This was a real interesting week for comics. None of my regular titles came out, but there were several comics I had let fall by the wayside. So…I caught up and may return to reviewing the likes of Astonishing Iceman!

Comic Book of the Week goes to Fantastic Four #13 for an excellent dinosaur adventure.

Meanwhile, I’m spending this weekend resisting the urge to buy Super Mario Bros. Wonder. I beat Spider-Man 2 and need a new game to play, but I also have other options besides spending $60 for that sweet new Mario game. It sure would be fun to play, though…

Comic Reviews: Astonishing Iceman #4, Fantastic Four #13 and Outsiders #1.

Astonishing Iceman #4
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Vincenzo Carratu
Colorists: Java Tartaglia and Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham

As much as I like Iceman as a character, this comic just didn’t grab me. But let’s give it another try.

Iceman teams up with Spider-Man to save a former Genoshan mutate from Reaper, Feral and Fatale, who have been turned into Orchis Hounds. They save the day and then spend a little time catching up, before Bobby heads home to Antarctica and discovers that he was lured away so that Mr. Clean could break in and kill Romeo!

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

I very much enjoyed the previous Iceman comic by writer Sina Grace. That thing was great! This one, I’m not really connecting to very well. I love a good team up between any of the Amazing Friends, and the chat between Spidey and Bobby is good. I’m just not vibing with the whole, overall story. Romeo remains as dull as dishwater, though I suppose he wasn’t really in this issue. It was mostly Iceman and Spider-Man fighting some poorly mistreated former Krakoan mutants! I didn’t like how Iceman didn’t seem to show them any mercy or any concern at all for their wellbeing, even though they’ve clearly been turned into Hounds by Orchis. And then we’re already at the part where Orchis’s villain has already found Bobby’s secret hideout. And Mr. Clean isn’t all that interesting of a villain anyway. I dunno. I guess I just don’t really like this Orchis storyline anymore in any of the various X-Men comics, and it’s put Iceman in a very weird place for an ongoing.

TL;DR: The writing, and especially artwork, are otherwise very strong, but the status quo and overall X-Men storyline is leaving this comic in the lurch. I wish an Iceman comic from Orlando could be more free.

Fantastic Four #13
Writer: Ryan North
Artist: Iban Coello
Colorist: Jesus Aburtov
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

I’m very disappointed in myself for dropping Ryan North’s Fantastic Four, even for a little bit. Thankfully, I didn’t miss anything major, and now we’re back!

So the world is merging with a dinosaur version of the world, and the human and dinosaur versions of the Fantastic Four are trapped on either side of the portal trying to fix it. Then human Doctor Doom and dinosaur Doctor Doom show up to declare that they will merge the worlds and rule one big world, but the Reeds figure the two worlds will destroy one another. The Dooms set about their plan, and they’re stopped by human Thing and dinosaur Thing convincing them to turn on one another. Then everyone works together and the day is saved.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

So yeah, this two-part story is very simple and very fun. There’s a universe that’s almost exactly like the regular Marvel Universe, only everyone is a different kind of dinosaur. And everybody teams up, including Avengers versions, to keep their worlds separate, while dealing with both Doctor Doom and Doctor Doom as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Brilliant fun. And the day is saved when the two Things play on Doom’s classic ego. It’s a might predictable, but North makes it fun to read regardless.

The artwork is fantastic, drawing all the different dinosaurs, and all of them wearing classic superhero costumes. It’s all as silly and as fun as you would hope it would be. Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? The only real detractions I can say are that, again, it’s a bit predictable with how Doom is defeated. And in a bigger picture sense, I’d like for some larger narrative to start coming into focus. We’re 13 issues in and North is still just sorta delivering done-in-one or done-in-two stories. I think we’re getting the kids back very soon, so that should be fun.

TL;DR: Marvel Superheroes as Dinosaurs makes a quick visit for a fun, silly and slightly predictable comic adventure.

Outsiders #1
Writers: Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly
Artist: Robert Carey
Colorist: Valentina Taddeo
Letterer: Tom Napolitano

I like Lanzing and Kelly, and I’m always willing to check out a new #1 issue, so let’s check out this new Outsiders.

Luke Fox and his dad have put together a new Outsiders organization. They’re using all of Bruce Wayne’s money to fund a new expedition force to investigate strange anomalies around the world. He recruits Batwoman and takes her to Antarctica, where they hook up with The Drummer to go beneath the ice to investigate a 50-mile-long mysterious structure that’s about to blow. They go deeper and find out that it’s a sentient multiversal spaceship. Luke talks it down from exploding and gets it to free all the scientists they’d sent down first. The mission is pretty much a success and now they’re ready to go find more wild stuff.

Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.

So there’s a lot going on in this first issue, and it’s left me a bit ill at ease. Let’s tackle the good stuff first, and that’s basically that this is a fine comic, that’s written well, with some strong art. I like the premise, even if I dislike the general idea of the Fox family spending Bruce Wayne’s money all willy nilly. But putting that nitpick aside, Luke Fox, Batwing, and his father have decided that they’re sick of the superhero grind and want to try something different. That’s a solid foundation for a new comic, and this first issue does a solid job of establishing all the major points. Big, crazy, creative mysteries exist in the world, and Batwing and Batwoman are gonna go investigate for the fun of it. The characters are written well, the artwork definitely works, and this first issue’s exploration of a big, crazy mystery is also pretty fun. So this first issue is a solid start to a new series. Nothing mind-blowing, just solid.

On the other hand, I wish it had gone harder. This concept is a complete departure from what Batwoman and Batwing were doing before…so why are they still Batwoman and Batwing? They’re both pretty fed up with Batman’s wars and nonsense, so why hold on to his branding? Bigger picture marketing reasons, probably. But this would have been a great opportunity to move these two characters forward in their overall development. The premise also requires a bit of suspension of disbelief. The DC Universe has existed for decades at this point and there have been a dozen different secret organizations doing all sorts of work. Yet only now, this little thrown together Fox Family expedition is going to uncover some mysteries that have yet to be uncovered? And this one, single issue adventure was one of the wildest or best days of Kate Kane’s life? Some parts of this issue are a bit of a stretch.

Also, I never read Planetary, which this series is clearly aping/drawing from. So that stuff meant nothing to me.

TL;DR: Good, solid start with a lot of potential, I just think there are a lot of little things holding this first issue and this new series back at this point.

The comics I review in my Hench-Sized reviews are just the usual comics I grab from Comixology any given week, along with a few impulse buys I might try on a whim. So if there are any comics or series you’d like me to review each week, let me know in the comments.

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