Category Archives: Reviews
Playing in the X-Men Toy Box
Can you imagine how much fun it must be to write for the X-Men? To be allowed to pick whichever characters you want and come up with some cool new setting or story to put them in? To have the freedom to just create adventures and relationships using some of the coolest characters ever?
That’s why I want to be a comic book writer.
And that’s what it must be like to be a part of the current Regenesis story event.
It's a brave new world
Review: Batman: Arkham City
I was considering not writing this review because it can be summed up in one word: ‘awesome’. But I’m trying to be a legitimate blog here, so I should really do my best to expand upon my thoughts. I will also need to be careful with the overuse of the word ‘awesome’, because everything in this game is ‘awesome’. The freeflow combat, the story, the side missions, the game world, the game play and, most especially, the rich look into the the world of Batman.
Clearly some very big Batman geeks made this game.
Game rating: 5/5: Great!
The Internet is currently filled with glowing reviews and praise for Batman: Arkham City, the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum. Did you know that the first game, Arkham Asylum, holds the record for the best reviewed superhero game ever in the Guinness Book of World Records? You do now. And it’s no surprise. Arkham Asylum was a glorious achievement in the world of video games, especially superhero video games. It made up for decades of mediocre to crappy Batman games, and revolutionized the depth and breadth to which superhero games could reach. Arkham Asylum was clear proof that with a love of the character and a lot of creativity, superhero games could be something special. And then the game developers, Rocksteady, went and made a bigger, better and deeper game for the sequel, Arkham City.
The Batman: Arkham games are to superhero video games what The Dark Knight movie was to superhero movies. We’re not just talking a game changer. We’re talking revolution!
Review: Teen Titans #2
Both dialogue and overall quality of the new Teen Titans series take a noticeable dip in the second issue, providing a lackluster follow-up to what I thought was a stellar first issue. We’re introduced to a rather ridiculous new member of the team and are once again faced with a baffling status quo about the ‘dangers’ of teenage superheroes. Part of the new DC relaunch was that the average person doesn’t trust superheroes anymore, which is fine, but there’s a stark disconnect between every other title I’ve read and the status quo of Teen Titans.
Teen Titans #2
At least Red Robin is still very cool.
Comic rating: 2/5: Bad.
Issue #2 introduces us to brand new superhero Skitter, who I am going to call Skittles from now on. At least until I get to the paragraph where I discuss what a stupid name ‘Skitter’ is for anybody. Teen Titans is still very much in team-building mode, with the B-story devoted to establishing the villain: the secret organization N.O.W.H.E.R.E. I can’t stress enough what a ridiculous job writer Jeff Lobdell does in trying to give N.O.W.H.E.R.E. some villainous cred. This issue features roll-your-eyes bad dialogue, particularly when it comes to that group.
The issue also features roll-your-eyes bad dialogue between the main characters. Basically the issue is just troublesome to read. Which is really too bad. Spoilers after the jump.
Review: Punisher #4
The new Punisher series by Greg Rucka continues to be a good read, but we’re four issues in and we don’t know anything about the bad guy, the bride has yet to leave the hospital and the Punisher has barely interacted with the rest of the cast. Heck, this issue doesn’t even feature the bad guys. It’s essentially a recap issue, giving us the origin of the Punisher and sort of catching everyone up to the story so far. We’re only four issues in and we need a breather? I don’t think so.
Punisher #4
Four issues in, I want some Grade A badassery.
Comic rating: 3/5: Alright.
That’s not to say Punisher #4 is a bad comic. It’s still a good read, with the mood, atmosphere and art still top notch for this kind of story. Rucka is still telling a grim and gritty Punisher tale, which is how it should be. It’s just that not enough is happening. He’s created a nice cast of supporting characters, all of whom seem more fleshed out than the Punisher, but he’s not doing enough with them. None of them seem to matter more than their particular role in the story, which is essentially just their job. Norah is a reporter. Clemons and Bolt are police detectives. That’s all these people seem to do, and it has yet to go any deeper.
I think Rucka’s trying to make the Punisher into something of a supernatural force of nature…but it’s not working. One problem is the art. The Punisher looks like a freakin’ cover model!
Review: Fear Itself #7
This is how the world is saved: not with a whimper, but with huge, bombastic combat and superheroes defeating the bad guys and slaying dragons. The finale to Fear Itself has all the makings of an epic conclusion…except for the continued lack of connectivity with the reader. I said it back in my review of the last issue, but Fear Itself will most likely be better read all in one sitting. This final issue moreso than the last one. We’re looking at just one big, giant fight scene followed by a few seemingly random epilogues. It’s fun to read, but it feels paper thin.
Fear Itself #7
Overall, I’d say Fear Itself is a success as a big, bad superhero brawl. But it’s nothing deeper than that.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
I suppose I liked Fear Itself. It was certainly better than most Big Event comics. It had action, it had strong characters…but it lacked heart. Even the death of a major Marvel characters is muted. It was all excited energy, and rarely took time to slow down and smell the roses. And since superhero comics are all about actions and fight scenes, Fear Itself succeeds as the biggest fight scene of the year. We have Thor slaying a dragon, the Avengers rallying for the final fight and a small moment where the common man lends a hand. There are even a few neat catch phrases thrown around.
So it’s a good comic book. I just wasn’t feeling it. There will be spoilers in this review.
