Category Archives: Comics
Review: X-Factor #230
This is it folks, what I believe is the first ever perfect score since I started doing comic book reviews on my blog! Peter David lets his hair down with this issue of X-Factor, writing a touching, twisting, and downright hilarious character-driven story. I’ve always said that the best issues of this series are the ones that focus on character interaction instead of weird plots, and this issue is the perfect example. This is why I love X-Factor so much. I’ve complained in the past about the overly large cast, but here every character is used to great effect, along with some wonderful additions.
X-Factor #230
All that, and I still don’t know what’s going to happen to Multiple Man!
Comic rating: 5/5: Great!
I’m not going to hold back my love for this issue. David has built up a fantastic cast in X-Factor, and here he is firing on all cylinders with each and every one of them. There is a great turmoil at X-Factor Investigations in the wake of Multiple Man’s death. Does the team want to stay together? What other emotions have been drudged up? What do they make of the fact that Strong Guy has no soul? How many push-ups can a soulless Strong Guy do?
And how great is the art of Emanuela Lupacchino? I praised Michael Lark the other day for his gritty character work. Well Lupacchino does a fantastic job with her realistic yet slightly cartoony character work here.
Join me for a look at one of the most delightful casts in comic books as well as a small peak at the ongoing fate of Multiple Man. Synopsis and spoilers after the jump!
The Top 6 Snow and Ice-Themed Comic Book Characters
Winter is upon us here in Central New York. I should know, I spend almost every morning having to scrape the frost off my car. Sometimes it’s even on the inside of my windows. But that’s probably something wrong with my car. Regardless, we’re talking winter, people. Snow, ice, freezing cold, big coats, fuzzy hats, icicles, popsicles and the deep chill of the frozen white.
So why not warm up by talking about some wintery superheroes?
If you’re at all familiar with this blog, you know I love talking about superheroes. That’s the fun of being a comic book geek. Cold-based powers are a popular choice when it comes to designing a superhero or a super-villain. Creating ice, throwing snowballs, bringing about a new ice age! These are the powers of winter! And there are a lot out there, these are just the Top 6!
Batman’s Gonna Fight a Bunch of Owls
We comic book fans love it when our favorite characters hang out or team up. It builds a bigger and fuller world, it provides new avenues for character growth and usually it’s just plain keen. That’s why teams like the Justice League are so popular in the first place. Heck, the entire fate of Hollywood is banking on this very concept when Marvel’s superheroes team up The Avengers movie this May! So it’s no surprise that comic book companies save their biggest stories for crossovers and team ups. And DC Comics’ New 52 initiative has finally announced their first major Event Comic crossover.
And of course, it stars Batman. Because you don’t get much more awesome than Batman. He’s going to be fighting a bunch of owls.
What danger 'hoots' in the night?
Who are the Court of Owls? (see what I did there?) They’re only the hot new bad guys in Scott Snyder’s Batman series. DC announced Monday that all of the comics in the Batman-family will crossover this May for an Event called ‘The Night of Owls’. They also announced that the Batman series will feature back-up stories in its regular issues filling in some of the backstory and history of this enigmatic band of hooters. So this could mean Batman teaming up with Robin, Nighting, Batgirl, Batwoman, Catwoman and whoever else is in the Bat-family of books that I’m forgetting. Sadly, that doesn’t include Tim Drake.
More after the jump!
Review: Defenders #2
With the team already set up in issue #1, this follow-up second issue deals mostly with exposition and fighting. Writer Matt Fraction has clearly thought up a pretty detailed plot, and now he’s got to tell us all what it is so that I guess we can enjoy the rest of the story. This issue was not very exciting, I’m afraid. Not at all bad, but nothing to blow minds or convince me that The Defenders is the next big thing.
Defenders #2
The Defenders has yet to truly ‘wow’ me or show why it should be considered anything more than a Matt Fraction vanity project. The stellar art of the Dodsons isn’t enough.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright!
This is a humor book where the jokes are more subtle and less slapstick, and unfortunately don’t land most of the time. The characters, while enjoyable, take a back seat to the plot explanation. And the plot is cool, I guess, but it’s hardly anything noteworthy or groundbreaking. This series is so far pretty much just standard superhero fare. Sure it looks fantastic and is well-written, but everything about it falls pretty flat. This feels like it should be a high-profile book, but is failing in that regard.
It’s some of Marvel’s top talent launching a series that doesn’t need to exist. Nobody was screaming for a new Defenders series. So when Marvel let’s Matt Fraction and the Dodsons create The Defenders, I want to know there’s a purpose. Spoilers and synopsis after the jump.
Review: Punisher #7
Greg Rucka throws us a curveball in this issue, writing a darn good character piece while solving none of the problems I’ve had with the series so far. If anything, this issue makes those problems worse. The story doesn’t move ahead at all. We learn nothing new about the villains, their motivation or anything, really. And neither the Punisher nor the Bride even appear! Instead we get the reason why Detective Ozzy Clemons dislikes the Punisher. That’s it.
Punisher #7
Still, it’s a well-written character examination. And the art of guest artist Michael Lark is to die for.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright!
The problems with this series do not weigh down this issue, as they have previous issues. Rucka is clearly still going for style over substance, and with this issue, he does a very good job with it. Of course, I’d give the issue a higher grade if anything actually happened story-wise. As I said, the Punisher doesn’t even appear. It’s the Ozzy and Bolt show, as the two have a long talk about various topics (mostly the Punisher) on their way to the upstate lodge where Punisher and Bride did all that killing last issue. I’m a sucker for a good character exploration.
So hopefully I can explain why I’m cool with this issue, despite it not fixing any of the series problems, moving the story forward or providing much depth. Synopsis and spoilers after the jump.
Henchman-4-Hire 