Category Archives: Reviews
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 12/7/13
Last week was a monster week for comics, so it stands to reason that this week is kind of light on the funny books. I’m not complaining, mind you. My wallet thanks the comic book gods. But it means there weren’t many books to choose from for this week’s review list. Still, there were some important issues, like the final issue of Fearless Defenders, which goes out exactly how it lived. And the first issue of Inhumanity, which turns out to not be what I expected, at all – and I mean that in a bad way.
This is also the week where I start to turn against Green Lantern. I wanted to have faith in Robert Venditti and the new creative teams, but I just don’t think I can agree with what he’s doing on a moral level. You’ll see when you get to the review…
Fortunately, it wasn’t all bad comics this week! Superior Spider-Man remains strong, and I decided to check out Green Arrow after a long time away. I’m glad I did. The comic looks to be almost as good as the TV show. But the winner of the coveted Comic Book of the Week is Amazing X-Men #2 by Jason Aaron. He definitely seems to be having fun, especially with Storm.
Comic Reviews: Amazing X-Men #2, Fearless Defenders #12, Green Arrow #26, Green Lantern #26, Inhumanity #1 and Superior Spider-Man #23.
Review: Scarlet Spider #24
The end of Scarlet Spider will soon be upon us, and apparently writer Christopher Yost wants to go out with a bang – literally. No, seriously, there’s a big explosion at the end. In fact, this whole penultimate issue is like a big explosion. The writing of cancellation has been on the wall for some time, so Yost has had plenty of time to prepare for these last two issues. The action and drama get pushed up to 11 as Yost seems to throw everything he can into the issue, including the kitchen sink. Storylines that he probably planned for future arcs get crammed into this one issue. Yost seems determined to blow our minds with this finale. If only the art was willing to do the same.
Scarlet Spider #24
Scarlet Spider #24 may be the beginning of the end, but writer Christopher Yost is not yet ready to say goodbye – and we are all the better for it.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
From the very start, we all knew this was coming. The editors even acknowledge as much on the last page, saying their goodbyes now so that Yost can say his goodbyes in the last issue. The comic book industry these days just doesn’t support this kind of comic. Reaching the 20s in a solo series about a D-list character (at best) is a rare feat, and something to be proud of. Fearless Defenders, a comic launched under the promise of Marvel’s first all-female team, was cancelled this week with issue #12. That’s as far as they made it. But Scarlet Spider, a comic starring Kaine from the much-hated Clone Saga, made it to issue #25. That’s impressive.
I think what did the series in was the fact that it was still just a generic superhero story. Sure, Kaine is kind of an asshole, but this was still a comic about a guy with powers and a costume, who sets up shop to fight crime and super-villains, with a wacky band of supporting characters to play with. New solo comics like Hawkeye succeed because they’re doing something new and interesting with the superhero angle. Scarlet Spider was too much like the norm, starring a character that general audiences didn’t care about. So while it’s sad to see the series, go, there’s no denying it never had much of a chance.
Fortunately, like I said, this penultimate issue is pretty entertaining. Yost has nothing more to lose, so join me after the jump to dig into this exciting, action-packed issue!
Review: Saga #16
And so we finally come full circle back to Saga #12, with Prince Robot IV interrogating Heist, and Marko and his family hiding in the attic. But of course, considering all the time we spent getting back here, there are a few new wrinkles to add to make the scene even more tense and exciting. Saga #17 looks like it’s going to be pretty awesome. But we’re not there yet. First, Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples need to drop the last few pieces into place. And as I’ve come to expect from this series, those pieces are just as much fun as can be!
Saga #16
Also, we quickly find out what the point of the hallucinations were on The Will’s paradise planet, so at least there’s that. So much for all my grumbling in the last review.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
Like most issues in this volume of Saga, this one is about fleshing out the world and getting to know the characters. We’re solidly in Act 2 of this saga, I would say, and we’ve got a long way to go. One test of a good comic book series – or any fiction, for that matter – is if the writer can make the characters fun to read even when they’re just sitting around having coffee or playing board games. Vaughn succeeds. The conversations haven’t necessarily been as exciting as when they were all on the spaceship, but then Barr was a special kind of awesome. As was his brief relationship with Alana. Their scenes together were some of the best in the series so far.
That’s not to say everybody else doesn’t pick up the slack. There are a lot of great scenes in this issue between Heist and the family. He’s no Barr, but he’s still a fun character. And in this issue, everyone just works so well together, which is what we’ve come to expect. Plotwise, everything moves forward, especially the sub-plot about the two reporters. That might be taking a big leap forward.
But in the end, this is a penultimate cliffhanger issue. It’s all about finishing the set-up for what will hopefully be an epic climax!
Join me after the jump for a fully synopsis and more review.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/30/13
Oof. Who knew that comic books take Black Friday so seriously? There were a metric ton of new releases this week, including a lot of my favorite titles. If I wasn’t already broke, this week’s haul would have done a number on my poor bank account. Fortunately for us, my love of comics feels no shame, and I bought a bunch of issues anyway!
And what a great bunch of issues! Superior Spider-Man and FF remain as good as ever. I still feel bad for anyone not reading Superior out of spite. You folks are really missing out on some neat stuff. And issues like FF #14 make me sad that the comic is coming to an end soon. Speaking of endings, this week also saw the finale for Infinity with issue #6! The end has been a long time coming, and it’s…good, but none of my complaints were ever addressed. There’s no big twist resolving everything.
Infinity ends about as well as one could expect, with the good guys winning and the bad guys losing. At least nobody was needlessly sacrificed in the name of cheap thrills. The same can be said for the end of Aquaman – or, at least, Geoff Johns’ run on the character. He wraps up all his big storylines in glorious fashion and doesn’t kill Mera or anyone else just for shock value.
Of course, neither does Hawkeye #14.
Aquaman #25 almost won comic book of the week. It came close. But then I read the adorable, squeeful Hawkeye #14 and there was no other choice.
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #25, FF #14, Hawkeye #14, Indestructible Hulk #16, Infinity #6, New Avengers #12, Red Lanterns #25, Superior Spider-Man #22.
Review: Teen Titans #25
You can always count on Teen Titans to have more than a few things wrong with each issue. Sometimes it’s an overabundance of editor’s notes pointing you towards some other series. Or maybe it’s a lot of long, boring, expositional dialogue. Or maybe it includes a few random cutaways to villains who will never appear again (the book loves to do that!). It’s always something with this comic. Teen Titans has been written by the same guy with what I assume is the same agenda since the start of the New 52, and writer Scott Lobdell hasn’t gotten any better. This new issue flings our heroes far into the future, into outer space, to meet a bunch of random space dudes and sort of maybe start to learn the secret origin of Kid Flash.
Teen Titans #25
Turns out he’s kind of a murderous monster with more blood on his hands than your average Manson. Our teenage heroes, ladies and gentlemen!
Comic Rating: 3/10 – Bad.
Sometimes I think I’m being too hard on Teen Titans, but then I read the rest of the comics I buy each week and the difference is staggering. Modern comics today usually focus on the character, and leave a lot of the exposition to the art. We readers don’t need to be spoonfed every little piece of plot. But Lobdell on Teen Titans looooves exposition. He loves having his characters explain everything as awkwardly and as stuntedly as possible. Teen Titans #25 is a fine example. And it’s made even worse by Lobdell doing most of the expositing via thought bubbles. Freakin’ thought bubbles! Those haven’t been in style since the 90s! But Teen Titans #25 is full of them, from multiple different characters. It’s deadening.
To say nothing of the actual plot and characters involved. Bart Allen’s origin has no connection to anything we’ve ever seen before in DC Comics or the Teen Titans – or at least that’s how it appears so far. So Lobdell is pretty much making it up as he goes along, whether it’s the names of random space mercenaries or space police agencies or futuristic technology. He’s on a roll just throwing out new ideas and concepts with absolutely no grounding, unless you count the Teen Titans themselves, who have never been particularly grounded.
Teen Titans #25 is another fine example of why this series is as dull and as flat as a piece of wood. Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
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