Category Archives: Comics
Review: X-Factor #248
All of the character-focused issues are over as Peter David takes us full speed into the Hell on Earth War…and it’s rather disappointing. If this issue is any indication of the type of story we can expect for Hell on Earth War, it’s going to be a long, dull trip. The dialogue and jokes are flat and lifeless, the art is flat for an entirely different reason, and the story itself is a whole mess of uninteresting vagueness. There is very little organization when it comes to established demons and Hell in the Marvel Universe. So Peter David is free to just make up whatever craziness he wants, and he definitely does. Nothing that we’ve seen so far about this story points to any sort of cohesion, and this issue is filled with more general evil fluff. PAD also hasn’t explained what any of this has to do with X-Factor!
X-Factor #248
The issue is competently put together, but the new story just isn’t coming together in any way that I find interesting. PAD has apparently been working on this story for more than a decade, but if that’s the case, he clearly didn’t plan it out too well.
Comic rating: 2/5: Bad.
Despite X-Factor being one of my favorite comic books, I’ve always had a problem with how PAD tries to drop hints or clues about what is to come. He’s terrible at it. For almost the entire length of the series, he’s been dropping hints about the true nature of Multiple Man’s powers. But that’s all he does with it. Somebody somewhere will mention how his powers don’t make sense, and that’s it. There’s no sense of the mystery growing or getting closer to an answer. Likewise, he’s been doing the same thing with the Hell on Earth War. There’s no sense that this is actually building to something interesting. It’s just random characters making vague comments about something else going on behind the scenes. To make a really good tease, you’ve got to actually reveal something, and then sparse out those reveals over a period of time. There’s got to be a sense that this is going somewhere and will amount to something.
And that is absolutely not the case with this Hell on Earth War. I’m not even sure if all the cryptic hints we’ve been given over the past year or so even have to do with Hell on Earth! Is this what the elder Tryp has been babbling about in his various appearances? What about that brief scene with the Isolationist? I know the past few issues have featured characters claiming that “X-Factor would fall”, but what does that even mean in this context? They’re a loosely organized team of X-Men spin-offs who stick together because they feel like it. Having them “fall” isn’t really going to ruin much. And why X-Factor? What do they have to do with demons or Hell or anything like that? Why not the Avengers? Why not the X-Men? Why not the Defenders or the Darkholde Redeemers?
This issue fails because PAD spends a lot of time acting like all his teases and hints have been leading towards something awesome – which they haven’t – and the rest of the time with the characters making terrible banter and awkward, uncomfortable jokes. He also wastes that awesome Monet cover by having it be Pip in Monet’s body. Monet is a far more interesting and entertaining character than Pip, but PAD spends a good portion of this issue on Pip. The character is not nearly as interesting as he seems to think. And we’re worse off because of it.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
6 Other Multiple Men (and Women)
If nothing else, my blog is a place where I can talk endlessly (even if it’s just to myself) about my favorite superheroes. I know I talk a lot about comics in general, and even sometimes about movies, TV shows and video games. But gosh darn it, I talk about Multiple Man so much that he’s even got his own category. And I bet there’s a good chance that a lot of the people reading my blog have never even heard of Multiple Man! It’s not like he’s on the Avengers. Or even on the X-Men. But Multiple Man is real and he’s my favorite superhero. I even liked him in his 10-second cameo in X-Men: The Last Stand. He was the only good part of that movie.
He’s the best thing in everything he’s in
Multiple Man is Jamie Madrox, a mutant born with the ability to create duplicates of himself. Ever wanted to be in 10 places at once to get all your errands done? Multiple Man can do that. It’s his super power. Madrox has had a semi-long career on the outskirts of the X-Men franchise, never quite joining the team, but always somewhere in the background. Most prominently, he is the longtime star of the X-Factor comic series, and has been headlining the book now for nearly 100 issues. So I’m a happy fan. And to celebrate Madrox’s awesomeness, this week’s blog list is a look at 6 other characters from pop culture who share his rather unique super power.
I realize this is kind of a crummy list this week – unless you’re a Multiple Man fan – but don’t worry, I’m gonna make up for it next week!
The Goon gets a motion comic, and it starts with beating on sparkly vampires
Not just a cheap shot at Twilight. This motion comic has genuine humour with fun voiceovers and a nice storyline all its own. Enjoy!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 12/1/12
Two of Marvel’s new flagship titles – Uncanny Avengers and All-New X-Men – shipped their second issues this week, and one of them came out the clear winner. The other one needs to pick up the pace if it hopes to keep up and stay relevant. I wonder if the books are in any kind of direct competition. They seem to be telling the same story – how the world of superheroes reacts to the new anti-mutant hysteria – but they’re going about it in very different ways. Are some people buying one but not the other? Regardless, the one book people should be buying is the new Thor: God of Thunder! The second issue continues the awesomeness of the first, and rides a winged horse to a clear Comic Book of the Week!
That was not a euphemism
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #2, Aquaman #14, Batman: Incorporated #5, FF #1, Red Lanterns #14, Talon #2, Thor: God of Thunder #2, Uncanny Avengers #2.
Review: Teen Titans #14
I’m actually surprised to say this, but I liked this issue of Teen Titans. And it’s written by Scott Lobdell. Weird, I know! But, surprise surprise, the guy actually followed my advice and gave (most) of the Teen Titans a moment to slow down and interact like real people! Granted, he doesn’t give them long, and already the hints of future stories start crowding into this issue, but there are still some real moments of genuine character interaction! It’s refreshing and fun to read. The writer of the previous issue, Fabian Nicieza, still did a better job with the jokes and the teenage banter. But Lobdell’s efforts in this issue weren’t their typical terribleness.
Teen Titans #14
If only the rest of Teen Titans had been as good as these two issues, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. The team still feels very sporadic and uncoordinated, but maybe we’re finally on the right track.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
The issue is split into two parts. Red Robin, Wonder Girl and Superboy continue the battle against Diesel. The dialogue isn’t nearly as good as it was last issue, under Nicieza’s pen, but it’s still serviceable and entertaining enough. The end is a little abrupt, and I’m not entirely sure what happened. But considering the cliffhanger ending to this issue, and the Teen Titans’ involvement in the Death of the Family story in Batman, I almost think Lobdell purposefully just stopped this story dead in its tracks in order to move on. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a lot more planned for Diesel and Wonder Girl. Maybe we’ll find out in the future.
The real treat of this issue – aside from the art, which oddly, is a little worse than last issue – are the scenes between Kid Flash, Bunker and Solstice after they were left behind. Rather than get up to any weird mischief, the trio just kind of hang out, chat amongst themselves and act like real people spending time with their real friends. This is what I’ve wanted to see in Teen Titans since the first issue. This is the kind of thing that will get people to read this comic and love these characters. All action all the time is going to get you nowhere. Unfortunately, Lobdell can’t sit still for too long. A new villain starts to insert himself in these scenes, and it’s really disappointing. We don’t need to be constantly inundated with superhero action! That’s why the Teen Titans still don’t really feel like friends, but instead are just a bunch of characters thrown together in a comic book.
And lordy, the number of editors’ notes referring to other comics and other series are ridiculous. Nothing that happens in this issue or to these characters has me the least bit interested in jumping over to some other series to see where the action continues. And all these little reminders just get annoying.
Alas, Teen Titans is still filled with flaws. Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Henchman-4-Hire 