Category Archives: Comics
The 6 Coolest Alternate Reality Robins
Robin Week continues now with a look at some of the coolest alternate reality Robins in comics. Alternate realities and parallel dimensions are a staple of comic books. Not only can they provide a new and exciting adventure for our heroes, but they’re an opportunity for imaginations to run wild. Want to write a story about Steampunk Batman fighting Jack the Ripper? No problem! Or how about a version of Superman raised in Soviet Russia? You bet! And did someone say Batman the Pirate? These types of stories are so prolific that DC Comics has coined the word ‘Elseworlds’ to categorize them.
And Robin has had some pretty cool alternate Elseworlds versions out there.
Give me ALL the Robins!
There are a lot more than six, so I’ve focused on simply the six coolest alternate reality versions of Robin. But just for kicks, I think I’ll add even more in the Honorable Mentions section! Join me after the jump for some weird but awesome Robin fun!
Robin’s Fate Spoiled in the Media
The evil news media has done it again: they’ve spoiled the fate of Damian Wayne. They did it when Captain America was shot. They did it when Peter Parker was killed. And now they’ve done it again! Though I’m not going to do the spoiling until after the jump.
What kind of kid hates the zoo?
Though you can read my previous article on whether or not Damian was going to be killed. Or you can just click the jump to find out for sure. What the heck happens to Damian!? THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AFTER THE JUMP!
Review: Saga #10
I was disappointed with the last issue of Saga because writer Brian K. Vaughn took us away from the main characters at a very entertaining part of their story, choosing instead to focus on some of the side characters. And while I don’t take back my disappointment, I am definitely glad he did that, because Vaughn set up one of the most emotionally powerful scenes in the series yet. I cried out loud when I turned to the final page! Damn you, Brian K. Vaughn! Why must you hit us with all the feels? We’re only human. We can’t be put through an emotional wringer like this!
Saga #10
Saga #10 is absolutely perfect in every conceivable way. Vaughn brings together both groups of characters in an issue that brings to a head the various plot threads we’ve been reading over the past several issues. He does this by first showing us true love and then later breaking our damn hearts.
Comic Rating: 5/5: Great!
Vaughn should be teaching some kind of class on creative writing. The man is a master of building up characters and putting them together in highly entertaining and emotionally fulfilling ways. We only met Marko’s parents a few issues ago, but I love them already, and I love how they have quickly become such a warm and important part of the cast. A writer should be able to tell he’s got good characters when all I want to do is read them sitting around and talking about their lives. We get some of that in this issue, as well as some more parenting advice from Barr, but there’s also a lot of action, which is good too. If you can’t tell by the cover, we finally get Izabel back into the cast and everyone returns to the spaceship tree. Those are some very entertaining scenes.
The art by Fiona Staples is, of course, absolutely top notch. I can only hope she becomes one of the greatest artists in the industry after this series. The characters all look great, and she brings a real coziness to their confines. Staples also draws one incredible splash page that I’ll post later that is simply stunning. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that she is perfect for this series after seeing that page.
And then when it comes time to break our hearts on the last page, Staples is more than up for the challenge.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 2/23/13
It’s weeks like this that make me regret ever starting this Hench-Sized review column! Oy vey! Somehow, the Marvel and DC scheduling system is perfectly tailored to my reading habits so that the books I actually buy and read all come out on the same darn week! Last week I only had four comics in the Hench-Sized reviews. This week there’s more than a dozen! And it doesn’t help that I’m broke…
But enough whining, let’s get to some comics! This has proven to be an absolutely stellar week of books! I enjoyed all of the comics I bought this week, with more than a few of them rising to perfect scores. And you want to talk gender equality? How about the fact that the two best comics this week both star female leads. It’s an absolute shame that more people aren’t buying Captain Marvel. That book is absolutely amazing! But it’s surpassed just a little by Batwoman, which wins Comic Book of the Week for its fantastic climactic issue and surprise romantic ending!
Though Captain Marvel’s sheer adorableness was hard to beat.
Comic Reviews: Avengers #6, Batwoman #17, Captain Marvel #10, Green Lantern #17, Green Lantern: New Guardians #17, Indestructible Hulk #4, Justice League #17, Justice League of America #1, Nightwing #17, Nova #1, Red Hood and the Outlaws #17, Superior Spider-Man #4, Thor: God of Thunder #5, Vibe #1, Wonder Woman #17.
Review: X-Factor #252
Alright, alright, the Hell on Earth War is settling in nicely, and X-Factor remains a good read, but the potential for being overdrawn is starting to set in. This is part three or five of the big event (depending on if you count the prologue), and we haven’t made much progress as of yet. That’s not a problem, per se. But I’m starting to worry that writer Peter David has too much stuff planned, and that this story will become mired in filler and fluff until it grossly outstays its welcome. That’s what tends to happen with PAD’s big event stories, and I’m definitely worried for Hell on Earth War. So far, things seem to be moving forward well enough, but I definitely think there is reason to worry.
X-Factor #252
The story isn’t really resonating on a personal or emotional level with any of the characters. Everybody is kind of just doing stuff and then doing more stuff, with the only promise being that more stuff is definitely going to occur in the next issue.
Comic Rating: 4/5: Good.
The only real characters with any kind of real, personal connection to this story are Tier and, by extension, his mother Wolfsbane. But we barely know Tier. Prior to this story, he was a baby, so this is our first time getting to know him as a thinking, feeling adolescent. And, by extension, we don’t even really know Wolfsbane as a mother. We know she was pregnant for awhile, and was really broken up about abandoning Tier, but we never saw her spend any real time with the kid, at least time that wasn’t about running from danger or fighting. So we have no real experience with Tier, and no experience with Wolfsbane as a mom. So even their personal connection to the Hell on Earth War is really based on stuff we were told about, not something we were actually shown and experienced. The personal connection to the reader just isn’t there.
Likewise, everybody else in X-Factor is kind of just along for the ride. They also barely know Tier, and are kind of just helping him because it’s the right thing to do. There’s maybe been one line from Multiple Man about how they’ll protect him because he’s Wolfsbane’s son, but nobody has really said or done anything with Rahne to indicate that they’re going to stick by her side no matter what. They’re just there and fighting whatever bad guy shows up on the page. Even when their good friend and teammate Strong Guy is revealed to be a villain, it doesn’t seem to faze anybody. Nobody really cares that Guido has turned on them. He’s just the bad guy that shows up, so there’s a fight scene.
This cannot sustain a comic book story, especially not one that lasts as long as PAD usually does. I wouldn’t be surprised if we were still dealing with the Hell on Earth War come the fall. So I’m really worried about the pacing of this story. But at least, for now, it’s still an exciting read with a lot of cool action and adventure.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Henchman-4-Hire 