Yearly Archives: 2013

First Arkham Origins DLC Does Not Feature Robin

We’ve known about this Initiation DLC for awhile now, but here’s a trailer to let us know what it looks like and what it may contain. The DLC is about Bruce Wayne’s time training with ninjas in Asia before returning to Gotham to become Batman. I don’t remember if it’s going to have story elements, but it’s definitely got some challenge rooms.

What do you gamers think? Gonna pick this up? I beat Arkham Origins and lost interest in playing, but maybe this’ll be enough to bring me back. There’s no Robin, though, so that’s disappointing. I was hoping for something similar to Harley Quinn’s Revenge from Arkham City. Maybe there’s still time…

Review: Saga #16

And so we finally come full circle back to Saga #12, with Prince Robot IV interrogating Heist, and Marko and his family hiding in the attic. But of course, considering all the time we spent getting back here, there are a few new wrinkles to add to make the scene even more tense and exciting. Saga #17 looks like it’s going to be pretty awesome. But we’re not there yet. First, Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples need to drop the last few pieces into place. And as I’ve come to expect from this series, those pieces are just as much fun as can be!

Saga #16

Also, we quickly find out what the point of the hallucinations were on The Will’s paradise planet, so at least there’s that. So much for all my grumbling in the last review.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

Like most issues in this volume of Saga, this one is about fleshing out the world and getting to know the characters. We’re solidly in Act 2 of this saga, I would say, and we’ve got a long way to go. One test of a good comic book series – or any fiction, for that matter – is if the writer can make the characters fun to read even when they’re just sitting around having coffee or playing board games. Vaughn succeeds. The conversations haven’t necessarily been as exciting as when they were all on the spaceship, but then Barr was a special kind of awesome. As was his brief relationship with Alana. Their scenes together were some of the best in the series so far.

That’s not to say everybody else doesn’t pick up the slack. There are a lot of great scenes in this issue between Heist and the family. He’s no Barr, but he’s still a fun character. And in this issue, everyone just works so well together, which is what we’ve come to expect. Plotwise, everything moves forward, especially the sub-plot about the two reporters. That might be taking a big leap forward.

But in the end, this is a penultimate cliffhanger issue. It’s all about finishing the set-up for what will hopefully be an epic climax!

Join me after the jump for a fully synopsis and more review.

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/30/13

Oof. Who knew that comic books take Black Friday so seriously? There were a metric ton of new releases this week, including a lot of my favorite titles. If I wasn’t already broke, this week’s haul would have done a number on my poor bank account. Fortunately for us, my love of comics feels no shame, and I bought a bunch of issues anyway!

And what a great bunch of issues! Superior Spider-Man and FF remain as good as ever. I still feel bad for anyone not reading Superior out of spite. You folks are really missing out on some neat stuff. And issues like FF #14 make me sad that the comic is coming to an end soon. Speaking of endings, this week also saw the finale for Infinity with issue #6! The end has been a long time coming, and it’s…good, but none of my complaints were ever addressed. There’s no big twist resolving everything.

Infinity ends about as well as one could expect, with the good guys winning and the bad guys losing. At least nobody was needlessly sacrificed in the name of cheap thrills. The same can be said for the end of Aquaman – or, at least, Geoff Johns’ run on the character. He wraps up all his big storylines in glorious fashion and doesn’t kill Mera or anyone else just for shock value.

Of course, neither does Hawkeye #14.

Aquaman #25 almost won comic book of the week. It came close. But then I read the adorable, squeeful Hawkeye #14 and there was no other choice.

Comic Reviews: Aquaman #25, FF #14, Hawkeye #14, Indestructible Hulk #16, Infinity #6, New Avengers #12, Red Lanterns #25, Superior Spider-Man #22.

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Ghost Rider Gets a Sweet New Ride!

We were teased about this during New York Comic-Con when the new Ghost Rider series was announced, but here is the proof that the new Ghost Rider is going to ditch the motorcycle and instead take up hot rods! I’m a big fan of this idea. I know Ghost Rider looks awesome on a motorcycle, but sometimes writers need to really think outside the box.

 

The covers are drawn by Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore.

For those who don’t know, the new Ghost Rider will be Robbie Reyes, a high school senior in East Los Angeles who loves cars and has lived a pretty tough life so far. Writer Felipe Smith told CBR that, “In comparison to previous Ghost Riders, he’s young and inexperienced in life; but his harsh inner city upbringing, overall distrust for most people, and serious contempt for his violent surroundings make him the perfect host for a Spirit of Vengeance.”

I really think I’m going to give this series a look when the first issue shows up. Looks pretty sweet so far.

First Leaked Look at Rhino and Green Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man 2!

The internet being what it is, some industrious Twitterer found a poster in a movie theater for Amazing Spider-Man 2 that features both Rhino and Green Goblin. The two villains have never before been seen by the public! So this is pretty awesome.

With great box office, comes better costuming

Buuuuut just in case you don’t want to get spoiled, I’ve posted the pictures after the jump. You can find them there!

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