Category Archives: Reviews
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 12/22/12
What the hell, Marvel!? Some of us still have Christmas shopping to do, yet you hit us the week before Christmas with a massive pile of new comics to buy? Jeez louise! Bad enough this is also my heavy DC Comics week too! So let’s just say I bought a ton of comics this week, all so Marvel can be all fancy and only release Amazing Spider-Man #700 next week. Their big marketing scheme is hell on my wallet. At least most of the comics that came out this week were pretty good.
Everything under the sun seemed to come out this week, giving us a wide range of different titles. We’ve got major releases for the Avengers, X-Men and the Fantastic Four, not to mention both X-Force titles. If you’re more into Batman and the Death of the Family story, there are both the Nightwing and Red Hood tie-ins, one of which was good and the other quite bad. So very busy week. And though there were a lot of great titles, I think FF #2 pulls away with Comic Book of the Week. I really think that title is going to live up to its awesome potential.
Comic Reviews: All-New X-Men #4, Avengers #2, Batwoman #15, Cable and X-Force #2, Captain Marvel #8, FF #2, Green Lantern #15, Green Lantern: New Guardians #15, Hawkeye #6, Indestructible Hulk #2, Nightwing #15, Red Hood and the Outlaws #15, Thor: God of Thunder #3, Thunderbolts #2, Uncanny X-Force #35, Wolverine and the X-Men #22, Wonder Woman #15.
Review: X-Factor #249
Talk about a full 180! I hated last issue for it’s weak character work and utterly generic plot. But Peter David completely turns things around with a fun, character-rich comic that has X-Factor facing off in true superhero fashion against an army of demons. I can’t remember the last time this team was so on the ball. Multiple Man, especially, steps up in a big way.
X-Factor #249
And you know that any issue where my favorite superhero kicks ass is going to be a good issue.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
I’m still not entirely thrilled with the prospect of this Hell on Earth War, but I’m serious when I say that Peter David really brings out his A-game with the character work in this issue. And he does so in the middle of an epic battle, which isn’t usually the case for X-Factor. Usually, Peter David writes some crummy action issues and then some stellar talking issues. X-Factor #249 is a combination of the two, with a dash of epic mixed in for good measure. So maybe I’m going to start getting my hopes up for the Hell on Earth War.
This issue serves as a prologue to the whole event, and in that case, it sort of fails. Because we learn absolutely nothing new about the War or what it’s going to entail. Demons, I guess? Hell? Hellfire? More demons? I dunno. That’s one failing of this issue, that the villains are absolutely nobodies. Vera returns, and I guess something can be said about the fact that she’s the sister of a demon we met in the past, but that older demon wasn’t much of a character either. And beyond ‘Vera’, none of the bad guys in this issue get names or motivations. They’re just randomly evil demons.
And X-Factor kick their asses!
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
It may not be The Lord of the Rings, but we’re only getting started. We’ve got a few less hobbits, a lot more dwarves, and the same epic sense of adventure. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the start of another great trilogy by director Peter Jackson. I’m happy to say that it lived up to my expectations, perhaps even in ways I had not expected. Let me say up front that I have never read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, so I had very little knowledge of what was to come or what might happen, other than there being a hole in the ground, in which there lived a hobbit.
The fate of Middle Earth may not be at stake this time, but The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is no less exciting and adventurous. And it just feels good to be back in Middle Earth, enjoying a new story with all the familiar, lovable trappings.
Movie Rating: 5/5: Great.
Starring that guy from the British version of the Office
The Lord of the Rings films are my favorite of the great geek trilogies, so I was definitely looking forward to The Hobbit. Yet after seeing it, I felt as if something was missing; some special spark, some level and grandiose. Then I realized that I was comparing this one film to the entirety of previous trilogy, all the way from Fellowship of the Ring to Return of the King. And in that regard, of course, The Hobbit doesn’t hold up, because this is just one film of a whole new trilogy. There is much more adventure to come and more movies to see. And this new trilogy is definitely off to a good start.
Almost everything about this new movie succeeds. The story is a strong one and seems perfect for what we know of Middle Earth. The humor is delightful and definitely funny, and doesn’t over-saturate the film, unlike the action. There were times were I rolled my eyes at just how quickly the characters were thrust into another action scene, but they were still enjoyable to watch. The CGI didn’t bother me in the least. And the characters are especially fun, whether it’s seeing old favorites like Gandalf and Elrond, or meeting all the new dwarves; though unless you brought some kind of cheat sheet with you, only a few of the baker’s dozen dwarves really stood out. With the exception of Thorin Oakenshield, I forgot all of their names almost immediately.
But most importantly, Bilbo Baggins was one awesome hobbit. Much more badass than his nephew Frodo.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 12/15/12
Where are all the Christmas specials at? I would have expected more Christmas-themed comics this week, but perhaps everything is being saved for next week, when every comic under the sun is going to come out. Seriously, there are going to be almost a dozen comics for me next week! Which is so weird, considering there are only four this week. What’s up with that? But at least they’re four good comics, including some truly exciting chapters in the ‘Death of the Family’ story in Batman. The Joker is at the top of his villainous game, and he hits the Bat-books with a wicked one-two punch this week. And that’s not including the books I don’t read, like Batgirl, which this week announced the unceremonious firing of writer extraordinaire Gaily Simone. How DC could fire that woman is beyond me, especially firing her by e-mail. I’m definitely not going to pick up Batgirl anytime soon with Simone kicked off the book. Bad move, DC Comics.
Funny AND grossly disturbing!
But no matter, the rest of the Bat-books are doing splendidly. And out of the two I read this week, Batman and Robin inches ahead to win Comic Book of the Week!
Comic Reviews: Batman #15, Batman and Robin #15, Cable and X-Force #1, Winter Soldier #13.
Review: Scarlet Spider #12
Sayonara, Minimum Carnage! And good riddance! You were a terrible story, you were terrible for the Scarlet Spider and you had an even worse ending! In fact, I’m not going to dwell on you for another second. Believe you me, folks, you do not care how Minimum Carnage ended. It was dumb, so very dumb. And hopefully we’ll never have to worry about it again. Because Christopher Yost comes roaring back to Scarlet Spider with what might be its best issue yet! I laughed! I giggled! I cheered! I’m very excited for the future of Scarlet Spider after this amazing issue.
Scarlet Spider #12
After the mismatched everything of that unfortunate crossover, Yost settles in for a simple, done-in-one story that re-establishes all the characters and sends Kaine towards his next adventure. Yost also, to nice comedic effect, uses alcohol to simply wash away the stain that was Minimum Carnage.
Comic rating: 5/5: Great.
I almost get the feeling that Yost is just as glad to be rid of Minimum Carnage as I am. Kaine dwells for a little bit on what happened, but Yost wisely uses the events of the crossover as a springboard into a rather comedic and entertaining attitude for our main character. And that’s the most you can ask for from a big crossover, that it provides some new fuel or motivation for the characters. In this case, it’s Kaine getting drunk off his ass and wanting to just quit everything and flee to Mexico, as he’d originally intended at the start of the series. Which then gives us an opportunity to see how each of his supporting characters impacts his life to talk him out of it, and how, in the end, he’s damn good at being a hero. I got a really strong sense of community with this issue, how Yost has somewhat successfully built up this supporting cast into a real group of people, and how Kaine is a part of that group. He also does some fantastic work with mystery girl Aracely, really bringing her into her own as a clever ‘kid sister’ type character.
The art is also spectacular. Not as good as original artist Ryan Stegman, but fill-in artist Reilly Brown does a great job with the characters and with the action scenes. He especially does some good work with the comedy, of which there is a healthy dose. I definitely like this artist, and I hope he sticks around.
And did I mention it’s a Christmas issue?
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis of this wonderful issue.
