger. The big battle is just about to start.

Deadly Class #5

Rick Remender, Wes Craig, and Lee Loughridge

Image

3.50

Rick Remender treats us to his experience during a bad hallucinatory trip through the protagonist. The whole thing, which is first seen as the introductory sequence, which extends throughout the entire issue, shows the frightening experience of being on LSD, and is perfectly conveyed throughout the issue. The art by Wes Craig reminds me of Matt Wagner's Mage and more his Grendel. It's a refreshing style to revisit.

Trees #1

Warren Ellis and Jason Howard

Image

2.99

This is a sci-fi concept of aliens where we really don't see the actual aliens. The "trees" are these huge spaceships that have come down to form colonies (?) here on Earth, where they dispel their waste onto the planet periodically. That waste destroys everything around it. The aliens came in search of intelligent life, and they didn't deem us intelligent. It's a great concept, and I can't wait to see where Ellis takes us.

Saga #19

Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Image

2.99

Prince Robot's son is born (in his absence), Alana is working short-term as an actress on a sci-fi soap opera, Marko's face is all bandaged up for some reason, and life continues almost as normal (for awhile, anyway) for the Saga family of characters. This issue moves the story along nicely. This book somehow does a lot in each issue, but never seems overly wordy and heavy. I wish all comics had this characteristic in common.

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  • I've been waking up in the middle of the night lately. Not sure why. My blood pressure is much closer to normal than it was when I was sleeping through the night. I did have a long nap yesterday when I got home from tutoring, which may account for last night, anyway. But enough about the reason why, the fact is that it allows for some middle-of-the-night reading time. (Even though I know that's not the best way to get back to sleep...)

    So last night, I read:

    Elektra #2

    Marvel

    Blackman and Del Mundo

    3.99

    I don't have the deepest relationship with Elektra. Outside of guest appearances in Daredevil and Wolverine, and her role in Charles Soule's Thunderbolts, I really know nothing about her. But I have to think that this book is very much a departure from her other stories. She's going up against an assassin to stop him from assassinating. But this is no ordinary assassin. He is very much feral and wild, but possesses a pretty smart brain as well. He's also like that guy in Chew, where he gains the memories and emotions of anything (and anyone) he eats. So yeah, he's a pretty scary guy. The artwork I thought was a big departure at first, but then I think back to perusing the book Elektra Assassin (I bought it a little while back, but haven't yet read it), and I think probably follows along those lines pretty well. It's a very beautiful book to just look at. Highly recommended to fans of visually arresting violence.

    Avengers #29-30

    Marvel

    Hickman, Yu, Alanguilan, Gho

    3.99

    Well, when a story point happened in Original Sin, everyone started learning the truth about each other and themselves for the first time. The past few years of healing between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers seem to have been erased now. Ah, well, easy come; easy go. So once again, everyone's pissed at each other, only this time it's Hickman style instead of Bendis style. I really hope this the endgame or even the big arc of where Hickman is going with this whole thing. The art by Francis Yu is as beautiful as ever. It's just that the story seems like we've looped back onto a well-traveled road.

    Iron Fist #3

    Marvel

    Kaare Andrews

    3.99

    This was kind of brutal. Poor little kid Iron Fist went through a lot of torture after his parents died, both physical and mental. This is a gut-wrenching account of his upbringing. I like how Kaare Andrews uses a pretty bold line in his artwork. This one isn't your picker-upper, but it is a great little story that goes somewhere interesting in the end.

    Then, I read four more comics on my iPad on the treadmill at the gym just now, but I'm afraid to try to stand up the way it is, so those will have to wait until later.

  • Yesterday's treadmill reading:

    Inhuman #2

    Soule, Madureira, Gracia

    Marvel

    3.99

    While Charles Soule is an excellent writer, the real star here is Joe Maduriera. His art could easily be seen as "90's", but it looks really great. I've actually never understood his critics, other than that it's cartoony, but that's never a complaint where I'm concerned. The story is also not bad--the Inhumans, led by their queen, Medusa, are now headquartered in a piece of their galactic ship right next to Ellis Island in New York. This, of course, causes friction between the Inhumans and the rest of the world. Captain America steps in and helps Medusa save the day. This seems to be a book dedicated to anyone becoming an Inhuman, as well as Black Bolt's royal family. While I get the premise, I just don't really find this all that interesting.

    Moon Knight #3-4

    Ellis, Shalvey, and Bellaire

    Marvel

    3.99

    Wow, this book reminds me so much of Planetary in its tone and scope, you would never guess it was a Moon Knight book. It's almost impossible to describe. In issue 3, Moon Knight has to fight against ghosts, which sends him to his warehouse to armor up against the supernatural. In issue 4, he fights the supernatural in a way as well, this time into a man's mindscape to find the identity of his killer. Both are relatively simple stories, but so complex that they gain more through rereading. The art is absolutely stunning. Shalvey has a scene where MK is gliding through the air after being released from his plane--which I believe is more of an ultralight--where you can hear the silence. This six-issue run will go right up there with the best that Marvel has produced in recent memory.

    Original Sin #3

    Aaron, Deodato, and Martin

    Marvel

    3.99

    This was confusing and gross.

    I like seeing the odd teamings that Jason Aaron has thrown together--Moon Knight, Gamorrah, and Bucky; Emma Frost, Ant-Man, and Black Panther; Punisher and Doc Strange--but other than that, it's mostly about eyeballs. The Watcher's eyeball, Nick Fury's eyeball, and the Orb (whose head is a great big eyeball). Take this and throw in a really nasty scene at the end which is meant to shove the movie universe into the comics universe, and you can color me jaded. This is the first issue of this mini that has left me feeling this way, so count me in for one more issue at least, but if it's like this one, I'll be out before the end of this series.

    Here's today's/last night's insomnia reading:

    Guardians of the Galaxy #14

    Bendis, Bradshaw, Wong, and Ponsor

    Marvel

    3.99

    In my opinion, this book took a serious turn south in terms of art quality when it switched from Sarah Pichelli to Nick Bradshaw. I liked Bradshaw's work on Wolverine and the X-Men, but the more stylized his work becomes, the less a fan I am. And it's a huge departure from Pichelli, which is quite jarring. Also, I don't get how Venom (Flash Thompson) suddenly fits into the picture. There are also some back-ups featuring Groot and the future Guardians of the Galaxy, which were mildly entertaining.

    Uncanny Avengers Annual #1

    Remender and Renaud

    Marvel

    4.99

    This seemed a bit silly. Mojo traps the UA in his little world somehow, and forces them to be a part of his reality show. This was a total commentary on the nature of reality television, and somehow a supernatural version (The Avengers Dark? Worked for the Justice League...) comes to be a part of the equation. It seemed like a throw-away issue, to be totally honest. I love everything Remender is doing with the main title, but this story just didn't fly for me. Maybe it's that, because of my college degree, I know too much about the inside-world of the communications industry, but I don't really think that's it. What really did shine here was the artwork! Paul Renaud looks like his style is on its way to being the next Ryan Sook. There is a lot of similarity between these two artists. The art was beautiful.

    And here's today's treadmill reading:

    Black Widow #7

    Edmondson and Noto

    Marvel

    3.99

    If you thought Phil Noto's artwork was worth a second look before, but thought his sequential work left a little to be desired, then you're in good company. But evidently the Phil Noto who did that work on Danger Girl did some research on sequential storytelling, because his work on Black Widow is awe-inspiring. This talent is on full display in this issue, which features Daredevil. Nathan Edmondson is doing something very deft in using the cat as a metaphor for Natasha here, which could be seen as ham-fisted, but it's used so slightly that it doesn't come off that way at all. It's really well-done. I also like how Isaiah is becoming less of a story-tool and becoming more of a fleshed-out character with this issue. This book is a really well-crafted masterpiece, with each issue standing on its own. Highly recommended.

    Punisher #6

    Edmondson and Gerads

    Marvel

    3.99

    Much like Black Widow, Nathan Edmondson melds incredibly well with his artist. Unlike Black Widow, each issue does not stand on its own. But that's okay. It's cool that we can see the same writer doing things in two separate ways. Punisher has been battling Electro, and this issue makes some real progress on that front, but a few steps back on another front. I like that they had Domino come in, and instead of making her the "big guest star", she played just about the right size role that made sense for the story. I actually think she might make an interesting supporting cast member in this series. And I am a huge fan of Mitch Gerads' artwork--perfect for this title.

    Daredevil #2

    Waid, Samnee, and Rodriguez

    Marvel

    3.99

    Matt Murdock is now in San Francisco and face to face with the Shroud. I know nothing about the Shroud. He is very much played up here as Marvel's Batman (even the "Get out of my city!"), but he seems to actually be a bad guy? Daredevil is also tipped off that The Owl is now in town also, but he--in a seeming bit of foreshadowing--laughs it off as no big deal. Samnee's artwork is incredibly simple. If he ever gets tired of Marvel (though I would hope not), I'm sure he would fit right in over in the world of the BPRD at Dark Horse.

  • Loving the reviews, WS.  Keep 'em coming!

  • Thanks for the affirmation, John!

    As a result, more to follow soon!

  • Insomnia...treadmill...insomnia...treadmill. I'm kind of surprised these reviews are even coherent. I hope you get a good night's sleep soon, because I don't want to hear about you on the news. In the meantime, keep 'em coming.

  • WS said:

    This seemed a bit silly. Mojo traps the UA in his little world somehow, and forces them to be a part of his reality show. This was a total commentary on the nature of reality television, and somehow a supernatural version

    Which makes this the second or third time that I know of Marvel has used Mojo for the exact same purpose.

  • Yesterday I got an antibiotic from the doctor, which has helped my coughing fits (and the resulting headaches) down. Last night I got my first solid night of sleep in over a week! No insomnia reviews today, but I did read a couple issues of Mighty Avengers on the treadmill this morning, so those reviews will come later.

    Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod) said:

    Insomnia...treadmill...insomnia...treadmill. I'm kind of surprised these reviews are even coherent. I hope you get a good night's sleep soon, because I don't want to hear about you on the news. In the meantime, keep 'em coming.

  • Mighty Avengers #9-10

    Ewing, Land, Leisten, and D'Armata

    Marvel

    3.99

    If one thing has changed, it's my impression of Greg Land's art. I'm not saying it's always been good, but I do have to say that it is a good fit for this title. Either his style has changed slightly, or I have changed. I'm not sure. But I love it on this title. These two issues revolve around two characters: 15% Blade and 85% Blue Marvel. I knew nothing (NOTHING) of this character before these two issues. Now he is one of my favorite Marvel characters. This poor guy has been through the wringer, both personally and professionally. Issue 9 deals with the personal side, and issue 10 deals with his super-hero life. Both of them show a real depth to the character that feels age-old, even though I'm not really sure how long this character has been around.

    LOVED these issues. This is one of the best Marvel titles coming out right now, and this from a company that is doing SO many things right these days.

  • This morning I read the first half of Manifest Destiny vol. 1. This is awesome.

    Manifest Destiny vol. 1

    Dingess, Roberts, and Gieni

    Image Comics

    9.99

    So far (I believe I'm three issues in), this is amazing. This is the story of Lewis and Clark (and the Corps of Discovery) in an alternate world that is full of mythical creatures. So far we have kind of a hybrid centaur/minotaur and some moss zombies. Of course, I'm a guy who teaches Lewis and Clark every year. I had to stop myself from saying, "Wait, that's not right...", even with the non-fantasy stuff. But man, what they get right, they get right. And the artwork looks a lot like Tony Moore's, but it's not beholden to it.

    This is just a fantastic, original idea for a comic book series. Who would have thought?

  • Al Ewing and Charles Soule are giving the kiss of life to moribund comics, and I'm excited.

    Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man said:

    Mighty Avengers #9-10

    Ewing, Land, Leisten, and D'Armata

    Marvel

    3.99

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