Category Archives: Comics
Review: Scarlet Spider #21
That cover is no fakeout, my friends. The classic Scarlet Spider appears in this issue! Who else is super excited? Granted, it’s not Ben Reilly come back from the dead. That would be too much to hope for. But somebody does wear the classic Scarlet Spider costume, and that’s cool enough for me. As I mentioned in last week’s List of Six, I’m a big fan of the Clone Saga, and an even bigger fan of Ben Reilly and the Scarlet Spider. Why do you think I’m reviewing this Scarlet Spider series in this larger review format? Because a fanboy’s gonna love what a fanboy’s gonna love.
Scarlet Spider #21
Scarlet Spider #21 is a set-up issue for the next big danger that Kaine must fight his way through. The fact that it features a call back to the original Scarlet Spider is the sweetest of icings on this cake.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
Say what you will about the sleeveless hoodie, the visible webshooters and the pouches around the ankles, but I love the Scarlet Spider costume. It’s possibly my favorite alternate Spider-Man costume ever. You better believe I unlock it as soon as possible whenever I’m playing a Spider-Man video game. I like the sleekness of the design, plus I loved the character. And I like the visible webshooters. They’re a neat alteration. I even like the ankle pouches. So sue me. The 90s were a time when pouches were in, and I started reading comics in the 90s. We all like what we all like.
So anyway, Scarlet Spider is still going strong, and Kaine is still on a downward spiral of self-loathing. The guy feels like crap, and that carries over into this issue. He’s dealing with a lot of baggage. Of course, that’s the perfect time to start a new storyline, and this issue delivers in spades. Heck, if I didn’t know any better, this could almost serve as a grand finale, but I’m pretty sure Kaine isn’t being cancelled. A villain with ties to Kaine’s past returns and starts picking apart Kaine’s life, taking down the friends he’s made in Houston. This seems to be leading up to a brawl to end them all, and I’m very much of looking forward to that. After everything Kaine has been through lately, I want to see him just use all of that anger and pain to really kick some ass!
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/31/13
Such a good week! My pull list was absolutely overflowing this week, but I find I don’t mind at all when the comics are this good. This is the sort of week that reminds me why I love comics so much, when the stories are just so good, so entertaining and so fulfilling. Not to say there aren’t a few stinkers in the bunch, but even those stinkers had a few good bits – I even liked this week’s issue of Larfleeze, for once.
The real standouts this week are Aquaman, Thor: God of Thunder, FF and Uncanny X-Men, which are some of my usual favorites. Brian Michael Bendis has yet to let me down writing Cyclops, and Jason Aaron is a master of Asgard. The news that Matt Fraction is leaving FF makes this week’s issue bittersweet, but at least Geoff Johns is sticking with Aquaman for the foreseeable future. Winner of Comic Book of the Week is Thor: God of Thunder for an absolutely stunning Day in the LIfe type of story.
At the same time, this week’s Journey Into Mystery was almost as good, and it’s the final issue of the series. Sad thing there, because I could read Kathryn Immonen writing about Sif and Beta Ray Bill for the rest of my life. The Thor corner of the Marvel Universe was on fire this week.
Less impressive were the final issue of Trinity War and the New Avengers tie-in to Infinity. Both disappointing, but both mildly entertaining, with a few good scenes each. So at least there’s that.
Moment of the week, however, goes to Adolf the Impossible Boy in the pages of FF.
I love comic books.
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #23, FF #11, Journey Into Mystery #655, Justice League #23, Larfleeze #3, New Avengers #9, Thor: God of Thunder #12, Uncanny X-Men #11, Uncanny Avengers #10, and Wolverine and the X-Men #35.
Review: Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #26
Back in business and ain’t it grand? Mile Morales has suited up again as Spider-Man, and he’s back to web-slinging and joking around, just like the good old days. He really takes to it well, with some snappy banter and a good heart. That he gets to team up with Spider-Woman is a real treat, as is the fact that they’re going after Bombshell! I am very excited to see her again too!
Ultimate Spider-Man #26
Ultimate Spider-Man is back in business, with Miles suited up and ready to face the evils of the Roxxon Corporation. Ultimate Spider-Man #26 is a fun return to form, with the promise of more fun down the line. Though let’s hope there is a ‘down the line’.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
Back before Peter Parker was killed, the storyline I was enjoying most in Ultimate Spider-Man was that of the teenage Bombshell. She and her mother are original characters for the Ultimate Universe, and the story went that the daughter started going to Peter Parker’s school. In fact, Bendis started building up a friendship between the two, possibly even a romance. The loss of that Peter/Bombshell storyline was the thing I miss most from when Peter was killed, so it’s really cool to see her show up again, even if it’s not the same.
I don’t know if a relationship with Miles would be as good as a relationship with Peter. There was something about Peter and his love life that I thought Bombshell fit into perfectly, and I wanted to see explored. But Miles hasn’t had the relationship drama that Peter did, so I don’t know how I’d feel about that kind of story. But Miles could always just be friends with Bombshell. We’ll see where it goes.
Also, this issue introduces Ultimate Taskmaster, so that’s pretty badass.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Review: Teen Titans #23
Just when I think Teen Titans has done everything in its power to mess with my head, here comes Teen Titans #23. On the one hand, it’s everything I’ve ever wanted from the comic. Here is an issue dedicated to the various members sitting down and talking to one another about themselves and their lives. Some of them even sound kind of like teenagers; you know, when they’re not utterly the most base, awkward expositional dialogue ever written. Oh yes, oh yes. The one thing I’ve been complaining about most since the start of the DCnU Titans, and Teen Titans #23 delivers in spades.
Teen Titans #23
But holy crap is this a weird, stunted and disappointing comic!
Comic Rating: 4/10 – Pretty Bad.
I don’t even think I should rate these Teen Titans issues anymore. I’ve lost all ability to be objective, or even recognize what is or isn’t a good or bad issue. There’s just the same dull ache of concern over whether what I’m reading is fine, or if it’s just as inane and misguided as it’s been since the beginning. Teen Titans is a bad comic book. The characters are paper thin and have zero depth. They have no reason for being a team. It’s just a collection of familiar characters garbled together into a team book, with sales presumably strong enough to keep it going, based probably entirely on the brand recognition. Their dialogue is some of the most stilted, exposition-heavy in all of comics. And their costumes just look stupid. There, I said it.
Teen Titans #23 starts off with one of the silliest moments yet as the team deals with Kid Flash being pulled into that vortex, which you can see on the cover. It’s one of the most openly comedic moments I have seen in comics in a long time, but it’s so broadly comedic that I’m not sure it’s actually happening in 2013. It seems like something you’d see in a 90s sitcom, complete with laugh track.
On top of that, for reasons I can’t quite fathom, writer Scott Lobdell spends the issue reintroducing every single member of the team, in the most awkward and obvious ways possible. One would think this is a ‘jumping on’ type of play, for any new readers (as if!), but then the next issues of Teen Titans in September are part of that Villains Month play. They won’t have anything to do with the Teen Titans. So why would anybody jump on for this issue, then be forced to read comics about Trigon and Deathstroke?
And the ending. God damn the ending of this comic. If it means what I think it means…
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more head-against-wall examination of this out-of-control comic book.
6 Things I Love That Everybody Else Hates
Wow, people really seem to hate Ben Affleck. When it was announced last week that Affleck had been cast as the new Batman, the Internet exploded! And after that, I think there were more articles about the negative fan reaction than there were articles about the actual announcement. It seems the Internet really, really doesn’t want Ben Affleck to play Batman.
But why not? I like Ben Affleck just fine, and I’m excited to see what he’ll do with the character.
Give him a Boston accent, probably
So that got me thinking, what are other pop culture things that I love but everybody else seems to hate? I know there are more than a few movies on that list, but what else? Being the student of the Internet that I am, keeping track of the various hate rage is just something that comes gradually. We all know that the Internet loves bacon and Joss Whedon, and we also know that everybody hates the Star Wars prequels and, apparently, Ben Affleck. These are just accepted facts of pop culture society these days.
Well I’ve put together a list of six things I absolutely love that everybody else seems to hate. And I’d love to hear some of yours in the comments.
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