Also if you want my first opinions on comics before I write up reviews every time I get my comics I do a Comic Rundown on my Twitter. So if you want my first opinion before I post the reviews then my Twitter is where to get them.
Now let’s start the reviews!
Witchblade #130
Written: Ron Marz
Art: Stjepan Sejic
Opening Comments: Despite War of the Witchblades being a weak storyline mostly through it seems Marz finally gave us the payoff we’ve been waiting for in giving us an absolutely awesome read. Of course he gave us some amazing twists along the way.
Story Comments: So the gist of this issue has little action really. Dani is saved by the Angelus using Finch’s body but rather then just saving her Dani becomes the Angelus’ new host and it’s an amazing twist, even if it was hinted at.
I love this twist for the character as it means she’s in for more exciting and interesting things all the while retaining her well developed character. Marz made a brilliant move here and it paid off big with all this development making Dani’s character retain her greatness as well as give her a new status that I’m excited to see fleshed out.
Of course it was spoiled that Sara is still with bearer of the Witchblade but I’m not complaining when she’s such a great character. Also it seems like she made nice with Gleason which leaves me hopeful for them.
Really the only fault I have is there was little action but with such great twists I can forgive that we got so few action moments in this story. This is one of those stories where the end justifies the means at how great the ending was even with the majority of the story being too slow.
All the development paid off and this was an incredible read. Character work was excellent and the plotting was amazing as well. One of the best issues of Witchblade yet and that’s saying something.
Art Comments: Of course Sejic delivers big once again and does an amazing job. What more can I say? Well I did like the design of Dani as the new Angelus and Sejic balances what action we do get with strong page design as well as great emotion conveyed through the story.
Final Comments: While this story arc in the long run wasn’t all that great, it at least had a strong ending issue and at this point it’s like a godsend and boosts Witchblade back up as one of the best comics out there.
Writing: 5 out of 5
Art: 5 out of 5
Overall: 5 out of 5
Must Have
The Amazing Spider-man #604
Written: Fred Van Lente
Art: Barry Kitson
Opening Comments: Despite a very so-so story arc it seems that Red Headed Stranger saved the best for last as all the build up has been great. My only real problems with this issue is that the story arc has mere nothing to do with MJ returning.
Story Comments: We finally see Chameleon’s endgame put in to action as he plans to turn New York into the next Fallout 3 look alike. Spider-man fights the new Spider-slayers and all that jazz but what really makes this issue work is the character moments not the actual plot.
Action was solid for the most part and I did like the way Spider-man is able to have the Slayers work with him to stop the bomb. It was all great but what makes this work in the long run is the aftermath of Chameleon’s bomb.
My favorite moment had to be JJJ getting scolded by his deputy mayor. Finally putting him in his place about how he can’t keep going after Spider-man. The Spider-slayers retiring, etc. It was a strong moment and it was exactly what needed to happen.
I’m hopeful this means things are finally looking up for Spider-man but there’s no way to be sure. Seems he’s finally out of the fire but we all know that Spider-man will be feeling that sizzling tingle at his feet sooner or later.
I did like Peter and MJ finally meeting up. It seems there was some hinting that MJ/Harry are going out or that MJ now doesn’t want to date Peter. Also I was really happy we didn’t get the typical cliff-hanger of MJ saying she knows Peter’s secret or some crap like that.
Our cliff-hanger seems to be something that will tie in to a larger developing story. I was glad to see that Chameleon is far from out of the game as this revamp of his character has been absolutely excellent.
I was glad to see that there was some consequence from Chameleon seducing Michelle. She now thinks Peter is her boyfriend and this should be hilarious to watch unfold in the next issue.
Overall this story was great and the final part was the best. Character work is excellent and it leaves me with a good feeling which is something Spider-man hasn’t been able to do in a long time.
Art Comments: Kitson does a strong job but sadly there really isn’t much I can say. He does a good job and that’s it. Strong and enjoyable artwork but also rather plain.
Final Comments: It feels good to be a Spider-man fan again which is something I never though I could say. While this arc had little to do with MJ and her return, no doubt the arc’s biggest weakness, it was still a fun read.
Writing: 4 out of 5
Art: 3 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Must Read
Dark Reign: Young Avengers #4
Written: Paul Cornell
Art: Mark Brooks
Opening Comments: I love Young Avengers, I’ve been enjoying the Dark Reign status quo, therefore a Young Avengers mini-series dealing in the Dark Reign status quo sounds like a no brainer. Luckily it seems Cornell has taken the series’ simple concepts and added an extra amount of awesome turning this into one of the best mini’s of the year so far.
Story Comments: We open with an attempt to prove Hawkeye and Kate are not the same person. Vision is impersonating her as they chase the Purple Man through one of Kate’s party. A simple moment but what makes it work so well is afterwards Vision offers to use Kate’s body design alone with Cassie. That made me burst into laughter. I loved it.
We pick up with the splitting of the teams. Melter isn’t happy that Enchantress and Coat of Arms are the only people going to the regular Young Avengers and rightfully so. It goes bad but the dialogue is so tense and it works well. It’s as if I’m sitting there watching this happening, wondering what’s going to happen next.
We see that Melter, as a child when he first got his powers melted his parents. Tough break I know. Could be work, you could have stepped in the melted bod-…oh wait, he did. Never mind.
So Melter calls Norman Osborn only for Coat of Arms to catch him. We also get a moment telling us that Enchantress was created by Loki. Coat basically berates him for not doing what she wanted. It’s another intense but great moment that works well with how developed these characters are.
One thing that really confused me from this issue was Enchantress…seducing Wiccan? (again, a case of “wanna f***?”) it was not sure if it really happens. She tries and he says he’s gay but she doesn’t care. The next thing she’s kicked off the team. It’s really jarring and confusing and it felt rather out of place to show us she’s a slut. I don’t get it or how was it important.
What made it even more confusing was she still wants to be with Melter. My head was spinning at this point as I can’t tell what’s going on with her character. It’s one big mystery that seems it will finally get solved by the mini’s end.
I did like seeing Executioner kill Princess Python just because she never told him. It was epic and if anything it shows that Executioner is a cold monster and turns him into a more credible villain.
Of course we get a nice moment between Stature and Vision that is interrupted by Egghead. More great character work with some cool action put in for a moment.
What really got me in the end and made this even more awesome was the ending cliff-hanger. The Young Masters and the Dark Avengers teaming up to take down the Young Avengers. It should be an epic fight and it left me pumped and excited for next time.
Overall this issue was excellent and the best issue so far of this great mini. Leaving me excited for more next time as well as satisfied with what I got.
Art comments: I can assume the delay for this issue was on Mark Brooks since most delays are on the artists. I can forgive him though as this comic looks absolutely amazing and this continues to be Brooks’ best artistic performance yet.
Final Comments: If you are a Young Avengers fan then it’s not too late. Go pick up all the prior issues of this mini along with this one. Don’t miss out on what to me is the best of the Dark Reign mini’s.
Writing: 5 out of 5
Art: 5 out of 5
Overall: 5 out of 5
Must Have
Dead Space: Extraction One-Shot
Written: Antony Johnston
Art: Ben Templesmith
Opening Comments: Lucky for me I got the last copy of Extraction on the shelves. While this issue didn’t turn out to be the exciting Dead Space prequel that I was hoping for it had strong narration and awesome artwork.
Story Comments: Not a lot to say about this one. Nicole, the girlfriend Isaac has been looking for through the entire Dead Space video game tells her story of how she was onboard the Ishimura as everything goes to hell.
Not a lot really happens, Nicole gets onboard, the Necromorphs soon show up and while she does develop an anti-virus it’s too late to save any body and we end with her leaving the logs to Isaac that he finds in the game.
Johnston does a good job with what little space he as in a one-shot giving us some good chilling moments and cool gore just as the Dead Space series is known for. Also we get Nicole fleshed out nicely to where she finally feels like a more interesting and important character.
Though as I said there isn’t a lot to say. It’s a short read even with the strong narration. Not a lot of major stuff happens and the ending pretty much leaves us off with the knowledge that Nicole is dead. Something we figure by Dead Space’s end.
So really not much I can say. An enjoyable read, solid as can be and some good narration but not much more.
Art Comments: one complaint I have for the art is most of it is in the dark. We don’t get a lot of background work and while I can understand that the majority of the background work is just the same thing over and over. Still Templesmith brings his usual great work here and does great job with the chilling Necromorphs.
Final Comments: Dead Space fans like myself will appreciate Nicole being fleshed out more. Still if you don’t like the games or their mythos I can’t really give a solid reason to pick this up. Mostly for Dead Space fans only.
Writing: 3 out of 5
Art: 4 out of 5
Overall: 3 out of 5
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Final Comments: It feels good to be a Spider-man fan again which is something I never though I could say. While this arc had little to do with MJ and her return, no doubt the arc’s biggest weakness, it was still a fun read.
Writing: 4 out of 5
Art: 3 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Must Read
Dark Reign: Young Avengers #4
Written: Paul Cornell
Art: Mark Brooks
Opening Comments: I love Young Avengers, I’ve been enjoying the Dark Reign status quo, therefore a Young Avengers mini-series dealing in the Dark Reign status quo sounds like a no brainer. Luckily it seems Cornell has taken the series’ simple concepts and added an extra amount of awesome turning this into one of the best mini’s of the year so far.
Story Comments: We open with an attempt to prove Hawkeye and Kate are not the same person. Vision is impersonating her as they chase the Purple Man through one of Kate’s party. A simple moment but what makes it work so well is afterwards Vision offers to use Kate’s body design alone with Cassie. That made me burst into laughter. I loved it.
We pick up with the splitting of the teams. Melter isn’t happy that Enchantress and Coat of Arms are the only people going to the regular Young Avengers and rightfully so. It goes bad but the dialogue is so tense and it works well. It’s as if I’m sitting there watching this happening, wondering what’s going to happen next.
We see that Melter, as a child when he first got his powers melted his parents. Tough break I know. Could be work, you could have stepped in the melted bod-…oh wait, he did. Never mind.
So Melter calls Norman Osborn only for Coat of Arms to catch him. We also get a moment telling us that Enchantress was created by Loki. Coat basically berates him for not doing what she wanted. It’s another intense but great moment that works well with how developed these characters are.
One thing that really confused me from this issue was Enchantress…seducing Wiccan? (again, a case of “wanna f***?”) it was not sure if it really happens. She tries and he says he’s gay but she doesn’t care. The next thing she’s kicked off the team. It’s really jarring and confusing and it felt rather out of place to show us she’s a slut. I don’t get it or how was it important.
What made it even more confusing was she still wants to be with Melter. My head was spinning at this point as I can’t tell what’s going on with her character. It’s one big mystery that seems it will finally get solved by the mini’s end.
I did like seeing Executioner kill Princess Python just because she never told him. It was epic and if anything it shows that Executioner is a cold monster and turns him into a more credible villain.
Of course we get a nice moment between Stature and Vision that is interrupted by Egghead. More great character work with some cool action put in for a moment.
What really got me in the end and made this even more awesome was the ending cliff-hanger. The Young Masters and the Dark Avengers teaming up to take down the Young Avengers. It should be an epic fight and it left me pumped and excited for next time.
Overall this issue was excellent and the best issue so far of this great mini. Leaving me excited for more next time as well as satisfied with what I got.
Art comments: I can assume the delay for this issue was on Mark Brooks since most delays are on the artists. I can forgive him though as this comic looks absolutely amazing and this continues to be Brooks’ best artistic performance yet.
Final Comments: If you are a Young Avengers fan then it’s not too late. Go pick up all the prior issues of this mini along with this one. Don’t miss out on what to me is the best of the Dark Reign mini’s.
Writing: 5 out of 5
Art: 5 out of 5
Overall: 5 out of 5
Must Have
Dead Space: Extraction One-Shot
Written: Antony Johnston
Art: Ben Templesmith
Opening Comments: Lucky for me I got the last copy of Extraction on the shelves. While this issue didn’t turn out to be the exciting Dead Space prequel that I was hoping for it had strong narration and awesome artwork.
Story Comments: Not a lot to say about this one. Nicole, the girlfriend Isaac has been looking for through the entire Dead Space video game tells her story of how she was onboard the Ishimura as everything goes to hell.
Not a lot really happens, Nicole gets onboard, the Necromorphs soon show up and while she does develop an anti-virus it’s too late to save any body and we end with her leaving the logs to Isaac that he finds in the game.
Johnston does a good job with what little space he as in a one-shot giving us some good chilling moments and cool gore just as the Dead Space series is known for. Also we get Nicole fleshed out nicely to where she finally feels like a more interesting and important character.
Though as I said there isn’t a lot to say. It’s a short read even with the strong narration. Not a lot of major stuff happens and the ending pretty much leaves us off with the knowledge that Nicole is dead. Something we figure by Dead Space’s end.
So really not much I can say. An enjoyable read, solid as can be and some good narration but not much more.
Art Comments: one complaint I have for the art is most of it is in the dark. We don’t get a lot of background work and while I can understand that the majority of the background work is just the same thing over and over. Still Templesmith brings his usual great work here and does great job with the chilling Necromorphs.
Final Comments: Dead Space fans like myself will appreciate Nicole being fleshed out more. Still if you don’t like the games or their mythos I can’t really give a solid reason to pick this up. Mostly for Dead Space fans only.
Writing: 3 out of 5
Art: 4 out of 5
Overall: 3 out of 5
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