Category Archives: Reviews

Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/5/15

Somehow, fate finds a way to balance the scales. Last week, I reviewed nearly a dozen comics all piled into one New Comics Day! This week, I had to scrape and scrounge to find some interesting comics to talk about. And they’re all Marvel, that’s always a hoot.

I went back to last week and snagged my copy of Hank Johnson: Agent of Hydra, by popular request. I also picked up Mockingbird #1, a special issue celebrating the anniversary of SHIELD. And Comic Book of the Week goes to Silk #7, the last issue before the Secret Wars break, for a pretty good wrap-up of the first story arc.

Never a dull moment!

Over at Word of the Nerd, I continue the lack of content with a look at House of M #2. It’s a pretty boring comic, despite involving two rebellions, an angry Scarlet Witch and Fin Fang Foom.

Comic Reviews: Hank Johnson: Agent of Hydra #1, Mockingbird #1, Silk #7, and Silver Surfer #14.

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/29/15

I don’t know why this happens, but it always seems like my favorite comics all come out in the same week. It’s a nightmare for the wallet but a celebration for reading! This week, we’ve got new issues of Ant-Man, Spider-Woman, Lumberjanes, Grayson, We Are Robin, Harley Quinn and more! It’s great!

Comic Book of the Week goes to Batgirl #43 for another nearly perfect issue. Batgirl is everything I could possibly want from a superhero comic these days, and the creative team pulls it off so effortlessly.

Batgirl vs. a tiger!!

I hope DC keeps this team and this direction around for a long time to come.

Comic Reviews: Last Days of Ant-Man #1, Batgirl #43, Cyborg #2, Grayson #11, Harley Quinn #19, Justice League of America #3, Lumberjanes #17, Ninjak #6, Spider-Woman #10 and We Are Robin #3. 

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Review: Teen Titans #11

Okay, I’m calm now. As you may recall, I thought the last issue of Teen Titans was an utter abomination. It was full of random, pointless character moments, crummy art and a general sense of terrible pacing and storytelling. It was a monster. But time heals all wounds, and I’m back to see if Teen Titans #11 is any better. Good news, it is! But only because all that prior insanity is behind us. I’m OK with the fact that Wonder Girl’s team is randomly called ‘The Elite’. I’m OK that Trinity exists in the face of all logic. I’m OK that Chimera is now a full member of the Teen Titans with little to no fanfare. I’m OK with the fact that Kid Flash is back for no particular reason.

Teen Titans #11

I think I’ve fallen too far down the rabbit hole of suckitude to ever ‘enjoy’ an issue of Teen Titans again, but the new issue is serviceable. The story is straight forward, so that helps. And writer Will Pfeifer keeps most of his worst characters in check.

Comic Rating: 4/10 – Pretty Bad.

If any comic was in need of ‘Batgirling’ in the wake of Convergence, it was Teen Titans. The book has been terrible since the launch of the New 52. There is zero focus on the main characters, some of whom have never even been seen out of costume. Teen Titans is all about what random villain the characters can be thrown at next, it’s never about the characters themselves, which has become a cornerstone of good comics this year. Batgirl is popular because it focuses on Barbara Gordon, among many other good reasons. Same with Hawkeye or Harley Quinn or Ms. Marvel. But Teen Titans remains the silly action figure comic it has been since the start of the New 52.

And it boggles the mind even further to remember that Teen Titans got a relaunch and a new #1 issue last year! Why the heck did that happen?! Pfeifer hasn’t done anything differently than previous writer Scott Lobdell.

But I’m rambling. Teen Titans #11 sees one half of the team try to break into a supermax prison, and that focus helps to keep the book from flailing painfully out of control. There’s another new artist, who’s both good and bad. Basically, Teen Titans continues to be a pretty terrible comic overall, but this issue softens the blow.

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/22/15

What a lovely day! This week, we released the first two issues of Gamer Girl & Vixen into the wild! If you backed my Kickstarter, you’ve been sent your digital copies! People are reading and loving our little comic, and I’m on Cloud 9! Hopefully I’ll be able to share some good reviews coming up.

If you missed the Kickstarter and would still like to read the comic, stay tuned! We’re working to either get it up on Comixology or sell it ourselves!

As for regular comics, we’ve got a pretty OK pile this week. None of my favorites came out, but we’ve still got some good options from DC, Marvel and beyond. Comic Book of the Week goes to Star Wars #8 for the phenomenal introduction of Stuart Immonen on art.

Lightsabers will never be not cool

Over at Word of the Nerd, I picked up the first issue of the House of M tie-in to Secret Wars, and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost all reason to care about these tie-ins anymore. This feels like it’s going on forever. The issue itself was pretty standard nothingness. Competently made, but utterly worth less than nothing. Oh well.

Comic Reviews: Black Canary #3, Power Up #2, Robin: Son of Batman #3, Secret Six #5, Silk #6 and Star Wars #8.

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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/15/15

I am very pleased to announce that the first two issues of Gamer Girl & Vixen are done! We’ll be sending them off to the printers soon, so anyone who ordered a copy through our Kickstarter will get them this fall. But we’re also going to be offering the digital issues online in this upcoming week! I can’t wait until people are actually reading my comic!

As for regular comics, we’ve got a bunch of winners this week, from Superman to Batman to Starfire!

Comic Book of the Week goes to Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, yet again. I’m like a broken record at this point. I want to give other books a chance, but nothing touches me like Squirrel Girl these days!

I will never be able to say the word ‘nuts’ the same way again

Over at Word of the Nerd, I continue my coverage with Secret Wars #5. We’re past the halfway mark of this big series, but for some reason, writer Jonathan Hickman decided to take a breather to remind people of some of the backstory. Odd choice.

Comic Reviews: Action Comics #43, Batman #43, Gotham Academy #9, Starfire #3 and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #8.

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