Category Archives: Reviews
Review: Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #20
I’ve always been a big fan of Venom. Even when the character was over-exposed in the 90s, I still loved him. Heck, I even like Topher Grace’s Venom from Spider-Man 3. He’s just a cool character and a cool concept, where the super-character’s costume itself is the super-power. Plus he’s big, he’s colored black and he’s a pretty badass level of ruthless. So Venom has always been cool. And when Brian Michael Bendis introduced Venom into the Ultimate Universe, he made him even cooler. So it’s exciting to see Venom come back, though it looks like he might be a new character.
Ultimate Spider-Man #20
Miles faces off against Venom with his father caught in the middle. That is some absolutely perfect drama for Ultimate Spider-Man.
Comic Rating: 5/5: Great.
This issue has it all! Action, adventure, comedy and desperately high stakes. There’s absolutely no guarantee that Miles’ father is safe. Peter Parker’s whole career started with the death of his Uncle Ben. Just because Jefferson has survived this long does not mean he’s going to stick around forever. So when Jefferson involves himself in the fight against Venom, it’s bad news for everybody. But good news for us, because this story has real power behind it. Not to mention it’s incredibly entertaining. The fight is one of the best Miles has been in, with Venom more than a match for this novice hero.
The dialogue is especially great. Miles remains funny in his own special way. He’s not the quip-a-minute Peter Parker, but he’s still quite humorous. And Venom is fantastic. He’s not a mindless monster, no matter how he looks, and his deadpan lines are especially cool. All of the characters are fantastic in this issue, and with the action and drama attached, it’s a great chapter of Ultimate Spider-Man.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 2/9/13
Welcome to a week of interesting firsts! We’ve got the first issue of Fearless Defenders, Marvel’s new all-girl team of heroes. We’ve got the first issue of Winter Soldier written by incoming writer Jason Latour, who’s taking over for the legendary Ed Brubaker, the man who resurrected Bucky in the first place. Those are some mighty big shoes to fill. Brubaker wrote a nice letter at the end of his final issue of the series, about how humbling it was to go from trying to convince his editor that resurrecting Bucky would be a good idea to finding out that the ‘Winter Soldier’ would be the title of the second Captain America film. I hope that happens to me someday.
We’ll also see the first issue of Jeff Lemire’s take on Green Arrow. As well as the first times I’m actually happy with Avengers and New Avengers. In fact, New Avengers #3 wins Comic Book of the Week!
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #7, Avengers #5, Fearless Defenders #1, Green Arrow #17, New Avengers #3, Superior Spider-Man #3 and Winter Soldier #15.
Review: X-Factor #251
I take back any bad thing I ever said about the Hell on Earth War. I can’t believe I ever doubted Peter David. This story has been fantastic so far. PAD is writing it at such a fast pace that the story never slows down, it never lingers. I thought all of his previous high-concept mythical stories had that problem. They stretched on forever until their impact no longer mattered. But so far, PAD and this story are on a roll.
X-Factor #251
Though if I’m being entirely honest, when PAD explains the motivation behind the Hell on Earth War in this issue, it’s a far-fetched and arbitrary. But I’m comfortable with it.
Comic Rating: 4/5: Good!
The justification for this war is kind of silly. There’s no way around it. The idea of all of Marvel’s various hell lords getting into a fight is a cool one. It definitely has potential. But PAD comes up with a very arbitrary reason for their fight. At least he ties it into the X-Factor story in a neat way. That’s a definite strength of the story so far. All of the storylines PAD has been crafting over the past few years are coming together in a smooth way, from the birth of Tier to the corruption of Strong Guy. And while it’s sad to see Strong Guy as such a villain, it’s definitely adding to the personal feel of the story. This is X-Factor’s story and they are at the heart of the action.
Any story can be about the devil fighting a bunch of other devils for the rulership of Hell. And any story can feature superheroes beating up bad guys. But you’re not going to have a good story unless you’ve got good characters, and unless the reader actually cares about the characters. Well PAD has got things down pat, and the Hell on Earth War is burning up!
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 2/2/13
We’ve got a very good week of comics here, not a stinker in the bunch. Aquaman continues the Throne of Atlantis storyline while Green Lantern Corps ends the Third Army storyline. So big happenings there. We get our second dose of Superior Spider-Man and it’s not too bad. Heck, I even liked the latest issue of Avengers even though I’ve been lukewarm on the series so far. Same with Batman Incorporated. This is just a good week all around.
And coming in with the Comic Book of the Week win is Green Lantern Corps Annual #1, which hits us with a bombastic finale to the Third Army! Good show Green Lantern team! Though this is also a good week for solid Robin action. And we all know I love that.
Please don’t kill Alfred
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #16, Avengers #4, Batman Incorporated #7, Green Lantern Corps Annual #1, Hawkeye #7, Red Lanterns #16, Superior Spider-Man #2 and Talon #4.
Review: Teen Titans #16
I want Fabian Nicieza to take over Teen Titans on a full time basis. Make it happen, DC Comics. He just has a much better handle on these characters and what it takes to tell a good story than regular writer Scott Lobdell. The best issues of Teen Titans have all been penned by Nicieza, even if Lobdell was providing the plot. This issue is a perfect example. Lobdell has been writing a couple crummy additions to the Death of the Family story in both Teen Titans and Red Hood and the Outlaws. But this issue is a wonderful tie-in, pitting Red Robin and Red Hood against each other in an particularly devious plot by the Joker. And it was made even better by Nicieza’s firm grasp on Tim Drake’s inner monologue.
Teen Titans #16
This is a very good tie-in to Death of the Family, giving the two Reds a story that seems tailor-made to their places in the Bat-family. Tim Drake’s inner monologue is fantastic as he assesses and handles the threat. It really lets him shine as the series star.
Comic Rating: 4/5: Good!
I really like the friendship that has been building between Red Robin and Red Hood since the DCnU reboot. They’re really the odd men out in the Bat-family. Tim Drake, especially, hasn’t had much of a place in the world since Damian came in and stole his position as Robin. So the two of them teaming up definitely works, as does the idea that they get a more action-oriented battle with the Joker. There isn’t much psychology to mess with either of them, so the idea that the Joker pits them against each other in fisticuffs fits the characters. Their scenes are the best in the issue, and Tim Drake’s inner monologue is a real standout.
Sadly, though, Lobdell once again hits us with his ridiculous notion for foreshadowing. Twice in this issue, we cut away to a single scene focusing on an upcoming villain. Out of nowhere with little to no build-up. It just happens in the middle of the story. It’s a stupid way to introduce these villains, especially since he utterly ruins the mystery of Trigon! It’s infuriating! I loved how Lobdell and Nicieza started to lay the groundwork for Trigon a few issues ago, when they had his name mentioned in some ancient carvings. I thought that was wonderfully subtle and mysterious, and might just grow as the series progresses.
Nope. We get a full scene of a the fully demonic Tigon sitting on his throne in Hell surrounded by demons, and a scene of him just introducing Raven in all her glory. No mystery, no subtlety, no build-up. He just throws Trigon and Raven right in our faces. What a waste.
Anyway, join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Henchman-4-Hire 