Category Archives: Reviews
Review: Defenders #2
With the team already set up in issue #1, this follow-up second issue deals mostly with exposition and fighting. Writer Matt Fraction has clearly thought up a pretty detailed plot, and now he’s got to tell us all what it is so that I guess we can enjoy the rest of the story. This issue was not very exciting, I’m afraid. Not at all bad, but nothing to blow minds or convince me that The Defenders is the next big thing.
Defenders #2
The Defenders has yet to truly ‘wow’ me or show why it should be considered anything more than a Matt Fraction vanity project. The stellar art of the Dodsons isn’t enough.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright!
This is a humor book where the jokes are more subtle and less slapstick, and unfortunately don’t land most of the time. The characters, while enjoyable, take a back seat to the plot explanation. And the plot is cool, I guess, but it’s hardly anything noteworthy or groundbreaking. This series is so far pretty much just standard superhero fare. Sure it looks fantastic and is well-written, but everything about it falls pretty flat. This feels like it should be a high-profile book, but is failing in that regard.
It’s some of Marvel’s top talent launching a series that doesn’t need to exist. Nobody was screaming for a new Defenders series. So when Marvel let’s Matt Fraction and the Dodsons create The Defenders, I want to know there’s a purpose. Spoilers and synopsis after the jump.
Review: Punisher #7
Greg Rucka throws us a curveball in this issue, writing a darn good character piece while solving none of the problems I’ve had with the series so far. If anything, this issue makes those problems worse. The story doesn’t move ahead at all. We learn nothing new about the villains, their motivation or anything, really. And neither the Punisher nor the Bride even appear! Instead we get the reason why Detective Ozzy Clemons dislikes the Punisher. That’s it.
Punisher #7
Still, it’s a well-written character examination. And the art of guest artist Michael Lark is to die for.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright!
The problems with this series do not weigh down this issue, as they have previous issues. Rucka is clearly still going for style over substance, and with this issue, he does a very good job with it. Of course, I’d give the issue a higher grade if anything actually happened story-wise. As I said, the Punisher doesn’t even appear. It’s the Ozzy and Bolt show, as the two have a long talk about various topics (mostly the Punisher) on their way to the upstate lodge where Punisher and Bride did all that killing last issue. I’m a sucker for a good character exploration.
So hopefully I can explain why I’m cool with this issue, despite it not fixing any of the series problems, moving the story forward or providing much depth. Synopsis and spoilers after the jump.
Review: Teen Titans #4
While showing a definite and more grounded improvement over the last issue, Teen Titans #4 still feels off when it comes to teen dialogue and interaction. A lot happens in this issue – from the team getting together and getting a name, to finally confronting Superboy – but it’s not all gelling as well as I’d like. Or ‘gellin’ like Magellan’ if that’s how you roll. At any rate, I can definitely appreciate what writer Scott Lobdell does in this issue because I definitely want to see a lot more of these teens just hanging out and getting to know one another. But I can’t really put my finger on why that doesn’t quite work.
Teen Titans #4
Maybe it’s because everything feels so rushed and kind of sloppy.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.
Or maybe everything just feels forced. The same issues that have plagued this series continue here, but the specific actions and story points make up for that flakiness. N.O.W.H.E.R.E. continues to be a silly concept. The setting always seems very erratic. And this group of characters has yet to fully blend together, or feel anything other than forced together. I don’t think Lobdell found a very organic way to bring the team together. I don’t know if he came up with the members of the team, or if they were decided in some New 52 committee, but it’s like he had a list of characters he had to bring together and he just checked them off the list to ensure they were together by issue #4.
I just don’t get the feeling that this team is the team that belongs together, that this will be the Teen Titans of the new generation. But there’s still time to change my mind. The art, at least, remains phenomenal. Brett Booth is drawing beautiful, distinctive characters with great facial expressions and energetic movements. So at least good.
Spoilers after the jump.
TV Review: ‘The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe’
The great thing about the Steven Moffat-era Doctor Who Christmas specials is that they actually have something to do with Christmas. The earlier Russell T. Davies episodes only kind of took place on or near Christmas. Sure there were murderous Santa robots and Donna’s wedding reception was decorated for Christmas, but they lacked that special Christmas magic that Moffat captures so well as the show-runner. Not to mention the obvious homages to Christmas stories past. I already picked Moffat’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ episode as one of the best Christmas episodes ever on TV.
So it’s no surprise that the follow-up, ‘The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe’ is just as good!’
TV Rating: 4/5: Good!
What's in the box? Come and find out!
This episode contains a lot of the best parts of the Moffat and Smith-era Doctor Who. It’s whimsical, emotional and has some downright fantastic one-liners from the witty and banterish Doctor. It doesn’t reach the heights of the very best episodes, lacking in true character depth and badassery, but it’s still a very good episode. We even get a wonderful epilogue that ties the episode back into the regular series instead of just being a stand-alone Christmas episode. Paying homage to not just Narnia, but a lot of mystical, fictional realms, this episode has an adventure that is a lot like typical Doctor Who episodes. We’ve got a strange alien world, a ‘villain’ who isn’t what they initially seem and a death-defying race through time!
Plus the family element really grounds the episode and forms its emotional core. This wouldn’t be Doctor Who if we didn’t have one of those.
Follow me after the jump for a synopsis and more review of one very awesome Christmas special. And of course: Spoilers!
No seriously, full spoilers.
Ultimate Comics: All-New Spider-Man #5
Now this is more like it! We get some awesome Spider-Man action as Miles Morales finally, officially becomes the new Spider-Man. He’s got to pass through Spider-Woman, Nick Fury and Electro to do it, but Miles kicks ass with flying colors. And he’s funny, too! That’s almost a prerequisite for both Spider-Man and writer Brian Michael Bendis, but here it’s delightful. Miles isn’t Peter Parker, but it’s great to see that Spider-Man will still be witty.
Ultimate Spider-Man #5
If only the Ultimate Universe wasn’t such a crappy place these days.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
If Marvel sticks with the tradition of having 6-issue story arcs, then this was the penultimate chapter of Miles Morales’ origin story. Which means we’ve got one more issue to go to wrap this thing up in a bow. I wonder what’s going to happen. Is Miles going to get his own super-villain? Maybe we’ll finally see his parents again. Or maybe he’ll hang out with Aunt May for some reason. Either way, this was a good issue, it’s good to see Miles in his own costume and I’m definitely ready to see this young man spread his webs and fly.
Though I’d probably still make the better Spider-Man. Spoilers after the jump.
