Filed under: Comic Book Reviews | Tags: all new atom, dc comics, gail simone, rick reminder, wonder woman
This is going to be a short one today, but it needs to be done.
Ironically, in my last comic review I mention that as long as Gail Simone keeps writing the All New Atom, I will keep reading it. Well you know what happens when you make a statement like that! The very next issue I read was written by somebody else!
Now before I continue I want to make sure I mention that I have read the next four or five issues written by Rick Reminder and they are good. Not great, but really interesting. I would not drop this title due to the writing change. The problem I am having is finding the issues now. I cannot seem to locate the issues I need, and I am about 99% certain that the series has been cancelled. It seems pretty tough to nail down any decent info on DC comics in general.
Now, getting back to Gail Simone, it looks to me like she is now writing Wonder Woman. This makes sense in light of Wonder Woman’s guest appearance in Gail’s last Atom storyline. I have to say that I do consider myself to be a Simone fan at this point, and I do intend to check out her work on Wonder Woman. There should be many reviews to follow!
Filed under: Comic Book Reviews | Tags: atom, comics, daredevil, dc, giganta, kraven, marvel, Spider-man, spiderman, vermin, wonder woman
Well, as I mentioned in a recent post, I have not been reading much these days, but I do have two stories to review.
The first is The All New Atom #17&18. Written by Gail Simone, Pencilled by Mike Norton, and a Cover by Landronn. Simone seems to lack consistency, but she hits far more often than she misses. This one is definately a hit. Ryan Choi gets a second date with Dr. Zuel, aka Giganta. Soon Wonder Woman arrives on the scene asking Ryan to wear a wire to help them figure out a mystery of some sort. Things go sideways when a strange guy with the power of making suggestions gets Giganta and everyone else around trying to kill the Atom and Wonder Woman. I am not going to offer a lot of spoilers here, but I will say that the story is really good. The interaction between the characters is really clever and funny, especially the scenes where Ryan starts telling Wonder Woman about all the fantasies he has had involving her. He somehow finds it impossible to lie to her, and also impossible to shut up. Wonder Woman should be insulted, but she realizes that he cannot help himself, and is actually flattered. So I am rating the story 5/5. The covers were not so good. They were… let’s see, how should I put this… they were ugly! 2/5. Inside the art was very good. I could see what was going on, and the women in this story looked very sexy. The action scenes needed no explanation and the colors were really good. 4/5 for art. As far as historical significance goes, I always struggle in this area when reviewing DC comics. I will give it 4/5 because we have a guest appearance by Wonder Woman, who has battled Giganta on several occasions. We also have the Atom joining the Justice League. I could be wrong, but it seems like those should be pretty significant events. Total score is 15/20. If you are not reading the All New Atom, I suggest you start. As long as Gail Simone is writing, I think you can’t really go wrong.
The second story I will review is the Amazing Spider-man #565-567, Kraven’s First Hunt. This one is written by Marc Guggenheim with art by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning. Basically this story has Kraven’s daughter making the scene and stalking Spider-man. Of course she gets it wrong and kidnaps Peter’s roommate. She dresses Vin up in the Spider-suit and injects him with something to give him super strength. Meanwhile, Pete has no costume, so he goes and borrows one from Daredevil. SO… Marvel put Daredevil on the cover, and advertised Daredevil to bring in the readers. But Daredevil is really not so much involved in this one. I have to admit that the way Marvel is marketing Amazing right now is pissing me off. So in a nutshell, Kravena or whatever, takes “Spider-man” into the sewers where she runs into Vermin. She kicks the heck out of Vermin without even getting out of breath, causing him to run away. When Spider-man (Daredevil?) tracks her to the sewers, he runs into a beat up Vermin, who just naturally knocks the snot out of Spider-man (Daredevil?). But Spidey comes back. He goes down and finds Kraven-chick and he and Vin Gonzales (Spider-man?) battle Kraven-the-Crackhead, but they are fighting a losing battle. But they are saved when Vermin comes back to the sewers and attacks Kranky-PMSing-Kraven. Spidey (Daredevil) and Gonzales (Spider-man) run away like frightened women and Spider-man (Daredevil) tells Gonzales (Web-head) that he keeps costumes with certain people like Peter Parker to throw his enemies off the scent. It is later revealed that Kraven-Some-Attention defeated Vermin yet again and is plotting revenge on Spider-man. Everybody, repeat after me. Kraven is dead. Let him rest in peace. We do not need a Kraven knock off, particularly a female version. This story is so bad it borders on stupid. Let me get this over quickly. Story 1/5. Covers 4/5 (They are quite good!). Art 4/5. And because this is part of the Brand New Day storyline, I give this one 1/5 for significance. Total score is 10/20. Where Amazing Spider-man is concerned, my advice is to save your money. I am only collecting this series now in the hopes that these issues will be hard to find in the future and I can turn a buck on them.
So, that’s it for today. I am not sure where my reviews will go from here. I am planning to try and review some of this Secret Invasion stuff, but I have lost interest so badly that I am not sure if I will actually buy the rest of it.
The last word goes to Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles which has just made the move from EBay to Comic Collector Live. Go to http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/Seller.aspx?id=cc0608d3-03c2-4b73-81dd-40662b76b9c9 and check out the titles I am offering for sale. Please remember to consider the cost of shipping as part of the total price. You will find my prices are often the lowest available. I have also come across some really nice 1970’s Mego Star Trek Action figures which I am listing on EBay. If you go to EBay, and enter the community section, you can search for me under the user id xuthl69 and see the items I have for sale.
Also, if you collect current comics, I encourage you to consider ordering your books from me. I charge cover price plus $3 shipping and handling for the first book and an additional $1 for each book after that anywhere within Canada. This may sound expensive, but with the cost of gasoline continually rising you really can’t lose. This is also ideal for readers living in cities and towns without a local comic shop.
Lastly, if there is a book you are looking for but can’t find, drop me a line and I will see what I can find for you. I have a good network of sellers and have had great success in the past. Feel free to contact me at xuthl@yahoo.ca.
Filed under: Comic Book Reviews | Tags: comic, mad cap, marvel, Marvel Knights, Spider-man
I was looking through some of my very old comics this last week, and I noticed that the way I buy comics has changed drastically. I actually started collecting back in about 1985. In those days you didn’t go to a specialty comic shop to buy your comics, you would just go to the local drug store and browse through the turntable comic rack.
In those days I used to make most of my purchases based on the cover. I collected the Amazing Spider-man and the Uncanny X-men pretty religiously, but if the comic did not feature a bad guy that I considered to be worth reading I usually didn’t. Outside of these titles I read Captain America, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, Avengers, West Coast Avengers, GI Joe, Thing, Hulk, Daredevil, Thor, etc on a very irregular basis. If it looked like there was something there that might interest me, I would pick it up.
No here is the big thing. In those days I used to read EVERY comic I owned from cover to cover, over and over and enjoyed every page. I was a comic reader.
These days, I buy my comics from a comic store. I have a file with several titles that the owner pulls for me. I always do a quick browse of the shelves to see if anything else will catch my eye, but usually nothing does. I often will buy a couple of older books from the dollar bin, make my purchase, and head on home.
Here is the flip side of my “big thing” as mentioned above. I am embarrassed to say that I have A LOT of comics in my collection that I have never removed from the bag. They are unread! I have become the very thing I used to despise. I am a comic collector. I still read comics, but I read far fewer titles than I used to, and to a large degree, I buy titles because I feel like I have to instead of because I am enjoying them. For example, I have been reading all Spider-man titles that are available for about 23 years now. When the Marvel Knights Spider-man series came out I jumped on board, because I did not want to miss any continuity with my favorite hero. It was awful! Some of the worst comics I have ever read! And I stuck with it for 15 ISSUES! When I finally got pissed off enough to cancel the title I was angry enough that I quit collecting comics altogether for over a year. Fortunately I just couldn’t stay away for long.
So I am reconsidering my buying patterns. I am thinking about stopping my subscriptions and just buying comics featuring characters that I like. For instance, I would never turn down a comic featuring Mad Cap. I realize he is a third string bad guy at best, but I find him really entertaining if the writer does the job properly. Same goes for the Absorbing Man, Arcade, Ezekiel, Puma etc. So maybe books featuring guys like this are the ones I really should be buying. Something to think about.
Filed under: Comic Book Reviews | Tags: atom, avengers, comics, dc, gail simone, marvel, Marvel Knights, new avengers, Overdrive, Spider-man, the Bookie, the Enforcers
- Amazing Cover of Amazing Spider-man #563
I really had to start with this issue. Amazing Spider-man #563 jumps out and smacks you across the face and says, “Hey dude! Buy this comic!” The ironic thing is that if you read the little caption at the bottom it says “We’re as surprised as you are that Quesada approved tihs cover…”. Well thank goodness he did. Cover art: 5/5. This issue is brought to us by the creative team of Bob Gale on the typewriter, Mike McKone on pencils, and Marlo Alquiza on inks. The Bookie storyline continues in this issue, as Spider-man, thinking the Bookie may have information on the serial killer posing as himself, goes looking to find the underworld favorite odds maker. Along the way he brawls with a barroom full of baddies, goes off to Coney Island to battle the Enforcers, saves Ox’s life, and finds a way to raise some money for charity. If you have been reading my reviews you know that I don’t like to put in too many spoilers. The story is funny, corny in spots, a little far fetched at times, and really entertaining. I have to give it 4/5. The art is really decent. Really vivid, exciting colors. Refreshing. 4/5. And for relevance, well I will give it 2/5. My reason for this low score is that this is the story of a bunch of real bush leaguers. The Enforcers aren’t even B-list. Add to that the fact that it is part of the Brand New Day arc and it gets a lower score. The only reason it gets higher than a 1/5 is because there is an event that is supposed to affect the future stories in this title. So total score is 15/20. This is a really good read and I recommend you pick it up, even if you haven’t been following the story up to this point. The Ox does something after Spidey saves his life that is really impressive. One of those moments where they show the bad guy to be human.
The last word goes to Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles which has just made the move from EBay to Comic Collector Live. Go to http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/Seller.aspx?id=cc0608d3-03c2-4b73-81dd-40662b76b9c9 and check out the titles I am offering for sale. Please remember to consider the cost of shipping as part of the total price. You will find my prices are often the lowest available. I have also come across some really nice 1970’s Mego Star Trek Action figures which I am listing on EBay. If you go to EBay, and enter the community section, you can search for me under the user id xuthl69 and see the items I have for sale.
Also, if you collect current comics, I encourage you to consider ordering your books from me. I charge cover price plus $3 shipping and handling for the first book and an additional $1 for each book after that anywhere within Canada. This may sound expensive, but with the cost of gasoline continually rising you really can’t lose. This is also ideal for readers living in cities and towns without a local comic shop.
Lastly, if there is a book you are looking for but can’t find, drop me a line and I will see what I can find for you. I have a good network of sellers and have had great success in the past. Feel free to contact me at xuthl@yahoo.ca.
Again, if you have any comments, I would really love to hear them. Please leave feedback!
Have a great week!
Filed under: Comic Book Reviews | Tags: art, avengers, batman, captain america, comic, cover, dc, hercules, iron man, marvel, she hulk, Spider-man, xuthl
Back when I first started buying comics I did so as a reader. I would go to the drugstore, the primary location for buying comics in those days, and look through the turntable comic rack searching for a cover that would capture my attention.
In those days a cover was a sales tool. It would tell you which characters were actively involved in the storyline, whether it be supporting cast or guest stars. It would show you who the bad guys were. And in most cases it would give you some insight as to what to expect from the plot. Readers could peruse the comic rack and decide which books to buy without ever opening a book.
Of course, most often I did anyway. I had to shuffle through the pages to ensure there was actually some action in the pages. At that age I really hated to plunk down my 25 cents and get one of those “character development” issues where the characters talk throughout the book while the bad guys run amok, setting the groundwork for the next issue.
Some of the most memorable comic covers I have ever seen come from this simpler time. The cover was less a work of art than it is today, but they stand out in my mind more than the offerings we currently have.
I remember one particular issue of Captain America. Zaran and Machette lounge in the back ground while Batroc the Leaper lunges at Cap, apparently to kick his head off his shoulders. Cap is saying something like, “All right Batroc. A deal is a deal. You can have one free shot. Better make it a good one!” And Batroc responds by saying something like, “One shot is all I shall need. Good bye Captain America!” I was not a Captain America reader back in those days, but there was no way I could have resisted buying that issue. I picked it up immediately, and still own it to this day.
How about the issue of Amazing Spider-man where Hobgoblin has been blackmailing millionaires like the Kingpin, Harry Osbourne, and JJ Jameson? On the one cover the Spider-man logo in the top left corner has been replaced by an image of the Hobgoblin laughing and he says, “It’s great kids! Steal it!” A great line! Very humorous, and uttered by one of my favorite villains of all time.
Of course there are far too many great covers to make any sort of comprehensive list. The Puma leaping off a building onto Spiderman, Hercules all alone against the Masters of Evil, Bane breaking Batman’s back, Captain America with Hawkeye’s bow and Hawk with Cap’s shield, Iron Man removing his armor as the Fixer hold Kazar hostage, Captain America blowing away terrorists with a machine gun, or She-Hulk in a skimpy bikini. An official no-prize to anyone who can identify all these issues.
Covers today are art. They inevitably feature the hero of the book in some dramatic pose. They are often dark and unattractive. They offer little or no information about the book itself. If you want to decide if you should buy the comic, you will have to open the book and have a look inside.
I think the problem is that the artists want to be… well… artists. They do not want to create an advertisement for the book, they want to create a work of art. This is all well and good, but when you look at all the works of art being produced, it all becomes utterly forgettable. That’s just my opinion.
The last word goes to Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles which has just made the move from EBay to Comic Collector Live. Go to http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/Seller.aspx?id=cc0608d3-03c2-4b73-81dd-40662b76b9c9 and check out the titles I am offering for sale. Please remember to consider the cost of shipping as part of the total price. You will find my prices are often the lowest available. I have also come across some really nice 1970’s Mego Star Trek Action figures which I am listing on EBay. If you go to EBay, and enter the community section, you can search for me under the user id xuthl69 and see the items I have for sale.
Also, if you collect current comics, I encourage you to consider ordering your books from me. I charge cover price plus $3 shipping and handling for the first book and an additional $1 for each book after that anywhere within Canada. This may sound expensive, but with the cost of gasoline continually rising you really can’t lose. This is also ideal for readers living in cities and towns without a local comic shop.
Lastly, if there is a book you are looking for but can’t find, drop me a line and I will see what I can find for you. I have a good network of sellers and have had great success in the past. Feel free to contact me at xuthl@yahoo.ca.
Again, if you have any comments, I would really love to hear them. Please leave feedback!
Have a great week!
Filed under: Comic Book Reviews, Uncategorized | Tags: action comics, atom, batman, bookie, brand new day, comic, dc, marvel, review, screwball, Spider-man, spiderman, superman, toyman, xuthl
Well I have to admit that I am having more fun with this blog than I expected I would. The only thing I am missing so far is comments from you, the reader. I really want to encourage you to share your thoughts, or if there is a comic title that I have not been reviewing that is really a must read in your opinion, please let me know what it is.
So I read the All New Atom #7&8. Once again we get the team of Gail Simone and Mike Norton and a cover by Landronn. The story goes like this: a strange fairly omnipotent time traveler shows up looking for a professor. The Atom has no idea who he is talking about, but the traveler insists that the professor will show up, and he tells Atom to let him know when he does or he will kill him. So next the professor shows up, except he is mysteriously missing half of… well… himself. As it turns out, he swallowed some sort of time portal and it sent half of his body into the future, where it lives a separate life on it’s own. In the end it turns out that the professor is suffering from Alzheimers and is a little bit delusional. The cover work is very nice. I give it 5/5. The story is enjoyable. Kind of gets confusing at times, and that is becoming a Simone trademark in my eyes, but still I give her a 4/5 for this work. The art is really outstanding. 5/5. And for relevance I think 2/5 is about the best I can muster. Total score 16/20. A good read. Do not hesitate to pick this one up.
Next on the list is Action Comics #865, written by Geoff Johns, art by Jesus Merino, covery by Kevin MaGuire. In this issue the Terrible Toyman escapes from his confinement in Arkum Asylum and kidnaps Jimmy Olson. It is unclear whether Jimmy just happens to be in Gotham and gets kidnapped or if he is abducted in Metropolis and brought to Gotham. Regardless, Toyman tells the story of his origins. What turned him bad. He tells about how he lost hope when his wife died in a hit and run accident. Eventually Jimmy uses one of Toyman’s Superman dolls to burn through his restraints and activates his Superman signal watch. Salvation arrives, but in the form of Batman, not Superman. Bats battles Toyman’s constructs and he grabs Jimmy and starts to run when Superman shows up and obliterates all the little Superman dolls. Toyman begs Superman to take him to jail so that he will not be considered to be a “Batman villain”. The end of the story is the most interesting. It turns out that Toymans “wife” was just another one of his toys. So, for the cover I am giving 5/5. It is colorful, it is interesting. Very effective. The story I am also going to give 5/5. Very entertaining! I recomend this issue. Art gets a 4/5. Not perfect, but very strong. Relevance is where I struggle when it comes to DC books. I am a self confessed Marvel junkie. Why I am reading so much DC lately is a mystery. Let’s just say I have been giving it a try and enjoying it. I guess that is all that matters. So, while I doubt this issue will really have any significant impact on anything, I will give it a 3/5. Overall score is 17/20. A very good book!
Over to Marvel we have Amazing Spider-man #561. This offering is written by Dan Slott, with art by Marcos Martin. This is the big wrap up of the Paper Doll storyline. There are some pretty interesting twists here. First, it turns out that the mystery girl friend of actor Bobby Carr is none other than Mary Jane Watson. In the first part of the issue we get a glimpse into the origin of Paperdoll, and they kind of establish the fact that she is insane. Then we flash to where Spider-man is trying his best to get a picture of Bobby kissing with Mary Jane. If he can get this picture he will be a millionaire! But when Paperdoll shows up he leaves the camera on autopilot and goes into action. It is an amuzing battle scene with MJ locking herself in a panic room and taunting both Spider-man and Paperdoll through an intercom. Spider-man and Bobby eventually manage to defeat Paperdoll and Peter decides that Paparazi is not for him. He destroys his pictures of MJ and Bobby and most shocking of all, Robbie resigns from the Bugle. The big news in this issue? MJ makes several statements which suggest that she may know everything about Peter. Did she and Mephisto cut a deal? Does she know the way things really are? I guess time will tell. I give the cover 4/5. I am leaning somewhere between 3 and 4, but I don’t give half marks, so I have to err on the high side this time. The story gets 4/5. As I have said before, I really like Paperdoll. She is a good villain, and the writing on this series is pretty good. I hate Brand New Day, but I am enjoying the stories. It is too bad they are wasting such good talent on Brand New Day. Art in general gets 4/5. And since it is Brand New Day I give it 1/5 for relevance. Total is 13/20. Not bad all in all.
Next up I have Amazing Spider-man #562 written by Bob Gale and drawn by Mike McKone. This one really disappointed me on many levels. We go to the “Bar with No Name” where all the MU bad guys hang out and bet on anything and everything. Some loser called the Basher makes a Youtube broadcast challenging Spider-man to face him. This Bookie character, who we have been led to believe is a very professional high roller type has actually hired Screwball to pose as Spider-man and take out the Basher, who is also in on the scam, so the Bookie can make some bucks. Things go bad for the Bookie when the real Spider-man shows up and busts Screwball. The villains in the bar realize that it is all a scam and they look to take it out of the Bookie’s hide. We are left with a typical cliffhanger as Spidey shows up in the bar and prepares to battle about a hundred bad guys. Marvel advertised the heck out of this issue, and the hype kind of backfires. I was looking forward to this issue, and at the end I was left thinking, “So what? Big deal!” The most exciting thing about this issue was the ad for the Secret Invasion HeroClix being released in July. So, cover gets 4/5. It i just ok. The story gets 2/5. The art gets 4/5. It is ok, but some of the characters look a little funny. And since it is Brand New Day, it gets 1/5 for relevance. 11/20. Maybe you should find somewhere else to spend your comic dollars this week.
Well that is it for this week. I had a lot of family comittments that kept me from doing a lot of reading this week. Family wins out every time, right?
I did read a few more issues of the All New Atom, but I will not bore you with that review. I have bought the entire run to date and am reading them as fast as I can, so expect more Atom reviews next week.
The last word goes to Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles which has just made the move from EBay to Comic Collector Live. Go to http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/Seller.aspx?id=cc0608d3-03c2-4b73-81dd-40662b76b9c9 and check out the titles I am offering for sale. Please remember to consider the cost of shipping as part of the total price. You will find my prices are often the lowest available. I have also come across some really nice 1970’s Mego Star Trek Action figures which I am listing on EBay. If you go to EBay, and enter the community section, you can search for me under the user id xuthl69 and see the items I have for sale.
Also, if you collect current comics, I encourage you to consider ordering your books from me. I charge cover price plus $3 shipping and handling for the first book and an additional $1 for each book after that anywhere within Canada. This may sound expensive, but with the cost of gasoline continually rising you really can’t lose. This is also ideal for readers living in cities and towns without a local comic shop.
Lastly, if there is a book you are looking for but can’t find, drop me a line and I will see what I can find for you. I have a good network of sellers and have had great success in the past. Feel free to contact me at xuthl@yahoo.ca.
Again, if you have any comments, I would really love to hear them. Please leave feedback!
Have a great week!
Filed under: Comic Book Reviews | Tags: atom, batman, comic, dc, jonah hex, marvel, red sonja, robin, spoiler, supergirl, xuthl
Hi folks. Well this is my third comic review post. I have had a few hits so far. If you are becoming a regular reader, I would love to hear from you. Please take a minute to leave your feedback.
My first offering for this week is the All New Atom #1-6. It is written by Gail Simone and drawn by John Byrne with covers by Ariel Olivetti. This six issue launch tells the story of, you guessed it, the origin of the All New Atom. In a nutshell a genius named Ryan Choi emigrates to the United States in order to take up the position as professor vacated by Ray Palmer. Somehow he just knows that Ray has left him a Quantum belt somewhere. It takes him no time at all to locate the belt and the adventures as the Atom begin at once. Now I just want to say right off that I have always thought getting small is the lamest super power ever conceived! And I’m not just picking on the Atom here. Ant-man, Yellowjacket, and even the Wasp. All lame! Ok…the wasp is kind of cool! LOL! So anyway, the Atom soon encounters a bunch of tiny people living in his new home town, as well as a godlike creature called M’Nagalah. It seems that a war is brewing between M’Nagalah, the little people, and normal humans. The Atom decides that he has to intervene. There are some interesting scenes when he gets swallowed alive by his date, who is transformed into a giant by M’Nagalah. At one point Ryan declares that he has to go save the president of the United States. Sounds fun, but we never actually see this happen. Apparently this was captured in a Brave New World Preview, which I did not buy. Overall, this story was really bloody confusing. There were some funny moments, and I did not hate the story, but I can’t give it more than a 3 out of 5. At some point the art switches from Byrne to Eddy Barrows, and it is really too bad. I love the fact that Byrne does not feel the need to make all the male characters into full time bodybuilder types and all the female characters into breast implanted Hooters girls. Still, I give the art 5/5. I liked it. The coverwork is adequate. Not always relevant to the storyline inside the comic, but passable. I give it 3/5. And for relevance and continuity I will only give this issue 3/5. I am no expert on the DC Universe, but I do not believe that M’Nagalah is a player in the grand scheme. The only thing that might give this story any leverage is if Ryan Choi sticks as a character, and I honestly would be a little bit surprised is Ray Palmer is gone for good. I cold be wrong. So overall, the comic rates 14/20. Not a bad read. I can’t give it a strong recomendation, but if you like the Atom, give it a try.
Next I have Red Sonja #34, written by Brian Reed, and drawn by Mel Rubi. The cover was rendered by Fabiano Neves. This is a really interesting story where Red Sonja is basically on a boat on the River Styx with a mysterious figure she calls Charon. He takes her on an introspective journey, trying to discover who she is and what her purpose on earth really is. He tries to convince her to go to her final rest and leave the world to combat Kulan Gath without her aid. In the end she realizes that Charon is actually Kulan Gath himself and slays the wizard with the help of Death himself. Red Sonja is given the choice now of going to her final rest, or going to be reincarnated to continue the battle with Kulan Gath once more. She chooses the second option and soon reemerges as a child. The cover is really good, but has nothing whatsoever to do with the comic, so I give it 4/5. The story was really enjoyable. It left me a little confused at the end, but my lack of knowledge about these characters could be more to blame than bad writing. I give the writer 4/5. The art is a mixed bag. I did not care for all of it, but it was well done and created mood very effectively. 5/5. And lastly, regarding continuity, I think you have to give this one 5/5 since this is the only title with these characters, and when it comes to Red Sonja, you just don’t get a more relevant bad guy than Kulan Gath. 5/5. My total score for this issue is 19/20. Run to your comic store and buy this today!
I have been doing A LOT of reading this last week, so I have many titles to choose from here, but next I think I will go with Jonah Hex #32. Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, and drawn by Jordi Bernet. I loved Jonah Hex when I was younger. The stories had such simplicity. They were really enjoyable in the spaghetti western tradition. I think that is what they are going for here, but they failed miserably in this case. There are more holes in this story than swiss cheese. The story starts with a fat Mexican asking Jonah to kill a matador who has been bedding his wife. Jonah flatly refuses, then proceeds to get drunk. Once he is good and swimming, a bunch of costumed ladies attack him and beat him into unconsciousness. He wakes and finds himself tied up in the arena with a bull cruising about. Soon the bull starts to gore him, but miracle of miracles, the matador he was asked to kill, actually saves his life. Next we see him taking target practice as he often does when he is recovering from horrible wounds. The matadors baby sister tries to get Hex to bed her and he tells her to grow up first. Then he walks into the arena and kills the fat Mexican in broad daylight. It is said that the Mexican has many bodyguards, but apparently they were all on break. Lets just get through this one quick. Cover 2/5. Story 1/5. Art 2/5. Significance has to be 1/5. Total is 6/20. I do not recomend this story at all.
Well I think I have one more review in me for tonight. How about Detective Comics #845. Written by Paul Dini, drawn by Dustin Nguyen. I liked this issue. I do not buy Batman very often, but the cover was captivating for me. 5/5. There is really a lot to like about this story. There is a new serial killer in Gotham. When it becomes obvious that Batman is completely stumped, the Riddler throws his hat into the ring and declares that he will find the killer. There is some really interesting interaction as Batman enters a chat room for sleuths to spit ball on who the killer could be. The other chatters turn out to be some colorful characters including Barbara Gordon, and the Riddler himself. At some point the Riddler gets a private message and rushes off. Lucky for him the Batman figures out that the killer is somebody whose wife was killed in one of the Riddlers criminal ventures and he has been killing people in order to bait old Eddy. Batman arrives on the scene and saves his life. Story gets 5/5. Art gets 4/5. I do not particularly care for the style of art contained in this book, but I have to admit that it is very well done. And for relevance… well I just don’t REALLY know. I am not a DC junkie, so I can’t say much about it. It features many of the big players in the Batman family, so I will give it 4/5. I doubt anything that happened in this issue will have any impact on the future of the DC Universe. Total score is a big 18/20. A great done in one story. Recommended reading.
That is all the reviewing I am going to do for this week. I will just give you two more quick ratings:
Supergirl #30 : 13/20
Robin/Spoiler Special #1 : 15/20
The last word goes to Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles which has just made the move from EBay to Comic Collector Live. Go to http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/Seller.aspx?id=cc0608d3-03c2-4b73-81dd-40662b76b9c9 and check out the titles I am offering for sale. Please remember to consider the cost of shipping as part of the total price. You will find my prices are often the lowest available.
Also, if you collect current comics, I encourage you to consider ordering your books from me. I charge cover price plus $3 shipping and handling for the first book and an additional $1 for each book after that anywhere within Canada. This may sound expensive, but with the cost of gasoline continually rising you really can’t lose. This is also ideal for readers living in cities and towns without a local comic shop.
Lastly, if there is a book you are looking for but can’t find, drop me a line and I will see what I can find for you. I have a good network of sellers and have had great success in the past. Feel free to contact me at xuthl@yahoo.ca.
Have a great week!
Filed under: Comic Book Reviews | Tags: avengers, brand new day, comic, comic collector live, marvel, new avengers, secret invastion, skrull, Spider-man, spiderman, xuthl
All right kiddies, I managed to get a lot of reading done this week, so hang on tight. Here we go!
First on the my list is the Mighty Avengers #13. I have followed this title from the first issue, and I have to admit that there is really not a lot that I like about the title. The writing is really disjointed and the characters are really abrasive and hard to like. The cover of this issue is well rendered by Marko Djurdjevic, but does not exactly do much to grab my attention. If this one was not in my regular pick list the cover would have done nothing to induce me to open it up for another look. Still I will give the cover a 3 out of 5. The story wasn’t good, yet it did give me that sense of excitment that all comic book readers feel when they are reading the beginnings of something new. Nick Fury assembles a new team of super brats. Big deal right? This has been done to death in comics. But what if this new super team becomes the next Avengers? For this reason I give the story, written by Brian Michael Bendis a strong 4 out of 5. The comic is drawn by Alex Maleev, and I really have problems with this artist. While his art is technically very good, the characters just do not look like themselves at all. Too much artistic license is taken with characters I have been following for decades, so I can only give a score of 3 out of 5. And as far as relevance, well I guess you can’t give this issue anything less than full marks. 5 out of 5 for a total on this book of 15 out of 20. The Secret Invasion has really captured my attention and imagination and I have been enjoying this Marvel offering.
Next is the Mighty Avengers #14. As I said in the previous review, I have been really enjoying the Secret Invasion so far. Issue 14 is where things started to go bad for me. This issue really jumps around timewise, overlaps with Secret Invason #2, and is utterly forgettable. 2 out of 5 Mr. Bendis. Once again the Djurdjevic cover is well drawn, but the colors leave me completely underwhelmed. Maybe we are forgetting that the function of a comic book cover is to induce the buyer to buy. 3 out of 5. For this issue a different penciller was employed in Khoi Pham, and the change pays off. The characters are well drawn and recognizable. 5 out of 5 for art. And again, with Secret Invasion being the big ticket in the MU right now, I can only give this one 5 out of 5 for relevance for a grand total of 15 out of 20. Maybe it sounds like I am being overly negative, considering the relatively high scores I am giving these issues. I will tell you this. Got buy these titles. You will enjoy them. Just be aware that Marvel is pulling the same stunt they routinely pull. They are putting out a huge Universe spanning crossover that starts out with great promise, and then they start to tell the story in little chunks that just annoy the hell out of the reader.
Next is New Avengers #41. Another questionable cover for me. This one is by Aleksi Briclot, but has the same problems for me as the first two. The art is dark, blurry, artsy, and utterly forgettable. 3 out of 5. Brian Michael Bendis writes this one too, and I think his writing is really starting to get to me. Not that he is a bad writer. I really enjoy his writing. But he has really written one story and spread it over three books, telling the same parts over and over. I feel like he is stealing my money at this point. Just get on with the story already Bri! So to briefly summarize, we get yet another look at the opening battle in the Savage Land, then Spider-man goes off and finds Kazar. We have some strong hints that Shanna is a skrull, as well as details of skrull SHIELD agents. Then Captain America makes the scene with a big “to be continued…” I may be proven wrong as this story progresses, but for now I was really disappointed with this offering. 2 out of 5. And again we get 5 out of 5 for significance. I give the art from Billy Tan a strong 4 out of 5, and that brings my total for this issue up to 14 out of 20 for the issue.
Next we have Amazing Spider-man 558. Before I start, I just want to say that the only reason I haven’t dumped Amazing Spider-man from my pick list is because I do not want to end up going back and trying to collect the issues I missed once Marvel realizes they have made a horrible mistake on par with the Clone saga and change everything back to the way it was before they revealed Spidey’s identity to the world. Bob Gale is the writer here, and despite his boring villains, I do enjoy his work. I had a good chuckle when Peter tells Aunt May that he is moving out. She gives him the guilt trip before leaving the room and pumping her fist in victory. Classic! Anyway, Menace is obviously a Green Goblin rip off. The problem here is that we have no way of knowing if the Green Goblin ever existed. This whole Brand New Day is just crap folks! And then there is freak. Can you say Doomsday? Not as powerful as Doomsday…yet. If he can keep evolving every time he is defeated, then I would have to expect that eventually he could be as tough as Doomsday. Hopefully somebody has the sense to kill him before that happens. So lets see. Story gets 4 out of 5 despite my dislike for Brand New Day and the bad guys being used. Gale has talent. What else can I say? I will give the cover 3 out of 5. Nothing to really attract the reader here. Now, as for the art inside, by Barry Kitson this issue, I can only give it 3 out of 5. I am really close to giving it a 4, but the characters are just a little bit off. And last is significance. Well what can I tell you? Brand New Day seems to be completely in its own continuity. I can only give this 1 out of 5. Grand total is 11 out of 20. My advice is to ignore Amazing Spider-man. The sooner sales tank, the sooner Marvel will realize how badly they have f%^&*d up and fix Brand New Day.
So next we have Amazing Spider-man 559. The cover is good. Really good! I don’t know who this chick is, that seems to be falling off a building, but I really want to know if she lives. If Spidey catches her. If she has the power of flight and just sails away. 5 out of 5. Unfortunately, this Screwball character is completely irrelevant and really just wastes a few pages of valuable comic book. Spidey should have had her wrapped up by the second panel. So, new writer Dan Slott gets off to a very shaky start. We have some fun moments with J. Jonah Jameson in a pilates class, and then things REALLY go wrong. Peter Parker becomes part of the paparazi. I have to admit that this is an interesting turn, but it is COMPLETELY out of character. Has Dan ever read Amazing Spider-man? The only thing that saves this one is the fact that the new villain, Paperdoll, is interesting, and the story is interesting despite being so completely inappropriate for Peter Parker. But then all of Brand New Day seems to disregard the history of Marvel’s most popular character, right? I will give this one 2 out of 5. Marcos Martin does the art in this issue. What a mixed bag. Some of his art is REALLY good. And some is really bad. Parker usually does not look like himself, but most of the other characters are drawn well. Aunt May also does not look right. Somehow her hair style has changed completely from the last issue and she now looks like a cross between the classic Aunt May, the new and improved Aunt May, and Martha Stewart. 3 out of 5. And my typical Brand New Day relevance rating of 1 out of 5 bring us to a total of 11 out of 20. I really enjoyed this book despite it’s flaws. But again I recomend avoiding this title until Marvel fixes it.
Next is Amazing Spider-man 560. I love this cover. 5 out of 5! Not much new to add here. Dan Slott tells a good story, but it is really out of character for Peter Parker. 2 out of 5. Once again Martin’s biggest problem is consistency. Peter Parker does not look like Peter Parker. In one frame DB owner mysteriously morphs into Martin Crane from Frasier. Maybe he is a skrull? Robbie Robertson even looks like a completely different person in one frame. 3 out of 5 is the best I can give for this one. And the Brand New Day 1 out of 5 for continuity brings us to a final score of 11 out of 20.
A LONG TIME AGO, in a galaxy far far away… Just kidding. A long time ago I collected Web of Spider-man. I collected from issue #1 until about issue 20 without missing a single issue, EXCEPT for issue #3. I have always wanted to know what happened in that issue, so when I found a copy in my comic stores bargain bin for $1 I jumped all over it. And I was not at all disappointed. The cover is relaly poor. An abstract rendering of Manhattan, really roughly drawn Spider-man battling the vulture, with the wings of the Vuturions swooping in from above. The cover may be what stopped me from buying this issue in the first place. I can only give it 2 out of 5. Greg Larocque’s art is really average in this book. I’m not going to dwell on it too long. I give it 3 out of 5. ‘Nuff said! Louise Simonson did a lot of writing on comics in the 80’s and by my thinking is really underrated. She wrote some really good stuff, including this issue. In this book we see the Vulture escaping prison and going off on a mission to take apart the Vuturions who have stolen his powers. Spider-man gets involved because he is worried about innocents getting hurt. MJ complains to Peter about how hard it is to love someone like him, who puts himself in danger all the time. The only negative to this issue is the way they handled the spat between Pete and Aunt May. All in all I give this one 4 out of 5. For continuity and significance I can’t do much with this one. I cannot recall the Vulturions ever appearing in comics again after this issue. There are no turning points in Peters life, or for any of the other main characters. I give this one a 3 out of 5. Overall I can only rate this book 12 out of 20. A lot of the negatives to this book are in the art. If you want to buy a book and enjoy it from start to finish, I recomend this one.
I also read Detective Comics 845, Red Sonja 34, and Jonah Hex 32 today. I will review each of these next week, as I have already spent too much time writing this blog and I want to go to bed now and sleep off this head cold I am suffering.
The last word goes to Xuthl’s Wilderness Comics and Collectibles which has just made the move from EBay to Comic Collector Live. Go to http://www.comiccollectorlive.com/LiveData/Seller.aspx?id=cc0608d3-03c2-4b73-81dd-40662b76b9c9 and check out the titles I am offering for sale. Please remember to consider the cost of shipping as part of the total price. You will find my prices are often the lowest available.
Also, if you collect current comics, I encourage you to consider ordering your books from me. I charge cover price plus $3 shipping and handling for the first book and an additional $1 for each book after that anywhere within Canada. This may sound expensive, but with the cost of gasoline continually rising you really can’t lose. This is also ideal for readers living in cities and towns without a local comic shop.
Lastly, if there is a book you are looking for but can’t find, drop me a line and I will see what I can find for you. I have a good network of sellers and have had great success in the past. Feel free to contact me at xuthl@yahoo.ca.
Have a great week!
