Reviews for The Flash #6, Morning Glories #16, Wolverine & the X-Men #6 and a lot more!

Was a slightly smaller week than the past couple, but still a good week overall.  Only one bad comic, and I'm sure you'll see it coming when you see the cover.  With that said, on with the show!

DC Comics

Aquaman #6:  While Aquaman was off in the desert in last month’s issue, Mera was out having an adventure of her own.

While the issue isn’t that dramatic, it’s still a sound issue.  Geoff Johns gives us a glimpse into who Mera is and what makes her tick.  It’s fairly by the books stuff, but Johns makes it all interesting.  The scenes are set up well, especially the one in the grocery store.  The domestic abuse scene was a little over the top, as we just saw how strong of a woman Mera is and how she defends women.  Take out that, and then you have a perfectly written comic.

Ivan Reis is absent this month (for the most part), with Joe Prado finishing Reis’ breakdowns.  The affect works well, for the most part.  Mera’s flashbacks are perfect, where I couldn’t tell that they were breakdowns.  But in every other scene, the pencils lack.  Prado gives every character weird facial constructions, with many of them being overly elongated.  The action scenes look great, in usual Reis fashion.

Aquaman #6 gets 3.5/5.

Image Coimcs

Chew #24:  Yay! This is book is shipping on time.  The issue is good, even though I miss our main man Tony Chu

We get a glimpse of Tony near the beginning, but that’s about it.  What John Layman does in this issue is show us another talented individual in this world.  Layman’s creations never cease to amaze me, and the new one is another great addition.  And while the adventure with Olive and company is interesting and hilarious, I miss Tony Chu.  He is one of the big reasons I read this book every month.  And while it seems that #25 is going to deliver that in spades, it doesn’t make me miss him any less.  This issue seems to develop the Cibopath more into an interesting way.  And that’s what this issue is, a necessary story helper.  It’s a little boring, but helps the overall narrative.

Rob Guillory’s work is good as always.  But he steps up this month in the joke department.  Just scanning the background in the butter scene near the beginning had me crying laughing.  Even if Layman wrote them into the scene, they are perfectly executed Guillory.  The action scenes have their comic touch as always, and the chocolate guns look great.

Chew #24 gets 3.5/5.

Marvel Comics

Deadpool #51:  Where last issue seemed like the Deadpool of old, this seems like the Deadpool of late. Just not as boring.

Daniel Way shows the ramifications of Deadpool’s little chess game in this issue.  It’s all fairly predictable, but still a fun read for the most part.  Some characters say some very out of character things though, which really takes you out of a scene.  Compliments to Way though, he seems to be picking up on the character work that Rick Remender has done with him over in Uncanny X-Force.  The entire issue is by the books though.  And with this arc teasing the end of Deadpool, I thought we’d be getting something a little more grandiose in nature.  Something more substantial than just the usual arc.  It is better than what the book has been of late, but not as good as issue #50.

Ale Garza’s pencils look like what Carlos Barberi’s pencils SHOULD look like.  They are slightly cartoony, but not so over the top that it takes the reader out of the scene.  Somehow Garza keeps Typhoid Mary’s jacket from coming off, since that’s the only thing keeping us from seeing her head lights.  It’s good superhero work overall.  Doesn’t break the mold, but doesn’t shit on the mold either.

Deadpool #51 gets 3/5.

Marvel Comics

Fantastic Four #603:  Jonathan Hickman continues his event level story arc in an interesting and long reader friendly fashion.

One thing Hickman has always been great is giving solid endings to long time readers.  #603’s ending references stuff all the way back to the first few issues of Hickman’s run.  This entire arc seems to be paying off stuff that Hickman has been teasing for a while, and as a long time reader, I’m loving it.  It’s high concept, but still focuses on family.  And at their core, that’s the Fantastic Four.  I do feel like this hinders on you reading FF at the same time, so some readers might be turned off a bit.  As usual, Hickman has a great hold on these character’s voices and continues to show that off, giving every member some great panel time.

Barry Kitson has been doing a great job as fill in artist on FF and now Fantastic Four.  His pencils fit the cosmos very well, but his character look grounded.  The god killer looks impressive, although I’m never got the feeling it would destroy the planet if used a second time (something Val says right after the first use).  The Celestials look menacing, and Kitson actually has Galactus react.  Seems normal enough, but I have seen quite a few issues where Galactus is stoic and doesn’t react to anything.

Fantastic Four #603 gets 4/5.

DC Comics

The Flash #6:  Ah, finally one of the original Flash rogues makes their appearance. Sadly it's not as memorable as I would have hoped.

Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato do a good job of showing off Captain Cold's powers, but sadly we really don't know anything else.  We know the Flash gets in his way (in the way all criminals think the hero does) and that his sister is dying.  Of what? No clue. Why does he blame the Flash for this? No clue. I'm sure more will be answered in upcoming issues, but for now, I'm left with a bad taste in my mouth.  The little developments with Patty and Barry are nice and handled perfectly.  I can't get enough of the scenes with those two and Iris. One of the things I appreciate and enjoy the most is these two describing how the Flash does all this.  What makes up his suit and such.  As a science geek, it's fascinating.  The fractured story structure doesn't work as well as other books.  The dialogue in the boat scenes once the fighting starts are a tad flat.

As usual, the art is beautiful. The splash pages hold some of the best panel layouts in comic books.  Cold's powers are shown perfectly, and as usual, the Flash's speed looks great. The final page looks great, and hits home more than the dialogue. How do these two do this in a month?  While the writing could use some work, the art is perfect, and is always every month.

The Flash #6 gets 3.5/5.

Zenoscope Comics

Grimm Fairy Tales: Alice In Wonderland #2:  Oh boy. This comic. Dear god is this bad.

Look, I understand WHY comics like this exist, but why the hell do the writers have to phone it in so much?  It's obvious whoever buys this comic is buying it to look at Alice provocative positions, but that doesn't mean the writing has to be complete shit.  Raven Gregory just writes generic stuff.  It's nothing special, memorable, or even good.  There is dialogue here for the sake of moving the story along.  Looking at in respect to the original Alice, it does hold the very dark tone, but it fits the motif of a 13 year-olds wet dream.  Gregory adds violence for the sake of violence and treats Alice like an innocent girl.  And not a good type, I mean like an innocent girl who is begging for sex.  I had a hard time getting through this comic without deleting it from my Kindle Fire.

The art is exactly what you expect.  Robert Gill doesn't miss a chance to put Alice into another sexual position.  Be it on all fours, or having every shot be a shot down her cleavage, he penciled this for someone on the cusp of puberty.  It's hysterically stupid.  As I said before, I understand why this comic exists and who is going to buy this comic.  But at least try to include everyone in this.  Maybe not degrade Alice to the point where she can be viewed as something OTHER than something to have sex with.  It's kind of terrible.  Take a look at the variant covers and see what I mean.  I don't understand how they get away with this.  Why don't the young boys reading this just watch porn?

Grimm Fairly Tales: Alice In Wonderland #2 gets 1/5.

Image Comics

Morning Glories #16:  Much like in LOST, there are episodes where everything is explained.  And for people reading since #1, it's a great feeling to see this.

Nick Spencer goes back to the time traveling that Casey and Hodge did a few issues before.  We also see how Casey was accepted into the school.  The time traveling aspect is explained well, and doesn't break any new ground.  But it doesn't need too.  This is a comic that focuses on characters.  #16 sets up a lot of great plot threads that I can't wait to see Spencer tackle.  There was one scene near the end that just had me stunned, as it's a scene from a previous issues.  I'm not going to give it away, as you really need to read that scene.  We learn a good amount of Casey's past, and maybe something interesting that will lead to her future.  The new power thing-y that Spencer brings up is interesting and I'm very interested to see how he uses that in the present or during the rest of Casey's journey.

Joe Eisma does  a great job on pencils.  His characters are expressive as hell, making Spencer's already emotional issue hit that much more.  Readers can easily see the terror and sadness in Casey's face as she is talking to her father about what she is about to do.  His characters have become more defined in the time since #1, with the sketchiness being toned down.  His pencils suit a talking head comic perfectly.

Morning Glories #16 gets 5/5.

Marvel Comics

New Mutants #38:  After last issues date with the devil, it's time for a new arc.  And DnA start off the arc fairly well.

Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (DnA) set up this new arc well.  I'm not well versed in who the New Mutants are, but I got a grasp of who they are fairly well.  Cypher's opening scene was a great look into who the character is, and sets up the travel to Paradise well enough.  The entire issue is really Cypher focused, with DnA really making him a tragic character.  That's the problem with an odd numbered team book.  Someone is always left out.  DnA give the team ample panel space, even when focusing on Cypher's tragic storyline.  The twist near the end is nothing new, but it's going to give DnA plenty of time to focus on what these characters will do in a do or die situation.  And I'm coming back from now on because of these characters.

Leandro Fernandez's pencils are standard super hero work.  The guys are muscular, the women are sexy, but neither are to an extreme that would take the reader out of the experience.  The fight scene near the end gets a little confusing.  It's probably due to the dark nature of the setting, but a some definition in which character is which would have been nice.

New Mutants #38 gets 4/5.

Image Comics

No Place Like Home #1:  It's been said that every story has been every told, and that all new stories are just old stories with a new candy coating.  Well that's what No Place Like Home is, and it's good for the most part.

Angelo Tirotto is clearly channeling Wizard of Oz and taking it into a very dark place.  This is nothing new, as it's been happening a lot these days.  No Place Like Home does a good job of standing itself apart from the others by having the book filled with interesting characters.  I might be back next month strictly on the characters.  I would have liked if Tirotto would have been a little less transparent about the book's relation to the classic film, but that's just me.  Before I even opened the book I knew this was going to be about Wizard of Oz.  "No Place Like Home" and Dee Dee have a "surrender" tattoo on her chest just screams Oz.  That's fine, but it makes the book seem like it doesn't have as much of a plot of it's own.  Like it's just putting a new candy coating on an old story.  The murder twist is nice, and I'm interested to see how this ties into the classic story.

Richard Jordan's art fits the very dark story well.  The characters all look different, and there is definitely an air of despair in the atmosphere.  The murders of the birds look great and bloody as all hell.  It's good that Jordan's pencils don't mirror Dorothy from the original film.  With Tirotto's script not distancing itself far from the original source, it's nice that the art work does.  His pencils remind me a lot of Yanic Paquette's.  

No Place Like Home #1 gets 3.5/5.

Marvel Comics

Secret Avengers #23:  Almost three issues of Secret Avengers in one month?  Yes, I'll take that.

Rick Remender mostly focuses on Ant-Man this issue, while introducing Venom to the fold.  This seems to take place after the Circle of Four arc that is currently going on in Remender's other book.  Remender gives us a little peak into what the Descendant's are and how they came about.  It's all interesting stuff and gives the Marvel universe another race.  Venom's entrance is exactly what you would expect, with Hawkeye being a douche.  I'm not sure about Remender's handling of him so far, but he seems to be doing it for a reason.  Remender has a great grip on these character's voices considering he hasn't been writing the book for that long.  Ant-Man gets the most screen time though, showing that the character is an interesting character.  His inner monologue was a blast to read.  Beast and Giant-Man have some great back and forth.

Gabriel Hardman's pencils suit the book well.  I didn't think that his pencils would suit the espionage filled book, but they do.  The Father look terrifying, and the action works well.  Ant-Man sizing up and down looks fantastic.  The final few pages are tragic to read, and they are helped by the grisly fight scene that Hardman perfectly executes.

Secret Avengers #23 gets 4/5

Marvel Comics

Venom #13.3:  With the this mini even ending soon, there had to be an issue that stalled the story.

Jeff Parker takes over this month, with the focus of the book actually NOT being on Red Hulk.  It focuses on the potential future that each character would like to have.  It's kind of interesting, even if right away we realize that this isn't going to stay.  The last few pages set up the final two issues, but they also set up a very interesting direction for Hulk and Venom.  If Ghost Rider and X-23 where going to be staying around, this would make their books much more interesting.  In the overall narrative, it does stall the story, but it's not a detriment.  It serves it's purpose in an interesting way.  The Red Hulk doesn't as great a focus as Rob Williams gave X-23 and Ghost Rider, which saddens me a little bit.  I was hoping for some great characterization, but oh well.  It's still an interesting issue.

Julian Tedesco's pencils are consistent with what this event has given us.  The one big problem I had was that the second any character enters a little bit into the background, they start to loose all facial expressions.  The characters who are the focus of the panel have some great facial features and expressions, I just wish the background characters could have looked better instead of just having a smile, indifferent face, or frown.  His Mephisto is evil looking, and I'm surprised Marvel is going back to this evil look for him.  It seemed like he had become more of an anti-hero in some books.

Venom #13.3 gets 4/5.

Marvel Comics

Wolverine & the X-Men #6:  Marvel, you see that small Avengers vs X-Men banner in the corner?  Use that one from now on. The big one is ugly.

As with past issues, this book has been a blast to read.  I'll start by saying my only complaint, and that is the casino scene. It's fairly generic and we can see the ending coming fairly quickly.  But the ride there is still hilarious.  Quire and Wolverine going back and forth never gets old, and it's good to see Jason Aaron still having a great time even when the tension starts to pile on.  The Brood storyline is still pitch perfect.  Kitty is funny even in her dire situation, and the scenes in her body are hilarious.  I like having jokes peppered through the tumultuous situations.  It keeps me interested and makes me route for the characters that much more.  Every time I read this book, I just look forward to the next issue that much more.

Nick Bradshaw's pencils are also firing on all cylinders.  The detail that puts into each scene is simply stunning.  The variety of aliens at the casino is welcomed, considering some artists could have just phoned in the background characters.  The battle scenes in Kitty's body contain so much detail, I wonder how long it took Bradshaw to pencil those scenes.  I love Chris Bachalo's pencils, but I'd rather that Bradshaw stayed on this book full time.

Wolverine & the X-Men #6 gets 4/5.