Now we are in full gear with Avengers vs X-Men. The tie ins are starting to be released. The same with Night of the Owls. Was a good week, with a few books missing the mark, but most of them were good. Boston Comic Con is this weekend (April 21st-22nd) and I will be there tweeting till the battery on my phone is dead. Will hopefully catch a couple of panels as well. But on with the show!
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| Marvel Comics |
The one thing that this event has had going for it is that both sides are very understanding. This didn't happen in Civil War, where the pro-registration side were shown as evil bastards. Jason Aaron delivers on lots of fighting, with minimal plot development. But the title is called Avengers vs X-Men, so this shouldn't be surprising to anyone buying this. And since it ships on a bi-weekly schedule, it's easier for one full issue to be fighting. It looks like the next issue will leave Utopia, which works in it's favor. Aaron goes against normalcy and adds dramatic narration, and it works very well. It sets the tone of this event being an all out war, much in the way of the Civil War (the real one, not the comic one). Friend against friend. Tragedy is built throughout the issue. While I question Wolverine attacking Hope right away, it still seems like great strategy. One thing I'd like to see in the next couple of issues is a clear statement of what the Avengers and X-Men have planned if the Phoenix Force comes to Hope.
John Romita Jr. continues to be the master story teller. A lesser artist wouldn't be able to contain all the detail in every character, or have them look anything but rushed. Everything looks great. Action scenes are brutal, with the reader feeling every broken bone from the heroes. JRJR seems to have fixed the problem with Cyclops' eye beam, giving it the right amount of angle to make it seem like it's shooting into the background. There are only two weak panels. When Hope is running near the end of the book, and Magik bringing Dr. Strange into Limbo. But when the rest of the issue is beautiful, who could care less.
Avengers vs X-Men #2 gets 4/5.
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| DC Comics |
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| Marvel Comics |
Fraction does a good job of giving readers a reason to sympathize and like Namor. He is a very egotistical character, sometimes to the point where he is unlikable. Tying Namor into Captain Nemo was a stroke of genius. It fits well with the history of the character and adds a bit of depth to him. Fraction also moves along his plot well enough, keeping readers interested in this sometimes very high concept idea. With this the third member centric issue coming next month, Fraction has done a great job of leading from one story to the next without it seeming forced. It flows naturally from one member to the next. As per usual with Fraction's Defenders, the book is very funny, with Red She-Hulk becoming the lighting rod for it. At least when Danny Rand isn't in the issue, she is. With the next one focusing on Iron Fist, it will be filled with humor. And the Immortal Weapons are making a return, so that's enough of a reason to buy it as any.
Mitch Breitweiser's pencils have been good in the past, but don't fit well with this trippy book. His pencils are very reminiscent of Sean Phillips in Marvel Zombies. Good, but not exactly great for the scenario. When the scenes quiet down, and leave the ocean, the pencils start to shine. But having so much in the page muddles everything. With every character having breath bubbles around their face, it makes everything hard to make out. It doesn't help that Mitch and Bettie Breitweiser's colors are flat, unlike the past few issues which were vibrant and popping off the page.
The Defenders #5 gets 3/5.
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| Marvel Comics |
The Incredible Hulk #7: One good thing about this issue, Whilce Portacio is done on art.
Jason Aaron deals with the ramifications of last issue very well. Hulk's characterization is well enough, and it makes the future of this book interesting. While the art has been horrendous, Aaron's take on Hulk has kept me around each month. One thing that this issue did wrong was Von Doom's (female) role. She was there to spout one liners, bad ones mostly, and take panel time away from the Jade Giant. Hopefully she won't appear much in future issue, or Aaron will find a reason for her to be around each month. Hulk's inner monologue, while Banner is being killed, is very strong, and really help sell the situation. With the first arc done, I wouldn't call this series a success yet. It's interesting, but on the edge of being dropped from the pull list. With the next arc having Hulk being in a Crank type scenario, the book looks to keep readers on.
Since Whilce Portacio has been on the book, I have wished that the book wasn't a comic. Why is this guy still employed? Unlike some artists, John Romita Jr for example, his style has not aged well. It's just plain bad to look at. Characters are rigid and have weird facial expressions. Characters continuously change shape from panel to panel. Thank god he is no longer on this book. Him leaving has kept my hopes high for the future of this book.
The Incredible Hulk #7 gets 3/5.
Jason Aaron deals with the ramifications of last issue very well. Hulk's characterization is well enough, and it makes the future of this book interesting. While the art has been horrendous, Aaron's take on Hulk has kept me around each month. One thing that this issue did wrong was Von Doom's (female) role. She was there to spout one liners, bad ones mostly, and take panel time away from the Jade Giant. Hopefully she won't appear much in future issue, or Aaron will find a reason for her to be around each month. Hulk's inner monologue, while Banner is being killed, is very strong, and really help sell the situation. With the first arc done, I wouldn't call this series a success yet. It's interesting, but on the edge of being dropped from the pull list. With the next arc having Hulk being in a Crank type scenario, the book looks to keep readers on.
Since Whilce Portacio has been on the book, I have wished that the book wasn't a comic. Why is this guy still employed? Unlike some artists, John Romita Jr for example, his style has not aged well. It's just plain bad to look at. Characters are rigid and have weird facial expressions. Characters continuously change shape from panel to panel. Thank god he is no longer on this book. Him leaving has kept my hopes high for the future of this book.
The Incredible Hulk #7 gets 3/5.
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| Marvel Comics |
Invincible Iron Man #515: Tony has hit rock bottom.......again.
Matt Fraction has made this book a must for kicking Tony Stark to the ground every time. And by god is it entertaining. As the cover shows, Rhody gets hit hard. Fraciton makes the scene counts, and even tough it's a cop out, makes the reader feel for Rhody and Tony. And while it's fun to see Tony get his ass kicked, it's more fun to see how he fights back. #515 acts as a transition issue. There isn't much to say, with the book being a big fight scene and the characters getting ready for the turn around. While I'm fine with characters dying, the cop out at the end wasn't as effective. It's clear Rhody wouldn't die, as why have him die when more Iron Man movies will be coming out very soon. A better way would be for this to start a new War Machine book, with him being a Winter Soldier like character.
Salvador Larroca's artwork is well known by now. Occasionally faces look bad, but the big suit fights always look good. Faces look better than usual this month though. Overall everything looks better this month. I assume this series will take a slight downgrade in art with Larroca doing the Avengers vs X-Men Vs #2 book. Whenever he is stretched thin, his artwork always suffered, even with him being able to pencil more than one issue a month. Rhody's big fight scene looks huge, with Whirlwind's powers being one of the better looking panels.
Invincible Iron Man #515 gets 3.5/5.
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| DC Comics |
Justice League #8: The backup is starting to outshine the main story.
Geoff Johns has been doing a very safe job with Justice League. Nothing bad, but nothing great either. I'll start with one of my usual complains with this book, and that is Wonder Woman still doesn't get any character development. Green Arrow has been in this book for one issue and he already has more lines than Wonder Woman has in the entire eight issues. Johns needs to change this, as she is a main part of the Justice League. Otherwise, the issue is good. Arrow's repeated attempts to become part of the League is rather funny. Batman's and Green Lantern's back and forth never gets old. I'm not sure why this issue somewhat ties into Night of the Owls. It doesn't add anything to the plot of either Justice League or the event. The Martian Manhunter tease got me excited none the less.
The Shazam backup is starting to get deeper into the character of Billy. But in the very short time that Johns has, he gives some great character moments for Billy and the rest of his foster family. I'd love to see him write a whole issue for this character. Gary Frank's art holds up as well. It's incredibly detailed and every character is pure personality. It's only talking heads, but I couldn't help but reread the backup so that I could look at the issue more.
Carlos D'Anda, and Ivan Reis with Joe Prado are guest artists this month. D'Anda's art is good, but a tiny bit cartoony. Characters lose a good amount of detail when they are in the background. But the action works well, and Arrow has the confident/asshole look that the character needs. Ivan Reis blows D'Anda's art out the water though. His amazing work on Aquaman continues on the few pages he pencils. Having him in this book is worth the $3.99
Justice League #8 gets 3/5.
The Manhattan Projects #2: While #1 set up this insanely high premise series, #2 slows down to set up the characters.
The Manhattan Projects is going to be one of those books that is great when marathoning. #2 is all about characters. This is fine, but when #1 brought up a plethora of amazing ideas, it would have been great for Jonathan Hickman to touch upon these things. But #2 sets up these characters so that when the big plot points come around in future issues, we will know them better for it. The characters are compelling, and very likable. There are a good amount of characters thrown at us, and Hickman gives the readers a great feel of all of them. This was a problem (in my opinion) in S.H.I.E.L.D. It's fun to see Hickman play around with famous scientists. He deals with World War II politics very well, and makes the well known history seem fresh and interesting. A history major like myself loves this book. And yes, we always need more Death Buddhists.
Geoff Johns has been doing a very safe job with Justice League. Nothing bad, but nothing great either. I'll start with one of my usual complains with this book, and that is Wonder Woman still doesn't get any character development. Green Arrow has been in this book for one issue and he already has more lines than Wonder Woman has in the entire eight issues. Johns needs to change this, as she is a main part of the Justice League. Otherwise, the issue is good. Arrow's repeated attempts to become part of the League is rather funny. Batman's and Green Lantern's back and forth never gets old. I'm not sure why this issue somewhat ties into Night of the Owls. It doesn't add anything to the plot of either Justice League or the event. The Martian Manhunter tease got me excited none the less.
The Shazam backup is starting to get deeper into the character of Billy. But in the very short time that Johns has, he gives some great character moments for Billy and the rest of his foster family. I'd love to see him write a whole issue for this character. Gary Frank's art holds up as well. It's incredibly detailed and every character is pure personality. It's only talking heads, but I couldn't help but reread the backup so that I could look at the issue more.
Carlos D'Anda, and Ivan Reis with Joe Prado are guest artists this month. D'Anda's art is good, but a tiny bit cartoony. Characters lose a good amount of detail when they are in the background. But the action works well, and Arrow has the confident/asshole look that the character needs. Ivan Reis blows D'Anda's art out the water though. His amazing work on Aquaman continues on the few pages he pencils. Having him in this book is worth the $3.99
Justice League #8 gets 3/5.
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| Image Comics |
The Manhattan Projects is going to be one of those books that is great when marathoning. #2 is all about characters. This is fine, but when #1 brought up a plethora of amazing ideas, it would have been great for Jonathan Hickman to touch upon these things. But #2 sets up these characters so that when the big plot points come around in future issues, we will know them better for it. The characters are compelling, and very likable. There are a good amount of characters thrown at us, and Hickman gives the readers a great feel of all of them. This was a problem (in my opinion) in S.H.I.E.L.D. It's fun to see Hickman play around with famous scientists. He deals with World War II politics very well, and makes the well known history seem fresh and interesting. A history major like myself loves this book. And yes, we always need more Death Buddhists.
Nick Pitarra's art isn't as extravagant as the previous issue, but it's still good. It's more that he isn't given as many crazy things to pencil as #1. His pencils still look a lot like Chris Burnham, and that is a great compliment. All the famous people look like they should, but it's clear Pitarra put his own spin on them. I'd like to see #3 give him more crazy things to pencil. Or more Death Buddhists. Yeah, I'm going to start looking for them every month.
The Manhattan Projects #2 gets 3.5/5.
Nightwing #8: Kyle Higgins is starting to rival Batman as the best Bat book.
Ok, that might be a little extreme, but his Nightwing has slowly been building up to be a fantastic book. #8 tells the story of Dick battling a Talon while we learn the history of how this Talon came to be. Higgins balances the story perfectly, giving each enough time to flow well without one taking up to much room. Some might see who the person is right away, but others like me were genuinely surprised by who it is. After rereading the book, it makes complete sense, and Higgins wrote it perfectly. Higgins has been brilliantly brining Dick's past to haunt him in new and compelling ways, so with the final page revelation, #9 is no doubt going to be as good or better than this issue. And that is saying a lot. Higgins also doesn't lean to heavily on Scott Snyder's story in Batman, quickly tying into it then moving on.
As with the res of Eddy Barrows' art on Nightwing, it's clear he loves his new job on this book. His constantly changing panels keep the reader on their toes each issue. Characters are expressive, even when lots of things are going on. Nightwing seems like an acrobat in the fighting scenes. The final few pages are bloody and brutal, making the reader really feel for Dick and wonder about his future. Even though we know nothing serious will be happening to him.
Nightwing #8 gets 4.5/5.
The Punisher #10: After a good, but ordinary, start, the Omega Effect kicks into high gear.
Greg Rucka keeps the tone of Avenging Spider-Man #6, even when he is the only writer here. Unlike Avenging Spider-Man though, the issue doesn't focus on Frank. That's not a bad thing though. Rucka gives every character plenty of time to advance their individual plot line. What surprised me was how fast Frank gave Cole (Alves!) a Punisher vest. It's very symbolic and I figured it would be coming much later into the series. Another big surprise was how witty Spider-Man was. He's a great writer of crime dramas, but for some reason he never seemed like a good Spider-Man writer. He has proven that wrong. The plan that the four of them take is cool, and makes sense with the four of them working together. The small addition of rubber bullets was a nice touch by Rucka.
Marco Checchetto. Dear lord this man can do no wrong. Characters don't have much in the way of facial expressions, but with this being a very serious story, this isn't a problem. That was a problem when he was one of the few artist on Amazing Spider-Man during the Brand New Day era. But Daredevil and Spider-Man are fairly expressive, even when they have masks on. There are plenty of characters in each panel, but each has a great amount of detail. The quick shots of the fights give the reader a great sense of what the entire fight was like.
The Punisher #10 gets 4.5/5.
The Shadow #1: This review is over on Comic Book Therapy. Click here for the review.
Venom #16: Rick Remender gives us another one and done story, and god damn is it great.
Flash Thompson is becoming the new Tony Stark. The character is most interesting when something bad is happening to him. But he has that Spider-Man side to him that keeps him somewhat hopeful when things start to get down. And things get down in Venom #16. Venom becomes more intertwined into the Spider-Man section of the Marvel universe, with the Hobgoblin attacking him. It ties nicely into what Rick Remender has told in previous issues while building on it. While the Fly is always known as a D-list character, he is used perfectly here. The ending will hit fans of this book hard, and one has to wonder how much farther down Remender is going to push Flash. His recent addition to the Secret Avengers should help all of this, but we shall see. The perfect way to describe the ending is, "damn." That's how the reader feels and Flash must feel after this issue.
Kev Walker pencils this issue, and his somewhat cartoony pencils work very well. To bad Remender didn't pencil a scene where the symbiote goes nuts. I feel like that would be a sight to behold under Walker. The Fly looks almost as great as he did under Tony Moore. The Hobgoblin looks fantastic, balancing the terrifying and humorous look that is needed for a character like this. Sometimes Humberto Ramos has a problem with that over on Amazing Spider-Man. While I do miss Lan Medina, Walker is a great guest penciler.
Venom #16 gets 4.5/5.
Wolverine & the X-Men #9: This review is over on Comic Book Therapy. Click here for the review
Old Coimcs
Amazing Spider-Man #683 gets 4/5
Batgirl #8 gets 4/5
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #9 gets 4.5/5
The Manhattan Projects #2 gets 3.5/5.
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| DC Comics |
Ok, that might be a little extreme, but his Nightwing has slowly been building up to be a fantastic book. #8 tells the story of Dick battling a Talon while we learn the history of how this Talon came to be. Higgins balances the story perfectly, giving each enough time to flow well without one taking up to much room. Some might see who the person is right away, but others like me were genuinely surprised by who it is. After rereading the book, it makes complete sense, and Higgins wrote it perfectly. Higgins has been brilliantly brining Dick's past to haunt him in new and compelling ways, so with the final page revelation, #9 is no doubt going to be as good or better than this issue. And that is saying a lot. Higgins also doesn't lean to heavily on Scott Snyder's story in Batman, quickly tying into it then moving on.
As with the res of Eddy Barrows' art on Nightwing, it's clear he loves his new job on this book. His constantly changing panels keep the reader on their toes each issue. Characters are expressive, even when lots of things are going on. Nightwing seems like an acrobat in the fighting scenes. The final few pages are bloody and brutal, making the reader really feel for Dick and wonder about his future. Even though we know nothing serious will be happening to him.
Nightwing #8 gets 4.5/5.
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| Marvel Comics |
Greg Rucka keeps the tone of Avenging Spider-Man #6, even when he is the only writer here. Unlike Avenging Spider-Man though, the issue doesn't focus on Frank. That's not a bad thing though. Rucka gives every character plenty of time to advance their individual plot line. What surprised me was how fast Frank gave Cole (Alves!) a Punisher vest. It's very symbolic and I figured it would be coming much later into the series. Another big surprise was how witty Spider-Man was. He's a great writer of crime dramas, but for some reason he never seemed like a good Spider-Man writer. He has proven that wrong. The plan that the four of them take is cool, and makes sense with the four of them working together. The small addition of rubber bullets was a nice touch by Rucka.
Marco Checchetto. Dear lord this man can do no wrong. Characters don't have much in the way of facial expressions, but with this being a very serious story, this isn't a problem. That was a problem when he was one of the few artist on Amazing Spider-Man during the Brand New Day era. But Daredevil and Spider-Man are fairly expressive, even when they have masks on. There are plenty of characters in each panel, but each has a great amount of detail. The quick shots of the fights give the reader a great sense of what the entire fight was like.
The Punisher #10 gets 4.5/5.
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| Dynamite Comics |
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| Marvel Comics |
Flash Thompson is becoming the new Tony Stark. The character is most interesting when something bad is happening to him. But he has that Spider-Man side to him that keeps him somewhat hopeful when things start to get down. And things get down in Venom #16. Venom becomes more intertwined into the Spider-Man section of the Marvel universe, with the Hobgoblin attacking him. It ties nicely into what Rick Remender has told in previous issues while building on it. While the Fly is always known as a D-list character, he is used perfectly here. The ending will hit fans of this book hard, and one has to wonder how much farther down Remender is going to push Flash. His recent addition to the Secret Avengers should help all of this, but we shall see. The perfect way to describe the ending is, "damn." That's how the reader feels and Flash must feel after this issue.
Kev Walker pencils this issue, and his somewhat cartoony pencils work very well. To bad Remender didn't pencil a scene where the symbiote goes nuts. I feel like that would be a sight to behold under Walker. The Fly looks almost as great as he did under Tony Moore. The Hobgoblin looks fantastic, balancing the terrifying and humorous look that is needed for a character like this. Sometimes Humberto Ramos has a problem with that over on Amazing Spider-Man. While I do miss Lan Medina, Walker is a great guest penciler.
Venom #16 gets 4.5/5.
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| Marvel Comics |
Old Coimcs
Amazing Spider-Man #683 gets 4/5
Batgirl #8 gets 4/5
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #9 gets 4.5/5
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