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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/22/13
Age of Ultron is the worst Big Event Comic that Brian Michael Bendis has ever written. The man is a writing god when it comes to small comics – like Ultimate Spider-Man or his current X-Men series – but he just can’t handle Big Events. He can come up with some really neat ideas, but for some reason he just can’t execute them. I don’t know what it is. How did the man who created Miles Morales write Age of Ultron? Whatever. It’s over. Age of Ultron is done and it’s just as bad as the rest of the series. But now we all have Angela to look forward to…so…yay? I guess. Ugh.
Thankfully, the rest of the comics this week are all winners. From Avengers and New Avengers carrying through with some grand ideas to comics like Batwoman and Superior Spider-Man continuing their general greatness. Quality reads through and through. As for Comic Book of the Week, that distinction has to go to Wonder Woman #21, for Brian Azzarello for really amping up the action and excitement, and actually getting me to like a New God.
I never thought I’d live to see the day.
Comic Reviews: Age of Ultron #10, Avengers #14, Batman and Batgirl #21, Batwoman #21, Green Lantern: New Guardians #21, New Avengers #7, Superior Spider-Man #12, and Wonder Woman #21.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 6/8/13
It’s a week of fresh starts in comic book land, some good, and some bad. First up is a new #1 issue for Astro City, the brilliant and hugely creative superhero series from writer Kurt Busiek. If you’re not familiar with Astro City, I’ll explain more about it in the actual review, and I consider it one of the crowning achievements of superhero storytelling in the past decade. Astro City isn’t based on any of the well-known heroes like Superman or Spider-Man, instead creating a superhero world all its own, but then taking it to the next level. I’m very excited to see what Busiek does with this new volume, and I might just have to go back and reread the original series.
The other fresh start is the first issue of Green Lantern in the post-Geoff Johns world. The entire Green Lantern franchise has been given new creative teams, and I do not envy these guys. Geoff Johns’ run was legendary, and now they’ve got to somehow keep everyone’s interest in Green Lantern and come up with new and exciting stories. Unfortunately, they’re not off to a great start so far. Astro City easily beats Green Lantern for Comic Book of the Week.
And American Chibi might be the new character find of 2013!
Comic Reviews: Age of Ultron #9, All-New X-Men #12, Astro City #1, Detective Comics #21, Green Lantern #21, Superior Spider-Man #11.
The Green Lantern Movie Kinda Really Stunk
I spent the morning praising Green Lantern, so how about we spend the afternoon taking the piss out of him?
I’m still amazed that we live in a world with an actual, live action Green Lantern movie. Before making Wonder Woman or the Flash, much more popular and simpler characters, Hollywood gave us a Green Lantern film. And as much as I may praise Geoff Johns, not even his collaboration could steer Green Lantern the movie towards being a success. Maybe the problem is that the movie didn’t bother actually using the Green Lantern stories that made the character so popular. Seriously, even with Johns consulting on set, the filmmakers went ahead and changed most of his big ideas for no particular reason. Why would they do that? What possible gain did they foresee?
Now we’ll never get that sequel. At least the gang at CinemaSins can have some fun with it.
My 6 Favorite Things from Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern Mythos
Geoff Johns’ final issue of Green Lantern came out last week, and what better way to say goodbye than by praising his awesomeness? I barely knew anything about Green Lantern before I decided to give Johns’ comics a try, and now the franchise is easily one of my all-time favorites. I wish I was as creative as Johns. His ideas are the kind that nobody else thought of, but once he puts them on the page, you can’t help but recognize their obvious brilliance. And I’m sure he has other good qualities too. Like, maybe he rescues orphaned puppies or something. I don’t know, I’m really only interested in the comics.
Does anybody call it ‘outer space’ anymore?
It’s hard to explain to non-comics fans just how momentous Johns’ Green Lantern series truly was. The best comparison I can think of would be to the rise in Iron Man’s popularity when his first movie came out. Before that film, nobody knew Iron Man. He was a character from the comics, nothing more nothing less. But after the movie, after Robert Downey Jr.’s performance, Iron Man is a household name, and he has headlined three other multi-million dollar movies.
Geoff Johns did the same thing for Green Lantern, at least as far as the comics are concerned. He did it by taking the core Green Lantern concept and expanding it a thousandfold with new ideas and new characters that redefined the franchise. There is so much to love about Johns’ ideas, and here are my 6 favorite.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 5/25/13
It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to DC writer Geoff Johns. Oh sure, he’s still going to be writing Aquaman, and a couple Justice League comics, but DC won’t be the same now that Johns is leaving Green Lantern after nearly 10 years on the title. This is a truly sad moment, because none of his other comic work as been as good as his stories on Green Lantern. And he has told some remarkable stories. Green Lantern was a minor character at best before Johns came along. This one guy with his brilliant ideas almost single-handedly made Green Lantern popular enough to warrant a live action big screen movie, in a world where DC only makes Batman and Superman movies. Johns made Green Lantern so popular that he was one of only two superheroes to remain unchanged in the New 52 reboot.
Johns work on Green Lantern is nothing short of spectacular. It’s no wonder DC eventually promoted him to DC’s head of creativity. The guy definitely made me a believer in the awesomeness of Green Lantern.
Fortunately for us all, Johns’ final issue on the series is as good as any other he’s written. Green Lantern #20 easily wins Comic Book of the Week for it’s sheer awesome audacity. Johns threw out all the stops with his final issue, bringing everything his fevered mind could think up to the final party.
Just look at that picture and tell me you don’t love everything about it.
Comic Reviews: Green Lantern #20, Justice League #20, Superior Spider-Man #10, Talon #8, and Uncanny X-Men #6.
