Over winter break, I've read many more comics than normal, just enjoying getting caught up. My best reading time is in the a.m. Here are some of them, using Cap's old rules for reviews. By the way there are SPOILERS!
The Ray #1
DC Comics
Gray, Palmiotti, Igle, and Perrotta
2.99
This was pretty fun, and it was also pretty light. The character interactions are pretty cool--a surfter-type lifeguard gets struck by a beam from outer space. I liked it because it was different--the main character's parents and friends all know about his identity and he seems to like having powers. I've ended up reading a lot more of the DC52 than I thought I would, so I'm not sure I'll continue on with this series. I enjoyed it, but it was only pretty good, and I simply don't have time to read it right now on a continuous basis.
Uncanny X-Force #18
Marvel Comics
Remender, Opena, and White
3.99
The Dark Angel Saga comes to an end at last. This is a great book. Remender has given us such a rich story here, and all of the dangling plot threads are tied up. I can't wait to go back and reread the whole thing at once. The artwork is awesome. Favorite scene: Phantomex shows up in Kid Apolcolyps's simulated childhood to "wake him up" because he was needed. The simulated childhood was very reminiscent of Clark Kent's life on the farm with Ma and Pa Kent. Whether this was on purpose or not, I liked it, because it shows that Phantomex was trying to give Apokolypse a nice, innocent childhood in the hopes for a better adult version than what we've had in the past.
THUNDER Agents #1
DC Comics
Spencer and Craig
2.99
I didn't read the first mini series. I saw this one, and I thought I'd give it a try after thumbing through it. It spelled out everything I needed to know, and the artwork was pretty good, and a little different than a lot of comics out there--not unlike what the art on Captain Atom right now. We've seen a lot of stuff from under the ground in comics lately, or maybe I'm just thinking of Avenging Spider-Man.
Replies
I know this says "Winter 2011/2012", but I hate starting a new thread each time I add a review. Moderators, if you can get rid of that part of the title, I'd appreciate it. If not, I can live with it! :)
Anyway, I read through part of my back stack today, namely the six issue mini-series called DCU/Wildstorm: Dreamwar today. I do believe this was dreadfully under-read, as I've never heard a thing about it. I, for one, really really enjoyed this. SPOILERS AHEAD!
The story: The DCU's super-hero landmarks seem to have suddenly arrived in the Wildstorm U (okay, the former Wildstorm U, which post-Flashpoint is all now the same thing...oh, never mind...you know this unless you've been living on the moon for the past year). Titans Tower, Themyscira, the Legion crashed rocket/HQ, and the Hall of Justice have all shown up and all they know is that this "Chimera" guy wants them to kill the heroes of the WSU. The WSU teams see these groups (the JLA, Teen Titans, and Legion--somehow in present day) as super-villains hellbent on destroying them. Of course, we all know that the WS heroes are much more violent and willing to kill than most of the DC heroes. We learn early on that Chimera is actually a guy living in a trailer and dreaming that they are destroying each other so that they can all learn a lesson.
Chimera seems to be a stand-in for fans who can't accept things being different than they were when they were kids. This is clear even before he says as much when the DC characters are all in their most basic and well-known classic states. The Legion is Keith Giffen's gigantic, colorfully costumed cast (this is before his "5 years later" stint). Yes, I realize that this could be from an earlier iteration, but the earliest Legion I've read is Giffen's, and I'm not sure how many of those members existed before that. The Justice League is the Big Seven, including Hal Jordan and who I assume is Barry Allen (because Wally is busy in the Titans). The Teen Titans are the Marv Wolfman Dick Grayson as Robin along with Donna, Wally, Gar, Kory, Cyborg, and Raven.
The characters from the WSU are slowly killing off the DCU characters as they see them as the villains (and eventually, vice versa), and the DCU heroes react stoically at first, up until a few of them start to realize that something is wrong. At last they start working together and eventually right the wrong with the universe, sending everyone back to where they belong unscathed.
The writing: I really did love this for what it was. The story is by Keith Giffen. At first I was put off by Wonder Woman's reaction to Midnighter's killing of Green Arrow in battle ("Unfortunate"), but then I was glad when the DCU heroes started noticing that because of those kinds of reactions, something was wrong. Seeing these characters together and interacting was pretty fun. Even if they are all part of the same universe now, here they are in their pre-Flashpoint forms and throwing down against each other and, of course, teaming up as well.
There were also some pretty great story points: seeing Hal Jordan and Batman team up in a tribute to the X-Men's "fastball special" that was still unique to both characters; the JSA crashing in on Tranquility, the old folks home of the WSU; seeing Superman interact with Midnighter and ask when "being a Boy Scout" became such a bad thing; the brilliant use of the Atom's technology teaming up with the Engineer at the end; and seeing some teams from the WSU that I knew of but had never really read about (Stormwatch, Wetworks, Tranquility) as well as those that I had read to some extent or another (Authority, Gen 13, Wildcats, Stormwatch).
The art: Loved the artwork. Lee Garbett was incredible teamed up with Trevor Scott. Seeing the Legion in their original uniforms drawn with Garbett and Scott's clean style made them look incredibly modern. The Teen Titans have rarely looked better, save possibly by Tom Grummett. I think it's a crime that the post-Flashpoint DCU doesn't have Garbett drawing any titles. I could easily see him doing a series with either Majestic, Gen 13, or Wildcats, let alone Teen Titans, the Atom, or even Superman).
I realize that I'm probably in the minority, but as I've said before, I'm happy to see the Wildstorm U now a part of the DCU. While I have yet to be satisfied by this new infusion (where the heck are the Wildcats?), this did a lot to hold me over until it becomes official. In fact, it caused me to pull out all of my limited Wildstorm books (the ones I still own) to give them another read. I don't think it's any secret to say that this story has no lasting ramifications for either universe at the time, which is part of what can make you just sit back and enjoy the story for what it is: A colorful, semi-serious/semi-funny tale of two universes that leads to some great character interactions and nice moments.
Jeff. Just press 'options' then 'edit discussion' up in the top right-hand corner of the original post, and you should be able to change any aspect of the opening post, including the title, yourself.
That's how I keep updating the hyperlinks on my Morrison thread - and changing the title of it as the whim takes me.
Sweet! Looks like you (or someone else) took care of it for me! Thanks! I always remind people that I'm pretty much a Luddite when it comes to these new-fangled computers. ( :-) )
I've learned a lot about how the formatting etc operates through all my posting here of the last few years. Recently, I attended a training session at work about the new system of keeping our office/university web-page up to date. The system is the exact same as we have here, more or less. So I've been learning something useful at least, despite myself.
I already posted this in "What Comic Books Have You Read Today?", but I'm going to toss it in here after the quest for more reviews (I didn't think people really read them...):
Batman: Death by Design
DC
Writer: Chip Kidd
Art: Dave Taylor
This morning I read Chip Kidd's Batman: Death by Design. This is a pretty great Batman story with some really nice artwork from Dave Taylor. Some of the head shots actually look almost photographic without looking photo-referenced. The story is about architectural terrorism, but it's more than that. We get some new characters that I want to read more of, some subtle romance, and some humor in there as well. Even though the Joker is present (I could go 20 years without reading anything about the Joker, easily), he's not the overlay villain of the whole story. Plus, of course, the packaging just looks nice, so if you're into your books as a product, this is highly recommended.
American Barbarian
AdHouse Books
Writer and Artist: Tom Scioli
The first time I read this book, I was only kind of impressed. I had enjoyed his artwork before, but this didn't look quite as finished or something I couldn't quite put my finger on. But on a second reading, this really does feel fun, energetic, and imaginative. The title character is the youngest of seven brothers, and the rest of them are jealous of him. They cast him into a pit, and like Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, he prospers in the end. And this definitely isn't the last of the biblical references. The rest of the story is pretty darn convoluted, but I wouldn't say this is a bad thing. What we get reminds me of a lot of old Heavy Metal tales, complete with Two-Tank Omen (who looks like a giant Egyptian with tanks for feet...yes, you read that right, and think about the name...), flowing red, white, and blue hair, a love interest, a character who looks like Chewbacca in a Scream mask, and what feels at times like a descent into madness.
Tom Scioli is the artist on Joe Casey's Godland, which--in all honesty--I've bought in its entirety but haven't read. I know, that's foolish. But I do love the artwork. I had no idea what kind of thing I would be getting into here, but I know that this book has been praised on podcasts such as iFanboy and 11 O'Clock Comics, so when I saw Mr. Scioli sitting there at the Summit City Comicon, I walked up and introduced myself and bought a copy of the book. Before he signed my copy, he drew a head sketch of the main character which covered the inside title page. Like Death by Design, this is a very handsome volume, a nice little hardcover with nice thickness to it. This isn't for everyone, but it is very cool if you get into the insanity and can hang up your Jim Lee expectations at the door.
The Green River Killer: A True Detective Story
Dark Horse
Writer: Jeff Jensen
Artist: Jonathan Case
This book is not only chilling, but it's also a very human story about Detective Tom Jensen. I grew frustrated as he went through the tedious monotony of a cooperative and uncooperative "suspect". I can't imagine doing that kind of work. Reading this just really made me sad. There was a little bit of an upswing in the ending, though. But still. Not really my kind of thing, I guess. I'm more just...depressed when I read stories about serial killers.
Baltimore: The Plague Ships
Dark Horse
Writer: Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Artist: Ben Stenbeck
World War I ends with a plague in this world, and in come the vampires to feed on the plague-infested dead. Lord Baltimore is determined to wipe them all out. I never read the prose novel, which is evidently the precursor to this book (although this one isn't a sequel, necessarily), but this read just fine. Lord Baltimore's tragic origin is revealed within these pages, so there is no confusion.
I've spoken here before about my appreciation for the Hellboy Universe, and this seems to fit right into that world, whether it's intended to do so or not. Something about reading a Mike Mignola book sets mood better than most--through the still panels of items in the setting--to make the reader just a little bit unsettled, while the fantasy parts of the story bring enough comfort to make you relax and just enjoy a world that is inhabited by giant bats and fungus zombies.
Recommended to anyone who enjoys Hellboy or BPRD.
Last night a massive storm wiped out my power for about four hours. Most of these comics were read by candlelight. That was pretty sweet.
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe #2
DC
James Robinson, Keith Giffen, Philip Tan, Howard Porter, Ruy Jose, Livesay
2.99
Yeah, look at the size of that creative team. This helps explain why it is both confusing in the storytelling sense as well as being so late. The first issue had so much promise. This one is a major fumble, such that I will not be coming back next month (or in two or three months, whenever the next one comes out). There is a part with Skeletor and a woman who appears to be a handmaiden. At first it looks like she's trapped in an invisible case, then he holds her up by the throat, then in the next panel, he seems to be holding her by her left breast. In the fourth panel in of the sequence, she appears to be turned into stone. But we have no idea because the whole time, Skeletor is giving a monolog about Beast Man's failure at apprehending Prince Adam. Howard Porter's art really suffers here (I get the feeling he was called in to do some last minute work) and Philip Tan wouldn't be too bad if only they would put him with an inker who can clean up his work. But no, not recommended.
Wolverine and the X-Men #16
Marvel
Jason Aaron, Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend
3.99
Kade Kilgore returns with more tween jerk actions, shows us how he came to be, takes us on a tour of his new breed/s of Sentinels, and establishes his new status quo as leader of the Hellfire Club. The art by Bachalo is beautiful, which is why I picked this one up. I don't really have much affection for these characters, nor the Phoenix Five, who appear briefly. Awesome art, pretty good story, completely unlikable characters.
Punk Rock Jesus #3
Vertigo
Sean Murphy
2.99
This one spans quite a few years. It is infuriating, heartening, and very pretty. Much ground is covered here, as Chris, the clone born to a virgin while all the world watched (and continues to watch). This takes you from the time Chris is about five up to high school. I like the storytelling here. I've read online about a lot of people who had problems with it, but I really don't have the same qualms. I do hope that by the time this is in trade form, and hopefully it does well, that they will put out a color version of this book. This touches once again on religion, organized religion, reality TV, cloning, and big business. Very well done. Somehow the book doesn't seem rushed. And there is room for the surprise at the end of the issue to breathe nicely.
Stumptown vol. 2 #1
Oni
Greg Rucka, Matthew Southworth, Rico Renzi
3.99
You may pass this by as "another tough lady detective by Greg Rucka" (see also: The Question, Batwoman, GCPD, and like-minded ladies in Whiteout and Queen & Country). That's exactly what this is. But you know what? All of those books were amazing. So is this one. Picking up after the previous volume of Stumptown, which is in a beautiful hardcover, Dex takes on her first P.I. case in her new business. I love that her first case has nothing to do with a murder; it's a rock star who has lost her beloved guitar. Of course, things nevertheless turn violent, and we're left wanting more. Love Greg Rucka's writing, and Matthew Southworth's art reminds me of whoever did Alias by Bendis many moons ago.
The Goon #41
Dark Horse
Eric Powell and Mark Buckingham
3.50
This is a sad and horrific tale of a magical bum. People and fate stab each other in the backs, and parts of it are almost funny--almost. Expertly done by Eric Powell. Powell writes the second story with art by Mark Buckingham (you know that's gonna be pretty too!), in which a Solomon Grundy-like guy is created with a mad-on for The Goon. This is the first of four, so more will be revealed next month. Great as always. You truly never know what you're going to get with this book.
Prophet #28
Image
Brandon Graham and Giannis Milonogiannis
3.99
There was a price jump I hadn't noticed when I bought this one (well, it was on pre-order), but I really don't mind enough to drop it. John Prophet is reunited with Diehard from ye olden days of 1993 or thereabouts. As totally UN-like Liefeld as this artwork is, I do like how when Diehard returns, he has Liefeld-like proportions. I normally understand about a quarter of what's going on in this book, but I really don't mind. I love how cosmic-weird it is. It's the kind of thing that I assume is better read by blacklight when you're in college, dressed in flannel, hair over your ears, and the the faint smell of incense in the background while you're in a dorm room with Stone Temple Pilots playing. That's what this feels like.
Saga #6
Image
Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
2.99
Almost as hard as explaining Prophet to someone is this book. But it's also really good. Really really good. I like the rocket grown from the planet. I like the ghost girl, the bounty hunter, and the robot prince. I like the bounty hunter's cat. I can't wait to meet D. Oswalt Heist now that I've seen his picture. I love that the baby's horns under that white hood makes it look like Finn from Adventuretime.
Okay, I have more in my stack. I will get to them later. I need to go now.
Ghost #0
Dark Horse
Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto
2.99
This wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as I expected, either. There wasn't a whole lot of characterization in the title character. I followed her for awhile in her original run as a part of Comics Greatest World way back in ye olden days. I bought the first issue of her title (the dollar issue) with art by Adam Hughes. Phil Noto is definitely a worthy successor to Mr. Hughes, but I thought with DeConnick on the writing that we might get a more hard-nosed version of the character than the near-mute version that doesn't seem to know what's going on. This issue does consist of the three issues from Dark Horse Presents, so hopefully this is just more of a lead-in than anything. I will probably read the actual first issue of the series and see how that plays out. At least I know it will look nice!
Rocketeer Cargo of Doom #2
IDW
Mark Waid and Chris Samnee
3.99
I love the way Cliff Secord comes off as just a human being with very human fallacies. This characterization comes off very much as Peter Parker in a lot of ways--always saying the wrong thing to a woman, always just trying to do the right thing, and making up the rules as he goes along. I love the artwork; I love the writing. The supporting characters in this book--Sally, Betty, Peevy, Earl...you almost get the feeling that each of them could have a book of their own. Luckily they're all packed into this fun book that I hope sticks around for a long time.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Micro-Series #6
IDW
Mike Costa, Ben Epstein, and Mike Henderson
3.99
Casey Jones takes the spotlight in this issue, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out. The hockey playing human sidekick to the turtles chases down his personal demons in this one-off with a little help from Raphael. I like these one-shot story spotlights on individual characters. This one has some action and some pretty convoluted father-son relationship stuff going on.
Glory #28
Image
Joe Keatinge and Ross Campbell
2.99
When the New 52 was about to start, there was talk that Brian Azzarello's Wonder Woman was going to be a horror comic. I avoided it because of that at first. Then I learned that it wasn't that at all, and now it's one of my favorite monthly titles. That having been said, if it was a horror comic, I get the feeling it would probably be something like Glory. And to my surprise, Glory is one of my faves as well. As always, the art is great, the story is bizarre (but not Prophet-bizarre), and to top it all off, the last couple pages just about scared the bejeezus out of me. I'm ready to see what happens next.
The only one I've read in your reviews (so far). I agreee it was really well done, and I'm glad we got to visit with the character of Dex. It is also nice when you ratchet it down a bit, instead of always trying to ramp it up. Although by then end we may have a ton of dead bodies, but it at least starts on a smaller scale.
The artist you are thinking of is Michael Gaydos, I would agree with that with a little Sean Phillips in there as well.
With Ghost, I was fully expecting to be buying the miniseries that follows the DHP appearances... but they really didn't do a whole lot for me. Noto's art is great, but I'll probably give the three parts another read before deciding on issue 1. It didn't grab me like other DHP series (Resident Alien and now The Creep).
I bought the original Stumptown series on Comixology, but I still haven't read it. Gotta get on that!
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