Category Archives: Reviews
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/24/12
Holy mackerel, it’s a big week in comic books for me! I know I buy a lot of comics each week, but for some reason, a veritable ton of books were waiting for me in the comic shop. I’m lucky I managed to get through them all! I may have to start bleeding over some titles into the week after if I get anymore weeks like this. I’m only one man, after all. So what do we have in store for us this week? A nice smattering of DC and Marvel, with a few new Marvel NOW! starts, including The Indestructible Hulk, the title I was most looking forward to. Did it live up to the hype? Maybe. How about the big Amazing Spider-Man surprise? That definitely lived up to the hype.
But surprise, surprise, the Comic Book of the Week turned out to be Captain Marvel #7! I’m glad to see that title finally carrying its weight.
Captain Marvel fights the Iron Giant’s redneck cousin
Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #698, Batwoman #14, Captain America #1, Captain Marvel #7, Green Lantern: New Guardians #14, Hawkeye #4, Indestructible Hulk #1, Justice League #14, Nightwing #14, Red Hood and the Outlaws #14, Uncanny X-Force # 34, Wolverine and the X-Men #21, and Wonder Woman #14.
Review: X-Factor #247
It’s Multiple Man versus the zombie of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. How can you not love comics? Where else in the world of fiction are you going to get the Highlander done with Abraham Lincoln impersonators? Or Multiple Man being this cool? The Breaking Points story may be over, but writer Peter David is still focused on character-centric issues, this time giving Jamie Madrox and his gal Layla a chance to shine – while moving his larger story forward at a snail’s pace.
X-Factor #247
Still, if you’re looking for an awesome Multiple Man hero story, there are worse places to look. It’s always fun to see my favorite superhero being this cool.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
This is a very fun comic that kind of spins off into a weird, yet entertaining, lunacy. It also has an unfortunate habit of trying to tie its tale of resurrected Confederate soldiers into the deaths/rebirths of superheroes, adding an unnecessary weight around its neck. We get it, superheroes tend to return from the dead a lot. Commenting on that fact does not count as a joke or even criticism, especially when X-Factor has done it twice now. Why couldn’t Confederate soldier zombies exist on their own terms? Why tie it to that annoying ‘nobody stays dead in comics’ issue? Really deflates the menace of Zombie Robert E. Lee.
But if you’re willing to look past that nit pick, this is an otherwise really fun issue. Jamie and Layla are a cool couple, with great timing between them. They have a really good chemistry, is what I’m trying to say, and it’s really on display in this issue. Likewise, Madrox in general is in fine form. He’s all superheroic and leading man, exactly how I like him. There’s also a nice bit of comedy sprinkled throughout, just like with every issue of X-Factor. It’s Multiple Man vs. Zombie Robert E. Lee, people! What more do I need to say?
Join me after the jump for more!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/17/12
AvX: Consequences has been cleaning up as the best comic of the week in all the initial Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews, but DC Comics isn’t about to give up just yet. They launched an onslaught of Batman titles this week (at least 2), playing into their revitalized Joker. Was I impressed? Maybe. Has it changed my opinion at all about the Joker? Well you’ll just have to read on to see. Suffice to say, Batman #14 earns the title of Comic Book of the Week! But don’t count Marvel out completely. They launch new X-Men and Thor comics, possibly for the better. And believe you me, the new Thor may be the best Marvel NOW! has to offer so far!
Yes, yes, we all fondly remember The Dark Knight Returns
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #1, Amazing Spider-Man #697, Batman #14, Batman and Robin #14, Thor: God of Thunder #1 and Wolverine and the X-Men #20.
Review: Saga #7
Saga is finally back, and it’s…mediocre at best. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving Saga so far. This epic adventure from writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Fiona Staples is a fun tale with fascinating characters. But after two months off, this new issue disappoints because not a whole lot happens. And then it cuts off just as it’s getting good. This issue reminds me why I read both Y: The Last Man and Dues Ex, Vaughn’s previous works, in trade paperback form, where there were multiple issues to read through in one sitting. Very little happens in this issue, and especially little to advance the plot.
Saga #7
But at least what does happen is entertaining, as we meet Marko’s parents and they meet their new daughter-in-law and grandchild.
Comic rating: 4/5 Good.
Saga #7 reads like the first section of a larger story, and obviously it is. But that disqualifies it from being a worthwhile single issue. And if I’m going to read Saga in the single issues, I’d like a little more bang for my buck per issue. But again, this is probably just me splitting hairs. I don’t think Saga is meant to be read in the single issues. Those lucky/smart people who are waiting for the trades are in for a treat. Because Saga is just that…a saga. I bet, or at least hope, that this is going to be a great tale overall. But issue by issue, I dunno. I’m still hoping for a little more meat on the bones.
Fortunately, with this issue, Saga does exactly what I hoped it would: it slows down to spend a little more time with its characters. The cliffhanger arrival of Marko’s parents last issue is picked up on almost immediately, and their interactions with their son and his new family are fun, if abrupt. We also get some backstory about Marko growing up, so I suppose that’s nice. We also check in, very briefly, on some of our other characters, though nothing comes of that. This is just a set-up issue for whatever happens next. I just hope it’s more exciting than this.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review! And you can get caught up with my prior review of the first six issues here.
Review: Scarlet Spider #11
Talking about burying the lead. Minimum Carnage was supposed to be a team-up between Scarlet Spider and Venom, as they join forces to take down the super-villain serial killer Carnage. But the two characters haven’t even been in the same room together since the start of the crossover. Instead, this is one big space alien story that just happens to involve Scarlet Spider and Venom on the side. It’s as if writers Christopher Yost and Cullen Bunn were huge fans of the Micronauts back in the day, and Marvel agreed to let them write the ultimate Microverse story, but only if they could slap some existing characters into the tale. Then someone came up with the pun ‘Minimum Carnage’, and they were off!
Scarlet Spider #11
This story is turning out to be a weird, convoluted political tale about characters we’ve either never heard of before or haven’t heard from in decades. No thank you.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.
I can’t even be sure if this story has anything to do with the Microverse of the past. I’m only vaguely familiar with the Micronauts, but who is the Redeemer? What is the Enigma Force? Or Marquis Radu? I imagine these are all characters and concepts thought up by Yost and Bunn to tell their story. But none of it has anything to do with Scarlet Spider or Venom, and very little to do with Carnage. They might as well have used any combination of heroes and villains in this story. Nothing that has happened so far, at least as far as I can see, has any direct impact or importance to either hero, especially Scarlet Spider. He is just along for the ride, and doesn’t even particularly want to be there.
The decision to set this tale in the Microverse was the completely wrong decision. Nobody cares about the Microverse anymore. Nobody is interested in that kind of story. A comic where Scarlet Spider and Venom team up to fight Carnage is a good idea for a comic. But Yost and Bunn have instead buried that cool seed of an idea into tainted soil, and as a result, a crummy story has grown. And that’s my metaphor of the month!
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Henchman-4-Hire 