Category Archives: Comics
Review: Teen Titans #22
I think Teen Titans #22 is where the series finally loses its mind. It’s jumped the shark. There is only the insane ramblings of a madman who has too much else to worry about, and can no longer be bothered to tell an even partially coherent story. Scott Lobdell is off writing both Superman comics. He’s got a lot on his plate. So clearly when it came time to write Teen Titans #22, he simply went off the deep end. Everything he may have learned in story-telling school has gone right out the window.
Teen Titans #22
Unprecedented recap page. The Deus ex Machina Squad. Trigon quitting. Evil Red Robin defeated off-panel. It’s all just so…so…lame.
Comic Rating: 2/10 – Very Bad.
On the one hand, the comic is comprehensible. I know what’s happening, I can understand what’s intended. But on the other hand, every other aspect of this comic is a wreck. It’s given up all pretense of being about the characters, and is instead just a rambling befuddlement of stuff that’s happening to a random, somewhat familiar group of superheroes. There’s no cohesion anymore. Issues don’t flow together. Characters are nothing more than colorful bodies who spout painful dialogue, and do what is required of them by the writer. Plot threads are dropped or dismissed seemingly at random, with only a little hand-waving to explain them away. While other plot threads just pop up out of nowhere and make no sense in the larger series.
Nothing matters anymore. Nothing. No friendships, no relationships, no idea of teamwork or why they’re even doing this. The Teen Titans are a train wreck. And the worst part is that they will now always be a train wreck.
Remember, there are no previous versions of the Titans. There is no long legacy of Teen Titans to fall back on anymore, not in the New 52 universe. It’s just Red Robin and this band of idiot misfits grouped together for the sake of hanging a series on. And it’s garbage, pure garbage. I’m pretty sure this book is surviving on name recognition alone at this point. But if it keeps going like this, Teen Titans isn’t going to have a name to bank on anymore.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 7/20/13
Comic-Con International and Henchman-4-Hire have two things in common today: we’re both hard at work! Unfortunately, we’re not working together, at least not yet. Maybe someday I’ll have a booth at the comic book/pop culture Mecca of the world, but not yet. I’m still just a lonely nobody blogger plucking away at my keyboard here in Central New York. At least the comics were good this week.
I don’t know what it is, but comics have been on a roll for a few weeks now. I’m mostly reading some pretty awesome books anyway, but this week was especially good. What great, glorious world do I live in where Batwoman, FF, Thor: God of Thunder and Wonder Woman all come out in the same week? They’re some of my favorite comics! And this week, Wonder Woman is the clear winner of Comic Book of the Week. It’s spectacular. If you love the New Gods, I hope you’re reading Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman has got this team leader thing down cold!
Comic Reviews: Batman and Catwoman #22, Batwoman #22, FF #9, Justice League of America #6, Thor: God of Thunder #10, and Wonder Woman #22.
Review: X-Factor #259
Hey continuity fans, this issue is for you! Did you ever wonder what happened to Dazzler’s baby from that one brief mention of it’s fate back in 2001? What about the secret history of Longshot and Shatterstar? Are you a scholar of X-Men history so deep and obscure that you’ve been waiting decades for your answers? Peter David and X-Factor have you covered in the latest issue of The End of X-Factor! And it’s mostly good, but also mostly just a quick attempt for PAD to write off a story idea he had in one issue.
X-Factor #259
On the one hand, The End of X-Factor is about tying off each individual character with a bow. On the other hand, like with this issue, PAD might be cramming every story idea he had left into single, one-off issues.
Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.
I’m just not a big fan of Rictor, Shatterstar or Longshot, so maybe the true strength of this issue was lost on me. PAD has been hinting at some sort of connection between the two similar heroes for a while now, and I can definitely say I didn’t see this exact twist coming, but it’s still similar to what I expected. It also only comes up in the last third of the book, which turns into a huge info-dump as PAD just lets it all out. I got the feeling that he had planned something bigger and better for the big reveal, but the comic’s cancellation saw to the end of those plans.
The rest of the issue is fine. It’s mostly about Rictor, and it’s so utterly random. After the events of Hell on Earth War, Rictor wound up in the Mojoverse, of all places. That part doesn’t make much sense, but again, this issue is all about tying off the Longshot/Shatterstar story. PAD does a fine job with it, and might actually appease a few continuity buffs in the audience.
The 6 Characters on My Avengers Team
San Diego Comic-Con is this weekend, and to celebrate, I’ve put together a List of Six that may be one of the purest forms of comic book geekery: what is my ideal Avengers lineup? What is my dream team? We’ve played this game several times before with the Sinister Six and X-Force, well now I’m setting my sights on the big guys. The game is simple, and as a comic book geek, I think it’s fantastically fun: if I were hired to write an Avengers comic, and had free reign over what characters to put on the team, who would I pick? Who would you pick?
The Avengers are very different from the Justice League over at DC Comics. I could never do one of these lists for the Justice League, because my ideal lineup for that team is the same as everybody else: use the top 7 classic Justice Leaguers: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter. That’s the perfect Justice League, hands down. No need to debate. But the Avengers are very different. The Avengers are not just made up of the top superheroes over at Marvel. The Avengers are their own little family of superheroes, known more for being Avengers than for being solo heroes. And if I were to make a team of Avengers, I definitely wouldn’t put popular characters like Spider-Man or Wolverine on the team just because they sell.
I have my own ideas. And I’m sure you have yours. Join me after the jump for the characters I would put on my Avengers team. And please share your own ideal lineup in the comments!
Looks Like I’ll Be Buying a New Harley Quinn Comic Series
Like the gravitational pull of a black hole, the closer we get to this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con, the faster comic book news is going to be coming out. One of the first new series to be announced is a new Harley Quinn solo series, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and his wife Amanda Conner, who is probably the best comic book artist in the business today.
Why she isn’t automatically drawing this series, I do not know. But at least she’s drawn the first cover!
The classic costume is sorely missed
I’ve always been lukewarm towards Harley Quinn, but I am red hot towards Amanda Conner, and her husband. They were the creative team that kicked off the Power Girl series before the reboot, and that was a lot of fun. So I’m excited to see what they can do with Harley Quinn…and I hope Conner draws the book. I mean, come on!
The series was announced at Comic Book Resources, which also had an interview with the pair:
Palmiotti: She is the hero in her own story. What happens, who gets killed, what house gets burned down and so on, well, thats just part of her story. She looks at the world differently and we will be building on that and looking even closer on her past and what makes her tick. There are so many layers to this fantastic character that we cannot wait to explore.
Conner: Like Jimmy always says; A villain almost never believes that they are the bad guy. They usually think that they’re doing something for the greater good, or that they’re downtrodden and trying to overcome their repressors, or more than likely, they just want something.
So what do you guys and gals think? Does this series sound like something you want to read? Do you still like Harley Quinn in the New 52 universe? Sound off in the comments!
Henchman-4-Hire 