Category Archives: Comics
Review: All-New X-Factor #4
I consider myself a dedicated X-Factor fan…I guess. Or maybe I was just blinded by my love of Multiple Man. Was that it? Peter David wrote an amazing Multiple Man! He re-defined the character for the 21st century, and it was a thing of glorious beauty! And more than just Multiple Man, the whole previous volume X-Factor was a lot of fun. So what am I not seeing in the All-New X-Factor? Was PAD’s previous series this shallow, and I just really enjoyed seeing Multiple Man? I kind of get the feeling that if he switched out Gambit for Multiple Man, I’d probably be enjoying this comic a lot more.
X-Factor #4
As it stands, the newest issue of All-New X-Factor is more of the same, and I’ve still got to give the thing a big ole meh!
Comic Rating: 5/10 – Alright.
There’s not much to this new issue. All-New X-Factor #4 is all about recruiting Danger to the team by way of a big, explosive fight scene. PAD peppers the fight with some nice character moments, especially for Gambit and Polaris, but at the expense of a seemingly incompetent Danger. The angry robot spends the entire issue promising to kill everybody but never seems to focus enough to actually carry it out – though, of course, it’s not like she’s allowed to really kill any of the main characters. But you’ll see what I mean in the synopsis.
Like I said, Gambit and Polaris get some good moments. Gambit spends the issue trying to snap Danger out of her murderous rage, while Polaris has some murderous rage of her own. But I don’t really care one lick about Danger, her history with the X-Men or her potentially joining X-Factor. I’m fairly certain that nobody else in the X-Office cared enough to use Danger in their comic, so PAD snatched her up. Or maybe he really wanted to use her, I don’t know. What I do know is that we went through a lot of trouble to add her to the team, and I just didn’t care for any of it. We took an abridged tour of Gambit’s recent solo series, but I don’t feel as if the story affected Gambit at all or had any impact on the series. They might as well have gone to the Savage Land or Latveria to recruit Danger.
I don’t want to come off as overly harsh in my reviews of All-New X-Factor…not like with Teen Titans. That book is actively bad. But All-New X-Factor is just bland. It’s bland characters on bland missions with no real emphasis on the corporate angle, at least not yet. And I’m just not happy with bland.
6 Women I’d Pick for the Fearless Defenders
Picking my own superhero team lineups has become a bit of a game here at Henchman-4-Hire, one I love playing and sharing with you readers. Who among us hasn’t thought up their own ultimate Avengers lineup in their heads? Who among us hasn’t wished for a chance to pitch to Marvel their awesome new X-Force roster?
How about the Fearless Defenders?
I would sell my first born’s soul for Amanda Conner to draw the comic
This list started as characters I would add to Cullen Bunn’s Fearless Defenders series – but the comic got the ax after only a dozen issues. I didn’t read it as much as I should have, but the idea of a women-only superhero team (or at least one with a single token male) could be a lot of fun, and it definitely makes a statement in the world of comics. So join me, won’t you, in coming up with our own ideal Fearless Defenders squad!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/8/14
The new Marvel #1 issues keep pouring in! This week we’ve got Magneto, Moon Knight and the new relaunch of Wolverine and the X-Men. Personally, I have been super satisfied with the All-New Marvel NOW! campaign. It has produced some wonderful books – and some real stinkers. Fortunately, the releases this week are all mostly good.
I was very tempted to give Uncanny X-Men the gold star this week. I’ve ranted and raved before about how much I’m loving Cyclops these days, and the new issue is all about Cyclops! But then I got to thinking…we’re 18 issues into Uncanny X-Men, but has Brian Michael Bendis even gotten around to starting this ‘Mutant Revolution’ of his? The Uncanny X-Men have mostly just swirled around themselves this whole time, accomplishing little. And that kind of bummed me out. Fortunately, a new issue of She-Hulk came along to warm my heart and win Comic Book of the Week!
I hope there are some Patsy Walker fans in the audience!
Not only is Charles Soule going to be writing about legal logic, but he’s a master of drunk logic as well!
Comic Reviews: Forever Evil #6, Green Lantern #29, Magneto #1, Moon Knight #1, New Warriors #2, She-Hulk #2, Uncanny X-Men #18 and Wolverine and the X-Men #1.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/1/14
This week, Aquaman attends his high school reunion. And no, that’s not the set up for a joke. It sounds like one though, when I write it out like that, doesn’t it? But seriously, it’s a legitimate story, and it’s utterly fantastic! I seriously wish more DC comics these days were like Aquaman. Do you hear that, DC superheroes? Be more like Aquaman!
As for Marvel heroes, you need to be more like Hawkeye. Even more seriously, how did we not see Hawkeye coming? I am going to gush about this comic every week that it comes out, because I think Hawkeye is not only the best comic book on the stands today, but it’s also the wave of the future, baby! And it’s just so weird, considering Hawkeye the comic probably got greenlit because of Hawkeye in The Avengers movie, and the two characters couldn’t be more dissimilar!
Hawkeye #15, the epic team-up of the Barton Brothers, easily wins Comic Book of the Week.
And that is why Barney Barton is not a superhero.
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #28, Fantastic Four #1, Hawkeye #15, Superior Spider-Man #28, and Wolverine and the X-Men #42.
Review: Teen Titans #28
If I’m being completely honest, I don’t think writer Scott Lobdell did such a bad job creating pathos in Bar Torr’s rebellion against the Functionary. There is real emotion in his fight to free his people from a corrupt and evil government. So it’s a shame this comic is actually about a club of colorful, teenage heroes who wouldn’t know real emotion if it was beat into them with a crowbar. The Teen Titans are caught in the middle of a war that doesn’t belong to them, and they’re stuck flailing around in an embarrassingly desperate attempt to be useful.
Teen Titans #28
But in the end, the Empire wins. The Rebel Alliance loses. And Teen Titans has apparently decided to just cut its loses when it comes to the new and unique characters created for the soon-to-be-cancelled series.
Comic Rating: 3/10 – Bad.
If I could keep this honest streak going, I was mildly entertained reading this issue, because it’s largely just a bunch of action scenes. The art is actually pretty good, and the pacing is pretty OK, at least when characters aren’t having lengthy thought bubble monologues, and Lobdell engages in his favorite pastime: painfully blunt exposition. The new Evil Superboy has appeared in how many issues now? And in each one, he apparently has to mentally remind himself of his own motivations and personal storyline. It’s maddening!
But at least Evil Superboy gets to actually impact this issue, or stand out as a character. Red Robin, Wonder Girl and Raven are absolutely lost in this story. But they don’t just fade into the background, oh no. Instead, they insist on trying to stick their big noses into this war that has nothing to do with them, and likewise insist that everyone involved should adhere to their limited understanding of 21st century standards. It’s like the Titans are incapable of understanding the context of where they find themselves. It’s a war for independence from a murderous government, but the Titans seem to think they can just get everybody to play nice and negotiate – and this is coming from teenagers who have dedicated their lives to vigilante violence.
But at least those three don’t get character assassinated. If you thought Lobdell was burning Kid Flash’s character to the ground, just wait and see what he has in store for Solstice. I hope you hadn’t grown too attached to her.
Join me after the jump to find out why killing in a war for freedom is wrong, but murder in the name of love is righteous!
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