Category Archives: Reviews
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/1/14
This week, Aquaman attends his high school reunion. And no, that’s not the set up for a joke. It sounds like one though, when I write it out like that, doesn’t it? But seriously, it’s a legitimate story, and it’s utterly fantastic! I seriously wish more DC comics these days were like Aquaman. Do you hear that, DC superheroes? Be more like Aquaman!
As for Marvel heroes, you need to be more like Hawkeye. Even more seriously, how did we not see Hawkeye coming? I am going to gush about this comic every week that it comes out, because I think Hawkeye is not only the best comic book on the stands today, but it’s also the wave of the future, baby! And it’s just so weird, considering Hawkeye the comic probably got greenlit because of Hawkeye in The Avengers movie, and the two characters couldn’t be more dissimilar!
Hawkeye #15, the epic team-up of the Barton Brothers, easily wins Comic Book of the Week.
And that is why Barney Barton is not a superhero.
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #28, Fantastic Four #1, Hawkeye #15, Superior Spider-Man #28, and Wolverine and the X-Men #42.
Review: Teen Titans #28
If I’m being completely honest, I don’t think writer Scott Lobdell did such a bad job creating pathos in Bar Torr’s rebellion against the Functionary. There is real emotion in his fight to free his people from a corrupt and evil government. So it’s a shame this comic is actually about a club of colorful, teenage heroes who wouldn’t know real emotion if it was beat into them with a crowbar. The Teen Titans are caught in the middle of a war that doesn’t belong to them, and they’re stuck flailing around in an embarrassingly desperate attempt to be useful.
Teen Titans #28
But in the end, the Empire wins. The Rebel Alliance loses. And Teen Titans has apparently decided to just cut its loses when it comes to the new and unique characters created for the soon-to-be-cancelled series.
Comic Rating: 3/10 – Bad.
If I could keep this honest streak going, I was mildly entertained reading this issue, because it’s largely just a bunch of action scenes. The art is actually pretty good, and the pacing is pretty OK, at least when characters aren’t having lengthy thought bubble monologues, and Lobdell engages in his favorite pastime: painfully blunt exposition. The new Evil Superboy has appeared in how many issues now? And in each one, he apparently has to mentally remind himself of his own motivations and personal storyline. It’s maddening!
But at least Evil Superboy gets to actually impact this issue, or stand out as a character. Red Robin, Wonder Girl and Raven are absolutely lost in this story. But they don’t just fade into the background, oh no. Instead, they insist on trying to stick their big noses into this war that has nothing to do with them, and likewise insist that everyone involved should adhere to their limited understanding of 21st century standards. It’s like the Titans are incapable of understanding the context of where they find themselves. It’s a war for independence from a murderous government, but the Titans seem to think they can just get everybody to play nice and negotiate – and this is coming from teenagers who have dedicated their lives to vigilante violence.
But at least those three don’t get character assassinated. If you thought Lobdell was burning Kid Flash’s character to the ground, just wait and see what he has in store for Solstice. I hope you hadn’t grown too attached to her.
Join me after the jump to find out why killing in a war for freedom is wrong, but murder in the name of love is righteous!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 2/22/14
We have arrive at another round of comic book reviews, but sadly, none of them feature LEGOs or the Guardians of the Galaxy. What a week though, right? Is anybody else still buzzing about that trailer? The more times I watch it, the more confident I become in that movie. But enough about them, on with the reviews! We’ve got stellar issues of Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman this week, and mediocre issues of Punisher, Uncanny X-Men and the brand new New Warriors. Only Batwoman was the real standout, which pleases me beyond measure. Batwoman wins Comic Book of the Week!
Cape Grab to Pool Table Flip
Comic Reviews: Batwoman #28, Harley Quinn #3, New Warriors #1, The Punisher #2, Uncanny X-Men #17 and Wonder Woman #28.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 2/15/14
Where is all the love? Valentine’s Day was only yesterday, yet none of this week’s comics were lovey dovey in the very least! Where was the pink? Or the hearts? Maybe Cupid has gone crazy and starts attacking Gotham City? Not even a Star Sapphire one-shot special? I feel very disappointed.
Heck, not even Superman/Wonder Woman was all that romantic, unless you count fighting super-villains to be date material…which I do. But love aside, we’ve got a smattering of good comics this week, including the future of Harper Row over in Batman, and the future of Toad in Wolverine and the X-Men. I was very tempted to celebrate all things Toad this week, but the new She-Hulk series files the proper motions to become Comic Book of the Week.
Not that Toad wasn’t awesome…and a little romantic.
Comic Reviews: Batman #28, She-Hulk #1, Superior Spider-Man #27, Superman/Wonder Woman #5, Wolverine and the X-Men #41 and X-Force #1.
Review: All-New X-Factor #3
I need to talk about the cover of All-New X-Factor #3 for a moment. I don’t usually discuss covers in my reviews, but this needs to be said, because cats in comics is kind of my kryptonite (as well as Youtube videos of cats who sound like they’re talking). I dig the unique look of the All-New X-Factor covers. But this cover shows Gambit snuggling with a bunch of cats, and the quote, “I’m their freaking king” above his head. This led me to believe that X-Factor was going to meet an army of cats, and they were going to really like Gambit, and therefore he was going to declare himself the ‘King of Cats’! BUT IT DOESN’T HAPPEN!
All-New X-Factor #3
I kind of want to demand my money back. And I want the ‘King of the Cats’ to become a thing immediately.
All-New X-Factor #3 shows a bit of improvement over the first two issues, but not by much. The characters and their relationships are still paper thin, the premise is still a bit uncomfortable, and writer Peter David hasn’t found anything really interesting for anyone to do (other than crack crappy jokes). But somehow, this issue at least felt like it was put together a little better than the first two.
Comic Rating: 5/10 – Alright.
At three issues in, I see signs that some of my concerns with this comic might even out. PAD is clearly trying to build up the relationships between his main characters, but he’s still working with a bunch of blank slates, so there’s just not much he can do yet. I get why Gambit doesn’t trust Quicksilver, but the characters have never had anything to do with one another, so the mistrust just rings hollow. And Polaris has been such a non-player for the past few years that she doesn’t really have any sort of relationship with anything, whether it be her teammates or the Marvel Universe as a whole.
Also, when has Gambit been a crazy cat person? That cover isn’t about Gambit becoming King of the Cats, but instead its about how Gambit has brought three pet cats to live with him at Serval Industries. When did that happen? Has Gambit always had a bunch of pet cats and I’ve just never noticed?
Or is it another bit of plot that PAD has pulled over from Gambit’s recently cancelled solo series? I hope the lot of you were reading that series, because X-Factor’s second big mission is mired in characters and plot points from it. Of course, considering the series was cancelled due to low sales, I think we can all agree nobody was reading it.
But PAD forges ahead anyway! Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Henchman-4-Hire 