Category Archives: Reviews
Review: Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #15
The classic Bendis ‘talking heads’ issue is back, and it is glorious! Though I kind of wish there were more characters and their relationships were a little better defined so that the issue could be even better…but this is still good comics. Writer Brian Michael Bendis is renowned for his skill with dialogue. It’s what made the early issues of the original Ultimate Spider-Man so good. His characters were so rich, their scenes together so much fun, that the book couldn’t help but be a hit. Well in this new issue. Bendis slows things down and gives new protagonist Miles Morales a chance to just hang out with his friends and family and be himself.
Ultimate Spider-Man #15
And if they had something a little more substantial to talk about, this issue would be perfect.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
Here is another example of me wishing I used decimals or fractions. The writing in this issue is top notch as Miles, his best friend Ganke, and his parents react and respond to the various big events that have occurred over the past few issues. His parents have to deal with the police investigation into Uncle Aaron’s death, and Ganke gets to geek out over Miles’ new web-shooters. This is top notch stuff and very entertaining. But there’s also a…shallowness to it. Several school officials appear, but we don’t know their names, so they don’t really matter. We finally learn Miles’ father’s name, which goes to show you how deep a character he is. And we get to meet Ultimate Maria Hill! But all of it remains kind of skin deep, I’m afraid.
At least the ending is pretty awesome. Though I still contend that this series would be much better without the need to squeeze the ‘Divided We Fall/United We Stand’ nonsense into the book. Did you guys here that Ultimate Captain America is going to become President? I love when the mainstream media reports on these events from the Ultimate Universe, because I have a hard time imagining a non-comics fan trying to distinguish between the Ultimate characters and the ‘real’ characters.
Either way, join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Review: X-Factor #244
It’s Banshee’s turn at the plate in Breaking Points, and she knocks it out of the park with a touching, personal look at her character. The mysterious ‘guest’ she’s been hiding the past few issues is revealed, and by the end of the issue, her status quo is changed in a very significant way. It’s a sad change, but still cool in its way. Part of me thinks it’s a little too easy, and a little too apropos of nothing, but it definitely works. Throw in some good art and some strong appearances by the rest of the cast and you’ve got yourself a very nice issue of X-Factor.
X-Factor #244
Who could ask for anything more?
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
For the most part, writer Peter David has been doing an acceptable job of cleaning house in X-Factor. I know that X-Factor is going to remain relatively untouched in Marvel NOW!, but that doesn’t mean he might not give it a fresh coat of paint or something. Ditching a few members of the bloated cast is a great idea, in my opinion, and he’s been doing a fine job in figuring out what to do with these guys. PAD takes a strong, hard look at Banshee in this issue, and the emotions that drive her, but he does so with a character he created only a few issues ago, a character that doesn’t have the history or the impact to be such a big deal in Banshee’s life, in my opinion. But it works. PAD shakes things up, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
PAD also manages to work his magic with Havok and Polaris, two characters who have definitely suffered from being suddenly, unceremoniously dropped into this comic. There are some continuity conflicts with Avengers vs. X-Men, but who cares? I’m curious to see if PAD will play any part in preparing Havok for his upcoming leadership position in Uncanny Avengers. He seems to be doing a nice job of preparing Polaris for her stay in X-Factor.
But more on that later. Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
A classic action platformer gets some new moves and a new look
A hard-hitting, two-fisted 80s arcade classic returned last week to rave reviews, and this is one of them. Available on Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, the Double Dragon franchise comes back with a new look and a host of new moves, and its kung fu is good.
Review: Scarlet Spider #9
Hot damn! A rip-roaringly fun adventure was had by all as Scarlet Spider and the Rangers teamed up to take down a giant, rampaging electricity demon! It had character growth, it had interesting villains, and it had teases towards future adventures. I’d say that makes for a pretty stellar superhero story, don’t you? Not much in the way of personal stuff for Kaine, but that’s more than made up for with his in-costume craziness as the Scarlet Spider.
Scarlet Spider #9
I daresay our favorite hued hero is turning out to be a pretty good superhero.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
It’s times like these that I wish I graded with decimals or fractions. This is definitely one of the best issues of Scarlet Spider so far, but it doesn’t quite reach the levels of greatness that I try and save the perfect score for. There’s nothing so amazing as to warrant such a score, but there is a lot of great stuff in this issue. Plus writer Christopher Yost is doing a pretty good job of setting up future characters and villains. That’s a good sign, though it doesn’t necessarily guarantee a book’s longevity. Still, it’s good to know the man is planning ahead.
This issue is almost entirely fight, with a couple short epilogues at the end. Scarlet Spider and the Rangers work well together, it would seem, and the electricity monster provides a solid adversary considering the storyline. So everything comes together quite nicely in a darn good superhero story.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #11
Now that was a pretty damn awesome issue. I’m happy to say that the big finale to Avengers vs. X-Men looks like it’s going to be both epic and cool, with this penultimate issue really setting up what should be a bombastic showdown. This issue has got great action, some wonderful character moments, awe-inspiring art and a brilliant cliffhanger that I’m kind of ashamed I did not see coming. But that just means it took me by one hell of a surprise! However, despite all this well-deserved praise, anyone who has been reading my reviews knows that I have one really big BUT when it comes to Avengers vs. X-Men…and this issue continues to emphasis that same glaring flaw.
Avengers vs. X-Men #11
The story is incredibly wishy-washy on just how much of a villain it wants Cyclops to be. At a time when it needs him to be a mustache-twirling Snidely Whiplash, this comic still goes to great lengths to make Cyclops sympathetic.
Comic rating: 5/5: Great.
My major gripe with Avengers vs. X-Men is that it does not have a solid answer to two important questions: What has Cyclops done wrong? And was it Cyclops who did it, or was it the Phoenix acting through Cyclops? Unfortunately, this issue continues to flip back and forth on the issue. And from someone who sympathizes with Cyclops, it just makes all the so-called heroes out to be huge assholes. One moment they are talking about having to stop Cyclops because he cannot control this evil power, and the next they are blaming Cyclops for everything. The comic has made it very clear that the Phoenix is the reason the PhoeniX-Men started turning evil, that these people were possessed by an evil force and it eventually took over. Yet never do any of the Avengers or X-Men say that they need to save Cyclops from the Phoenix. They all act like it’s Cyclops himself who is behind all of this, and not that their friend has been possessed by this evil force.
To me, that kind of makes them jerks. They don’t want to help Cyclops and stop the Phoenix. They just want to kill Cyclops and be done with it.
Despite that glaring issue, this is still a great comic. The action is fantastic, with a lot of high-stakes superheroics. But rather than just boring action, all of it is spliced with some really meaty character moments as everyone tries to reason with Cyclops while simultaneously trying to kill him. The art by Olivier Coipel is also phenomenal, giving these moments the epic feel that really makes them stand out.
Also, a very important character dies this issue, but it does not have the impact that Marvel probably hoped it would. I’ll spoil the death when we get to it in my synopsis, so if you want to know right now, just click the jump and scroll down. Otherwise, how about we get on with the fully synopsis and more review!
