4/24/13

I had my regular 6-book pull-list this week. I was too busy on a trip to read and review them all on Wednesday, so here I am now. A great series, Deadpool Killustrated, wrapped up today. And another less good series, Before Watchmen: Comedian, also came to a conclusion. So, without further ado, my week of comics.

• Deadpool Killustrated #4

This is an incredibly creative book. Even people who don't like comics as much as I could see the creativity and wit practically oozing out of this book. Deadpool is a great character, with all great characters there are excellent stories about them. This comic storyline would fall into the category of great stories. The idea of a psychotic hit-man going into the "Ideaverse" and killing story-book characters is just brilliant. Now, we can say any idea is "brilliant," but execution is all that really matters. The writing is very clever and Deadpool and Sherlocke are both very developed characters by the end of the arc. I don't think that Deadpool has ever had a really bad artist, so I wouldn't say that Matteo Lolli is especially good, but he does provide good art considering the amount of gore required of him to draw. The ending of this arc is not completely satisfying but I will take it over a "let's just erase what just happened" ending. I was excited, however, when I saw an ad for the next Cullen-Bunn-Deadpool-Kill storyline. Deadpool Kills Deadpool looks ridiculous but entertaining. I will definitely be buying it.

• Batman: The Dark Knight #19

I love this series. I really do. I was so enjoying seeing Ethan Van Sciver's beautiful drawings in the world of the Dark Knight. Too bad Sciver is off the book, not for long I hope. On the flipside, however, the book's quality did not flee with the artist. The book is still disturbing while exciting, perfectly captures the life of Bruce Wayne, and keeps you wanting more. While Batman appears very little in the book the whole story revolves around him. His city is under attack, his girlfriend is about to become the main character in a twisted performance, and there are the lives of hundreds, maybe thousands on his hands. The new art is pretty good, especially during the tragic and disturbing flashback of the Hatter's life. The Mad Hatter could quickly become my favorite of all of the rogue's in Batman's gallery. The only thing that would improve this book is giving it the T+ rating it deserves. There is so much killing and other horrifying things I can't imagine why DC is holding back. The last thing we need is some 6-year-old picking up a Batman comic and saying: "Mommy? Why does the man kill people when he takes his medicine?"

• Batman Inc. #9

A lot of people have found the death of Damian Wayne to be poorly handled. I think this issue wraps it up while giving us a sense of what's to come. The only real problem in this book is how the continuity is handled. +Steven Viscido mentioned in one of his articles on his blog that all of the superheroes in comics can't fit in the same universe. I feel like DC is messing with that even more with the, what is it 5? Batman books monthly. Batman is said to be armed and dangerous and the mayor is not allowing him to fight crime, but in all the other Bat-Titles he is trucking right along. This needs to be handled better or dropped all together. If Damian Wayne can die in one title and that effects all of the others than Batman can't fight crime in any title right now. Other than that this issue is solid. After an ominous and mysterious chat between the Al Ghul's we see the rest of the family after the Leviathan attack. Azrael makes a brief appearance in the beginning of the book and we get a little resolution about Jason Todd's situation later on. I still want to see how this storyline plays out because of the evilness of Talia Al Ghul. She is simply brutal in this book and I am so excited to see her brought to justice (the most likely outcome in my mind.)

Now, the art. I love Chris Burnham just as much as the next guy, but three different art changes in one issue is unacceptable. If Burnham is too wimpy to make one book a month he should just not. Don't do a third of it.

• Guardians of the Galaxy #2

I really thought that starting this series with "Omergerd the Earth is going to be destroyed!" was a terrible move. We barely know the team and Brian Michael Bendis is already throwing them into a battle for the fate of our planet. Really? But surprisingly, the story plays out nicely. We flip back between a meeting of all of the intergalactic powerhouses which took place six weeks ago and the Guardians battle for Earth. We also get to meet the team a little more which is good considering I am new to this title. The battle is really fun to watch. Tony Stark zips around like a bee spewing banter enough to keep the book from being all pictures (beautiful ones I might add.) And Rocket Raccoon is very humorous with his "Blam! Murdered you!" Throughout the entire book.

Now, the galactic meeting is where things are really good. Everyone is there, with the king of Spartax leading the meeting of course. They discuss Earth's fate in a way that is natural and entertaining. I really want to see some more action from Groot next book. He looks promising.

• Talon #7

Talon wasn't really the star in his own title this month. Casey and Sebastian played major roles along with guest-appearances from Batman and Bane. This issue shows Talon actually fighting along a Talon, something rare and surprisingly entertaining. We also see Casey out-foxing Sebastian  both of which fights are cool and interesting. After Calvin has escapes the base of the Court of the Owls he runs through the streets of Gotham crazed by an emergency broadcast from his girlfriend. We see our hero get caught by our other hero, Batman! Batman locks Calvin in with Wayne-Tech handcuffs. Of course Calvin escapes. We see Calvin then confront Clark and eventually Bane. Calvin is broken, maybe dead at the end of the issue.

Tackling the Manifest Part II

I logged back onto Marvel U and read the next three books in this mega-crossover. I have to say, I am loving this series. It shows the X-Men just how they were meant to be and Scott Summers isn't a jerk.
So, here are the next installments in my log of reading this giant storyline.

Cable #6
Writing: 9, Cyclops's point of view is rich and enticing.
Art: 8.75, both artists are great, especially the one that draws future-Cable.
Relevance to the story: 8, this does give you a good taste of what it is like for Emma and Scott, but not a must-read.
Should you read it? If you want to. I have always been a fan of the series and the character; but you could skip it if you wanted to only read the essential issues.

Secret Invasion: X-Men #1
Writing: 7.5, nothing great, but it isn't Scott Lobdell
Art: 7, just not my style.
Relevance to the story: 9, this is what is going on in Marvel at this point, it is pretty relevant.
Should you read it? Probably not. It has very little to do with Manifest Destiny.

Astonishing X-Men #26
Writing: 9, Warren Ellis rocks Wolverine.
Art: 8.75, I am really enjoying Simone Bianchi's art.
Relevance to the story: 10, this introduces Ghost Boxes which are essential to Manifest Destiny.
Should you read it? YES! It is a quality comic and near-essential to the storyline.

So that is the bout of reading I did this morning, along with the first three Wolverine and the X-Men issues. Keep checking this out, I hope it inspires you to read this storyline too.

Tackling the Manifest

A warehouse was bought out, so my comic store now has maybe hundreds of $30-$75 sold for $7-$35.
I picked up X-Men Manifest Destiny for $7.43 (The cover price is $30.) Now I made a decision. If I am going to read some of Manifest Destiny I am going to have to read all of it.
So, I looked to my good friend Wikipedia for some help. Like always Wikipedia was there for me. So I will now copy and paste the reading list of Manifest Destiny. The bolded books are the ones that came in the Graphic Novel I recently purchased.

• Astonishing X-Men #25
• Uncanny X-Men #500

• Cable #6
• Secret Invasion: X-Men #1
• Astonishing X-Men #26
• Uncanny X-Men #501
• X-Men: Legacy #215

• X-Men: Manifest Destiny #1
• Secret Invasion: X-Men #2
• Uncanny X-Men #502
• Young X-Men #6
• X-Men: Legacy #216

• X-Men: Manifest Destiny #2
• Astonishing X-Men #27
• Uncanny X-Men #503
• Young X-Men #7
• Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1
• Secret Invasion: X-Men #3

• X-Men: Manifest Destiny #3
• Uncanny X-Men #504
• Young X-Men #8
• Secret Invasion: X-Men #4

• Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #2
• X-Men: Manifest Destiny #4
• Uncanny X-Men #505
• Young X-Men #9
• Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #3

• X-Men: Manifest Destiny #5
• Eternals #7
• Astonishing X-Men #28

• Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #4
• Eternals #8
• Uncanny X-Men #506

• Manifest Destiny: Nightcrawler #1
• Eternals #9
• Uncanny X-Men #507
• Astonishing X-Men #29

• Runaways (Vol. 3) #10

• Astonishing X-Men #30

So as you can see if I plan on reading the entirety of this mega-crossover event, I am going to have to visit another friend of mine: Marvel Unlimited. As I write this I have already read this first two on the list, Astonishing X-Men #25 and Uncanny X-Men #500. I also read Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1 in print. I had this idea after the fact so this article is coming a tad late.

I decided I would give a very brief review of each issue, giving it a score 1-10 in a couple different categories. I will also tell you if this is worth the read. So, if you are considering tackling this storyline as well you don't have to read all of the tie-ins to see which ones interest you.

Astonishing X-Men #25:

Writing: 8.5, fantastic!

Art: 8, Great, a little rough with facial features though.

Relevance to the storyline: 7.5, not essential but definitely worth the read.

Should you read it? Absolutely! If you just want to stick to the story this issue may not interest you but is worth the 20 min. for anyone else.

Uncanny X-Men #500
Writing: 8, decent.
Art: 5, it's Greg Land, what do you expect?
Relevance to the storyline: 8, you should probably read it to get introduced to the cast of characters.
Should you read it? Why not? It is decent and a good X-Book overall. Why not check it out?

Manifest Destiny: Wolverine #1
Writing: 8.75, good, not outstanding.
Art: 9, great tones.
Relevance to the story: 10, this is what this whole storyline is going to be about.
Should you read this? Of course, it's Wolverine confronting his past in Chinatown, what's not to want to read?

That is all I have for now. I will probably tackle another two issues tonight. Stay tuned, this is going to be fun.

4/17/13

Okay, this week had it all. Be it time travel, lost memory, resurrection, a drug dealer, an asylum, and Chicago. Can you ask for much more? No, you can't. And in the words of my past self, "here are the weekly reviews:"

• Secret Service #4

Long ago I took a vow to never buy a variant that wasn't on a #1 issue. I wasn't so specific when it came to second printings. I also vowed that I would never review anything that had come out more than  a week ago. I don't know if reviewing a second printing of an issue that came out months ago counts, but here we are, I better not waste your time.

Secret Service is an interesting series. Like most of the series on my ever-expanding pull-list I bought the first one on a whim. My reading buddy and I loved the plot and decided to collect the rest. We got #s 2 and 3 in a matter of weeks and loved them both. But no matter where we looked we could not find that pesky #4. Well, now I found it. And I am glad I did. This was an issue full of creativity, wit and drama. It started out with a conversation between uncle and nephew about life and acknowledgment. You know, just the kind of things everyone talks to their uncle about. We see aforementioned nephew gassed and placed in a situation so deadly and awkward it was in South America. 'Cause uncles do that all the time too. The nephew being the most clever in the situation conceives a clever and game-changing plan that gets him to English soil on a private jet. This issue's dialogue was spectacular and I aspire to be able to come up with half of the brilliant situations Mark Millar does. And that would be impressive, even.

• Age of Ultron Book Six

Is time travel a good thing to introduce to the Age of Ultron cannon. [SPOILER ALERT] It is. Both the stories of the past and the future are told masterfully by the wonderful Brian Michael Bendis. Both tenses flow seamlessly back and forth. Nick Fury is so much better of a leader than Captain America and Wolverine is really more animal than man. The tension is high as Wolverine contemplates killing one man to save many and the future gang battles more Ultrons than imaginable. And yeah, auto-correct, "Ultrons" is a word. Adding to dictionary right now. I like Storm's new look and I think that the retro Iron Man suit is a nice touch as well. Now, if they could only fix Quicksilver. I am so loving this storyline. I don't know what it is, I just am really in the mood to quote myself tonight. "I can't wait for next month." 

• Savage Wolverine #004

"Let's resurrect that character!" said every single publisher who wanted to make money. Jason Todd, Charles Xavier, Ra's Al Ghul, the list goes on. The only person in comics who stays dead is Uncle Ben. And now he's doing some rice ads or something.

Well, not every time. The Todd resurrection was a little tough to understand.

But we do go through the resurrection process this issue. Along with never ending word-balloons and very few Wolverine appearences this issue was well-written and illustrated. I continue to love the way Frank Cho makes a page, I always find his panelling quite interesting. I also like this new, correct me if I am wrong, character Amadeus Cho. He is very cool looking and the way Frank Cho writes his dialogue is bliss to read. This is a series that I will read to the grave.

• Catwoman #19

I can't say that I love tie-ins or that I had any idea of what was going on in the beginning of this issue, but I will say that Catwoman #19 was better than ordinary. An asylum is an interesting place, filled with interesting people. And Catwoman is one of them now. The writing is once above par, and the art is not bad either. Of course there is a lot of kicking faces and sarcasm coming from Catwoman, but if you are going to read this title you are going to have to deal with that. Honestly, while reading the book for a second time I realized that there were probably at least ten instances throughout the book where Catwoman's boot connects with someones face. This book is turning around, and I do respect that. It's just all of that kicking, is it really necessary?

• Nightwing #19

Nightwing #19 pulls this series out of it's funk. It is bright, cheerful, intriguing and Chicago. It shows that Dick is still a kid at heart and life can be tough even on super-heroes. I love the format of; present-flashback-present and I loved the introduction to the Jokester. Excuse me, the Prankster. Both names are equally stupid. But this deeply troubled individual is a lot like Gollum. She has split personalities, tricks people into believing false tales and would leave someone to survive a giant wolf with only a suitcase of money and a lighter. I really like how the Dark Knight series has left the direct cannon for a while just to focus on Batman and a rogue and I hope Nightwing follows suit. The art was also very good this week for a change. Nightwing can actually keep his secret identity safe now.

• Red Hood and the Outlaws #19

YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!YAY!

That was completely necessary  That shows just how excited I am that Scott Lobdell is no longer writing this book. One kitten is saved from getting run over because Scott Lobdell wrote one less comic book. James Tynion writes a great issue in which he perfectly captures the Outlaws and their longing for their leader back. The art was spectacular along with a great scene that took place in Roy's dreams. I am finally opening up to Roy now that Lobdell can't get a hold of him anymore. I think that this book would benefit if they had a little less "let's confront our pasts" and a little more "Oh My God! Giant tarantulas fighting Man-Bats along with Eddard Stark on the island from Lost, we want in!"

4/10/13

Today brought a nice batch of books, some of my favorites actually. Thor and Batman are amazing and Batman and Red Robin was actually really weird and cool. Age of Ultron, however, one of the most consistently excellent books I get, was quite disappointing. So here they are, the weekly reviews:

• Age of Ultron Book Five

This book follows pretty much the same template as Lost. At first there is a moderately joyful flashback that shows where the future began, if that makes any sense. Then we see our happy flashbacker in the more desolate future. The flashbacker in this case is Tony Stark and the future is all of the Ultron survivors in the Savage Land. Without giving away major spoilers they meet someone they did NOT expect to meet who has a completely cackamaymee idea that includes time travel. Besides having a plan, said person has all of the traditional costumes of the survivors and totally boss weapons. So we have that pleasant "Let's suit up for battle" scene with expert banter courtesy of Brian Michael Bendis. After the people on the time-travel mission have, well, time-traveled, of course Wolverine has to be all like, "Y'know what, screw that idea I am totally gonna do what everyone told me not to do even though it will completely mess EVERYTHING up." There's Wolverine for you. The only reasons this issue really didn't do it for me was because there was little of that ultra-bleak post-apocalyptic materiel that has made me fall in love with this series. I can't wait until Book Six because the art-reigns are passed to Brandon Peterson. Have I mentioned how much I dislike Bryan Hitch?

• Batman #19

Now that the controversial Requiem books are over we can get back to some good old Snyder/Capullo Batman. There was everything I like about a regular Batman issue in this book, suspense, shock, amazing art, detective work, well-written inner monologue and so much more. Bruce Wayne and Batman are both interesting characters and that is because Scott Snyder is the master of Batman. I don't think that he should ever leave the title. There is really no reason, and this weeks book showed that to me again. Stepping out of the wake of Death of the Family and Damian's death felt so good even if there was some reminiscing about times with Damian. I can't tell you how hard it is to write well about the GCPD but Snyder manages to make both James Gordon and Harvey Bullock super interesting. Cappulo draws the best Clayface. Period. It is just so grotesque and gruesome it is almost too awesome, keyword almost. I can't wait to see how next month plays out.

If you look closely you can see the Clayface face on the very right of the picture.

• Batman and Red Robin #19

Not as much Red Robin as I would have liked but not much disappointment either. Readers, like myself and my reading buddy, who know nothing about Carrie can still tell who she is and what kind of relationship she had with Damian from just this book. The parts featuring Carrie Kelley were humorous and fun and I look forward to her appearing in future books. I thought the incorporation of Frankenstein into this issue was just sheer brilliance though. Bruce was going insane and captured Frankenstein in a desperate attempt to bring Damian back to life. Without too many spoilers the plan doesn't go smoothly and Frankenstein ends up being dismembered.

• Thor God of Thunder #007

God Bomb is here! And it is AMAZING. This is really the perfect comic in all regards. The God Butcher is such an intriguing character and Thor has never been more interesting. The art, as anyone can tell from just the cover, is just gorgeous and the interior is even better. I liked the art in the Gorr-igin but it is great to have Esad Ribic back on the book. Jason Aaron is such a good writer and the way he writes the dynamic between future and present Thor is some of the best dialogue in any kind of literature. No offense Shakespeare. I love the past Thor and think that his irresponsibleness and bravado make him so interesting. I really can't wait to find out more about the God Bomb and the God of Bombs.

• Batgirl #19

Gail is back on the book and the "OMG James Jr. is CRAZY" storyline comes to an end. Some powerful family matters are dealt with in this book and we can all learn a little about caring for others, so go give your psychotic brother a hug. 

The weaving of horror movies into this issue was creative and I thoroughly enjoyed the finale at the dock. I think that Barbara Gordon shines for making these connections to real life that really help us to empathize with her. She also shows that she is human when she comes clean to her roommate about "everything." The roommate also tells Babs that she is a transgendered character. I think this is a step in the right direction for diversity in comics, way to go DC!

OMG I totes just killed my bro!

4/3/13

Two months ago if you told me that all of my books one week would come from Marvel I would have laughed. I am proud to say that I have know experienced a week were I only get Marvel comics. And it was quite a good week.

• Thanos Rising #001

And I thought Guardians of the Galaxy #1 was big. This was one of the best debut issues ever. Master writer Jason Aaron starts with a blank slate and creates an origins story that seems organic to the character, was brutal, and devastating. The illustrations beautifully complimented the brilliant dialogue perfectly. I think that Thanos is a very nerdy boy but the author didn't use the "he's different we hate him" excuse that most bad authors pull when they can't think of an interesting relationship between a character and his/her peers. There was a part of this issue that was a lot like 127 hours and made for an interesting turning point in Thanos's life. Great book, can't wait for the 2nd!

• Age of Ultron Book 4

AGE OF ULTRON IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!
I look forward to it every week because it comes out almost every week. There is a certain rhythm to it that keeps it from being too boring but also keeps it from being too fast-paced. The author finds his groove with characters and makes them complex and interesting. Last issue we met She-Hulk and Luke Cage and this week we took a trip to the Savage Land. This installment is full of surprises from a nuclear explosion to a gory death-by-hulk. Well done Bendis and Hitch even though I continue to dislike how you draw faces.

•  All-New X-Men #010

This series is honestly as good as it gets. I mean BMB just made a scene with three different groups of X-Men a beautiful and witty conversation. All of the dialogue was totally believable and the points made were all great. S.H.E.I.L.D finally gets in contact with the X-peeps. Something they should have done issues ago and the X-Men continue to be the most interesting group to listen to in the Marvel Universe. BMB leaves us with such a good cliffhanger that I am sure will change the Marvel Universe completely. I am soooooooo ready for next week.

• Indestructible Hulk #006

I am glad that the Hulk book is headed in a new direction because it is a good book but the last Atlantean thing wasn't the best. This new storyline focuses more on the team of scientists that Maria Hill assembled with Bruce Banner's help. They travel through a portal where they meet...Thor? It is a weird meeting and I am not sure what to make of it but Hulk does get to wield Thor's hammer for the last few pages. The book is cleverly written but the story is not easily understood and there are a lot of loose ends. I am curious about what the next issue will hold.