All comic book reviews by: Josh Rushinock and Paul McIntyre
Every week, Josh Rushinock and Paul McIntyre sit down with a combination of the week's comic releases, and one classic comic run, and attempt to sift the good from the bad. Effectively sifting through the trash to find the best work of the week, and the greatest runs of all time, every Friday these two writers come together to share their impressions on the comic book industry they both so thoroughly love.
Welcome to a super-sized two-week special! Welcome to Sifting Through the Racks Annual #1!
Every week, Josh Rushinock and Paul McIntyre sit down with a combination of the week's comic releases, and one classic comic run, and attempt to sift the good from the bad. Effectively sifting through the trash to find the best work of the week, and the greatest runs of all time, every Friday these two writers come together to share their impressions on the comic book industry they both so thoroughly love.
Welcome to a super-sized two-week special! Welcome to Sifting Through the Racks Annual #1!
Reviews for the Week of 2/24/16
All-New X-Men #5
Coming off of what may have been my favorite issue I've reviewed since starting this particular trek into the weekly grind of comics that come my way, All-New X-Men has been a surprise hit for me. While I was somewhat a fan of its last run, it was too bogged down in time warping nonsense and a sense of genuine, ever-present dread that I simply had a hard time following it in the long run, and it also fell into the trap of worshiping the characters (and specifically Jean Grey) to a point of making every character surrounding the original X-Men seem either inept or cruel.
This series, however, serves to balance the scales by focusing solely on the young hero dynamic, almost exclusively on their own, and it's worked very well up to this point. Last issue focused heavily on the relationship between Laura in her attempts to literally become The Wolverine while her loving partner in young Warren worried and lost a bit of himself every time he was forced to heal after taking substantial wounds that could have been minimized by working as a team. That particular excellent issue is signed by an ending that seems to have The Blob beat her so badly she might never come back from it.
Will this issue stand up to how good the last one was? Let's not waste anymore time finding out.
Coming off of what may have been my favorite issue I've reviewed since starting this particular trek into the weekly grind of comics that come my way, All-New X-Men has been a surprise hit for me. While I was somewhat a fan of its last run, it was too bogged down in time warping nonsense and a sense of genuine, ever-present dread that I simply had a hard time following it in the long run, and it also fell into the trap of worshiping the characters (and specifically Jean Grey) to a point of making every character surrounding the original X-Men seem either inept or cruel.
This series, however, serves to balance the scales by focusing solely on the young hero dynamic, almost exclusively on their own, and it's worked very well up to this point. Last issue focused heavily on the relationship between Laura in her attempts to literally become The Wolverine while her loving partner in young Warren worried and lost a bit of himself every time he was forced to heal after taking substantial wounds that could have been minimized by working as a team. That particular excellent issue is signed by an ending that seems to have The Blob beat her so badly she might never come back from it.
Will this issue stand up to how good the last one was? Let's not waste anymore time finding out.
As we enter this issue, we find that Laura has been beaten to such an extent that she is being forced to quite literally heal from her untimely death. Warren manages to protect her fallen body while The Blob moves on with his attempt to find a proper meal, inevitably leading him to Hank, who had been searching for Warren and Laura using social media as a guide. Meanwhile, Idie confronts the statue of God to get some of her issues with how she was raised in the church to believe she was created from sin for being different, and Bobby finds himself flirting with a cashier.
Evan attempts to get him off of the superhero deal for work that night, but Bobby quickly ducks out of the situation, before having a heart-to-heart with Evan about how he is having a hard time with coming out of the closet because he feels it changes who he is, even though everyone is okay with it, and cites how long his older self stayed in the closet as the reason why. Before they can get to the heart of the problem, however, the rest of the team appears in a deadly battle with The Blob, and they're forced to join the fray. Meanwhile, as Warren watches the girl he loves come back from the abyss of death, he begins to question if he can keep dating a girl that causes such harm to herself, immortal or no...
Immediately, I have to admit this isn't as good an issue as the one previous. There's only a couple pages focusing on Warren and Laura, and while what's there is haunting to see Warren's reaction as she comes back from the precipice of death, it's not enough to keep the plot revolved around them as it should have been after how much emphasis was put on them going into this. Blob is handled perhaps better than he's ever been, built as a legitimate threat rather than the joke character he so often is, but that kind of falls by the wayside here after the first few pages.
Bobby's storyline is good as well, and that takes up the bulk, but it also is sort of being spaced out to last a while and that is a bit frustrating because there's a character moment there that's ready to happen, but is continuously interrupted by the rest of the plot. Idie's story in this would be good on paper, but it seems random here because of how little emphasis is put on it leading up to this point, and it's sort of already been done in the past with Wolverine and the X-Men. Everyone else in this issue might as well be non-existent.
This wasn't a bad issue by any stretch of the imagination, but it was certainly a mixed bag. Some of it worked superbly, and other bits completely missed the mark, but I think the biggest failing was not putting the majority of the emphasis on Laura and Warren after building this entire story around them up to this point. This seems like a bridge toward a larger story point for them, but it doesn't stand as a single issue.
Rating: Wait for the Trade.
Evan attempts to get him off of the superhero deal for work that night, but Bobby quickly ducks out of the situation, before having a heart-to-heart with Evan about how he is having a hard time with coming out of the closet because he feels it changes who he is, even though everyone is okay with it, and cites how long his older self stayed in the closet as the reason why. Before they can get to the heart of the problem, however, the rest of the team appears in a deadly battle with The Blob, and they're forced to join the fray. Meanwhile, as Warren watches the girl he loves come back from the abyss of death, he begins to question if he can keep dating a girl that causes such harm to herself, immortal or no...
Immediately, I have to admit this isn't as good an issue as the one previous. There's only a couple pages focusing on Warren and Laura, and while what's there is haunting to see Warren's reaction as she comes back from the precipice of death, it's not enough to keep the plot revolved around them as it should have been after how much emphasis was put on them going into this. Blob is handled perhaps better than he's ever been, built as a legitimate threat rather than the joke character he so often is, but that kind of falls by the wayside here after the first few pages.
Bobby's storyline is good as well, and that takes up the bulk, but it also is sort of being spaced out to last a while and that is a bit frustrating because there's a character moment there that's ready to happen, but is continuously interrupted by the rest of the plot. Idie's story in this would be good on paper, but it seems random here because of how little emphasis is put on it leading up to this point, and it's sort of already been done in the past with Wolverine and the X-Men. Everyone else in this issue might as well be non-existent.
This wasn't a bad issue by any stretch of the imagination, but it was certainly a mixed bag. Some of it worked superbly, and other bits completely missed the mark, but I think the biggest failing was not putting the majority of the emphasis on Laura and Warren after building this entire story around them up to this point. This seems like a bridge toward a larger story point for them, but it doesn't stand as a single issue.
Rating: Wait for the Trade.
Such a truly clever and brilliant cover, ruined by an advertisement banner. Let us have a moment of silence for covers now gone whose advertisements ruined the art.
We Are... Robin! #9
There's something just so downright intriguing about Gotham City as an atmosphere that I think a lot of people underrate. Sure, it's always been depicted as this dark and desolate city where every corner casts a dark shadow on the streets, and that's absolutely correct as an assumption of what Gotham is, but it's more than that. It's a city of crime, a city that takes mental fortitude to survive, and yet there is hope. It may be a form of hope that comes from a place outside of the normal train of thought, that takes a man in a batsuit to give, but it is hope. The people are often shown to be such integral parts of the mythos that it sort of divides the every man between the categories of those brave enough to stand up and fight, those brave enough to protect what they love, those that have lost everything and have lost reason to care, and those so shaped by insanity that they embody chaos itself.
That's why I love this series so much. It represents the every man in Gotham City as they attempt to deal with this complex and dark city that shapes who and what a person becomes, and, as we dive forward into the darker side of that issue, the series only seems to more purposely extenuate that.
We open with Bender, now officially attempting to take on the moniker of The Joker, or at least his heir, finding a place to squat as he's on the run from the police chasing him after the murder of his parents. After being questioned and harassed by a group of large homeless men, Bender kills one of them with a shot to the head and a series of bashing attempts on his skull. This garners him the respect of the others as he attempts to create a Joker gang, perhaps with the idea in mind to combat the ever-growing Robins. Meanwhile, after issues of her own with attendance and thoughts of her future, Izzy finally manages to meet up with Duke and talk over his issues after finding his parents positively catatonic after the months they'd been missing thanks to the Joker gas outbreak.
Riko, meanwhile, nearly catches up with them, only to find them having what seems to have been an intricate moment from afar and, seemingly angered and saddened, ducks out and into a nearby store where she finds a racist individual harassing a Muslim store clerk, and systematically beats him so badly that the store owner fears her. As the comic comes to a close, a family very similar to Bruce Wayne's find themselves cornered in an alleyway by this ever-growing group of Jokers, and their survival hangs on their actions, and that of a new vigilante that just might be a former member of the Robins...
I read this issue twice this week, mostly because I wasn't quite sure what I thought of it. On the second read-through however, I became a huge fan of it, mostly because of the narrative that presents itself over the events of the comic. It talks of Gotham City in a way I've never quite seen before, that seems to perfectly encapsulate the everyday life of a Gothamite, while also shedding light on the natural insanity of the city. It's this that boosts this issue to a low buy rather than a wait for the trade, due to the fact that not much happens outside of character work and building up of the Joker Gangs forces for a future issue. It's the narrative that tells a singular story that makes this stand out as an issue, which in and of itself is such a rarity that it should be commended.
Rating: Buy it.
There's something just so downright intriguing about Gotham City as an atmosphere that I think a lot of people underrate. Sure, it's always been depicted as this dark and desolate city where every corner casts a dark shadow on the streets, and that's absolutely correct as an assumption of what Gotham is, but it's more than that. It's a city of crime, a city that takes mental fortitude to survive, and yet there is hope. It may be a form of hope that comes from a place outside of the normal train of thought, that takes a man in a batsuit to give, but it is hope. The people are often shown to be such integral parts of the mythos that it sort of divides the every man between the categories of those brave enough to stand up and fight, those brave enough to protect what they love, those that have lost everything and have lost reason to care, and those so shaped by insanity that they embody chaos itself.
That's why I love this series so much. It represents the every man in Gotham City as they attempt to deal with this complex and dark city that shapes who and what a person becomes, and, as we dive forward into the darker side of that issue, the series only seems to more purposely extenuate that.
We open with Bender, now officially attempting to take on the moniker of The Joker, or at least his heir, finding a place to squat as he's on the run from the police chasing him after the murder of his parents. After being questioned and harassed by a group of large homeless men, Bender kills one of them with a shot to the head and a series of bashing attempts on his skull. This garners him the respect of the others as he attempts to create a Joker gang, perhaps with the idea in mind to combat the ever-growing Robins. Meanwhile, after issues of her own with attendance and thoughts of her future, Izzy finally manages to meet up with Duke and talk over his issues after finding his parents positively catatonic after the months they'd been missing thanks to the Joker gas outbreak.
Riko, meanwhile, nearly catches up with them, only to find them having what seems to have been an intricate moment from afar and, seemingly angered and saddened, ducks out and into a nearby store where she finds a racist individual harassing a Muslim store clerk, and systematically beats him so badly that the store owner fears her. As the comic comes to a close, a family very similar to Bruce Wayne's find themselves cornered in an alleyway by this ever-growing group of Jokers, and their survival hangs on their actions, and that of a new vigilante that just might be a former member of the Robins...
I read this issue twice this week, mostly because I wasn't quite sure what I thought of it. On the second read-through however, I became a huge fan of it, mostly because of the narrative that presents itself over the events of the comic. It talks of Gotham City in a way I've never quite seen before, that seems to perfectly encapsulate the everyday life of a Gothamite, while also shedding light on the natural insanity of the city. It's this that boosts this issue to a low buy rather than a wait for the trade, due to the fact that not much happens outside of character work and building up of the Joker Gangs forces for a future issue. It's the narrative that tells a singular story that makes this stand out as an issue, which in and of itself is such a rarity that it should be commended.
Rating: Buy it.
Would I even be picking up a Batman comic if I didn't plan to see Batman vs Superman?
Batman & Robin: Eternal #21
Two weeks ago while covering this book, I went on a bit of a rant.
Well, perhaps 'bit' is an understatement.
It was frustrating to me that I had to bring forth so many faults in one of the few New 52 books I had almost universally enjoyed since its inception because, believe it or not, when I sit down to do these reviews, I'm not actually looking to trash things. I just have been reading comics long enough to know that, if I didn't mention when an issue is handled poorly and I simply gave something a pass, I wouldn't be able to live with it. That's just how I am, if something doesn't live up to the potential of the last issue, I'm going to point it out, and if there are massive plot holes or missing character arcs that are handled off-panel, that makes it all the worse. It's the worst kind of shoddy writing when everything that has to happen either doesn't happen in a way you can see and is instead added as exposition or handled in such a way that simply doesn't make sense in context.
But I couldn't really stay mad at this team. Not after this week.
Returning to what has been the series' biggest strength, this week's issue focuses in completely on Batman and Robin, as they had been presented in the past throughout the majority of the series. Despite having put Scarecrow away and discovering Row was the chosen Robin the Mother wanted to offer Batman and her death that followed, Bruce still doesn't feel comfortable with the results. After tracking down a series of leads, Bruce finds himself overseas on his own, looking into an owner of a hotel that knew the Mother's origin. It's revealed that she grew up in an unknown country just outside of Soviet control that had become something of a haven for crime and debauchery.
The town attempted to welcome the Soviets to save some of their own, but. when fear caused the soldiers to believe they might have been poisoned, the entirety of the town was raised to the ground with no survivors but the girl who had to lay with her parents' dead bodies in order to survive. Almost immediately after, she went about liberating the woman who told Bruce the stories about his parents, in an attempt to make her stronger, and this eventually caused the girl to turn into what she had become when Bruce met her. As Bruce leaves with the idea of setting Row and her remaining sibling back into a world outside of his mansion, the obvious reveal that The Mother is made, leaving a question mark on the entirety of the series.
To me, this was a return to what made this series originally work. Sure, it was always good in the modern story when this was handled in flashbacks, but this story was the heart and soul of the series. I'm not as big a Batman fan as I am the surrounding characters. But I can honestly say that he was what glued this series together, and this absolutely was a terrifically handled ending to his inclusion in this series or at least in this flashbacks. It's the best of what this team has to offer, all in one incredibly solid issue and a great bounce back from last week's disaster, even if I'm still unsure of what'll happen as we enter the next modern story arc.
Rating: Buy it!
Two weeks ago while covering this book, I went on a bit of a rant.
Well, perhaps 'bit' is an understatement.
It was frustrating to me that I had to bring forth so many faults in one of the few New 52 books I had almost universally enjoyed since its inception because, believe it or not, when I sit down to do these reviews, I'm not actually looking to trash things. I just have been reading comics long enough to know that, if I didn't mention when an issue is handled poorly and I simply gave something a pass, I wouldn't be able to live with it. That's just how I am, if something doesn't live up to the potential of the last issue, I'm going to point it out, and if there are massive plot holes or missing character arcs that are handled off-panel, that makes it all the worse. It's the worst kind of shoddy writing when everything that has to happen either doesn't happen in a way you can see and is instead added as exposition or handled in such a way that simply doesn't make sense in context.
But I couldn't really stay mad at this team. Not after this week.
Returning to what has been the series' biggest strength, this week's issue focuses in completely on Batman and Robin, as they had been presented in the past throughout the majority of the series. Despite having put Scarecrow away and discovering Row was the chosen Robin the Mother wanted to offer Batman and her death that followed, Bruce still doesn't feel comfortable with the results. After tracking down a series of leads, Bruce finds himself overseas on his own, looking into an owner of a hotel that knew the Mother's origin. It's revealed that she grew up in an unknown country just outside of Soviet control that had become something of a haven for crime and debauchery.
The town attempted to welcome the Soviets to save some of their own, but. when fear caused the soldiers to believe they might have been poisoned, the entirety of the town was raised to the ground with no survivors but the girl who had to lay with her parents' dead bodies in order to survive. Almost immediately after, she went about liberating the woman who told Bruce the stories about his parents, in an attempt to make her stronger, and this eventually caused the girl to turn into what she had become when Bruce met her. As Bruce leaves with the idea of setting Row and her remaining sibling back into a world outside of his mansion, the obvious reveal that The Mother is made, leaving a question mark on the entirety of the series.
To me, this was a return to what made this series originally work. Sure, it was always good in the modern story when this was handled in flashbacks, but this story was the heart and soul of the series. I'm not as big a Batman fan as I am the surrounding characters. But I can honestly say that he was what glued this series together, and this absolutely was a terrifically handled ending to his inclusion in this series or at least in this flashbacks. It's the best of what this team has to offer, all in one incredibly solid issue and a great bounce back from last week's disaster, even if I'm still unsure of what'll happen as we enter the next modern story arc.
Rating: Buy it!
So... am I just going to have to be dealing with these ads for the next month? Because I have to say I'm not okay with that.
Grayson #17
Grayson, as a series, has always been a bit of a mystery. It was a weird path to take Dick Grayson on in the first place, one I can honestly say I was against before the first issue even published. The idea of taking a member of the Bat-Family and making them a secret agent in a murky company such as Spyral always rubbed me the wrong way, even as I found a few truly terrific comics among the heap of mostly skippable issues.
What it comes down to in the long run is that I want to like this series. The group writing it took a bad idea and made it somewhat bearable for me, and there are little signs of brilliance here and there... but those signs never come at the right time, nor do they come often enough to really hold up the series.
As we enter the second stage of Grayson and Agent 1 chasing Spyral across the world and Spyral mobilizing the world's greatest mercenaries in turn, we find our heroes in a murky deal with Checkmate, now run by the very same man that had tried to put blame on Dick for the murders of several Spyral agents not long before, in an attempt to quell the mercenaries for long enough without killing them to deal with Spyral. Meanwhile, Grifter has been playing both sides with a dangerous telepath, attempting to hunt down both Grayson and Agent 1, and find out more information on Helena Bertinelli, Dick's former partner who now is in charge of the chase for Grayson as the company's Matron. His investigation leads him and his mysterious partner into an encounter with Agent 1 and Grayson, which they inevitably lose, before realizing that in the end Grifter will have to kill The Matron.
Notice anything odd about that description of the issue? For some reason, for the second month in a row, Grayson has decided to shift focus from what they should be covering to something a little more outside of Dick's mission. I like Grifter plenty, but not enough for him to become the star character in an issue about Dick Grayson, especially in the New 52. Worse yet, his inclusion is barely handled well enough to follow on the page, leaving so much up to mystery that it doesn't make the reader want to find out more but instead just opts for confusion, thus making the entirety of the comic a massive, massive miss.
Rating: Skip it.
Grayson, as a series, has always been a bit of a mystery. It was a weird path to take Dick Grayson on in the first place, one I can honestly say I was against before the first issue even published. The idea of taking a member of the Bat-Family and making them a secret agent in a murky company such as Spyral always rubbed me the wrong way, even as I found a few truly terrific comics among the heap of mostly skippable issues.
What it comes down to in the long run is that I want to like this series. The group writing it took a bad idea and made it somewhat bearable for me, and there are little signs of brilliance here and there... but those signs never come at the right time, nor do they come often enough to really hold up the series.
As we enter the second stage of Grayson and Agent 1 chasing Spyral across the world and Spyral mobilizing the world's greatest mercenaries in turn, we find our heroes in a murky deal with Checkmate, now run by the very same man that had tried to put blame on Dick for the murders of several Spyral agents not long before, in an attempt to quell the mercenaries for long enough without killing them to deal with Spyral. Meanwhile, Grifter has been playing both sides with a dangerous telepath, attempting to hunt down both Grayson and Agent 1, and find out more information on Helena Bertinelli, Dick's former partner who now is in charge of the chase for Grayson as the company's Matron. His investigation leads him and his mysterious partner into an encounter with Agent 1 and Grayson, which they inevitably lose, before realizing that in the end Grifter will have to kill The Matron.
Notice anything odd about that description of the issue? For some reason, for the second month in a row, Grayson has decided to shift focus from what they should be covering to something a little more outside of Dick's mission. I like Grifter plenty, but not enough for him to become the star character in an issue about Dick Grayson, especially in the New 52. Worse yet, his inclusion is barely handled well enough to follow on the page, leaving so much up to mystery that it doesn't make the reader want to find out more but instead just opts for confusion, thus making the entirety of the comic a massive, massive miss.
Rating: Skip it.
Did I switch back to one of the few Marvel books I'm doing this week simply because I didn't want to stare at an ad ruining a cover? You'll never know.
Daredevil #4
Daredevil has always been a bit of a unique beast for Marvel. His life is as depressing as a hero's can get, and just one bad day could have made him into something so much worse than what he became, which was a force for good. It wasn't that long ago that Marvel seemed to be putting all of their effort into trying to lighten his life up, even if it was only in a minimal fashion, but the moment this series hit shelves, it became painstakingly obvious that the writing staff intended to add another tragic bad choice to Murdock's sorted history of such life mistakes, and I have to say thus far it's been an intriguing phenomena. It's one of the few stories of a hero giving up his life in order to return to a state of anonymity that I've been a fan of though truthfully that could easily change since we're only in the first few issues of this story arc. Thus far, however, it's been a very, very strong showing.
Immediately, we open to Daredevil entering a building controlled by unknown enemy forces at the behest of the aged Captain America, who supposedly is out of the game despite his constant attempts to keep up with the superhero world. Daredevil, however, called him in order to confess his dealings with Ten-fingers and that he'd made some kind of terrible deal in order to force the world to forget his identity, and yet, in the middle of this mission, he finds himself completely unable to tell the Captain. Meanwhile, Daredevil's new partner finds himself entering Ten-finger's church in order to reveal to the reader that his own mother is one of the man's partners and hands. Things quickly go south in both conjoined stories as Daredevil finds it hard to work with the Captain without him knowing he's blind, and Blindspot reveals himself hastily to his mother...
This issue is exactly why Daredevil is such a compelling character. He's a hero that will do anything to help people, yet that compelling will he has often takes him into places where he can't come back from. His own moral compass when it comes to his life is askew, and he's fully aware of it. A full crisis of faith turned into an attempted confession to a man he respects in Steve Rogers really shows just how far he's fallen without revealing too much, and Steve's writing here is just as good as Matt's. There's a spot in the end that is so brilliantly handled in both its truth and desperation that I don't want to spoil it. It also helps that Blindspot is quickly becoming an intriguing character all his own.
The art is on point here as are the writing and character pieces. This is a terrific, terrific comic that absolutely begs a buy even for a casual follower. I'd advise picking it up, even if you're unfamiliar with the character, because it's a truly well handled character piece.
Rating: Buy it!
Daredevil has always been a bit of a unique beast for Marvel. His life is as depressing as a hero's can get, and just one bad day could have made him into something so much worse than what he became, which was a force for good. It wasn't that long ago that Marvel seemed to be putting all of their effort into trying to lighten his life up, even if it was only in a minimal fashion, but the moment this series hit shelves, it became painstakingly obvious that the writing staff intended to add another tragic bad choice to Murdock's sorted history of such life mistakes, and I have to say thus far it's been an intriguing phenomena. It's one of the few stories of a hero giving up his life in order to return to a state of anonymity that I've been a fan of though truthfully that could easily change since we're only in the first few issues of this story arc. Thus far, however, it's been a very, very strong showing.
Immediately, we open to Daredevil entering a building controlled by unknown enemy forces at the behest of the aged Captain America, who supposedly is out of the game despite his constant attempts to keep up with the superhero world. Daredevil, however, called him in order to confess his dealings with Ten-fingers and that he'd made some kind of terrible deal in order to force the world to forget his identity, and yet, in the middle of this mission, he finds himself completely unable to tell the Captain. Meanwhile, Daredevil's new partner finds himself entering Ten-finger's church in order to reveal to the reader that his own mother is one of the man's partners and hands. Things quickly go south in both conjoined stories as Daredevil finds it hard to work with the Captain without him knowing he's blind, and Blindspot reveals himself hastily to his mother...
This issue is exactly why Daredevil is such a compelling character. He's a hero that will do anything to help people, yet that compelling will he has often takes him into places where he can't come back from. His own moral compass when it comes to his life is askew, and he's fully aware of it. A full crisis of faith turned into an attempted confession to a man he respects in Steve Rogers really shows just how far he's fallen without revealing too much, and Steve's writing here is just as good as Matt's. There's a spot in the end that is so brilliantly handled in both its truth and desperation that I don't want to spoil it. It also helps that Blindspot is quickly becoming an intriguing character all his own.
The art is on point here as are the writing and character pieces. This is a terrific, terrific comic that absolutely begs a buy even for a casual follower. I'd advise picking it up, even if you're unfamiliar with the character, because it's a truly well handled character piece.
Rating: Buy it!
Well, we're back to the ad banners again.
Teen Titans #17
The Titans as a series has had a lot of trouble keeping where they're going consistent for quite a while now. It almost seems like the people in charge of writing their arcs are constantly changing plans in the background, and, in all honesty, that wouldn't surprise me. There wasn't a series in the first wave of the New 52 as critically panned as the first Titans run and rightfully so; it completely erased the history of one of comic's most important teams and rewrote characters into weak and even insulting versions of their previous selves.
Since, the series has been in a desperate attempt to catch up with itself and apologize to its natural fan base because buy rates have tanked for the book ever since the new start. In these attempts to bring back classic fans, they've slowly started attempting to re-incorporate a small portion of Teen Titans history, and the results have been extremely mixed.
In this week's story, the team is on the move across the country while they attempt to clear their names of any wrongdoing as they've been wanted since their incredibly minor involvement in Robin Wars... although all the Robins have been released and allowed to go about their business, so I've no clue quite why they're wanted. Curious.
Anyway, as they move, you can see the strain that having to hold back is having on the team and most especially on Wonder Girl. Throughout the issue, she grows more and more unsteady with the sudden halt in hero work, and, worse yet, she's hearing voices calling to her. As Tim and the rest of the team attempt to calm her nerves, she only grows more and more hostile until she takes off to follow the voice and to find her origin, her Father, what has become of him, and perhaps even godhood...
I like the idea of this issue more than I do the issue itself. I like that they're finally trying to tie Cassie back into her lineage as Wonder Girl as it's been an incredibly odd omission of her character up to this point.... but the actual issue itself is really sloppy. The character work is all over the place (almost blatantly so in its ending), and the team's direction makes no sense in the grand scheme of what's been going on in the books and the events they've been linked too. The best stuff in this issue are all Wonder Girl related, but, when that only amounts to about half of her content, it just isn't worth the buy. While I'd like to wait for the trade to judge it too heavily, it does such a weak job of leading into the next event that I really can't find myself even suggesting it at all. It's just not necessary.
Rating: Skip it.
The Titans as a series has had a lot of trouble keeping where they're going consistent for quite a while now. It almost seems like the people in charge of writing their arcs are constantly changing plans in the background, and, in all honesty, that wouldn't surprise me. There wasn't a series in the first wave of the New 52 as critically panned as the first Titans run and rightfully so; it completely erased the history of one of comic's most important teams and rewrote characters into weak and even insulting versions of their previous selves.
Since, the series has been in a desperate attempt to catch up with itself and apologize to its natural fan base because buy rates have tanked for the book ever since the new start. In these attempts to bring back classic fans, they've slowly started attempting to re-incorporate a small portion of Teen Titans history, and the results have been extremely mixed.
In this week's story, the team is on the move across the country while they attempt to clear their names of any wrongdoing as they've been wanted since their incredibly minor involvement in Robin Wars... although all the Robins have been released and allowed to go about their business, so I've no clue quite why they're wanted. Curious.
Anyway, as they move, you can see the strain that having to hold back is having on the team and most especially on Wonder Girl. Throughout the issue, she grows more and more unsteady with the sudden halt in hero work, and, worse yet, she's hearing voices calling to her. As Tim and the rest of the team attempt to calm her nerves, she only grows more and more hostile until she takes off to follow the voice and to find her origin, her Father, what has become of him, and perhaps even godhood...
I like the idea of this issue more than I do the issue itself. I like that they're finally trying to tie Cassie back into her lineage as Wonder Girl as it's been an incredibly odd omission of her character up to this point.... but the actual issue itself is really sloppy. The character work is all over the place (almost blatantly so in its ending), and the team's direction makes no sense in the grand scheme of what's been going on in the books and the events they've been linked too. The best stuff in this issue are all Wonder Girl related, but, when that only amounts to about half of her content, it just isn't worth the buy. While I'd like to wait for the trade to judge it too heavily, it does such a weak job of leading into the next event that I really can't find myself even suggesting it at all. It's just not necessary.
Rating: Skip it.
I guess I should just accept these ads now... I mean, no matter how much I complain, they aren't going away for another whole month...
Deathstroke #15
I'm not going to lie and play up this series going into this review. I'm going to be straightforward and honest: I've been hugely disappointed in it for quite some time now.
To me, this entire series perfectly encapsulates the problems with the writing staff over at DC right now, and that's an attempt to rebuild a world from scratch but an equal refusal to relive that past, or attempt to bring it back in its old and beloved format. The result is heartbreakingly painful for lesser known heroes, but I feel it's just as hurtful to well-known characters. The problem is that most people go into these series expecting one character, one they've been told of in animated series or movies or in older comics with an expectation of who that character is and instead are met with someone who is either not that character at all or a contrived, half-version of it. All of this speaks true to Deathstroke both as a character and a series, and you need only open this weeks issue to find the truth in that.
Slade Wilson is on the hunt for his daughter, Rose, who he thinks has been kidnapped. Slade has never been on good terms with his family, and both his children are very much purposefully out of contact with their father, but Slade still attempts to keep an eye on them nonetheless, and if they find themselves in danger, he'll jump tot he assist. Fresh of being tricked into infiltrating the prison of the Suicide Squad, it seems Slade has now been tricked into infiltrating the home of Lex Luthor. After a brief brawl, Deathstroke finds himself trapped in an underground chamber with Lex's 'experiments', a group of Bizarro clones.
Forced to work together, Lex, his bodyguard, Mercy, and Slade attempt to put a stop to the outbreak of superpowered men with a contrived plan B, that ends in Slade taking an idiotic risk to brute force a solution. Managing to get an agreement out of Mercy with the promise that he might leak what had happened onto the internet via the camera in his suit, Slade tracks down the source of his daughter's signal: a comb he gave her when she was five. As he approaches the man he now believes to have set him up with murderous intent, Rose and her seeming new part captor, part partner, The Lawman, watch from afar as it seems Slade's situation is more complicated than he might have thought.
Where even to start here?
What fails in this comic isn't the events that take place (though an army of Bizarros is pretty damn silly) but instead the character work. Lex is played up as the unimpressed genius which is his character, of course, but, when playing off of this version of Deathstroke, it shows you how inept the character has been built. Slade Wilson is calculated, cunning, downright manipulative in both his missions and his personal life, yet he repeatedly allows himself to be tricked or manipulated into a fight. In this series, he represents more the character of Deadshot than he does Deathstroke, the most feared and calculated assassin in all of comics.
Add to that a confused and contrived story that has attempted to push itself so far past its need to exist that it's frustrating and two different incredibly meager and underwhelming reveals for this issue, and you start to see my issue. You can't simply assume your audience to take your character's intelligence at face value, nor can you make old readers believe that Deathstroke is somehow redeemable and a good father in this series when we have so much evidence to the contrary literally everywhere else. It's a failed attempt at humanizing a character that need not be humanized and also dumb down a character whose intelligence should never be in doubt. Show us he's intelligent, show us he cares, don't simply leave it up to our assumption.
Rating: Burn it.
I'm not going to lie and play up this series going into this review. I'm going to be straightforward and honest: I've been hugely disappointed in it for quite some time now.
To me, this entire series perfectly encapsulates the problems with the writing staff over at DC right now, and that's an attempt to rebuild a world from scratch but an equal refusal to relive that past, or attempt to bring it back in its old and beloved format. The result is heartbreakingly painful for lesser known heroes, but I feel it's just as hurtful to well-known characters. The problem is that most people go into these series expecting one character, one they've been told of in animated series or movies or in older comics with an expectation of who that character is and instead are met with someone who is either not that character at all or a contrived, half-version of it. All of this speaks true to Deathstroke both as a character and a series, and you need only open this weeks issue to find the truth in that.
Slade Wilson is on the hunt for his daughter, Rose, who he thinks has been kidnapped. Slade has never been on good terms with his family, and both his children are very much purposefully out of contact with their father, but Slade still attempts to keep an eye on them nonetheless, and if they find themselves in danger, he'll jump tot he assist. Fresh of being tricked into infiltrating the prison of the Suicide Squad, it seems Slade has now been tricked into infiltrating the home of Lex Luthor. After a brief brawl, Deathstroke finds himself trapped in an underground chamber with Lex's 'experiments', a group of Bizarro clones.
Forced to work together, Lex, his bodyguard, Mercy, and Slade attempt to put a stop to the outbreak of superpowered men with a contrived plan B, that ends in Slade taking an idiotic risk to brute force a solution. Managing to get an agreement out of Mercy with the promise that he might leak what had happened onto the internet via the camera in his suit, Slade tracks down the source of his daughter's signal: a comb he gave her when she was five. As he approaches the man he now believes to have set him up with murderous intent, Rose and her seeming new part captor, part partner, The Lawman, watch from afar as it seems Slade's situation is more complicated than he might have thought.
Where even to start here?
What fails in this comic isn't the events that take place (though an army of Bizarros is pretty damn silly) but instead the character work. Lex is played up as the unimpressed genius which is his character, of course, but, when playing off of this version of Deathstroke, it shows you how inept the character has been built. Slade Wilson is calculated, cunning, downright manipulative in both his missions and his personal life, yet he repeatedly allows himself to be tricked or manipulated into a fight. In this series, he represents more the character of Deadshot than he does Deathstroke, the most feared and calculated assassin in all of comics.
Add to that a confused and contrived story that has attempted to push itself so far past its need to exist that it's frustrating and two different incredibly meager and underwhelming reveals for this issue, and you start to see my issue. You can't simply assume your audience to take your character's intelligence at face value, nor can you make old readers believe that Deathstroke is somehow redeemable and a good father in this series when we have so much evidence to the contrary literally everywhere else. It's a failed attempt at humanizing a character that need not be humanized and also dumb down a character whose intelligence should never be in doubt. Show us he's intelligent, show us he cares, don't simply leave it up to our assumption.
Rating: Burn it.
If the ad is the cover and the cover is Cyborg and Cyborg is the machine IS MAN THE MACHINE OR IS THE AD THE MACHINE THE AD IS THE MACHINE THE MACHINE IS THE AD THE AD IS THE MAN AND THE MAN IS THE MACHINE GIVE YOUR SOUL TO YOUR ADVERTISED OVERLORDS
Cyborg #8
I've probably said this enough by now that it's absolutely annoying, but I feel the need to say it again.
Anyone that was a member of the Teen Titans has had a really rough go of it since the start of the New 52.
Cyborg, though, should really be one of the exceptions to this rule. Similar to Nightwing, he's kind of evolved out of just the role of a sidekick, or in this case, teen turned defunct leader of the Titans. In the last fifteen years, there's been a lot of emphasis on making Victor Stone a main member of the Justice League, so much so that he's been included in all major plans to bring the team to the cinema which is very exciting.
But, at the same time, Cyborg has had a rough go of it since his solo book started. While the content has absolutely not been bad, it hasn't altogether been the best representation of the character and the understanding of the themes of high technology that the series so heavily focuses on (You can't hack into the internet.), it's been a mostly genuine attempt to make the character stand out a bit in the face of the other, more heavily covered and rewritten Justice League. Sure, it's lost a lot of its appeal but honestly so have most of the books since the relaunch.
That sounds sour. Did I sound sour? I didn't mean to sound sour.
We start out with the light-hearted team of Shazam and Cyborg responding to a call in Bridgeport, Connecticut that turns out to be the Zookeeper raising an army of man-like beasts to attack the city. While the issue is dealt with rather quickly, the book focuses on flashbacks to the build-up to the inaction of the Cybernetic Regulation Act, built around the techno-alien invasion covered earlier in the series that surrounded Vic. A warning is set forth that Cyborg should be considered US property, but, unknown to the government, Victor has suddenly become able to control his appearance, seemingly through technology, down to the last bit of skin or machinery.
Hiding that away as he's unsure of how to react to being normal again, Victor goes about his business attempting to help his father, whom he's suddenly on good terms with, protect S.T.A.R from the incoming act, and, in the process, introduce everyone to the alien technology that had originally assisted in the creation of Cyborg, and how Victor's mother somehow survived as a ghost of a memory in said machines. Meanwhile, lobbyists work outside the law to put together a task force to bring in Cyborg, confronting him as the mission with Shazam comes to a head, but it seems Cyborg might not be so willing to go into that good night quietly...
I'm not sure how to feel on this issue. There's some good character work and some terrible character work scattered about. It's incredibly rushed and could have used an entire issue devoted to each idea presented, but, at the same time, the dialogue is witty and fun throughout. In short, it doesn't do anything insulting or anything to make it seem to stand out, either in the series or as a solo comic. That, to me, sounds like a skip which would make sense on paper since the series hasn't really been outstanding, but I'm tentatively hoping this leads somewhere interesting. Only time will tell.
Rating: Skip it.
I've probably said this enough by now that it's absolutely annoying, but I feel the need to say it again.
Anyone that was a member of the Teen Titans has had a really rough go of it since the start of the New 52.
Cyborg, though, should really be one of the exceptions to this rule. Similar to Nightwing, he's kind of evolved out of just the role of a sidekick, or in this case, teen turned defunct leader of the Titans. In the last fifteen years, there's been a lot of emphasis on making Victor Stone a main member of the Justice League, so much so that he's been included in all major plans to bring the team to the cinema which is very exciting.
But, at the same time, Cyborg has had a rough go of it since his solo book started. While the content has absolutely not been bad, it hasn't altogether been the best representation of the character and the understanding of the themes of high technology that the series so heavily focuses on (You can't hack into the internet.), it's been a mostly genuine attempt to make the character stand out a bit in the face of the other, more heavily covered and rewritten Justice League. Sure, it's lost a lot of its appeal but honestly so have most of the books since the relaunch.
That sounds sour. Did I sound sour? I didn't mean to sound sour.
We start out with the light-hearted team of Shazam and Cyborg responding to a call in Bridgeport, Connecticut that turns out to be the Zookeeper raising an army of man-like beasts to attack the city. While the issue is dealt with rather quickly, the book focuses on flashbacks to the build-up to the inaction of the Cybernetic Regulation Act, built around the techno-alien invasion covered earlier in the series that surrounded Vic. A warning is set forth that Cyborg should be considered US property, but, unknown to the government, Victor has suddenly become able to control his appearance, seemingly through technology, down to the last bit of skin or machinery.
Hiding that away as he's unsure of how to react to being normal again, Victor goes about his business attempting to help his father, whom he's suddenly on good terms with, protect S.T.A.R from the incoming act, and, in the process, introduce everyone to the alien technology that had originally assisted in the creation of Cyborg, and how Victor's mother somehow survived as a ghost of a memory in said machines. Meanwhile, lobbyists work outside the law to put together a task force to bring in Cyborg, confronting him as the mission with Shazam comes to a head, but it seems Cyborg might not be so willing to go into that good night quietly...
I'm not sure how to feel on this issue. There's some good character work and some terrible character work scattered about. It's incredibly rushed and could have used an entire issue devoted to each idea presented, but, at the same time, the dialogue is witty and fun throughout. In short, it doesn't do anything insulting or anything to make it seem to stand out, either in the series or as a solo comic. That, to me, sounds like a skip which would make sense on paper since the series hasn't really been outstanding, but I'm tentatively hoping this leads somewhere interesting. Only time will tell.
Rating: Skip it.
Classic Comic Review for the Week of 2/24/16:
Kingdom Come
Since I know very little about the context surrounding the creation of Kingdom Come, my next assertion is complete speculation.
In my opinion, Mark Waid and Alex Ross created Kingdom Come as a critique of mid-1990s comic book culture.
The themes of nihilism, senseless violence and zero accountability had perforated superhero storytelling in that decade as the comic industry sought desperately to sell more and more issues by disguising their works as being "gritty", "mature", and "for adults".
Kingdom Come was part of the alternate universe Elseworlds lineup for DC and is a story set in 2020 in which Superman and other iconic DC heroes have retired and made way for a new generation of crime fighters.
Unlike their predecessors, however, these new crime fighters display ego, aggression, and a lack of compassion or responsibility.
The story that follows explores a world in which the average person is left susceptible to the whims of guardians that are completely out of control and entirely beyond repercussion.
Some heroes remain. The Flash never stops running, Green Lantern orbits the Earth, forever watchful, and Batman continues to dedicate his life to guarding Gotham.
The most notable absentee, of course, is Superman. It is fitting that Waid chose The Man of Steel, an exemplar of purity and righteousness, as the lead protagonist of this story.
Superman is retired, and it is his return that is the catalyst for Kingdom Come.
A war between the last generation of heroes and the current generation of those who aren't worthy of the title. Who will win, and what will Earth's ultimate fate be?
The results are shocking, explosive, and well worth reading, as many great DC characters appear in roles they haven't previously adopted, and Waid explores what it truly means to be a hero in a period where the comic book industry seemed to forget the answer.
Kingdom Come is a four issue read. Condensed, succinct, and effective. Read it.
Since I know very little about the context surrounding the creation of Kingdom Come, my next assertion is complete speculation.
In my opinion, Mark Waid and Alex Ross created Kingdom Come as a critique of mid-1990s comic book culture.
The themes of nihilism, senseless violence and zero accountability had perforated superhero storytelling in that decade as the comic industry sought desperately to sell more and more issues by disguising their works as being "gritty", "mature", and "for adults".
Kingdom Come was part of the alternate universe Elseworlds lineup for DC and is a story set in 2020 in which Superman and other iconic DC heroes have retired and made way for a new generation of crime fighters.
Unlike their predecessors, however, these new crime fighters display ego, aggression, and a lack of compassion or responsibility.
The story that follows explores a world in which the average person is left susceptible to the whims of guardians that are completely out of control and entirely beyond repercussion.
Some heroes remain. The Flash never stops running, Green Lantern orbits the Earth, forever watchful, and Batman continues to dedicate his life to guarding Gotham.
The most notable absentee, of course, is Superman. It is fitting that Waid chose The Man of Steel, an exemplar of purity and righteousness, as the lead protagonist of this story.
Superman is retired, and it is his return that is the catalyst for Kingdom Come.
A war between the last generation of heroes and the current generation of those who aren't worthy of the title. Who will win, and what will Earth's ultimate fate be?
The results are shocking, explosive, and well worth reading, as many great DC characters appear in roles they haven't previously adopted, and Waid explores what it truly means to be a hero in a period where the comic book industry seemed to forget the answer.
Kingdom Come is a four issue read. Condensed, succinct, and effective. Read it.
Reviews for the Week of 3/2/16
Wrestlers In Space #1
Well, this is a refreshing change of pace.
This new series was a a bit of a surprise to me as the creator asked us to take a look at it leading to his opening week. I hadn't expected to read it, but the forwarded copy was of such interest to me that I agreed to review it for this week's release. We weren't paid, nor was this in any way sponsored; it was a mutual agreement that both allows for me to review it in all honesty and the creator to get his new series out there and among the public.
It also helps that our writing staff and readers are such huge wrestling fans.
This was a project backed and funded on Kickstarter in late 2015 and put together by writer Nathanael Hopkins-Smith out of Sydney, Australia, with various artists backing each section of the book. In this issue, it's mostly the terrific lead artwork of Francesco Chiappara and is followed by the talents of Sarah Harkey and Dean Rankine with Simon A. Wright handling the coloring and Nic Shaw heading the lettering.
The series starts out with the story of The Matador, Luther Lobo, a well respected bullfighter that is something of a top draw across Mexico for his vicious bull fights to the death. Self-admittedly, however, Lobo has something of a problem with women and monogamy in particular. After meeting a gypsy woman after one of his fights, things quickly escalated into him attempting to bed the woman; however, she would go on to refuse unless he promised himself solely to her. That he did, however in a bout of naivete, the girl awakens to find the Matador gone from her bed and instead deeper inside his estate, attempting to bed a prostitute. In her broken-hearted state, the girl rushes to her grandmother who casts a spell to curse The Matador with his namesake, the wolf.
Also included in the first issue is a lead-up to events to happen in the future with the Lobo brothers holding off American wrestlers while aliens above seem to set their sites on Earth with a get-rich quick scheme in mind to save themselves from their own habitual gambling habits, plans that just might lead to a corporation of their own...
I really enjoyed this book on the whole. The entirety of the comic is exceptionally witty and tongue-in-cheek, but The Matador story especially is really stunningly presented. Lobo is made to be a character you completely dislike for his terrible treatment of those around him but is still incredibly intriguing and charismatic. His origin story is handled with an incredibly strong and forward hand, and that allows you to humanize him before he assuredly finds himself in the face of something much larger than Luchador competition or Matador fights. The art in that section is also stunning, simply because of how well it matches the tone of the story presented.
The second part of the story that leads up to the actual alien element is cleverly written though the art does take a significant drop in quality here, focusing heavily on a more cartoonish appearance. That, however, does fit the very separate tone of that section of the story. You can tell that this is only the beginning of a much grander tale, however, and that very much allows you to settle into both the silliness of the section and the idea of what's to come.
All in all I'd say there's just something incredibly witty and charismatic about this book. It really was something of a surprise to me to find myself wanting more by the end as I had no idea what to expect going in. I was genuinely impressed with the content and incredibly excited to have the chance to share it with our readers, considering our wrestling background in writing. This will definitely be a series I'll be following from here on out, and I'd encourage any wrestling fan to do the same. If the second issue is anything like the first, then this series will have captured my permanent attention.
Here is the link for where you can buy it. Check it out because it is undoubtedly worth your time.
Rating: Buy it.
Well, this is a refreshing change of pace.
This new series was a a bit of a surprise to me as the creator asked us to take a look at it leading to his opening week. I hadn't expected to read it, but the forwarded copy was of such interest to me that I agreed to review it for this week's release. We weren't paid, nor was this in any way sponsored; it was a mutual agreement that both allows for me to review it in all honesty and the creator to get his new series out there and among the public.
It also helps that our writing staff and readers are such huge wrestling fans.
This was a project backed and funded on Kickstarter in late 2015 and put together by writer Nathanael Hopkins-Smith out of Sydney, Australia, with various artists backing each section of the book. In this issue, it's mostly the terrific lead artwork of Francesco Chiappara and is followed by the talents of Sarah Harkey and Dean Rankine with Simon A. Wright handling the coloring and Nic Shaw heading the lettering.
The series starts out with the story of The Matador, Luther Lobo, a well respected bullfighter that is something of a top draw across Mexico for his vicious bull fights to the death. Self-admittedly, however, Lobo has something of a problem with women and monogamy in particular. After meeting a gypsy woman after one of his fights, things quickly escalated into him attempting to bed the woman; however, she would go on to refuse unless he promised himself solely to her. That he did, however in a bout of naivete, the girl awakens to find the Matador gone from her bed and instead deeper inside his estate, attempting to bed a prostitute. In her broken-hearted state, the girl rushes to her grandmother who casts a spell to curse The Matador with his namesake, the wolf.
Also included in the first issue is a lead-up to events to happen in the future with the Lobo brothers holding off American wrestlers while aliens above seem to set their sites on Earth with a get-rich quick scheme in mind to save themselves from their own habitual gambling habits, plans that just might lead to a corporation of their own...
I really enjoyed this book on the whole. The entirety of the comic is exceptionally witty and tongue-in-cheek, but The Matador story especially is really stunningly presented. Lobo is made to be a character you completely dislike for his terrible treatment of those around him but is still incredibly intriguing and charismatic. His origin story is handled with an incredibly strong and forward hand, and that allows you to humanize him before he assuredly finds himself in the face of something much larger than Luchador competition or Matador fights. The art in that section is also stunning, simply because of how well it matches the tone of the story presented.
The second part of the story that leads up to the actual alien element is cleverly written though the art does take a significant drop in quality here, focusing heavily on a more cartoonish appearance. That, however, does fit the very separate tone of that section of the story. You can tell that this is only the beginning of a much grander tale, however, and that very much allows you to settle into both the silliness of the section and the idea of what's to come.
All in all I'd say there's just something incredibly witty and charismatic about this book. It really was something of a surprise to me to find myself wanting more by the end as I had no idea what to expect going in. I was genuinely impressed with the content and incredibly excited to have the chance to share it with our readers, considering our wrestling background in writing. This will definitely be a series I'll be following from here on out, and I'd encourage any wrestling fan to do the same. If the second issue is anything like the first, then this series will have captured my permanent attention.
Here is the link for where you can buy it. Check it out because it is undoubtedly worth your time.
Rating: Buy it.
Daredevil/Punisher: Seventh Circle #1
Daredevil and Frank Castle were written to work terrifically together from their very origins.
Daredevil, the blind lawyer from Hell's Kitchen, who donned a mask in order to protect his neighborhood from the criminals and gangs that plagued it, powered by a tragic accident from his childhood and yet forced forward despite the memory of his lost father's promise that he never raise his fists, forever locked into a permanent struggle with himself over what lengths he's willing to go to in order to assure that justice is enacted upon those that escape the system he attempts to protect.
Frank Castle, a former military veteran, wronged by the Mafia and forced to watch his family die in his arms, spurned into action by vengeance and shaped into a cruel tool of said vengeance by loss, forever forced to live with an insatiable bloodlust for those that had taken away everything he had ever loved, and equally afraid to let go of that hate and walk away from war, for he truly does not know how to live any other way anymore.
Together, these two play yin to the other's yang. They're mortal opposites, with mindsets that should clash but backgrounds and mental states that are so alike that all they see in each other is what they might be if they were weak or if they chose not to take action. This was forever idolized by Marvel Knights, where the two were forced to become almost sadistically aware of each other's mentality when the Punisher tied Matt to a support beam and forced him to make a cruel choice: fire a bullet at Frank to protect a mobster that should be tried in court or let Frank kill the mobster.
To say the least, these two characters work well together which makes any series where they share the spotlight automatically worthy of a read. It also helps that this series is coming in the face of The Punisher joining Daredevil's Netflix series, so there's plenty of hype to go around.
Matt Murdock, under the order of the state, has come to oversee the prisoner transfer of one Sergey Antonov, whose crimes have garnered him movement to a cell awaiting him in Texas, where the death toll is much, much stricter. Antonov, aware of this, insults, belittles, and spits on Murdock for his attempts, but, just as he's put into the truck, Matt hears the sound of a bolt-action rifle sliding into place. Managing to save Antonov and get him on the road, Murdock quickly narrows down his suspicions of who might be after his 'client' and realizes that Punisher is on their tail. Sending Blindspot to protect the van from its roof, Murdock manages to track down and confront Frank as he drives a van into pursuit, determined not to be stopped by the likes of Daredevil.
First of all, I really need to give props to the panel placement here. What they went for, which was giving an overarching page and then adding more panels with each page, is one I'm generally not a fan of. It tend to get to lengthy and take far too long to get its point across while also taking a book that could have been twenty pages and making it sixty, making it seem like more content than it is. With that being said, however, the art is so gorgeous here, and the handling of different dialogue and different scenes is just enough for me to want to praise it, so that's major kudos to the team's attempts to use a format I don't generally like.
With that said, however, I'm hesitant to say this is a buy. While the way its formatted works, there still isn't quite enough there to offer a full story. Instead, it just offers an opening scene, which would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that the comic is sixty pages. The content that is here, however, is good enough that I'd definitely keep reading, and the dynamic history between the two characters adds to that, so it's definitely worth revisiting with a little more content.
Rating: Wait for the Trade.
Daredevil and Frank Castle were written to work terrifically together from their very origins.
Daredevil, the blind lawyer from Hell's Kitchen, who donned a mask in order to protect his neighborhood from the criminals and gangs that plagued it, powered by a tragic accident from his childhood and yet forced forward despite the memory of his lost father's promise that he never raise his fists, forever locked into a permanent struggle with himself over what lengths he's willing to go to in order to assure that justice is enacted upon those that escape the system he attempts to protect.
Frank Castle, a former military veteran, wronged by the Mafia and forced to watch his family die in his arms, spurned into action by vengeance and shaped into a cruel tool of said vengeance by loss, forever forced to live with an insatiable bloodlust for those that had taken away everything he had ever loved, and equally afraid to let go of that hate and walk away from war, for he truly does not know how to live any other way anymore.
Together, these two play yin to the other's yang. They're mortal opposites, with mindsets that should clash but backgrounds and mental states that are so alike that all they see in each other is what they might be if they were weak or if they chose not to take action. This was forever idolized by Marvel Knights, where the two were forced to become almost sadistically aware of each other's mentality when the Punisher tied Matt to a support beam and forced him to make a cruel choice: fire a bullet at Frank to protect a mobster that should be tried in court or let Frank kill the mobster.
To say the least, these two characters work well together which makes any series where they share the spotlight automatically worthy of a read. It also helps that this series is coming in the face of The Punisher joining Daredevil's Netflix series, so there's plenty of hype to go around.
Matt Murdock, under the order of the state, has come to oversee the prisoner transfer of one Sergey Antonov, whose crimes have garnered him movement to a cell awaiting him in Texas, where the death toll is much, much stricter. Antonov, aware of this, insults, belittles, and spits on Murdock for his attempts, but, just as he's put into the truck, Matt hears the sound of a bolt-action rifle sliding into place. Managing to save Antonov and get him on the road, Murdock quickly narrows down his suspicions of who might be after his 'client' and realizes that Punisher is on their tail. Sending Blindspot to protect the van from its roof, Murdock manages to track down and confront Frank as he drives a van into pursuit, determined not to be stopped by the likes of Daredevil.
First of all, I really need to give props to the panel placement here. What they went for, which was giving an overarching page and then adding more panels with each page, is one I'm generally not a fan of. It tend to get to lengthy and take far too long to get its point across while also taking a book that could have been twenty pages and making it sixty, making it seem like more content than it is. With that being said, however, the art is so gorgeous here, and the handling of different dialogue and different scenes is just enough for me to want to praise it, so that's major kudos to the team's attempts to use a format I don't generally like.
With that said, however, I'm hesitant to say this is a buy. While the way its formatted works, there still isn't quite enough there to offer a full story. Instead, it just offers an opening scene, which would be fine if it wasn't for the fact that the comic is sixty pages. The content that is here, however, is good enough that I'd definitely keep reading, and the dynamic history between the two characters adds to that, so it's definitely worth revisiting with a little more content.
Rating: Wait for the Trade.
This cover tickles a very special nostalgic place in my heart.
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #1
There's something incredibly nostalgic about seeing this series taking off. It was certainly a surprise to suddenly see a new Power Rangers comic in 2016, but it was also somewhat understandable considering Saban's work on revamping them for the big screen in 2017. It's a bit of a surprise, however, to see them mostly in their original format. Sure, the usual issue with adding in modern technology to an older dated story is there, but, beyond that, this is very much a part of the original Power Rangers world, so much so that the first introduction issue (tagged as issue zero) felt like a love letter to the Power Rangers.
As we enter the first numerical issue, we find Bulk and Skull using their own personal video format to chronicle the history of the Power Rangers, and their struggle against the Green Ranger, now turned to the Rangers side. They seem to question if the Green Ranger can be trusted, based on his history and his first mission with the team, where a bridge collapsed largely due to his inexperience and secretly still having Rita Repulsa in his ear. These rampant questions seem to bug Tommy more than it does the other Rangers who, despite being very friendly with Tommy, seem to also be trying to get used to him. Meanwhile, Zack and Jason end up with detention for the night following an incident in class, where it's revealed that Zack isn't sleeping much, or likely at all. While Billy and Trini attempt to look into why the dragon Zord 'seized up', Tommy joins his first training mission with Kim, who he's grown close to rather quickly, and finds that, perhaps, he's still got a lot more to learn than he expected...
As with the first issue, there's also an additional story with Bulk and Skull attempting to out-do the Power Ranger sin order to gain the favor of, ironically, Trini and Kim. Their adventure leads them to the site of a battle between the Rangers and Rita's forces and right into the waiting hands of a Putty Controller who might just be the key to their goal.
I love this issue even more than I did the last. It's got a very fun atmosphere while also going out of its way to attempt to give each character some development outside of what the show did for them. As much as it really does feel like it's a part of the original series that was just left out with perhaps a bit more technology, it also gives off a unique air about it that the series doesn't. It's got a strange seriousness underneath the story that just so perfectly encapsulates and binds the dialogue and terrific imagery together, creating perhaps the most solid all-around Power Rangers story for all ages yet. That's a lot of praise, sure, but it's well-deserved based off the direction and terrific writing and art presented.
Do you even need to ask me what I think of it after that amount of gushy praise?
Rating: Buy it!
There's something incredibly nostalgic about seeing this series taking off. It was certainly a surprise to suddenly see a new Power Rangers comic in 2016, but it was also somewhat understandable considering Saban's work on revamping them for the big screen in 2017. It's a bit of a surprise, however, to see them mostly in their original format. Sure, the usual issue with adding in modern technology to an older dated story is there, but, beyond that, this is very much a part of the original Power Rangers world, so much so that the first introduction issue (tagged as issue zero) felt like a love letter to the Power Rangers.
As we enter the first numerical issue, we find Bulk and Skull using their own personal video format to chronicle the history of the Power Rangers, and their struggle against the Green Ranger, now turned to the Rangers side. They seem to question if the Green Ranger can be trusted, based on his history and his first mission with the team, where a bridge collapsed largely due to his inexperience and secretly still having Rita Repulsa in his ear. These rampant questions seem to bug Tommy more than it does the other Rangers who, despite being very friendly with Tommy, seem to also be trying to get used to him. Meanwhile, Zack and Jason end up with detention for the night following an incident in class, where it's revealed that Zack isn't sleeping much, or likely at all. While Billy and Trini attempt to look into why the dragon Zord 'seized up', Tommy joins his first training mission with Kim, who he's grown close to rather quickly, and finds that, perhaps, he's still got a lot more to learn than he expected...
As with the first issue, there's also an additional story with Bulk and Skull attempting to out-do the Power Ranger sin order to gain the favor of, ironically, Trini and Kim. Their adventure leads them to the site of a battle between the Rangers and Rita's forces and right into the waiting hands of a Putty Controller who might just be the key to their goal.
I love this issue even more than I did the last. It's got a very fun atmosphere while also going out of its way to attempt to give each character some development outside of what the show did for them. As much as it really does feel like it's a part of the original series that was just left out with perhaps a bit more technology, it also gives off a unique air about it that the series doesn't. It's got a strange seriousness underneath the story that just so perfectly encapsulates and binds the dialogue and terrific imagery together, creating perhaps the most solid all-around Power Rangers story for all ages yet. That's a lot of praise, sure, but it's well-deserved based off the direction and terrific writing and art presented.
Do you even need to ask me what I think of it after that amount of gushy praise?
Rating: Buy it!
You know I was joking about the whole 'keep this until the movie comes out' thing.... right?
Swamp Thing #3
Comics as a whole are a reliant medium. In order to understand certain story arcs, you need to understand the character's core, their combined stories over years of existence, and, in order to understand most character's core, you need to know all of the twists and turns in their lives. For years, that's simply how it was, and, while it was difficult for a newcomer to just jump in, it ultimately added more character to each comic.
There is, however, a rightful conversation to be had for making coming into comics easier. It's incredibly hard for anyone to look at issue forty-eight of a series and pick it up, let alone two or three hundred. Simplifying the structure of comics isn't a bad move, it brings in more readers who are willing to roll the dice, trusting that the book tells a complete story from start to finish.
The problem however is that, when you cater too much to one side of the spectrum or the other, you lose a bit of something along the way, whether that be the understanding of simple plots that grow far too complicated over a prolonged period of time or the character itself because the origin and history of a character is dumbed down to a minute detail.
Matt Cable, an old friend of Alec's who was partially responsible for his turn into Swamp Thing, is back. After retiring from the FBI and spending years searching for something that might help his old friend become human once again, he's found it in the form of The Hand of Fatima. With this stolen and likely dangerous trinket in hand, the two old friends go to the only person they can think of that might have the power to bring forth its abilities, Zatanna Zatara. She repeatedly warns the both of them that there will be long and suffering consequences for their actions, but they manage to talk her into the ceremony. The price for becoming human again, however, might be too high for both Matt and Alec to deal with...
This series is having an issue with its own lore that's becoming quite frustrating. It keeps hinting at the history of Swamp Thing and how that incorporates into the story, but, at the same time, it seems it's thick-headed enough to both change said history while never quite telling the audience what is real and what is no longer in the story. Worse yet, the actual character of Swamp Thing hasn't been explored in this series enough to make him seem like someone that stands out beyond his features nor does it seem he's that desperate to escape what should be, and has been in the past, his living hell as Swamp Thing. Instead, they choose to ignore that until it's convenient, then attempt to use that history to bolster a character that we have no idea about in its current format.
While this issue isn't bad necessarily and it's straightforward, nothing has an emotional impact because of these failed attempts to make us feel for a character the New 52 hasn't expanded upon beyond his mere existence. Even without the New 52 excuse on hand, it's simply too much of a jump to tear Swamp Thing from his hell of a life without telling us why we should care about it, or better yet, show us why he wants it so badly. It's that basic failing that makes this issue boring to read as a principal.
Rating: Skip it.
Comics as a whole are a reliant medium. In order to understand certain story arcs, you need to understand the character's core, their combined stories over years of existence, and, in order to understand most character's core, you need to know all of the twists and turns in their lives. For years, that's simply how it was, and, while it was difficult for a newcomer to just jump in, it ultimately added more character to each comic.
There is, however, a rightful conversation to be had for making coming into comics easier. It's incredibly hard for anyone to look at issue forty-eight of a series and pick it up, let alone two or three hundred. Simplifying the structure of comics isn't a bad move, it brings in more readers who are willing to roll the dice, trusting that the book tells a complete story from start to finish.
The problem however is that, when you cater too much to one side of the spectrum or the other, you lose a bit of something along the way, whether that be the understanding of simple plots that grow far too complicated over a prolonged period of time or the character itself because the origin and history of a character is dumbed down to a minute detail.
Matt Cable, an old friend of Alec's who was partially responsible for his turn into Swamp Thing, is back. After retiring from the FBI and spending years searching for something that might help his old friend become human once again, he's found it in the form of The Hand of Fatima. With this stolen and likely dangerous trinket in hand, the two old friends go to the only person they can think of that might have the power to bring forth its abilities, Zatanna Zatara. She repeatedly warns the both of them that there will be long and suffering consequences for their actions, but they manage to talk her into the ceremony. The price for becoming human again, however, might be too high for both Matt and Alec to deal with...
This series is having an issue with its own lore that's becoming quite frustrating. It keeps hinting at the history of Swamp Thing and how that incorporates into the story, but, at the same time, it seems it's thick-headed enough to both change said history while never quite telling the audience what is real and what is no longer in the story. Worse yet, the actual character of Swamp Thing hasn't been explored in this series enough to make him seem like someone that stands out beyond his features nor does it seem he's that desperate to escape what should be, and has been in the past, his living hell as Swamp Thing. Instead, they choose to ignore that until it's convenient, then attempt to use that history to bolster a character that we have no idea about in its current format.
While this issue isn't bad necessarily and it's straightforward, nothing has an emotional impact because of these failed attempts to make us feel for a character the New 52 hasn't expanded upon beyond his mere existence. Even without the New 52 excuse on hand, it's simply too much of a jump to tear Swamp Thing from his hell of a life without telling us why we should care about it, or better yet, show us why he wants it so badly. It's that basic failing that makes this issue boring to read as a principal.
Rating: Skip it.
I'm not going to make it through the next month with my sanity intact, am I?
Batman & Robin: Eternal #22
Back into the thick of it.
I mentioned earlier that I really loved the last issue, and that still holds true. It was really a relief to me that I managed to go back to this series after a week of being disgusted to find pretty much exactly what I'd been wanting and hoping for. With that said, however, it really didn't resolve the multiple, multiple issues the previous issue to that had, it more just sort of put it off a week. So, this issue presents itself something like a reckoning, and has a lot to fix in order to put itself back on the right path.
All four Robins stand united in the face of Mother's attempts to outmaneuver them, but their will is weak. Tired and completely aware that they've been working five or six steps behind Mother, the group ends up falling to bickering over their worries for Harper and Cassandra, and the entire world's children. As Harper and Cassie resolve their differences with a simple 'I feel nothing for you' from Harper for Cassie killing her mother in a heartfelt moment, both girls find themselves witness to Mother in person who has grand plans for her failure's failure and Batman's lost heir. Meanwhile, it's up to the fresh Damian to give the entire Robin team Batman's perspective to strengthen their will to struggle and fight against inevitability again, as the clock runs down on Mother's attempts at taking the children of the world as her own in one fell swoop.
This wasn't quite a redemption for this series, so much as a place holder. It grounded the story enough to get in some character moments and exposition, but, in the process, it completely halted any forward momentum the story had. This might be a good thing, what with a new artist taking up the reigns this week and the team seemingly scrambling to get back on track, but it's incredibly obvious that they've pumped the breaks.
This issue also brings out a lot of minor complaints I've had the entire series. Little things like Bruce mentioning Jason is 'there to do what he doesn't have the strength to do', or just Cassandra Cains' character rewrite in general, really shone out here in an ugly way, whereas elsewhere they've been little minor complaints. Perhaps the truth of the matter is that the character work outside of Batman and Dick are the weak points of this series, but, if that's the case, they've hidden it incredibly well up to this point.
All in all, this is an easily skippable issue. The sum of its parts is not greater than what's here, and nothing really happens this issue that makes it a noteworthy addition to their next step in the story. Hopefully having two relatively simple weeks will be enough for the writing team to come up with everything they need to tell the rest of this story properly.
Rating: Skip it.
Back into the thick of it.
I mentioned earlier that I really loved the last issue, and that still holds true. It was really a relief to me that I managed to go back to this series after a week of being disgusted to find pretty much exactly what I'd been wanting and hoping for. With that said, however, it really didn't resolve the multiple, multiple issues the previous issue to that had, it more just sort of put it off a week. So, this issue presents itself something like a reckoning, and has a lot to fix in order to put itself back on the right path.
All four Robins stand united in the face of Mother's attempts to outmaneuver them, but their will is weak. Tired and completely aware that they've been working five or six steps behind Mother, the group ends up falling to bickering over their worries for Harper and Cassandra, and the entire world's children. As Harper and Cassie resolve their differences with a simple 'I feel nothing for you' from Harper for Cassie killing her mother in a heartfelt moment, both girls find themselves witness to Mother in person who has grand plans for her failure's failure and Batman's lost heir. Meanwhile, it's up to the fresh Damian to give the entire Robin team Batman's perspective to strengthen their will to struggle and fight against inevitability again, as the clock runs down on Mother's attempts at taking the children of the world as her own in one fell swoop.
This wasn't quite a redemption for this series, so much as a place holder. It grounded the story enough to get in some character moments and exposition, but, in the process, it completely halted any forward momentum the story had. This might be a good thing, what with a new artist taking up the reigns this week and the team seemingly scrambling to get back on track, but it's incredibly obvious that they've pumped the breaks.
This issue also brings out a lot of minor complaints I've had the entire series. Little things like Bruce mentioning Jason is 'there to do what he doesn't have the strength to do', or just Cassandra Cains' character rewrite in general, really shone out here in an ugly way, whereas elsewhere they've been little minor complaints. Perhaps the truth of the matter is that the character work outside of Batman and Dick are the weak points of this series, but, if that's the case, they've hidden it incredibly well up to this point.
All in all, this is an easily skippable issue. The sum of its parts is not greater than what's here, and nothing really happens this issue that makes it a noteworthy addition to their next step in the story. Hopefully having two relatively simple weeks will be enough for the writing team to come up with everything they need to tell the rest of this story properly.
Rating: Skip it.
Old Man Logan #3
Something that's really made this series stand out has been how it brings an older Logan into a world that obviously isn't his and then pairs him up with newer Marvel branded characters from the last few years. It's interesting to see such an old and lost character interact with a world he neither quite understands nor is able to live in with a clean conscious. His insatiable blood lust comes from a place of protecting the world, but it's still blood lust and so many of the characters in the world simply will not put up with it, even if it comes from a place of wanting to protect them from his future. It's both disheartening to see how far he's fallen, and terrifying to see what he's willing to do, even more so than regular Wolverine.
After crawling into what Logan remembers to be Clint Barton's home in the Bronx in order to find a place to heal from his battle with The Hulk, he instead finds himself down the sights of another Hawkeye in Kate Bishop. After attempting to take off from their apartment, however, Logan passes out cold. After thirty-three hours of his body attempting to heal all the damage he received, Logan awakes to find that Kate has done some of the research on who he's after, based on the list on his wrist. After tracking down Mysterio through S.H.I.E.L.D, the two go to work, but Kate starts to get cold feet as Logan doesn't appear to be aware of some of the things going in in this world's current day climate. After disarming (quite literally) a squatter that was staying in Mysterio's last known location, Kate attempts to talk down Logan and fails miserably, leading to a brawl which Logan attempts to escape from but then finds himself in the face of another old man.... but this one is one Logan's all to familiar with in Steve Rogers, formerly Captain America.
Once again, this series delivers and delivers in a big way. It's genuinely difficult to read this issue at times because we see so much of the world through Kate's eyes as well as Logan's It's the first time we really do see that Logan's methods might be wrong and that his sanity might not be quite there. It also is incredibly obvious with each issue that Logan is working in a world that is not his own, and his sheer ignorance in not noting that fact makes him both a frustrating but realistic character to follow. This issue, like every one before it, is absolutely worth picking up.
Rating: Buy it!
Something that's really made this series stand out has been how it brings an older Logan into a world that obviously isn't his and then pairs him up with newer Marvel branded characters from the last few years. It's interesting to see such an old and lost character interact with a world he neither quite understands nor is able to live in with a clean conscious. His insatiable blood lust comes from a place of protecting the world, but it's still blood lust and so many of the characters in the world simply will not put up with it, even if it comes from a place of wanting to protect them from his future. It's both disheartening to see how far he's fallen, and terrifying to see what he's willing to do, even more so than regular Wolverine.
After crawling into what Logan remembers to be Clint Barton's home in the Bronx in order to find a place to heal from his battle with The Hulk, he instead finds himself down the sights of another Hawkeye in Kate Bishop. After attempting to take off from their apartment, however, Logan passes out cold. After thirty-three hours of his body attempting to heal all the damage he received, Logan awakes to find that Kate has done some of the research on who he's after, based on the list on his wrist. After tracking down Mysterio through S.H.I.E.L.D, the two go to work, but Kate starts to get cold feet as Logan doesn't appear to be aware of some of the things going in in this world's current day climate. After disarming (quite literally) a squatter that was staying in Mysterio's last known location, Kate attempts to talk down Logan and fails miserably, leading to a brawl which Logan attempts to escape from but then finds himself in the face of another old man.... but this one is one Logan's all to familiar with in Steve Rogers, formerly Captain America.
Once again, this series delivers and delivers in a big way. It's genuinely difficult to read this issue at times because we see so much of the world through Kate's eyes as well as Logan's It's the first time we really do see that Logan's methods might be wrong and that his sanity might not be quite there. It also is incredibly obvious with each issue that Logan is working in a world that is not his own, and his sheer ignorance in not noting that fact makes him both a frustrating but realistic character to follow. This issue, like every one before it, is absolutely worth picking up.
Rating: Buy it!
Uncanny X-Men #4
The oddly yet deliberately dark X-Force-like Uncanny X-Men marches on, and, rather regrettably, I march with it.
I have to admit that the idea of the series' current story arc is pretty solid. It's interesting to finally stop making everything just about mutants versus Inhumans or X-Men versus Avengers but instead a subgroup of each. Healers being an unnatural affront to someone's grand plan is an interesting dynamic I haven't seen before, and, for that, I give the writers credit.
It's really just a shame that that's the only credit this issue gets.
The issue opens with Fantomex, who hasn't really been established into this series quite yet, meeting with Mystique to go after a major corporation... off-panel, apparently. Then, we lead into Triage needlessly reminding us of why he's sitting along with Magneto on Genosha. That goes on for a few pages, before we move to Tibet, where Shen Xorn is threatened to meet his death for his healing crimes. He goes on a bit of a rant about mutantkind and how it was possible that mutation could find a secondary route, despite this and every series around it insisting that that's impossible. Then, the Hand attempts to assassinate him, he kills one, and they escape. Shift focus yet again, and we have the X-Men attempting to take out the base of these Acolytes, but they quickly teleport out once finding the location of Triage and Magneto... somehow. How? Nobody really knows.
The issue ends with Psylocke pointing out how pointless their mission was while I shrug my shoulders and realize just how pointless these twenty pages of comic was.
There's nothing here to dig into. It's a series of five events that are only barely connected where two of those things have no impact on the plot and one is purely retelling us what has already happened in this run. Nothing happens, no story is progressed, and the only character arc that is even touched upon is Archangel's and even that is simply shrugged aside.
Quite simply, there is nothing here of literally any significance. It's not even bad, it's just... there. Existing. When it had no need to. At all.
Rating: Skip it.
The oddly yet deliberately dark X-Force-like Uncanny X-Men marches on, and, rather regrettably, I march with it.
I have to admit that the idea of the series' current story arc is pretty solid. It's interesting to finally stop making everything just about mutants versus Inhumans or X-Men versus Avengers but instead a subgroup of each. Healers being an unnatural affront to someone's grand plan is an interesting dynamic I haven't seen before, and, for that, I give the writers credit.
It's really just a shame that that's the only credit this issue gets.
The issue opens with Fantomex, who hasn't really been established into this series quite yet, meeting with Mystique to go after a major corporation... off-panel, apparently. Then, we lead into Triage needlessly reminding us of why he's sitting along with Magneto on Genosha. That goes on for a few pages, before we move to Tibet, where Shen Xorn is threatened to meet his death for his healing crimes. He goes on a bit of a rant about mutantkind and how it was possible that mutation could find a secondary route, despite this and every series around it insisting that that's impossible. Then, the Hand attempts to assassinate him, he kills one, and they escape. Shift focus yet again, and we have the X-Men attempting to take out the base of these Acolytes, but they quickly teleport out once finding the location of Triage and Magneto... somehow. How? Nobody really knows.
The issue ends with Psylocke pointing out how pointless their mission was while I shrug my shoulders and realize just how pointless these twenty pages of comic was.
There's nothing here to dig into. It's a series of five events that are only barely connected where two of those things have no impact on the plot and one is purely retelling us what has already happened in this run. Nothing happens, no story is progressed, and the only character arc that is even touched upon is Archangel's and even that is simply shrugged aside.
Quite simply, there is nothing here of literally any significance. It's not even bad, it's just... there. Existing. When it had no need to. At all.
Rating: Skip it.
I know what you're thinking: What's the story behind this cover? There isn't one. It's just like this cuz... why not.
Uncanny Avengers #6
Some of the best comics come from moments where you can settle down and allow the characters to calmly interact, perhaps with a very minor threat about. It's a perfect chance for minor character development rather than the more dramatic examples of it most comic book arcs take. It allows relationships to form and forge and take shape, shapes that will hopefully permanently change the way that character dynamics work between each member of a cast or a team.
Unfortunately, when you take a large enough break that a series of one-offs become the norm rather than the example, you risk oversimplifying the series to a point where there's both no danger and no real sense of urgency. It strangles the atmosphere and makes it so calm all the time that those moments of downtime don't feel special. This is an issue that Uncanny Avengers hasn't always had but seems to be falling into right now.
Wrecker, a relative unknown villain, has served his full sentence in jail. His first act leaving prison, however, is attacking Avengers Mansion. When he arrives, however, he quickly finds that it's no longer where the world's best heroes live, but instead a tourist attraction run by people the Avengers don't quite agree with. Deadpool and Quicksilver arrive to chase off Wrecker and save the day and also find themselves disturbed by the themes of the tower. After offering Wrecker money to keep his ear to the ground and search for Red Skull, Wrecker agrees to leave, no damage done, even though his entire reason for attacking the mansion was to go back to jail because he felt he wasn't ready for the outside world. With one final stop at the Avengers archives, where Deadpool feels something's wrong, they leave, unaware that Red Skull has taken up residence within.
It's not really a spoiler if they give it away in an issue like this. This issue had no traction and no chemistry between the characters it put together, and anything of interest from the last issue didn't come into play, except Red Skull randomly teleporting halfway across the world to make a new base out of the mansion. There are so many plotholes at the mere idea of the Avengers leaving behind their collective world-collapsing items that it boggles my brain.
Beyond that, this issue really is just filler to establish where Red Skull is operating out of and nothing beyond that. An easily skippable comic with plenty of plot holes and not a lot of good content.
Rating: Skip it.
Some of the best comics come from moments where you can settle down and allow the characters to calmly interact, perhaps with a very minor threat about. It's a perfect chance for minor character development rather than the more dramatic examples of it most comic book arcs take. It allows relationships to form and forge and take shape, shapes that will hopefully permanently change the way that character dynamics work between each member of a cast or a team.
Unfortunately, when you take a large enough break that a series of one-offs become the norm rather than the example, you risk oversimplifying the series to a point where there's both no danger and no real sense of urgency. It strangles the atmosphere and makes it so calm all the time that those moments of downtime don't feel special. This is an issue that Uncanny Avengers hasn't always had but seems to be falling into right now.
Wrecker, a relative unknown villain, has served his full sentence in jail. His first act leaving prison, however, is attacking Avengers Mansion. When he arrives, however, he quickly finds that it's no longer where the world's best heroes live, but instead a tourist attraction run by people the Avengers don't quite agree with. Deadpool and Quicksilver arrive to chase off Wrecker and save the day and also find themselves disturbed by the themes of the tower. After offering Wrecker money to keep his ear to the ground and search for Red Skull, Wrecker agrees to leave, no damage done, even though his entire reason for attacking the mansion was to go back to jail because he felt he wasn't ready for the outside world. With one final stop at the Avengers archives, where Deadpool feels something's wrong, they leave, unaware that Red Skull has taken up residence within.
It's not really a spoiler if they give it away in an issue like this. This issue had no traction and no chemistry between the characters it put together, and anything of interest from the last issue didn't come into play, except Red Skull randomly teleporting halfway across the world to make a new base out of the mansion. There are so many plotholes at the mere idea of the Avengers leaving behind their collective world-collapsing items that it boggles my brain.
Beyond that, this issue really is just filler to establish where Red Skull is operating out of and nothing beyond that. An easily skippable comic with plenty of plot holes and not a lot of good content.
Rating: Skip it.
Woooow.... that cover is a special kind of awful.
Deadpool #8
What does someone do when they suddenly get everything they've ever wanted? Fame, fortune, your own spot on the Avengers team, infinite tools at your disposal, and the command of a do-good team of men working under your name?
No, I'm obviously not talking about me, I'm talking about Deadpool.
One of the big appeals that Deadpool has always had over his comedic competition is the depth to his personality. Sure, he's mostly a quip-firing assassin that leaps off the cover and wants the reader to be aware he exists just as he knows the reader exists, but there's more to it than that. He suffers from such deep-seated mental psychosis that you can easily write his actions off as not being self-aware but instead insanity caused by a past he could never remember..... until now.
Suddenly, Deadpool is acutely aware of who killed his family. While his mercenaries for hire become rich under the hand of a former police officer and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Wade breaks out into his hunt for the man that took everything from him, the ghost of Madcap haunts his mind as he attempts to stay sane after weeks of being awake. After freeing girls held against their will in a strip joint, Wade manages to find the person he needs and, after saving him from cardiac arrest, tracks down Sabretooth through a combination of Jarvis and the information. Now, Wade, filled with nothing but rage, has a redeemed Sabretooth in his clutches with the full intent to return to his cold-blooded killing ways in exchange for what Victor took from him.
This is a pretty superb issue coming off of a pretty concise series focusing on Wade attempting to be the better man that Rogers and the Avengers thinks he can be. The sight of him falling so far so suddenly is genuinely moving, and, while the book does have one very hilarious misdirection, for the most part, this was a very serious issue. I will, however, say that this is definitely best to wait on till the trade because some of the content is going to be confusing without it... even though I do believe a casual reader might find the ending a surprise without having read everything before it.
Rating: Wait for the Trade
What does someone do when they suddenly get everything they've ever wanted? Fame, fortune, your own spot on the Avengers team, infinite tools at your disposal, and the command of a do-good team of men working under your name?
No, I'm obviously not talking about me, I'm talking about Deadpool.
One of the big appeals that Deadpool has always had over his comedic competition is the depth to his personality. Sure, he's mostly a quip-firing assassin that leaps off the cover and wants the reader to be aware he exists just as he knows the reader exists, but there's more to it than that. He suffers from such deep-seated mental psychosis that you can easily write his actions off as not being self-aware but instead insanity caused by a past he could never remember..... until now.
Suddenly, Deadpool is acutely aware of who killed his family. While his mercenaries for hire become rich under the hand of a former police officer and S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Wade breaks out into his hunt for the man that took everything from him, the ghost of Madcap haunts his mind as he attempts to stay sane after weeks of being awake. After freeing girls held against their will in a strip joint, Wade manages to find the person he needs and, after saving him from cardiac arrest, tracks down Sabretooth through a combination of Jarvis and the information. Now, Wade, filled with nothing but rage, has a redeemed Sabretooth in his clutches with the full intent to return to his cold-blooded killing ways in exchange for what Victor took from him.
This is a pretty superb issue coming off of a pretty concise series focusing on Wade attempting to be the better man that Rogers and the Avengers thinks he can be. The sight of him falling so far so suddenly is genuinely moving, and, while the book does have one very hilarious misdirection, for the most part, this was a very serious issue. I will, however, say that this is definitely best to wait on till the trade because some of the content is going to be confusing without it... even though I do believe a casual reader might find the ending a surprise without having read everything before it.
Rating: Wait for the Trade
Spider-Man #2
I've always had a love/hate relationship with Brian Michael Bendis. On one hand, he created Jessica Jones and one of my favorite runs of all time. On the other, he destroyed Piotr Rasputin's character through sheer malicious intent. On one hand, he created Miles Morales. On the other, he made Bobby Drakes' coming out of the closet all about Jean Grey. On one hand, he created my favorite Moon Knight run of all time. On the other, he created House of M.
To say I have mixed feelings about the man is an understatement, but I've always done my best to stick to liking the guy because I largely like his work... outside of mutant affairs. The only reason I bring this up is because this particular issue deals with issues of race, and I want it known that, despite how well he's handled these types of things in the past, I've never had completely and utter faith in the man when it comes to incredibly sensitive issues so as not to color my opinion of one tiny moment in this issue when talking about it.
This issue picks up right where the first issue left off, with Spider-Man finding Miles amongst the wreckage of the Avengers. After a quick exploration of Peter's ability to carry the mantle of Spider-Man and how his approval of Miles was up for debate due to situations such as these, and how they reflect his image, Blackheart pops back into life, only to meet a mighty beating from Miles himself. As the Avengers begin to stir and come back from their simultaneous coma's, they begin to thank Miles, only to have the police threaten them. At the sight of this, and Miles work stopping the demon, Spider-Man steps up and insists that Miles is also Spider-Man, and that he has his full approval, before watching him swing away.
Meanwhile, Miles comes home having a minor panic attack over the fact that he fought a demon, only to find a white high school girl on YouTube talking about how important it is that he is a man of color as shown by the tears in his suit. Miles finds himself uncomfortable with being called 'The Black Spider-Man", insisting that he was simply Spider-Man, and the issue trails off from there as the news reports on his appearances and what that might mean for the city.
Now that seen with Miles has caused a lot of controversy today amongst fans, and I understand both sides of the conversation. On one hand, it is incredibly important in an industry that is as white-washed as comic books to have figureheads of different races and creeds to represent every single person, and that hero shouldn't be treated any less seriously than any other. I will admit that it seemed just a tad bit insulting to insinuate that somehow the reason people like Miles as Spider-Man is because of color. It's because he's a truly good character that just so happens to also be a great representative of Hispanic and black cultures, not some glorious fascination with the color of someone's skin to the point of comfortableness.
On the other hand, I understand where the story part of it is coming from. Miles is a bit insecure as a person despite how cool he attempts to seem, and the idea of him being relegated into being just a version of Spider-Man and not Spider-Man itself makes him uncomfortable in the role, so it seems like a natural conversation to have.
The problem, I think, is that it was presented in such an aggressive way. It was without a doubt a jab at a subsection of fans, and that makes it seem very petty and misguided. But at the same time I also don't think Bendis put this in in a malicious way... though I will happily admit that he's had trouble handling these kinds of issues with any sense of subtlety in other cases. I don't know. As a white man in his mid-twenties, I'm obviously not the most educated or self-aware person to talk about situations such as this, so I'll leave that up to someone far more qualified. But I did definitely feel it needed to be stated.
The one thing I can say for sure that this issue has wrong is its pacing. It puts so much effort into the first ten pages that it seems to damper and fade off into a very quiet story with the rest of the issue, and that is what keeps it away from standing brilliantly as a single issue. Because the opening salvo of this series was a one-off but the writers wanted there to be character development, it came off as very uneven, but at least that does mean that the content incoming is going to be of significant quality. For now, however, this issue ends a storyline and begins the series proper, and that means these first two issues are best seen in trade to balance out the pacing issues.
Rating: Wait for the Trade.
I've always had a love/hate relationship with Brian Michael Bendis. On one hand, he created Jessica Jones and one of my favorite runs of all time. On the other, he destroyed Piotr Rasputin's character through sheer malicious intent. On one hand, he created Miles Morales. On the other, he made Bobby Drakes' coming out of the closet all about Jean Grey. On one hand, he created my favorite Moon Knight run of all time. On the other, he created House of M.
To say I have mixed feelings about the man is an understatement, but I've always done my best to stick to liking the guy because I largely like his work... outside of mutant affairs. The only reason I bring this up is because this particular issue deals with issues of race, and I want it known that, despite how well he's handled these types of things in the past, I've never had completely and utter faith in the man when it comes to incredibly sensitive issues so as not to color my opinion of one tiny moment in this issue when talking about it.
This issue picks up right where the first issue left off, with Spider-Man finding Miles amongst the wreckage of the Avengers. After a quick exploration of Peter's ability to carry the mantle of Spider-Man and how his approval of Miles was up for debate due to situations such as these, and how they reflect his image, Blackheart pops back into life, only to meet a mighty beating from Miles himself. As the Avengers begin to stir and come back from their simultaneous coma's, they begin to thank Miles, only to have the police threaten them. At the sight of this, and Miles work stopping the demon, Spider-Man steps up and insists that Miles is also Spider-Man, and that he has his full approval, before watching him swing away.
Meanwhile, Miles comes home having a minor panic attack over the fact that he fought a demon, only to find a white high school girl on YouTube talking about how important it is that he is a man of color as shown by the tears in his suit. Miles finds himself uncomfortable with being called 'The Black Spider-Man", insisting that he was simply Spider-Man, and the issue trails off from there as the news reports on his appearances and what that might mean for the city.
Now that seen with Miles has caused a lot of controversy today amongst fans, and I understand both sides of the conversation. On one hand, it is incredibly important in an industry that is as white-washed as comic books to have figureheads of different races and creeds to represent every single person, and that hero shouldn't be treated any less seriously than any other. I will admit that it seemed just a tad bit insulting to insinuate that somehow the reason people like Miles as Spider-Man is because of color. It's because he's a truly good character that just so happens to also be a great representative of Hispanic and black cultures, not some glorious fascination with the color of someone's skin to the point of comfortableness.
On the other hand, I understand where the story part of it is coming from. Miles is a bit insecure as a person despite how cool he attempts to seem, and the idea of him being relegated into being just a version of Spider-Man and not Spider-Man itself makes him uncomfortable in the role, so it seems like a natural conversation to have.
The problem, I think, is that it was presented in such an aggressive way. It was without a doubt a jab at a subsection of fans, and that makes it seem very petty and misguided. But at the same time I also don't think Bendis put this in in a malicious way... though I will happily admit that he's had trouble handling these kinds of issues with any sense of subtlety in other cases. I don't know. As a white man in his mid-twenties, I'm obviously not the most educated or self-aware person to talk about situations such as this, so I'll leave that up to someone far more qualified. But I did definitely feel it needed to be stated.
The one thing I can say for sure that this issue has wrong is its pacing. It puts so much effort into the first ten pages that it seems to damper and fade off into a very quiet story with the rest of the issue, and that is what keeps it away from standing brilliantly as a single issue. Because the opening salvo of this series was a one-off but the writers wanted there to be character development, it came off as very uneven, but at least that does mean that the content incoming is going to be of significant quality. For now, however, this issue ends a storyline and begins the series proper, and that means these first two issues are best seen in trade to balance out the pacing issues.
Rating: Wait for the Trade.
Now this is the kind of art I can get behind!
Darth Vader #17
The last issue of Vader's series was the first time in sixteen issues I had ever questioned it; its content has been that good. One of maybe two series I've had in a while that has been absolute buys from the start, Vader encapsulates everything that is good and just about Marvel's handle on the Star Wars universe with stunning character work, stunning art, and terrific writing.
The last issue, however, was incredibly thin and suffered from pacing issues. I was led to believe that this was because of coming off the Star Wars mythos' first event comic, but there was no real way to be sure until the series kickstarted again this week. With mandatory editorial mandate out the way, my hope is that Vader can spread his wings... or cape, if you may, and once again soar like he should.
After a military gain on Shu-Torun, Vader once again finds himself as adviser and leash-holder of the queen of the planet he put in place. Suddenly, however, her hideaway is breached by a local starship meant to work within the lavafalls, leading to Vader and his competition, Cylo's twin forceless lightsaber wielders, into action, slicing apart the would-be invaders and sinking the ship into the molten lava before the queen's staff could escort her away and make her position seem weak as Vader insists.
With the war temporarily taken care of, Vader receives an update on Aphra's condition, only to be cut off by the twin Aiolin, who begs him to teach her in order to defeat her brother, in remembrance of the Jedi. Vader, disgusted, refuses her and goes to inspect the body which has been disintegrated. Unamused and unconvinced that this is the good Doctor Aphra, Vader has the bounty hunter killed and goes back to work dealing with a rebellion that might have a powerful and familiar ally on their side...
The content in this issue was really, really good, but once again this was an issue that suffered from putting its best work in the first ten pages. That's not to say that the rest of the book is boring or anything less than superb in any way, but it really hampers the pacing of the issue when you slog through the last ten pages after a great first ten. The throwbacks are a bit on the light side here, but we do get a little hint on Vader's 'no disintegrations' rule which was a cool throwback. Beyond that, however, this issue doesn't really stand on its own but should be incredibly interesting as a trade paperback.
Rating: Wait for the Trade.
The last issue of Vader's series was the first time in sixteen issues I had ever questioned it; its content has been that good. One of maybe two series I've had in a while that has been absolute buys from the start, Vader encapsulates everything that is good and just about Marvel's handle on the Star Wars universe with stunning character work, stunning art, and terrific writing.
The last issue, however, was incredibly thin and suffered from pacing issues. I was led to believe that this was because of coming off the Star Wars mythos' first event comic, but there was no real way to be sure until the series kickstarted again this week. With mandatory editorial mandate out the way, my hope is that Vader can spread his wings... or cape, if you may, and once again soar like he should.
After a military gain on Shu-Torun, Vader once again finds himself as adviser and leash-holder of the queen of the planet he put in place. Suddenly, however, her hideaway is breached by a local starship meant to work within the lavafalls, leading to Vader and his competition, Cylo's twin forceless lightsaber wielders, into action, slicing apart the would-be invaders and sinking the ship into the molten lava before the queen's staff could escort her away and make her position seem weak as Vader insists.
With the war temporarily taken care of, Vader receives an update on Aphra's condition, only to be cut off by the twin Aiolin, who begs him to teach her in order to defeat her brother, in remembrance of the Jedi. Vader, disgusted, refuses her and goes to inspect the body which has been disintegrated. Unamused and unconvinced that this is the good Doctor Aphra, Vader has the bounty hunter killed and goes back to work dealing with a rebellion that might have a powerful and familiar ally on their side...
The content in this issue was really, really good, but once again this was an issue that suffered from putting its best work in the first ten pages. That's not to say that the rest of the book is boring or anything less than superb in any way, but it really hampers the pacing of the issue when you slog through the last ten pages after a great first ten. The throwbacks are a bit on the light side here, but we do get a little hint on Vader's 'no disintegrations' rule which was a cool throwback. Beyond that, however, this issue doesn't really stand on its own but should be incredibly interesting as a trade paperback.
Rating: Wait for the Trade.
Classic Comic Review for the week of 3/2/16
The Walking Dead 1-6
All variations of The Walking Dead have always been about one thing: survival.
What depths would you sink to in order to survive? What sacrifices would you make?
Such are the questions the post-apocalyptic world of Robert Kirkman's creation poses.
Now an iconic television show, it might be easy to forget that AMC's biggest hit was derived from Kirkman's juggernaut comic book.
And it began with Days Gone Bye, volume one of the now epic, sprawling saga that is even now an ongoing tale.
Days Gone Bye consists of issues 1 - 6 of The Walking Dead and serves as an introduction to several beloved and now-classic characters that would be with readers for varying lengths of time.
Our protagonist, of course, is Rick Grimes, a police officer who awakens in a hospital bed after being shot only to discover the world has ended.
The opening volume of The Walking Dead comic is good but not particularly exceptional. Yhe art is decent, and there are some particularly wonderful panels. But it doesn't exactly leap off the page.
Rick is a wonderful centrepiece, though, and a pleasure to follow as he is consumed by the moral degradation his new world inspires.
Kirkman finds his true rhythm later in the series, particularly when our characters reach the prison and first clash with the monstrous Governor, but Days Gone Bye serves as an effective introduction nonetheless.
It follows Rick as he wakes up, comes to terms with how things have changed, and seeks out his wife and son. Along the way, there is death, decisions, and dire consequences to every action.
The zombies are an actual threat which isn't always the case in the series. Everything feels dangerous, and anything feels possible.
It's a new world, and Rick Grimes must survive or perish.
All variations of The Walking Dead have always been about one thing: survival.
What depths would you sink to in order to survive? What sacrifices would you make?
Such are the questions the post-apocalyptic world of Robert Kirkman's creation poses.
Now an iconic television show, it might be easy to forget that AMC's biggest hit was derived from Kirkman's juggernaut comic book.
And it began with Days Gone Bye, volume one of the now epic, sprawling saga that is even now an ongoing tale.
Days Gone Bye consists of issues 1 - 6 of The Walking Dead and serves as an introduction to several beloved and now-classic characters that would be with readers for varying lengths of time.
Our protagonist, of course, is Rick Grimes, a police officer who awakens in a hospital bed after being shot only to discover the world has ended.
The opening volume of The Walking Dead comic is good but not particularly exceptional. Yhe art is decent, and there are some particularly wonderful panels. But it doesn't exactly leap off the page.
Rick is a wonderful centrepiece, though, and a pleasure to follow as he is consumed by the moral degradation his new world inspires.
Kirkman finds his true rhythm later in the series, particularly when our characters reach the prison and first clash with the monstrous Governor, but Days Gone Bye serves as an effective introduction nonetheless.
It follows Rick as he wakes up, comes to terms with how things have changed, and seeks out his wife and son. Along the way, there is death, decisions, and dire consequences to every action.
The zombies are an actual threat which isn't always the case in the series. Everything feels dangerous, and anything feels possible.
It's a new world, and Rick Grimes must survive or perish.