Thursday, February 16, 2012

Reviews for Army of Darkness #1, Batman #6, Amazing Spider-Man #679.1 and more!

Hello all.  Another week, another big batch of reviews.  Hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day and their valentine got them lots of comics!

Marvel Comics
Amazing Spider-Man #679.1:  Most of the .1 issues that Marvel has released over the months haven't done their job that well.  Amazing Spider-Man #679.1 actually does, and it's a good read as well.

Dan Slott and Chris Yost write this script, and their two styles mesh rather well.  So much so I couldn't tell who was writing what pages, something that can happen when two writers tackle an issue.  The story itself is sound.  It's a quick one and done, while setting up plot threads.  Having Morbius back is good angle, and it ends up making Peter's life much harder.  When kicking Peter down a little bit, it's always a difficult task.  You can't take away his job every time, so making it slightly harder being Spider-Man was a nice touch.  Most of Peter's coworkers have been cardboard cutouts, so developing one of them is good for long time readers.  The ending will please long time fans, and get the excited with anticipation.

Matthew Clark's pencils fit a Spider-Man book very well.  More so than Ghost Rider.  Morbius has an especially terrifying look to him.  While not spoiling the final page, it has a great look and hopefully Clark can come back when it comes time to tell that story.  His art would be a nice companion to the current Amazing Spider-Man artists.

Amazing Spider-Man #679.1 gets 4/5.


Dynamite Comics
Army of Darkness #1:  I have been a fan of Sam Rami's Evil Dead franchise for a while.  But I never made the dive into the Army of Darkness comics.  To understand this comic though, it seem like I will have needed too.

For those who haven't read the comics before, you'll be completely lost.  Elliott R. Serrano keeps the Ash we know and love out of the comic for the most part, focusing on this female Ash.  That's not a bad thing, as it's a fun twist on what fans know and love.  The history is very convoluted though, and Serrano does his best to give us the plethora of knowledge needed to understand what is going on.  He peppers the book with some pop culture references that gave me a chuckle.  But amongst the action going on, we don't know what's going on.  Ash is running and she is with a Deadite.  And someone is manipulating her. #1s are suppose to be a good jumping on point for new readers, but this doesn't work as a jumping on point.  Army of Darkness #1 is a very off putting book.  I shall be around next month, but maybe not for #3.

Marat Mychaels pencils a comically stiff comic.  Many of the action scenes are stiff and feel like someone staged two action figures and then took a picture.  When the action slows down, it looks slightly better, but most of the characters are awkwardly placed.  They stand in weird positions, making the reader just stare in confusion at the page.  The Deadite looks weird and seems to be a rip off of a 50's B-movie monster. If Mychaels is going to stay on this book, the art needs to step it up.  This art won't cut it in a day when we have artists like Paolo Rivera showing us how much comic books can do.

Army of Darkness #1 gets 2/5.

Marvel Comics
Avenging Spider-Man #4:  After a great opening arc, Zeb Wells gives us a one and done that doesn't feel completely right, but is still a good read overall.

Zeb Well's version of Hawkeye is an interesting take.  If we hadn't seen so much of Hawkeye in the last few months, it wouldn't be as jarring.  It makes Hawkeye a very fragile guy, when he is usually a rock.  The plot is interesting enough, and Wells continues to write Spider-Man in a great way.  Hawkeye and Spidey trade barbs and quips throughout the book, giving any reader a run.  Having the Serpent Squad be the villain is a little out there, but it's simple.  And that's what Avenging Spider-Man is all about.  Being an easily accessible book.  When the time comes for the new Spider-Man movie to come out, this will be the book that Marvel up sells, trying to get new readers aboard.  The book seems to be stalling a bit though, with the big crossover with Daredevil and Punisher coming up soon.

Regular readers know how much I hate Greg Land's art.  Routinely I rip him apart in my Uncanny X-Men reviews.  But his pencils actually work here.  His Spider-Man looks really good.  The people without masks even fare better, looking less staged.  Hawkeye looks good, with his facial expressions being more subtle than over the top.  Land's action scenes flow better than usual, with the weird energy fields he draws gone.

Avenging Spider-Man #4 gets 3.5/5.

DC Comics
Batman #6:  After last month's insane mind freak of a comic, Scott Snyder does some great character work with the Dark Knight.

Snyder makes the Court of Owls a throughly creepy group of villains.  It's very hard to create Batman villains who will stick around these days, and the Court of Owls will stick around for a while.  But the real splendor that comes from Snyder's script is how he characterizes Batman.  As a long time reader, I never thought that Batman would make it out of this, or that he would need help getting out.  But someone, he did it.  And that's what makes Batman a great character.  He took a beating, but still finds a way to analyze and exploit a weakness in an enemy.  His rousing speech almost gave me goosebumps.  Even better, he keeps checking his surroundings.  It's always assumed Bruce does this in a tough situation, but seeing him in this tough of a situation makes the reader that legitimately surprised when he does this.

Greg Capullo makes an entire issue of Batman getting his ass kicked look fantastic.  It's brutal, and the panel placement makes the fight hit that much harder.  The reader can see the terror in Bruce's face, and how he is rattling his brains trying to figure a way out of the situation.  Only Capullo could make an almost entirely white room creepy as all hell.  The little replica of Gotham that Batman and the Talon fight over is beautifully detailed.  How does Caupllo do all of this in one month?

Batman #6 gets 5/5.

Marvel Comics
Daredevil #9:  Time to break out the thesaurus people.  I need new adjectives to describe how awesome, good, amazing, whatever positive sounding word this book has become.

Mark Waid catches up readers on Matt and his father's relationship fast.  The Mole Man is an interesting villain for Daredevil, but Waid finds a way to make it work.  Reading how Daredevil is walking down the long terrain is interesting, and could almost make the reader hear what Matt is hearing while he walks down.  Much like Spider-Man, Daredevil is a relatable hero on the fact that he does make mistakes.  He makes a few in this issue, which ramps up the tension.  Waid even gives Black Cat some panel time, but enough that it doesn't take away from what Matt is doing.  Her actions make me all that much more exited for the upcoming cross over.  Waid does one hell of a job on Mole Man.  Mole Man isn't given much panel time overall, but in a few short panels, we understand why he is doing this, and also makes the reader sympathize with him.

Paolo Rivera's art, is as always, beautiful.  Many panels are frame worthy.  The thing that sets this issue apart from what Rivera's has done in past issues though is the little tricks with Daredevil's radar sense.  Having the monsters not move, thus fooling Daredevil.  It adds to the already tense script and opens up a cornucopia of possibilities for future issues(thank you thesaurus). Having most of the issue be in the dark was a nice choice.  It puts the readers in Matt's shoes, or the shoes of someone who can see.

Daredevil #9 gets 5/5.

Marvel Comics
Invincible Iron Man #513:  Matt Fraction continues to tear down Tony Stark, and as always, it's a great read.

For the past few months, we haven't been able to put our fingers on what the Mandarin has planned for Tony Stark.  #513 gives us a peak into that, with the Mandarin's attack on the Three Gorges Dam in China.  Most of the issue acts as a big battle, with Stark Resilient being surprisingly absent.  Rhody appears to cut down Tony even more, and leaves readers wondering how Tony is going to get out of this hole that he has dug for himself.  The Dynasty is just another super hero team that won't be shown unless a miniseries can be used for them.  The final few pages gives the reader a feeling of "oh THAT'S what he was doing."  And that's always a great feeling.  It makes you feel like every issue so far wasn't wasting your time or spinning it's wheels until the writer was ready to reveal what is going on.

Invincible Iron Man readers know what to expect from Salvador Larroca.  His talking head panels leave something to be desired, but the big iron suit fights always look great.  And sense most of this issues is the latter, it fairs better.  The final page is a combination of good and bad.  Some of the characters look great, and a few have some very odd facial expressions.

Invincible Iron Man #513 gets 4/5.  

DC Comics
Nightwing #6:  The Haley Circus angle has been hanging over this series heavily, but thankfully it comes to an end in a great way.

Kyle Higgins has uses the Circus angle well, even if it hindered the book to a degree.  But thankfully Nightwing is back in Gotham, and the story picks up quite a bit.  Higgins ties the story perfectly into the Dick's past, and shows us as readers why Dick Grayson is such an interesting character.  What doesn't work as well is Dick's realization of who Saiko is.  This character wasn't developed enough to be the main villain, and isn't above a normal goon in a mask.  While it's good to have Saiko be apart of Dick's past, some deeper explanation of who Saiko was could have been better.  No doubt we will see some of his past in the next few issues.  Higgins also ties the book into the overall plot of Batman, setting these books on the course for the Court of the Owls crossover.

I didn't realize that Eddy Barrows had help this month until I double checked the credits on the front.  Barrows' and Borges' art are impossible to tell apart.  Much like the past few issues, Barrows seems to be having a lot of fun.  It never gets old to see Dick jump from place to place and see how Barrows imagines him flipping through the air.

Nightwing #6 gets 4.5/5.

DC Comics
Supergirl #6:  I'll confess that I had never read a Supergirl book before the reboot.  Supergirl has since been a surprisingly strong book, even if the last couple of issues have been mediocre.

Unlike Simon Tycho, the book's first villain, Reign isn't nearly as interesting a villain.  She's a one trick pony and her back story isn't that interesting.  Even the ending didn't add that much in the way of interest to her.  Her attack on Earth brought Supergirl back, so she has some use.  Knowing a little more about Krypton makes everything a little more interesting.  Supergirl #6 stalls it's wheels a little bit.  Supergirl is still a good read though, and I never feel like my money wasn't spent well.  Michael Green and Mike Johnson could stand to give Kara some better characterization.  She still feels like blank slate.  I miss the overall consistent writing like the beginning of the series.

While the writing may be inconsistent, Mahmud Asrar's pencils have been nothing but great.  The coloring seems to also have settled down on a style.  The action looks fantastic, and Mahmud seems to be channeling Copiel and Immonen at points.  And that's nothing but a compliment.  It has a classic superhero look that every reader will love.

Supergirl #6 gets 3.5/5.

Marvel Comics
Uncanny X-Men #7:  Finally.  Kieron Gillen finds his stride on this new volume of Uncanny X-Men.

While yes he has started the book heading towards the quality he ended the last volume of Uncanny X-Men, I do have one complaint.  The issue's focus is still on non X-Men characters.  I'd really like to see Gillen write a great issue that focuses on the X-Men.  Now saying that, the battle between the Good Apex and the Bad Apex is a compelling story.  It ads a lot of depth to Tabula Rasa, and Gillen does the whole thing with tons of wit.  He also uses Danger in a way that is very interesting, which gives Danger something to do besides fly around the top of the battle while analyzing everything.  Storm gets a few good lines that gives her some great character moments.  He throws around tons of high concept ideas, but they are all explained in a way that won't leave anyone in the dark.

Unlike Avenging Spider-Man #4, Greg Land's pencils are the bad kind in this issue.  The same complaints I have had in the past few issues appear here.  Many of the characters have weird poses and facial expressions, and every power is shown with weird energy fields.  Psylocke can't go an issue whiteout the focal point of the panel being her ass.

Uncanny X-Men #7 gets 4/5.

Marvel Comics
Venom #13.2:  Another week, another part of Circle of Four.  The mini event is looking to be a good one writing wise, if the art could hold up.

Rob Williams does a good job of picking up lapsed readers with who X-23 is and her mission.  I'm not well read in X-23, so this was a nice touch.  Her antitheses is creepy and works well with the little info we are given about her.  But Williams doesn't completely focus on her, giving each character plenty of face time and having good character moments.  There is a weird thing that happens to Venom, given that we know it's a false, given the freaking title of the book.  If a writer is going to show us this, then give some more weight behind it.  But oh well.  Blackheart is used well, becoming more menacing as the event goes along.  I was surprised that Marjorie Liu didn't write this issue, considering she has done so much for X-23.

Sana Takeda's art doesn't fit this book well at all.  It's very shiny and doesn't fit the dark atmosphere that Williams is going for.  X-23's antithesis looks very creepy, and Ghost Rider and Venom get a few good panels, but that's the only redeeming quality for the art aspect of this book.  When Takeda was on Ms. Marvel, the art fit better.

Venom #13.2 gets 3.5/5.

Marvel Comics
Winter Soldier #2:  Ed Brubaker seems to be having one hell of a time with this book.  It's pure Cold War fun.

While having one of Red Ghost's apes attack Bucky with a massive machine gun is bad ass, it might have ruined the tone of a story.  But Brubaker finds a way to make it work.  He gives a much greater explanation for the history of these sleeper soldiers, and it fits well with the history of Bucky.  Much like I suspected, the final page from #1 was kind of a false pull, but it worked well in this issue.  What seems to be the book's main villain is an interesting choice, and Brubaker is making it something we don't see much in the Marvel universe.  Dr. Doom is always a target of assassination attempts, but Brubaker makes this one feel different and more interesting than past ones.  Brubaker also gives Bucky more guilt, which always makes Bucky more interesting.

Butch Guice keeps showing off every panel.  The beautiful snow covered panels are great to look at, and the Red Ghost's gorilla is just bad ass.  What gave me a big smirk was how Bucky and Natasha were dressed during the auction.  It was funny that they look like they are straight out of a 70's spy film, which works well with this story deep in Cold War history and threads.

Winter Soldier #2 gets 4.5/5.

DC Comics
Wonder Woman #6:  Wonder Woman has benefited the most from the DC reboot, and Brian Azzarello continues to make her life more interesting.

The main attraction of this book for me has been how Azzarello has used the gods.  There have been many moments in this series where you just sit there and say "oh so THAT'S what he is doing with this god....well played."  And thankfully he doesn't use obscure names.  They are all names that most people will know.  Azzarello ends the first arc well, giving the story plenty of momentum for the next arc.  The issue ends with a bang, with most of the issue being a fight between Poseidon and Wonder Woman.  Hades and Poseidon get some great one liners.  But overall, I do wish something more happened.  I read the issue again, and was surprised how little happened.  After issues #1-#5 having a lot going on, it was a little jarring.

It did sadden me to see again that Cliff Chiang wasn't on art duties, but Tony Akins art hold up the bar that Chiang has set.  The art mimics Chiang's art well, while still having it's own style.  Poseidon looks fantastic, and the look for Hades is very interesting.  It makes his great one liners that much funnier.  Again, DC finds a great fill in artist, where they match the book's artist well and giving Chiang some time to catch up.

Wonder Woman gets 3.5/5.

Old Comics
Amazing Spider-Man #679 gets 4/5.

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