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Weekly Reading Pile: Week of 8/18/10

By wrathamon on 8/20/10 1:31am
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The Last Phantom #1- I felt like I watched the first episode of a cartoon reintroducing the character for a new audience. Which isn’t a bad thing, this was decently written with fairly solid art, but it didn’t really bring anything new and worthwhile to the table. It was all very predictable and just felt like they were going through the motions. Not really worth the $3.99, but there’s much worse to spend the money on as well. B-
The New Avengers #3- This series is mostly going to be worth it for the Thing/Spider-Man banter, and if there isn’t Thing/Spider-Man banter then it’s going to be disappointing. Thankfully, plenty of banter this issue! Plus, Immonen draws some pretty pictures. B+
Green Lantern Corps #51- I actually really like Green Lantern Hannu, mostly because he’s so ornery he refuses to use his ring and just punches the hell out of things. He’s kinda like if Ben Grimm became a Green Lantern, and that concept alone makes me happy. Besides that, mid-story arc and some decent developments. Noticed a lack of backgrounds throughout the entire issue, and while it didn’t hurt the story and everything was easy to follow it felt a little lazy. B
Brightest Day #8- Yay for Patrick Gleason Martian Manhunter! DC, THIS NEEDS TO BE A REGULAR THING. Seriously, They should have launched a Tomasi/Gleason Martian Manhunter title. IT’S NOT TOO LATE, DC, YOU CAN DO IT. Anywho, back to a slower plot development pace with this issue, which I don’t mind. B+
Marvel Universe VS The Punisher #2- I didn’t want to take the geek ground with this and judge it on something nerdy but seriously, if it was that easy to kill the Hulk someone would have done it already. The entire story just kind of hit a wall for me right there and that was four pages in. I shouldn’t care that much about one little thing, but honestly if you’re not going to kill the Hulk in a clever fashion then you shouldn’t have introduced him to your zombie-verse. That needs to be a rule. Same with the Venom kill, it was just really lackluster. Maybe your strapped for time and you had to kill fast, but it all just comes off as lazy here. This whole series just took one sharp turn into lacklusterville. The script also turned kinda boring for me, just kinda kept on with the ‘Blah blah blah, oh noes zombies, blah blah survivors disappearing blah blah God didn’t send me”. Still like the art though. C+
Captain America Forever Allies #1- Picked up this one late from last week, it’s an ok read since it’s Roger Stern and the focus on the old Young Allies is interesting. I just wish that for the $3.99 tag they would have given us more actual story and not another reprint of Captain America’s origin. It’s Kirby so yay, but still, there are enough reprints out there that if I wanted a reprint I would find myself a reprint. B-

The Last Phantom #1- I felt like I watched the first episode of a cartoon reintroducing the character for a new audience. Which isn’t a bad thing, this was decently written with fairly solid art, but it didn’t really bring anything new and worthwhile to the table. It was all very predictable and just felt like they were going through the motions. Not really worth the $3.99, but there’s much worse to spend the money on as well. B-



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Quickie Trade & GN Reviews

By wrathamon on 8/17/10 11:45pm
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Lackadaisy Vol 1- I’ve been waiting for this online strip to see print and wider distribution because it’s brilliant. Set in the late 1920's in St. Louis during Prohibition, Lackadaisy follows a cast of anthropomorphic troublemakers trying to survive bad times and violent competition. Tracy Butler’s art is smooth, clean, unique, and expressive. Her actual storytelling is fun and the story arcs are paced just right so they don’t drag but you find yourself wanting to read them over again because you wished they weren’t over yet. A solid package at $19.99, everyone should give this a try. A+
The Marvels Project HC- It’s a Brubaker/Epting collaboration, so of course it;s going to be a solid read with great art. Sort of a ‘behind the scenes of Marvels’ type of story about the onset of the superheroics during WWII, Brubaker fits in plenty of espionage and murder mystery into the larger framework of Marvel golden age history. The packaging isn’t bad, charging you an extra couple bucks over the cost of the original series for the oversized HC treatment plus all the covers. I think that my only problem with the series is that while it’s a good story, it isn’t entirely necessary in this time of endless flashbacks and throwback stories to add one more $3.99 series that just kind of gives you some added details to what happened the night Steve Rogers became Captain America or other key golden age events. There was nothing groundbreaking here. Sure, there were some cool ideas and a good meshing of the overall history, but nothing that I can actually look back and say ‘That made everything so much better once we added that to the background’. We get it already, we have the power to retroactively change comic history to fulfil our need for a more ‘realistic’ superhero world. Move on and tell us some current stories already. A-
Magog: Lethal Force TPB- Y’know, I think the worst thing about this series is just how disappointing it is that DC decided to take the character in this direction. I mean originally he was meant to be a stand in for the archetypical crappy ‘90's anti-hero in Mark Waid’s Kingdom Come series. Then Chuck Austin used him in Action Comics and well, no one remembers that. Then Geoff Johns actually introduced the current incarnation of Magog in Justice Society and not only did they give him an interesting legacy and background, but they actually sort of steered him away from being the dead end character he was destined to be. Then the Willingham run of JSA started and well......poop. He’s pretty much your typical Cable/Wolverine rip off with slightly better writing courtesy of Keith Giffen, but pretty much nothing interesting happens in this trade and we get a bunch of forgettable villains and stuff happens and so on. Howard Porter’s art is the type that can either be a good example of a stale ‘edgy’ ‘90s series, or something that can evolve into a more unique style of storytelling via Grant Morrison’s JLA. Unfortunately, we get the former here. Dissapointing. C+

Lackadaisy Vol 1- I’ve been waiting for this online strip to see print and wider distribution because it’s brilliant. Set in the late 1920's in St. Louis during Prohibition, Lackadaisy follows a cast of anthropomorphic troublemakers trying to survive bad times and violent competition. Tracy Butler’s art is smooth, clean, unique, and expressive. Her actual storytelling is fun and the story arcs are paced just right so they don’t drag but you find yourself wanting to read them again because you wished they weren’t over yet. A solid package at $19.99, everyone should give this a try. A+



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'Premakes' The Avengers

By wrathamon on 8/16/10 7:07pm
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Great 1950's style trailer for the Avengers borrowing from plenty of classic films 

 

Weekly Reading Pile: Week of 8/11/10 Pt 3

By wrathamon on 8/15/10 7:53pm
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Read Part 1 and Part 2

Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom #1- If you haven’t checked out a single of Locke & key you should go and pick up the first three collections ASAP and catch yourself up to this volume because it is brilliant. I already thought Gabriel Rodriguez’s art was brilliant but after him balancing his own style with a tribute to Bill Watterson? Yeah, this books deserves more attention. Hill keeps putting together great plots and amazing scripts and the unique blend off horror and fantasy makes this a unique treasure in the industry. A+
Welcome To Tranquility: One Foot in the Grave #2- I was ok with Horacio Domingues’ art in the first issue but it didn’t really stick with me like the art from the first series, but after this issue it really feels like it blends with the script and the style of the story Simone puts out. I was under the impression this was a mini-series, although now I can’t find anything saying that for sure online. I really really hope they let the series continue because it’s a unique story and Simone really shines with it. A-
X-Force: Sex & Violence #2- As much as I don’t really give a crap about X-Force, Wolverine, and the general X-books as a whole, I’m glad that Kyle and Yost just decided to have fun with a bloody violent story. Any book that sums up an adventure with “It’s all ninja, ninja, ninja....kill, kill, kill.”, knows what it is and just embraces the fact that this is just a mini-series with a lot of folks getting stabbed and shot and we should just enjoy the ride. Plus, the art is really pretty. B+
Transformers #10- I’m still amused that the Decepticons have teamed up with Kim Jong-il and North Korea. I really don’t need much in a Transformers book. I need giant robots (check), explosions (check), Optimus Prime being brave and self-sacrificing (check), and something just random and funny (check). B
Whispers In the Walls #1- It might have been the actual script or it might have been the translation, but the book was a bit clunky which sort of distracted from the entire story. The art was nice and the plot was interesting, following a little girl recovering from the death of her family at the hands of a virus unleashed by the Nazis. The virus drives it’s victims crazy and even mutates them into monsters, but that might not be as insidious as the secrets hidden by the hospital. The other problem that’s common with most European comics being translated to the US is the shrinking of the format. You can tell the book was supposed to be printed in a much large format and it suffers from the art and the lettering being squished. The content is interesting, but the overall package suffers a bit. B-

Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom #1- If you haven’t checked out a single bit of Locke & key you should go and pick up the first three collections ASAP and catch yourself up to this volume because it is brilliant. I already thought Gabriel Rodriguez’s art was brilliant but after seeing him balancing his own style with a tribute to Bill Watterson? Yeah, this book deserves more attention. Hill keeps putting together great plots and amazing scripts and the unique blend off horror and fantasy makes this a treasure in the industry. A+



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Green Lantern/Star Wars Series

By wrathamon on 8/14/10 12:19pm
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Awesome series of Lantern Corp/Star Wars mashups by G-e-e-r-s on DeviantART. Needs an Indigo and White Lantern!

Weekly Reading Pile: Week of 8/11/10 Pt 2

By wrathamon on 8/14/10 12:11am
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Read Part 1 HERE

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Weekly Reading Pile: Week of 8/11/10

By wrathamon on 8/12/10 11:55pm
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Read Part 2 and Part 3

Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #1- I’ve liked his work before but I’m really impressed with Fernando Pasarin’s art in this issue and it really feels like he kicked it up a notch. This is a Tomasi GL book so I think I was going to like it regardless, but he’s got a great handle on Gardner’s personality and the plot of the plan hatched with Ganthet and Atrocitus it pretty intriguing. Looking forward to a good run here. A
Thor The Mighty Avenger #3- You guys! A version of Hank Pym that I don’t hate or think is a wife beating douchbag! It’s a miracle! But seriously, it makes sense that the best book marvel is publishing right now actually introduces a version of a character that’s nearly impossible for me to find likable in current continuity. Plus, the pacing was great since they utilized the guest-star well for the actual plot developments while also introducing other aspects to this new continuity. Fantastic read. A+
Murderland #1- Hmmm. I wanted to like this more than I actually did, and while I do like David Hahn’s art the story was kind of a toss up. On one hand it’s just starting and working on building up, on the other hand it was kind of all over the place with no real solid focus on what was going on. Basically it’s about super-powered assassins doing stuff, I think. That’s kind of the best I can give you, because really it wasn’t that clear. And y’know, I don’t need everything given to me right off the bat but I need it to be a little more engaging. Not really bad, just not a strong first issue. C+
Incredible Hulk #611- I haven’t been buying ANY of the current Hulk books or keeping track of much of the crossover, so I thought it would be a good test to just pick up this issue for the hell of it, and also because I like Pelletier art and it looked like there was some good smashing going on. And yes! This was a very smashy issue with pretty art, and I will say I was surprised by how easy it was to jump in and enjoy it. Without knowing any of the real specifics of the past year besides his son wants to kill him, this climax story was pretty much just the big fight between the Hulk and his son with some flashbacks to Bruce Banner’s father beating him as a child. It’s all kind of painfully obvious but handled in a decent way with a good fight, and once you ignore how friggin’ ridiculous it is that every damn superhero has a messed up kid these days it’s a actually a pretty good issue. B
Superman #702- I’m still right on the fence as to whether this run is ‘ok’ (because it’s not amazing) or just obnoxious. First off, fantastic cover. I have no problem with the Barrows art so far in the run. He can draw great action and superheroics as well as just normal people and good facial expressions. Now, the fact that Straczynski tossed in an alien war machine and a big fight in his run that deals mostly with normal people and their problems kind of makes this feel like even he thought this stuff was going to get boring unless he threw in an actual sci-fi or superhero threat. I’m not saying the actual events of the issue were bad, although forcing immigration commentary into the story was obnoxious. I’m just saying they were out of place and kind of undermined  the whole ‘connecting with everyday people’ plot a little. Stick with your guns and push forward if that’s what you want to do. B-

Green Lantern Emerald Warriors #1- I’ve liked his work before but I’m really impressed with Fernando Pasarin’s art in this issue and it really feels like he kicked it up a notch. This is a Tomasi GL book so I think I was going to like it regardless, but he’s got a great handle on Gardner’s personality and the plot of the plan hatched with Ganthet and Atrocitus is fairly intriguing. Looking forward to a good run here. A



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Weekly Reading Pile: Week of 8/4/10 Pt 3

By wrathamon on 8/11/10 1:50am
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Magnus Robot Fighter #1- A solid reintroduction of the character and his world with some nice clean art. Magnus is one of those properties that I can take or leave and it just depends if the storytelling is sharp. Shooter’s script and dialogue were much more entertaining for this first issue than they were for Doctor Solar #1, and the overall package is a steal for $3.50 with a nice reprint of the first Magnus story in the back. B
Gorilla-Man #2- I love the character, I love parker, and I like Caracuzzo’s art, but I kind of wish this was a bit more exciting or engaging. A lot of time is spent with back story that I find myself to not really care about and then we get a reprint that has nothing to do with Ken Hale, all for $3.99. Again, the actual story if fine, I just kind of think the character is simple enough that we could have gone straight into a bizarre adventure starring Gorilla-Man and not a bunch of flashbacks starring Ken Hale. B
Batman Odyssey #2- Aggh, seriously you guys, the dialogue somehow got worse. HOW COULD IT GET WORSE? The art and the script are so goddamn distracting that I can;t even remember what the hell the plot is. Is there even a plot? Or is this crap just about shooting Bruce Wayne as many times as possible over the course of a series? D+
Shadowland #2- Y’know, just because you can make a limited series at $3.99 doesn’t mean you should make a limited series at $3.99. Everything happening here could have probably have been done in the main DD title. In this issue: stuff, ninjas, things, more ninjas, everybody makes scowling frowny faces, Matt Murdock is still a whiney little screw up, and then more stuff happens with ninjas. Hooray for stuff. C+
Shadowland Bullseye #1- At least someone had fun with the Shadowland, and that’s not really a surprise considering this is by John layman (Chew) with art by Sean Chen. A bunch of no good bikers called the Hell Riders and a few other henchmen and killers decide to throw a proper funeral for Bullseye after the events of Shadowland, so they kidnap Ben Urich and a bunch of other people and force them to attend. A fun concept pulled off well, the only problem is the price point and the fact that while this is a solid add on to the main series, it is just an add on that can be skipped over if you are trying to save cash. B+

Magnus Robot Fighter #1- A solid reintroduction of the character and his world with some nice clean art. Magnus is one of those properties that I can take or leave and it just depends if the storytelling is sharp. Shooter’s script and dialogue were much more entertaining for this first issue than they were for Doctor Solar #1, and the overall package is a steal for $3.50 with a nice reprint of the first Magnus story in the back. B



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Blackstar Warrior

By wrathamon on 8/10/10 11:43am
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Great fake trailer for a blackspoitation style Star Wars film starring Lando Calrissian

Weekly Reading Pile: Week of 8/4/10 Pt 2

By wrathamon on 8/9/10 11:28pm
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S.H.I.E.L.D. #3- Galileo vs Galactus! Evil Isaac Newton! The Deviant City! Really, this is friggin’ awesome and you should check it out. Also,Dustin Weaver’s art is blowing me away. Clean and simple and yet beautifully detailed. The painted covers by Gerald Parel are a great bonus. A-
Transformers Ironhide #4- This series was what it was meant to be, and that mostly a story about Ironhide being a hardass and beating the crap out of other robots. Nice little off mystery as well and Metroplex thrown in for fun. It’s not like it’s the greatest comic ever but it just embrwced what it was and had fun with it. B
Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #3- Good sci-fi style time traveling pulp action. There’s not much to add everytime I review this series besides reinforcing that Sprouse is one hell of an artist. If you were hesitant in checking this out because it’s not penned by Alan Moore you should really do yourself a favor and check it out. A-
Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #2- Jumping ahead to right before the introduction of Venom, The FF and Spidey have to deal with the symbiote as it posses every member of the FF in a desperate grab for the all powerful Franklin Richards. Cage has a good handle on all the characters and offers a solid fun script with good dialogue and an overall solid handle on telling a basic super-hero adventure. Toss in the amazing art by Mario Alberti and you have a great stand alone story. A
The Boys #45- This is pretty much the emotional clusterfuck we were waiting to read over the past three years so it’s interesting so see how Ennis will unravel the plot. Plus, the Homelander sub-plot has been getting plenty interesting over the past few months. B+
Deadpool Wade Wilson’s War #3- I’m kind of committed to finishing this story just to see if they ever decide if this a What If or whatever the hell they feel like doing, and I do like Jason Pearson art. But really, between the Deadpool saturation and all the different takes on the character and blah blah blah, this just counts as another unnecessary $3.99 expense. C+
Hit Monkey #2- I love all the somewhat serious dramatic angst the monkey displays. Besides that, it’s a basic revenge plot with some humor but overall it doesn’t really stand out. Talajic’s art is solid but it doesn’t really make this a stand-out package, and unfortunately it does kind of come down to the art because the story itself is sort of just there. Also, I guess I understand why Bullseye has been the popular villain for the past year or so with Dark Reign, Deadpool, and all the current Shadowland bruhaha and so on, but I’m more than a little tired of the fact that he even gets to fight the Hit Monkey. C+

S.H.I.E.L.D. #3- Galileo vs Galactus! Evil Isaac Newton! The Deviant City! Really, this is friggin’ awesome and you should check it out. Also,Dustin Weaver’s art is blowing me away. Clean and simple and yet beautifully detailed. The painted covers by Gerald Parel are a great bonus. A-



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