Category Archives: DC
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/16/13
This was not a good week for friend-of-the-blog Jason Aaron. I’ve been a huge fan of his Thor: God of Thunder series, and have enjoyed his Wolverine and the X-Men comic, but both of them take horrifying nose dives in quality this week. I was shocked at just how bad those comics were. Maybe it’s because they both take a break from the normal storytelling to focus an issue on the villain. Is Aaron just bad at villains? I couldn’t say, but both comics were very disappointing.
On the better side of things, we have a few Batman titles tackling the fallout of Damian’s death, and we have hot and cold Brian Michael Bendis. The second issue of his Age of Ultron is a dud, but the new issue of Uncanny X-Men is everything I want from this comic. It’s on fire, and easily wins Comic Book of the Week. This is the best Cyclops has been since Joss Whedon was writing, and honestly, this is the best any superhero has been in years!
Comics Reviewed: Age of Ultron #2, Batman #18, Batman and Robin #18, Fearless Defenders #2, Thor: God of Thunder #6, Uncanny X-Men #3, and Wolverine and the X-Men #26.
Robin Watch: Harper Row Gets It Right
Welcome to a new, ongoing feature here at Henchman-4-Hire! By now we all know that the most recent Robin, Damian Wayne, died in the heat of battle. And so for the first time since the late 80s, Batman is without a Robin. But like how chocolate needs peanut butter and peanut butter needs jelly, Batman needs a Robin, so it’s only a matter of time before a new hero rises into that iconic role.
Being the huge Robin fan that I am, I’m going to cover the ongoing search for a new Robin. Whether it happens in the comics themselves or maybe interviews with the writers and creators, I’m going to stay on the front lines of Batman journalism – which, of course, is the best kind of journalism.
Let’s kick things off with this week’s Batman #18, one of the first comics to deal with the fallout of Damian’s death. Writer Scott Snyder has taken the curious tactic of having the issue star Robin frontrunner Harper Row as she tries to help a grieving Batman.
With an butt-kicking
I was a big fan of this issue, and my full review will go up on Saturday with the rest of the Hench-Sized reviews. But first I want to explore this issue for the ways in which it pushes Harper ever closer to becoming the new Robin. I recently wrote several articles about this subject, both on why I fully support Harper as the new Robin, as well as the criteria that goes into picking a successful new Robin.
Suffice to say, in this issue, Harper Row gets everything right.
Join me after the jump to see what I mean.
6 Other Comic Book Captains
I wrote an article last week teasing Captain America and calling him a big, patronizing jerk. That was unfair of me. I’m sure he’s a nice guy. Plus ‘Murica! Amiright? So to make up for that perceived slight against our nation’s greatest superhero, I’ve dedicated this List of Six to the noble act of being a Captain Superhero. Because for some reason, there are a ton of comic book characters who put the word ‘Captain’ in front of their name.
Yaar!
Why not ‘General’ or ‘Private’ or ‘Sergeant’? Why is ‘Captain’ the go-to rank for superheroes? Heck, some of these guys aren’t even in the military, let alone any business that would use the word ‘Captain’. None of them pilot boats or airplanes. Somehow it’s just stuck. One of those weird comic book traditions, I guess. So join me after the jump for six comic book characters who consider themselves Captain of…something.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/9/13
This week kicks off Marvel’s new Big Event comic the Age of Ultron…but it’s kind of a slow build so far. We’ll have to see if it picks up in the second issue, which comes out next week. Talk about accelerated shipping. Beyond the big stuff, we’ve got a good collection of quality comics. I think I liked every single issue I read this week, everything from the important titles like Avengers and All-New X-Men down to the smaller stuff like Green Arrow and Winter Soldier. Though now that I think about it, I need to buy more independent titles. Seriously, can anyone recommend any good comics that aren’t Marvel or DC?
But until then, I’m going to stick with the big guns, and it actually surprises me to say that Comic Book of the Week goes to Avengers #7! Where did that come from? I have really had it in for this series since issue #1, but Jonathan Hickman really knocked it out of the park this week. He actually made me interested in the New Universe.
They look just as surprised as I am
Let’s hope he can finally write a solid superhero story.
Comic Reviews: Age of Ultron #1, All-New X-Men #8, Avengers #7, Green Arrow #18, Green Lantern #18, Superior Spider-Man #5, Winter Soldier #16.
Superman Unchained is the Stupidest Name of All Time
Do you remember a few months ago when DC started hinting at a new Superman series written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Jim Lee? At the time, the comic was rumored to be called ‘Man of Steel’ to coincide with the big movie of the same name.
Instead, DC have revealed that the new comic will instead be called ‘Superman Unchained’ – quite possibly the most ridiculous name ever.
Here is the announcement article at USA Today. Reading that article makes me question – and not for the first time – what the hell even goes on at the DC editorial offices. According to Snyder and Lee – who, don’t get me wrong, are two of the biggest talents in comics today – the series is going to be like every other Superman series ever. It’s going to star Superman as a superhero and include his supporting cast, like Lois Lane. There doesn’t seem to be any special gimmick or pull or reason for the series to exist.
What the hell is the ‘Unchained’ even supposed to signify? Is every cover going to feature him breaking out of chains? And why chains? Since when has Superman ever been chained or had a problem with chains?
Why not call it ‘Man of Steel’ like the freakin’ movie!?
What about the comics already being published, Superman and Action Comics? Why not just put Snyder and Lee on one of those series? There’s no way Superman is going to be able to support three ongoing series. Batman can barely pull it off, and Superman is no Batman.
Speaking of which, DC is also bringing back the Superman/Batman team-up book, because they want to make money. Comics like Hawkman and Blue Beetle are being cancelled to make way for even more Superman and Batman comics. This is the future of comics from the Big Two publishers, people. Soon all we’ll see are Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and Wolverine comics, with other characters only appearing in team-up books.
Still, Superman Unchained is a stupid name and it just seems to me like DC is shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to Superman and Action Comics.
Henchman-4-Hire 