New Age Comics with Andrenn

Jersey Gods Interview at the Revolution!

2010-05-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

Hey All

A couple months back I contacted Glen and Dan about an interview for Jersey Gods and they said yes, which I'll admit after the 5 minute shock had me totally psyched. Some brief delays and finally its all edited together and at the site I write for!

http://comicbookrevolution.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=406:jersey-gods-interview-with-glen-brunswick-and-dan-mcdaid&catid=50:andrenn

I couldn't be happier with it. Thanks so much to both Glen and Dan, for the interview and the amazing comic. I hope you all like the interview!

-Andrenn

New Age's End

2010-02-16T22:22:00.001-08:00

A somewhat sad day is here, everyone. I’ve got bad-ish news for the future of New Age Comics with Andrenn. For the time I’m closing down the New Age. Now that’s not necessarily all of it, but in a sense I won’t be posting here regularly anymore.

For the past few weeks I’ve been writing both for this blog as well as the Comic Book Revolution website and I’ve been happy to do so for both. But the extra work is getting to me. It’s double the work and makes it harder on me to get out more reviews. So for now I won’t be posting here at the blog.

Now I’m not closing shop necessarily. I won’t post regularly but that doesn’t mean I’ll never post again. If I have a big important post at the Revolution then I’ll link it in a post here. Maybe every now and then I’ll make a post pointing to all of my latest reviews when I can.

In the end this all came down to priorities and while I’ve loved writing for you all for this past year and a half I can’t deny that the Revolution is where I should put more of my focus and work into. The Revolution gets more traffic and in the long run I feel really privileged to get to work along the others there.

I do feel bad about this. I didn’t want to close shop but at the same time this will make things easier on me. Then I can put more energy into doing reviews and hopefully get out reviews on a regular basis again.

If you want to see my regular posts, comic reviews, Solicit Commentary, Week’s End, New Age Ideas, New Age News and so much more then go click on the link below this. I have will be posting regularly at the Revolution all the comics I read. I’ll link posts from there whenever I can so anyone who follows my blog can find them.

The Comic Book Revolution

My blog will also serve as an archive at the Revolution for my older posts and reviews. So if you ever want to find my older stuff then you can check the archives of the blog.

Before I finish this post I want to take a moment to thank everyone for reading. I’ve loved writing on this blog so much and I feel really thankful for every comment I ever got. Positive and negative, it all meant a lot to me and I am eternally grateful to you all. So thank you all so much for reading the New Age, I hope you’ll all follow me into the Revolution.

And don't worry, the New Age can never die.

-Andrenn

Image Primer at The Weekly Crisis

2010-02-04T21:38:00.001-08:00

One of the friends of the Revolution is The Weekly Crisis. I've admired their reviews from all the writers there for a while now and I owe Kirk a thanks for getting me into the reviewing business. After reading his blog for a few months I was inspired to start up my own and he made me aware of blogger and gave me some great advice and if not for that I wouldn't be working for the Revolution right now!

So in December when he put out a call for Guest Posts I was eager to do so. We came up with an Image Primer and after a month or so of writing, re-writing, editing and patience it's up and it is awesome! Click the link to check it out at their site and let me know what you all thought of it!

Image Primer

Siege #2 Review

2010-02-04T16:09:00.000-08:00

With a highly disappointing and boring first issue my hopes weren’t too high for the 2^nd issue of Siege. Though deep down I still had some hope that Bendis could wine me over again and give me the over the top fun event comic I had been hoping for.

Creative Team

Writer: Brian Bendis

Artist: Olivier Coipel

Inker: Marc Morales

Colorist: Laura Martin

Story Rating: 5 out of 10

Art Rating: 7 out of 10

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10

Opening Comments: Siege #2 is more of what I wanted out of this event, over the top action and some fun moments. Sadly this was still far too thin a read and it seems like Bendis wasted this first half of Siege to set the stage for the real fun next time, and that’s sad to see.

Story Comments: This issue’s biggest flaw was definitely the lack of story and moving things forward. When you’ve only got 4 issues to tell your “everything changes” storyline you’ve got to actually do something with that precious time you have. There’s no room to just wait around and waste our time.

This is what’s confusing me about Siege, it seems like Bendis is writing this as some kind of 8 issue event. I mean honestly, does Siege feel half way over? Not at all. If anything it feels like I just read the first chapter of an 8 part storyline. Now I’m glad it’s not 8 issues but what’s the point of having 4 issues if you’re going to write it like it’s 8?

I almost wonder if Bendis wanted Siege to be much longer but Marvel told him to cut it down to 4. It sure as hell feels like it. I could easily mistake parts 1 and 2 for one issue of the event. This is a huge problem for any event. Even Blackest Night by it’s halfway mark felt like it had accomplished something.

I should address once more the flaw in Norman’s plan. Just one day attack Asgard and everyone will love you? I still can’t see the logic behind this. I know time and time again everyone points out that he’s crazy so there’s no need to explain it but…no…I refuse to accept that.

Maybe if something real had happened, like if the Asgardians where involved in a real incident but nothing has happened. Norman made up one event that killed a lot of people and just like that, bam, we’re invading Asgard. It’s just so inane and boring, like Bendis pulled a magic wand out of his ear and said “there, now Norman wants to attack Asgard and he did this and that”

I just can’t see any reasoning behind attacking gods. Unless you’re just bored. Is that it, Norman? You woke up one day, looked at your Gwen Stacy dressed hooker (Too soon to make a Gwen Stacy fetish joke? Everyone else is doing it.) and figured to yourself “I’m bored, lets go invade Asgard!” I mean I try again and again to understand it but I just can’t.

Now for the one part of this issue I honestly loved and that was the Sentry and Ares fight. Bendis handled Ares incredibly well here and I absolutely loved the fight, short and one-sided as it was. This is actually something that’s bugging me. Would a fight with the God of War really be that one sided? I’m sorry, but I’d think a god could put up a better fight then that.

I get that Sentry is super strong, really, I understand all that but it still feels so boring to have him be this super powerful. I mean come on, Ares is a damn god, you are telling me he couldn’t last at least a few minutes with Sentry, maybe do some real damage? He got in one shot and Sentry acted like he felt nothing.

Then there was how short the fight was, while I liked the fight scene, why was it so damn short? Bendis added a totally useless scene of the Avengers suiting up to kick ass but it was totally pointless. Trust me, Bendis, I wasn’t going to freak out if the Avengers showed up without showing the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet. It was a waste of page.

It would have been great to have more time devoted to the Sentry/Ares fight. Maybe, I don’t know, actually let Ares do something cool? Hurt Sentry? Just a little bit? I know it’s a crazy idea, how dare Sentry be proven he isn’t perfect. We’ve got to boast that Sentry is the most awesome guy in forever.

Then there was Ares’ death. I’ll admit it was a surprising moment and handled well, but there’s always the biggest flaw and that’s that Ares is a God. No point in killing off a character like that if he’s just going to come back. If this was Moonstone or Venom I may believe the character was dead but with Ares it is obvious he’ll be back.

Now here’s one question I have for Marvel: Why is it okay to show Sentry literally ripping Ares in half, showing his guts, spinal cord and other nasty bits spilling out as he’s torn up and show it all in graphic detail, but Moonstone can’t say the word “bitch”. I just don’t get it. It’s cool to show a brutal murder, but the word “bitch” oooh that’s the real taboo here.

I get why the F word and “Shit” are censored. But really, Moonstone can’t say “bitch”? We have to censor it? I just don’t get it. It makes no sense and if Marvel is going to boast this as some mature and real important event can’t you be a little adult and just say the word “bitch”? My eyes won’t catch fire if I read it. I’d rather my 13 year old son read the word “bitch” then see someone get ripped in half.

One thing that really confused me is how long it has taken the Avengers to get here. I’m sorry, this is a big event and the Avengers are just now showing up? At the very end? Really? I have my doubts they would take this long to act.

I’ve been pretty negative, but I will be totally honest when I say I did indeed enjoy this issue for the most part. It was miles ahead of it’s weak starting even if it was still frustrating. While it was painfully thin and rather dull deep down I still had a good time reading Siege for its fun over the top action.

Bendis indulges on the dumb fun of an event comic and it doesn’t get much dumber then this. Unless all the characters lose their ability to speak and are only able to move by punching each other. But I still had a lot of fun with the action and how it all came together.

Is that any excuse for how stupid Siege is? Not at all and I’m not trying to act like it is. But in the long run an event comic is dumb and you can’t really expect anything else out of it but action and some fun moments. That’s been what event comics are about, and maybe every once in a blue moon it will have an actually interesting thought in it but that is indeed a rare moment for an event comic.

Still much as I try to hate how stupid Siege is I just can’t hold that against it. I’m not reading Siege for a thought provoking or interesting read. I read good comics like Ultimate Spider-man, Jersey Gods and Invincible for that kind of stuff. No there’s no need for any of that pesky good storytelling here. I just want dumb over the top action and like a fun dumb action movie it satisfies that desire.

Add in that it’s only 4 issues and it’s like getting to watch an abridged version of Die Hard and that is awesome. Sure I love Die Hard, but do I really give a damn about the story? No. I care about seeing one badass kill a bunch of other badasses because he’s top badass.

So overall this issue was weak, so very weak, but it’s a guilty pleasure of sorts.

Now about the ending, it was just dumb. Norman standing there as the shield is about to smack him across the face. I felt like I was in a theater watching a bad horror movie and shouting at the screen “Ruuuuun ya moron!” I mean seriously. It was so boring, Norman looks up and is about to get smacked with the shield. It’s only a slight improvement over the ever so exciting Captain America getting pissed as he gets up off his couch.

Because nothing says pissed off like standing up off your couch, children.

Art Comments: Coipel’s art was a big step up from his weak art last month. It’s still not as great as I was hoping for but I’ll admit it was a big step up for him as it seems he’s doing a better job of capturing the epic scale that Siege deserves. While his work definitely still looks rushed I still enjoyed it.

My big confusion was his reuse of panels. Just painfully lazy of him. He did it a couple of times, the scene with Steve Rogers giving a speech to the heroes one panel he’s looking at the right, then the next he’s looking at the left and it’s the same panel copied and pasted. Clever, Mr. Coipel, I almost missed it.

Usually I don’t mind an artist recycling panels if they do it in a clever way. Mike Deodato has usually been able to get away with it. But this here was just painfully lazy. Recycling the same panel 4 times on the final page especially was pathetic.

I’d like to think that when you’re handling a big event comic you should pride yourself on that work and try and add in that extra effort. Cutting little corners like this as well as his rushed art really took down what was solid art a lot for me.

Final Comments: We’re half way into siege and I still can’t really recommend it much. If you like me have that craving for dumb fun action then Siege is a good book for it. But other then that its pretty much a dumb event at it’s dumbest.

January's Comics Reviewed

2010-02-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

Finally I’m getting out some reviews for you all. Sorry these took so long, I have no excuse other then my own laziness. I got 3 comics today that I’ll review real soon. I’ll post a review of Siege #2 tomorrow and hopefully Wolverine: Weapon X #10 the next day. Hopefully being the key word here.

Another note before the reviews. I’m changing my review system. I’ve always used an out of 5 type system and while I’ve usually fond it effective I think an out of 10 system is definitely more precise. Since I’ve been using one for the Revolution now I think it’s time I use it for my reviews here as well. So from now on everything will have an Out of 10 rating.

Now onto the comics!

Jersey Gods #10

Written: Glen Brunswick

Art: Dan McDaid

Story Rating: 9 out of 10

Art Rating: 9 out of 10

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

Opening Comments: Jersey Gods #10 was an excellent read and once again reminded me that Jersey Gods is easily one of the best comics out there each month. With strong pacing, great action and incredible character work Jersey Gods is easily a comic everyone should be reading and this issue reminded me of that.

Story Comments: Brunswick succeeds on a lot of levels with Jersey Gods, but I think his highest success is the pacing of this arc. The Abandoned has done great for pacing a strong storyline and building up to an exciting conclusion. Something that not all writers can do really and Brunswick really blew me away with the pacing of this arc.

Of course as always the characters continue to be both fun and interesting to read every time. Brunswick never fails to make compelling and exciting characters and once again he utilized them very well here. I especially liked Helius in this issue. Brunswick gave us funny Helius as well as Helius suffering his first ever loss and it was handled very well.

As always the Barock and Zoe relationship develops nicely. In this issue they are hardly together until the very end but Brunswick still makes their relationship a pivotal part of the story and important as well as interesting. I love the way these 2 interact because it always feels general and real and it’s always interesting to read.

Brunswick has made 2 great new villains with LA and Maya. While both alone don’t seem like very big threats with Neboron technology it was exciting seeing how well they handled it and I hope we see them again as they really are exciting and interesting new villains.

One thing I wasn’t expecting was the possible Rushmore/Lurella relationship. Rushmore is a great character and he does have a connection to Lurella since they are from the same city but I didn’t expect her to care for him. This is an interesting new dynamic and I really hope that we see more of it when Rushmore pulls through.

Brunswick shines most here with his ability to balance the comedy and action along with the drama. Most writers can only focus on one aspect, first action then maybe a bit of drama at the end. Brunswick blends these 3 aspects of a story beautifully and it makes a really great conclusion to the arc.

My best example is how in this issue we got a fight scene, a death and a hilarious moment as Helius seduces Maya. It’s all there, a full package in one comic and that’s more then most readers could hope for but Brusnwick did it and it was great. All 3 emotional points where hit excellently but never did it feel like one messed with the other and it worked amazingly well.

The fact that Brunswick can transition from Helius singing a Justin Timberlake song, to an intense fight, to a dramatic death is masterful writing and it’s sadly something we don’t see enough of today in comics. This is a really personal story and the reader really feels emotional investment here. It’s powerful writing and the sign of a really good writer when he affects the reader like that on so many levels.

Any writer can just randomly kill off a character for shock value and then try to make the readers feel bad about it. It’s easy really and it happens all the time but to just hit that one note is so boring and overplayed. Rarely is a death given any real emotion behind it. A character just gets their heart ripped out and we’re done with it. Readers can’t give a damn of Iron Man’s girlfriend gets shot if she’s dead and we move on like nothing ever happened.

Brunswick succeeds in making me feel bad for Hector as he dies. Sure he was a nefarious guy but deep down he was just mad at a father he never knew. He came to terms with his anger and finally got to see his father for the real man that he was only to be struck down. It’s tragic in the way that most deaths in comics can only hope to be and it really hits you in the heart to see that.

Helius’ reaction adds a new layer of pain to it as well. It’s one thing to kill off a character then expect the audience to simply feel the emotional ramifications, but when we see the characters affected by it then that’s the real accomplishment. Helius’ final words about the son he never knew where touching and heart breaking.

Action is another important aspect to this issue and the action was great. I especially loved McDaid’s layouts as he really went outside the box and it paid off. I love unique panel lay outs and it was great here as he really gave us a fun look on the action while it retained its intenseness.

The ending was both a great ending for the story arc and a hook ending to excite me for next issue. Brunswick has been building to Barock’s relationship with Zoe getting to the next level and him doing something major like this. It’s really exciting to see how she’ll react next time and Brunswick has set up a perfect hook ending, exciting me for more but still leaving me satisfied with what I read.

Art Comments: Much as I loved the story I also loved the art for this issue. McDaid has grown so much over the past 10 issues of Jersey Gods and his art at this point is purely excellent and great stuff. It’s some of the best art I’ve seen from him and he handled everything so amazingly well, the comedy, the action, the emotion is all there and it all looks gorgeous with McDaid’s unique style.

Final Comments: If you’re not reading Jersey Gods you owe it to yourself to check this series out. It’s got everything, amazing pacing, great characters, fun comedy, great action and real emotion as well as great art. This is easily one of the best comics out there and this was another amazing issue. Brunswick and McDaid did an amazing job here as they have been doing with this series.

Streets of Gotham #8

Creative Team

Writer: Mike Benson

Art: Dustin Nguyen

Story Rating: 5 out of 10

Art Rating: 7 out of 10

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10

Opening Comments: DC really pissed me off with this sudden Dini swap for Mike Benson for yet ANOTHER 2 month filler. Just as Dini comes back he’s gone like that. It’s total bullshit and I don’t care if it’s DC or Dini’s fault, it’s no excuse and if you’re going to have your own goddamn ongoing series, write your series!

Now to be perfectly honest this issue was still a solid and enjoyable read. Benson gives us a clever interesting mystery and he puts in some great moments here and there. But for one this felt like such a bland fill in, like this could have been any random issue of Batman. It didn’t feel like it fit the Streets of Gotham series at all. At least with Chris Yost’s fill in it focused on other parts of Gotham and was more interesting.

Story Comments: Benson gives us a by the numbers Batman mystery. Nothing new or interesting about it. Someone is killing people in Gotham and Batman’s got to solve the mystery. We’ve seen it all before and we’ve seen it done better as well. Even if it was solid read it wasn’t one worthy of this series.

But to point out the good, my favorite moment was between Batman and his first suspect. A nice change of the cliché “I’m a suspect so I’m a total jerk” moment we often get. For once one of these random suspects acted like a real human being rather then being a stock jackass. Benson really impressed me with that and I really wish we’d see this more often from writers today.

It was interesting seeing Benson tackle the idea of the dirty side of nightlife in Gotham. So often sex is like a joke in comics. No one can handle sex seriously, it’s always casual or funny and never do you see the darker nastier side to sex and seeing Benson address that here was interesting.

It was also nice to see him being straight forward about it. Yeah there’s some crazy shit out there. People who’d want to sleep with a woman if she looks like the Joker (Or Batgirl…just saying…) and it was nice to see that acknowledged. It’s not pretty but it was just nice seeing it for once.

As far as mysteries are concerned this one is at least decent and I did like seeing it develop. Benson may have given us a basic mystery but it’s still an interesting one and he handles the trail of clues very nicely and it all evolves well.

Picking the biggest flaw of this issue of Streets of Gotham was real easy. It can be summed up in 2 words.

Paul. Dini.

Where the hell was he? This is his 2^nd break from the series. Now while he was on Detective Comics he took a break I recall but that was different, that was an established series. This is his very own ongoing series. DC gave him his own comic book, all for him, and he still can’t write it. That’s bullshit.

This series has been sold as a Paul Dini comic. That’s one of the big hooks, that Paul Dini is writing his own Batman ongoing series. A place for all his fans like me to read his great stories. What’s the point of me reading this series if the guy I’m reading it for isn’t writing it often?

What’s even worse is this is exactly after a one month return. One goddamn month. At least last time he got out 4 issues rather then just 1. This is just lazy at this point. Like he’s not even trying anymore. He just writes this series when he feels like it I guess and that is wrong to the fans.

I’m a huge Paul Dini fan, I love his work. His run on Detective Comics was legendary to me, his work for Batman: the Animated Series is undefeated as far as cartoons are concerned, the Graphic Novel Mad Love is one of my top Batman books. So when I buy Streets of Gotham, I wanted my damn Paul Dini or I won’t be reading the series.

You don’t get your own ongoing series to simply not write it. That’s like getting a house and only living in it a couple of days a week. It’s stupid and frustrating. Now beyond how pissed I am at no Paul Dini for another 2 months there was more to this issue then just no Paul Dini.

Has Mike Benson read any Batman lately? Does he know Dick Grayson is under the cowl at all? Or that Dick is a nice guy? Or that he doesn’t act exactly like Bruce? I guess not since this issue read like a basic issue of Batman with Bruce under the cowl. There was absolutely nothing that could tell me this was Dick Grayson and not Bruce Wayne.

This issue is just so basic and by the numbers mostly. It’s a very basic mystery and while it is at least well done it’s just so bland compared to the more exciting and interesting Batman stories we’ve gotten before. While a murder mystery is always a good time for a Batman story it’s been done to death and there has to be something more then just a guy killing people in Gotham to justify it being a Batman story nowadays.

We’ve been here before folks and we’ve been here with better writing and a more interesting plot set up. I know Batman is a detective before an avenger but that doesn’t mean we can just throw any bland boring mystery story at him and it will stick and make for an exciting read. There has to be more substance to it then that.

On top of all that Benson makes a rather mediocre killer. He’s just some random criminal killer. That’s awesome. Maybe next we can have a killer of only cops, or hell if you want to be really clever just a random serial killer. That’s unique and exciting after all.

Why the hell did this have to be 2 parts again? Nothing about this feels important or interesting enough to warrant a 2 part storyline. This could have easily been a done in one storyline and it would have been much better for it.

Also DC, I propose a deal. Next time Dini says he can’t make it for this month’s issue of Streets of Gotham, just delay it a month. Yeah! I would much rather go 1 month with no Streets of Gotham then 2 months with Streets of Gotham not written by Dini and as bland filler.

As I said, Dick is being a total dick and it’s not like him. While some may defend that it’s him playing the role of Batman, we’ve seen him be much nicer to the police then this. The whole hook of this new Dynamic Duo is that we’ve got a nice upbeat and happy Batman and a Dark and cynical Robin. Even though Dick is playing Batman he still has the Nightwing personality deep down.

This issue just reeked of filler and nothing important happening. It’s just bland shit 101 as far as Batman is concerned. Benson plays everything by the numbers for your typical generic Batman story and it’s frustrating as all hell to see from what has been an excellent series so far.

Art Comments: I did like that DC kept Nguyen on the art to keep at least one thing consistent. Even if the stories are by different writers with the same artist still on board it helps keep the series with an at least somewhat familiar feel. But even this was far from Nguyen’s best work.

I know it’s not much else, but that is a damn fine cover by Nguyen. Easily his best cover yet for this series and that’s saying a lot because he’s a great cover artist. I love how the colors contrast and I especially loved his homage to The Dark Knight Returns, such an excellent cover.

While I liked Nguyen’s art I can tell it was very rushed. There’s a heavier use of shadows and it’s the sign of an artist forced to rush and gloss over more detail. This whole issue just looked way too dark and gloomy, the colors really where way too toned down and it got annoying.

Final Comments: If you’ve been wanting to read Streets of Gotham, I think you may want to consider collection waiting or something. That or whenever Dini decides to write the comic again. This issue was just bland and mediocre in every sense of the word. Nothing like the Streets of Gotham I’ve been enjoying and nothing worth your time and money.

Mighty Avengers #33

Creative Team

Writer: Dan Slott

Art: Koi Pham

Story Rating: 8 out of 10

Art Rating: 7 out of 10

Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Opening Comments: Mighty Avengers is really hitting it’s stride here as Slott really is letting loose and giving us a really fun story arc with great character work and epic action the likes of which the Avengers haven’t seen in too long. While I’m not one to criticize what Bendis has done over at New Avengers, this is easily the first book in a long time that felt like a real Avengers book.

Story Comments: Slott really excels with giving us a fun read here and really impressing me with the action. When it comes to a team book you want that perfect blend of utilizing all the teammates along with giving us solid action and giving us a fun read and Slott is really impressing me with how he handles Mighty Avengers. This feels like the comic he was born to write.

Seeing the contrasts of Norman as leader of the Dark Avengers and Wasp as leader of the Mighty Avengers is really clever. Seeing how Norman is over confident and refuses to let his ego be damaged is hilarious. Norman is definitely an ego-maniac at times and Slott really gets the character well and exploits his ego well.

Seeing Wasp really step up as leader is great. Slott has done a lot for the character of Hank Pym in his year of writing Mighty Avengers and he’s really revitalized the character to a major part of the Marvel Universe and the way he takes on Norman and asses the situation really fits the character well.

The way they interact is just so fascinating. Wasp is clearly the smarter man. He’s the experienced hero who has actually saved the world time and time again and you can just tell he’s ahead of Norman on everything. It was really cool seeing them argue and Slott really made them play off each other well. If I didn’t know both titles where ending in a couple of months I’d hope for another Mighty/Dark team up in the future.

One thing where Slott really does well is how he handles both teams. While not necessarily perfect with continuity (last I checked Bullseye hates Daken) it was just great seeing these 2 teams interact. Especially seeing the Mighty Avengers and how the Dark Avengers reacted to them each time.

Slott really handles a team book well here. So many times a team book will only focus on 2 or 3 of a 5 to 6 member team and it’s so annoying. While I understand it’s tricky to handle so many characters for a writer, I can totally understand, the whole point of a team book is to focus on a large group of characters. That means usually spotlighting the whole team.

This is where Slott really impresses me as he’s really good at handling the full roster. Making sure every character gets a moment and shows up and is important to the story and has their moment and you care about them. Even characters I don’t like such as US Agent and Quicksilver are spotlighted nicely and it really is nice to see Slott put forth that extra effort to make this fee like a team book and focus on all his heroes.

Of course I did love seeing all the specific moments with the reality punching that was going on. I can tell Slott had tons of fun writing this issue with all the crazy things he did like splitting the Sentry and the Void and making the Symbiote go after people. It was really crazy and really cool at the same time.

I was surprised to see him acknowledge prior continuity with the Vision being Iron Lad’s old Armor along with Vision’s old memories imprinted into it. I never expected a mention of it and seeing Slott spotlight that and use it for his story was great. I especially loved seeing how torn Stature was over what was going on.

I did like seeing Wasp give control of the team over to Herc. Ever since Incredible Herc the character has been taken from his mediocre status as one of the blandest Marvel heroes and has been turned into an excellent character and his inclusion in Mighty Avengers has been great so seeing him step up here and keep the fight up was awesome.

I love how Slott is so good at setting up future storylines. Mighty Avengers has been a building epic story rather then just story arc to story arc and that really shined here with his continuing building plots such as building up the epic return of Ultron in a couple of months.

It was great seeing Slott utilize Norman’s dual personality problem. So far I think this is the first time it’s been utilized outside of Dark Avengers and seeing Norman battle with his inner Goblin was really cool and it shows just how mentally weakened he’s become over the past year.

This issue was a solid and enjoyable read and while not perfect it was one of Slott’s best issues yet of the title. Slott is really hitting a new high with this story and really showing off what a great Avengers writer he is and he is telling easily the best arc yet of his run so far.

Sadly not everything was great with this issue. While it was a fun read I didn’t like everything about it. For one as I mentioned there was some continuity problems with Bullseye and Daken not liking each other. They hate it each other, it’s been shown often in Dark Wolverine so seeing them chat on the field like this just felt odd.

I hated the ending and how Norman just gets a magic sword and makes it all go away. I know it fits into Loki furthering his own agenda to make Norman look good and for that it is clever but at the same time it just feels so lazy. This was a really epic battle and to end it with just one stab like that just felt so lack luster and boring.

Slott is a very creative writer and he knows how to make an epic final battle. Looking back at Avengers: The Initiative, he did an amazing job with the final battle against KIA during the KIA arc. It was an epic final confrontation that had a really intense fight and it was great so I know he can do better then this.

I wasn’t too sure of what to think about the final page with Wasp finally finding out it was Loki. While it was clever and the series has been building to this moment I just don’t know what to do now. Is Wasp going after Loki? What’s going to happen next? It’s far too up in the air at this point.

Art Comments: Pham’s art was definitely his best yet. I’m not sure if it’s the inker or colorist but something about his art this month was really top notch and definitely his best yet for the series. While Pham has had a lot of issues in the past with muddy artwork here it seems he’s giving 110% and it looks great. He really captures the action well and he gives us a really epic scope of the battle and he handles it all amazingly well.

While for the most part Pham’s art was great he still had some issues. Something about the way he draws a wide open mouth that looks so odd. I’m not sure but it always looks really weird to me and this issue still had that along with some other odd little moments here and there.

Final Comments: This was a solid fun issue with an enjoyable resolution to the current plot as well as leading into the next issue well. Slott is doing a good job with this series and for anyone looking for a fun Avengers title this is definitely the book for you.

So I’m going to wrap things up with a quick review of Witchblade #134, which would get a longer review if it actually did much but it’s a short issue so it gets a short review.

Witchblade #134

Written: Ron Marz

Art: Stjepan Sejic

Story Rating: 7 out of 10

Art Rating: 8 out of 10

Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Opening Comments: As I said prior, this is a very short issue. It really just serves to familiarize us with the characters and set up the fight to happen next issue. Nothing more and nothing les, still it makes for an enjoyable read.

Story Comments: Most of this issue is just set up, which one should expect really when you’ve got a 3 part arc. All the meat will happen next month and for now we get a taster of what it’s going to be like, so I can’t say I’m sad to see how thin this issue was on actual plot developments.

We get a nice introduction to Cyber Data for anyone not familiar with Top Cow history like myself. Marz told it in a way that felt like a real discussion even if it was just covering up back story it was still nice at how he presented it.

This issue read a little too fast for me and even as set up I know Marz could have added a little more to it I think and if he head it would have no doubt gotten a higher rating. But he sticks to the basics of set up.

I did like the little personal moments Sara had with Dani’s mother and Gleason but other then that there wasn’t much to say on this issue. It was a solid read but not much else really. The characters where all handled well and it did a strong job of setting up the story arc.

I feel bad that I don’t have much to say but that’s just my honest opinion. It was a short issue, it was a solid fun read and I can’t really find anything else to say.

Art Comments: No surprise that Sejic continues to impress me. I really like his version of Aphrodite and I loved the final page and how he captured Sara and Aphrodite’s shocked looks so well. This issue looked great.

Final Comments: A solid start to an arc that I hope will impress. Sadly there wasn’t’ too much here though even though it still made a good read. Definitely left me wanting more in the bad way, as I felt there was a bit more that could have been added to it. Still worth a read.

The Week Begins - February 1st 2010

2010-02-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

It’s been too long since a new The Week Begins! So here’s one. Now I’ve only got one comic this week but I thought what the hell I should at least mention 2 other comics that have come onto my radar.

Now as for my reviews, I wrote them up Friday but have been lazy. Finals and a 3 day weekend will do that to you, shooting to post them tomorrow.

Siege #2

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: Olivier Coipel

Despite such a weak start to Siege I am rather hopeful that Bendis can turn this around. Its already looking much better from the preview. Bendis has a key 4 month window to tell this event and if he fails to make the main series big fun and over the top action then this event is a failure in my eyes.

But it’s definitely looking up. Both story and art really impressed me from the preview and if this is any sign as to what Bendis will be doing with the rest of the issue then hopefully he can turn this around and do better after such a weak start to this event. I remain hopeful.

Wolverine: Weapon X #10

Written: Jason Aaron

Art: CP Smith

Ever drop a series and really wish you hadn’t? yeah, that’s me with Weapon X. I really wish I’d stuck with this series but at the time I just couldn’t afford it, so after the 1^st great issue I had to drop it. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this series and want to read it again.

So with a one-shot I figure no time is better then now to at least get my fix even if I won’t be adding the series again to my pull list any time soon. This issue sounds great. Logan’s got a messed up love life but I’m a sucker for chaotic romance stories like his love life so this should be tons of fun to read.

My only real draw is the art. It looks damn good to be honest. Moody, dark, great for a dark and over the top violent Wolverine story. But for what’s supposed to be Logan reflecting on past loves it just seems out of place. I hope that Smith can still fit the story because of this one’s on the shelves when I get to the LCS no way I’m passing it up.

Ultimate Comics X #1

Written: Jeph Loeb

Art: Arthur Adams

You know what is really bugging me nowadays? I keep finding all these comics I’d love to read, the Flash, Green Lantern, Dark Avengers, but I only want to read them for the art. I mean it looks so gorgeous, how could anyone pass up 22 pages of great art like Dough Mahnke, Francis Manupal or in this case, Art Adams each month?

I would love to pick up Ultimate X, but only because I know it’s going to look great. I couldn’t care less about the story. About this emo-looking Wolverine or whatever happens in to him. Maybe it could turn out to be a really cool series, but I don’t care, I just want to look at the pretty pictures.

Now I don’t usually do this but since I missed a Week I thought I really should give you guys a little something extra, so I’m going to comment on 2 comics from last week as well.

Witchblade #134

Written: Ron Marz

Art: Stjepan Sejic

I decided to wait a week to pick up this issue since it was the only thing waiting for me at the LCS. But I am really excited to check this one out since Marz really blew me away in late 2008 when Sara and Aphrodite fought. Not much to say other then I hope this issue is as good as the last time they met.

Green Lantern #50

Written: Geoff Johns

Art: Doug Mahnke

I know what happens in this issue. It’s awesome. But for some reason I still want to pick it up. Partially because it’s an anniversary issue, but even more so because what I know about it is so awesome I want to read it for myself. If this one is on the stands at the LCS I’ll definitely pick it up.

Solicit Commentary - April 2010

2010-01-21T19:08:00.000-08:00

So April is just around the corner folks and with it a bevy of new solicits. Seems to be a pretty big month and I’m excited for it, lets check it out!

Image Comics Solicits for April 2010

DC Comics Solicits for April 2010

Marvel Comics Solicits for April 2010

Image Firsts

A great little idea by Image to reprint first issues of their best selling comics. Though I admit this is an odd idea since a lot of these comics are long out of touch with their earlier days it’s still an ice idea and for only a buck I’ll be picking up most of these. Especially Invincible #1 for sure. I already have Spawn #1 so no need for that but hey I’m really hyped to pick up all these firsts.

Haunt #7

Capullo is taking over for good with #6 but hey this is where he starts drawing the series on a regular basis and that is awesome. I’m excited as all hell for Haunt right now as it’s looking to be one of the best ongoings of the year at this rate. With top notch art and some great stuff ahead I can’t wait for more. Also that’s a cool cover by McFarlane.

Image United #4

Uh-huh…sure this issue will make it out on time. Sure. With issue 3 having hit a delay (From what I hear McFarlane and Silvestri have yet to do anything for it) I’m questioning if this issue will really make it out on time either. Not that I’m surprised mind you but still, hard not to feel saddened.

Now I like the solicit because it sounds like things are getting epic now. Up until now Image United has been very simple but if Kirkman can kick this into overdrive it will be great.

Spawn #202

UGH…why does TMP solicit these issues when they never are going to make it out anytime soon! Come on this is just stupid and annoying. No way we’ll get that many issues by April. I doubt we’ll even get issue #200 by April! Now I have nothing to say about the solicit itself, it sounds all right but that’s it.

Cowboy Ninja Viking TPB

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this series and apparently it was so good it got turned into an ongoing from a mini. Impressive. I’ll definitely give the first collection a read and see how it fares.

Elephantmen vol. 3: Dangerous Liaisons HC

I’ve been interested in the Elephantmen series for the longest time. I heard about it when the ongoing series was first out but I always kind of just would look at it from afar and ponder over if I’d buy it or not. Now I regret not getting on earlier and I’ve been looking for a good jumping on point. I think I’ll start picking up the collection books and go from there.

Jersey Gods vol. 3: Thunder Road TPB

Well this looks awesome-wait…collects…issues 10 and 12? Waitaminute waitaminute! #10 (released earlier this week!) is the conclusion to the arc The Abandoned…so why is it being put in with a different arc? I’m so confused…I hope this is some kind of weird typo or something.

Invincible #72

Conquest is back? And it’s a rematch with Invincible? My heart just stopped for a moment with the pure awesomeness that solicit contains. I am so pumped for this story arc I cannot wait for it. This is going to be epic, the stuff legends are made of! Easily one of my most anticipated story arcs of the year! Oh and did I mention that I love Conquest?

Magdalena #1

With an awesome team like this it’s hard to resist this upcoming series. Still I’m not a big fan of the series and I can’t really afford to add a new ongoing right now so for now I’m going to be passing on this, but it sounds cool.

Angelus #4

Kind of a simple solicit, not much to talk about except for this mini sounds like it will continue to rock.

Pilot Season: Hardcore #1

I love that cover so much, but the story sounds okay at best. I’m not sure if I’ll be picking this up or not but it does look cool at least and I do like the idea. Definitely going to keep my eye on this one.

Witchblade #137

Another guest star, huh, I wonder if Cyber Force will be showing up next. Well I’m not familiar with Necromancer so I don’t have much to say on this issue really. It sounds like a lot of wicked fun though and I’m always up for that!

Brightest Day #0

I officially have no interest in Brightest Day. Sorry folks but you won’t be seeing a review out of this one from me. Nope. Looks like a boring 26 issue waste of your money.

Green Lantern #53

Hope you don’t mind us spoiling Blackest Night for you all! Everyone makes it out just fine, all the Green Lanterns, the New Guardians, everyone is peachy! UGH.

I’ve been debating if I should read Green Lantern after Blackest Night and it’s still up in the air at this point. I’d love to read it for the art alone honestly but I can’t really see any reason to read it outside of that so I probably won’t.

The Flash #1

Similar to Green Lantern I want to read Flash only for the art. I know damn well it’s going to be a gorgeous looking book. But the story from the solicit sounds boring and I can’t say I give a damn at this point.

Detective Comics#864

David Hine is writing Batman, that alone makes me want to read this issue. While I’m confused as to what happened to Greg Rucka I’m still curious about this story, it sounds awesome. But I hope Detective Comics doesn’t fall into a pit of fill-in writers at this point.

Streets of Gotham #11

Okay, seriously how long can you drag out this Zsasz storyline? I just don’t get it, every solicit has been exactly the same! Batman and Robin team up with Abuse to take on Zsasz! Tell me more DC, please! Ugh…other then that I’m looking forward to more Streets of Gotham…

*Note: This was before I read Streets of Gotham #8 and saw that Mike Benson was doing a 2-parter. Not cool, DC. NOT COOL!

Batman Black and White: Arkham Asylum

MUST. HAVE. NOW.

That is just awesome in 10 ways from Sunday. My only real complaint is why is this a Black and White statue? I would have worked better in color but I still love it so I must have it!

Siege #4

This is one of those instances where a solicit pisses me off. This is the most lazy goddamn solicit I’ve seen in a long time. “Everything changes, holy shit it’s epic, OMG!” god I despise these solicits. If anything this makes me unexcited for Siege #4 and I bet anything we’ll get a stupid cliff-hanger ending that will make me need to buy 20 other goddamn books.

Mighty Avengers #36

Already said my thoughts on the Avengers cancellation, but I wanted to mention the only Avengers book I’m reading that I am really hopeful gets a reboot. Slott is really hitting his stride with this book and while it’s poetic for it to go out with one of the biggest Avengers villains, I really hope it gets a reboot.

Now it also sounds like Slott is having to cram all of his other things into this like Pym Space as well as a marriage that I’m sure he would have normally waited a long time to get into it all but instead has to end it right here which is frustrating. I hope he can make it work.

Thor #609

Okay, this sounds absolutely awesome. I am considering picking up this issue just for this fight with Clor, sounds epic as all hell! Can’t wait to see how this one plays out.

Siege: Young Avengers

Not cool, Marvel! Not cool! You can’t announce a Young Avengers one-shot, getting my hopes up, and then not tell us who the team is or teasing what happens in the solicit. That’s just wrong! My heart is crushed now…I hope you’re happy!

Deadpool Corps #1

Rob Liefeld drawing Deadpool, joy to the world for everyone but me. Now I guess this is an ongoing series now since it doesn’t say anything about being a one-shot…awe damn, a 4^th Deadpool ongoing? I sure hope not…

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #9

Oh hell yes I am very excited for this issue! The return of Lafuente as well as Spider-woman, it doesn’t get much better then this! Now I am hoping Bendis follows up on Johnny having a crush on Spider-woman in this issue because that is one of the most twisted and hilarious things he’s done in a while. Can’t wait to pick this one up for sure.

Avengers: The Origin #1

A great creative team and this looks to be an interesting mini. Now I’m not sure it’s all that necessary, everyone knows the origin easy enough but I guess it could make some cool moments for Avengers fans. Maybe I’ll pick up the collection if I hear good things.

Marvel Zombies 5 #1 and #2

I officially despise the Marvel Zombies. Even with Fred Van Lente on writing the series is just dead by now and there’s no praying for a resurrection. Even with Machine Man kicking ass in this mini I don’t give a damn. I’m avoiding this one like the plague.

World War Hulks #1

They actually did it. Marvel actually made a comic title so lazy and idiotic it makes me facepalm so hard I broke my nose. I mean…World War Hulk is an okay title, not great but decent…but to lazily just add an S at the end is pathetic. As for the comic itself? It sounds like shit and I hope it burns upon being printed.

Deadpool and Cable #25

Going, going…aaaaand gone. My sanity has just shattered into a million pieces and I’m ready to beat my head into the wall until there is nothing left. Seriously, Marvel? Deadpool isn’t in enough comics? We needed to put him into ANOTHER? ANOTHER?! They even bump Cable’s name back behind Deadpool’s, when it’s Cable’s ongoing! That’s just total bullshit.

Nemesis #2

I’ve been debating on collection waiting this or not, but it sounds too good to pass up so I’ll be adding it to the pull list real soon. Or at least I think I will. Knowing me I’ll be debating getting this or not until the day before issue #1 hits the stands. But it sounds awesome so I’m hopefully going to pick it up.

Infinity Gauntlet Premier HC

Whoa, I did not see this one coming. I’ve heard a lot of great praise for this storyline and I’ve been wanting to see what all the fuss is about. I’ll definitely be picking this up to see as I’m really excited to check this story out.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review

2010-01-20T16:46:00.000-08:00

My first game system was a Gameboy, and the first game I played on it was the widely popular Super Mario Land. Since then I’ve had a great history with the plumber but I’ll admit I’ve sort of lost interest in his more recent games.

Nintendo set out to reclaim the lost nostalgia that fans had for the classic series with New Super Mario Bros. on the DS and now they are trying to work that magic again for Mario’s first 2D platforming game on a console since Super Mario World. With that in mind it’s hard not to have some high expectations for Nintendo’s latest Mario hit.

So will this game be an instant classic or get lost in the nostalgia? Let’s find out!

All right lets start with my first nitpick of the game. The title. “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” just sounds like a mouthful. Why not Super Mario Bros. 4? It is the spiritual successor to the old 2D games so I can’t see why they wouldn’t just go with the obvious title. Unless Nintendo is planning on making more games like this, I can’t see why they went with such weird title.

Now that I have that little complaint out of the way, let’s talk about the story. Or uh…I guess what I can consider a story. So big shocker, Peach gets kidnapped (I know, I didn’t see it coming either!) and you’ve got to rescue her. Now while the story is nearly non-existent I would like to comment on the ending.

The ending is surprisingly nice and well done. Sure it’s simple but it carries all the charm the Mario franchise has had all these years. It’s sweet, fun and hilarious all at once making for a great way to end the game. So good work on one end there Nintendo.

Now when I mention the story I should also mention the characters. It was great seeing the Koopalings after all these years. I honestly thought they where lone gone to never show up again but seeing them here was great and I loved seeing them all again. I have a long history with these troublesome kids so seeing them again just was a real treat and I hope they show up again. Also seeing them alongside their little brother Bowser Jr. was also great.

I did appreciate how Nintendo gave the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. new battle designs rather then just going with the same designs they’ve had in prior games. Each Koopaling battle feels different from the last (well, most of them at least, not all I admit) and is a fun, even though easy, fight.

Now about the 2 forgettable 2 Toads that accompany the Mario Bros. if you’re playing with all 4 players, I’ll admit I wish Nintendo hadn’t been so generic with this. While I know there weren’t many other characters that would work as well, it just seems so lazy to go with 2 random Toads.

Now for the look of this game, Nintendo did a great job. While most of the time it’s hard to notice the detail since Mario is so small compared to other games but when you get a real good look at the design, the style and the graphics it really is great stuff and the colorfulness that’s so popular with the franchise shines beautifully here making for a great looking experience.

Now the music is another solid part of Mario Bros. Wii. While the music itself never gets amazing, some fun remixes of classic tunes and one hell of an epic final boss fight song all make for a great listening experience as well.

Now I wanted to get all of that out of the way first since I don’t have too much to say on those parts of the game. Their all solid and do a good job of doing what they should. Now we can get to the meat of the game, the gameplay.

Now getting the basics of gameplay out of the way I of course have to mention the set up. It’s classic Mario, you run right and jump. Not too much to really say on this, it’s solid Mario platforming and Nintendo gets it right. Especially with the holding the Wii-mote sideways use which feels as classic as ever.

Nintendo does a solid job of implementing the motion control into the game. It’s only for specific parts of a level, like controlling a search light as you travel on a floating boat, or leaning a platform left or right. Also it comes into play but giving Marvel and extra spin move in the air, also activating the Copter Mario. So overall Nintendo did a great job making this a game that implements the Wii controls nicely.

Supposedly Nintendo was going for Contra hard difficulty with this game. A funny goal but not one they came close to achieving. This game is indeed a solid challenge but as far as difficulty it’s anything but unbeatable. But I’ll admit compared to the usual breeze easy games we’ve gotten from Nintendo in the past the harder difficulty was very welcome as I love a good challenge.

Now as for the difficulty for other players, I’ll admit right now if you’ve never played Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World you’re going to get your ass kicked in some places. Nintendo definitely made a game for the hardcore fans that can handle this kind of difficulty. Even I died a lot and found myself repeating levels again and again.

For those unlike me and my friends who can’t jump 3 turtle shells and then use a fire flower to precisely hit a piranha plant before I land on the pipe they gave the Newbies a Super Guide. Now I didn’t even get the Super Guide available until the final level so I can’t speak for all levels but from what I’ve seen after trying it out, it’s a great idea.

You can take over at any time during the level to finish it as Luigi which is really cool. Only real downside to it is that Luigi moves at a snails pace so if you, like me, love to blaze through these levels then you’re going to end up sitting around for an annoying amount of time.

Now I should mention the 4 player co-op since it’s something the game is heralded for. I’ve played it with a few friends and while it is fun to get to play Mario with all my friends at once, at the same time it adds an extra layer of difficulty. This can either be from your friends being jerks or accidentally jumping around on each other.

Still the co-op is a lot of fun and of course my biggest complaint there is that Nintendo isn’t making this game online. That is total bullshit and I find that unacceptable. This game would be so much more fun if I could get online and play with my friends in an all out 4 player match. Nintendo really missed the ball on that one.

Though now we get into some of the flaws of this game. Its biggest flaw is also a part of its strength and that’s it simple Mario fun. While as a Mario game, this is one of the best out there now. Even going so far as to surpass the original game I think. Though as a game in general they could have done so much more with it. It stops at good when it could have easily hit greatness.

My first point is how they go with the generic 8 worlds, Mushroom Kingdom, Desert, Ice World, etc. It’s the same damn thing we got from prior games and it’s annoying to see Nintendo so blatantly copying past worlds. Nintendo can do better then this and there’s no excuse for such boring and stupid recycling.

My biggest complaint is how this game really does try at times. There are some levels that feel incredibly inspired, unique and interesting and I loved them. Levels where you jump from floating globes of water and jump along the backs of flying manta rays. These levels are exciting and incredibly fun, but sadly they are too far and few throughout the game.

It almost feels like this game had 2 developers. One was a young excited new developer who wanted to really give the Mario franchise some exciting twists, the other was a bored old guy who’s been there for 20 years and knows how to program a simple Mario game with his hands tied behind his back and he developed 80% of the levels.

In all honesty there’s nothing wrong with the levels, their all decent to fun but they feel too familiar. I’ve played these levels before and I know this terrain all too well. It honestly feels like half the time they weren’t trying to do anything new they where just eager to pump out more levels.

To be fair you can skip a few of the levels on your adventure through the map which is nice if you, like me, are in a hurry to get to the last castle. I beat the game at first without beating all the levels, then went back and beat the ones I skipped and it’s really cool that I can do that since it rings true to another beloved Mario Game, SMB3.

But again most of the levels are just so average and decent when they could have been exciting and new and much more fun where I feel like Nintendo just didn’t want to give us a fully new experience which is sad seeing what they could have done with the more exciting levels if they’d tried harder on the average levels.

Another thing about the difficulty is it’s all over the place. A good example of that is world 8. The first level is pretty intense and you’ve got to be moving constantly but then the second level is really easy so it’s jarring for the player to have one level so hard then one level so easy.

A big gripe I have with this game is Yoshi. Now I was really excited that this game had it where you could ride Yoshi. That was my favorite part of Super Mario World, saving him and taking him with me through all the fun levels was excellent and I loved every minute of it.

So imagine my excitement when I see Yoshi on the cover, very prominent, hinted at being a key part of the game…then he’s in like 10 or so levels of an 80 level game. I see Yoshi on the cover, I want my goddamn Yoshi! Even worse, he can’t come with you after you beat the stage. That I don’t get at all, what the hell? Was Nintendo afraid he’d break the game by making it easier? Newsflash, the Copter Shroom already does that.

No it was total bullshit that Yoshi got the shaft like this. My favorite Mario character and he barely gets a cameo in this game. No excuses, Nintendo. Don’t put a character on the cover and make him look like a big deal when he’s hardly there.

Now for the bosses. All the bosses are the Koopalings, along with Bowser Jr., Kamik and Bowser himself at the end. Each Koopaling fights you twice per world and I enjoyed simply seeing them, though the fights on the other hand weren’t so great. Most of them where pathetically easy, by World 6 I expected a real challenge but he was the easiest of them all!

Only 2 of the Koopalings are ever a challenge, Iggy and Ludwig Von Koopa. Iggy is a challenge because of his pet Chain Chomp chasing you everywhere as you desperately try to jump on Iggy without getting eaten, and Ludwig Von Koopa is simply hard because you have to time when you hit him. Other then that the bosses are all cakewalks.

I did love the 3 Bowser Jr. Boss battles, even if they where easy like the rest of them. They where the most unique and memorable fights (next to the final boss that is) as they involve you using a Koopa-Copter, hitting Bowser Jr. with his own bombs and it’s just really fun and I wish we’d gotten more of them.

While I’m on Bowser Jr. I should mention the airship stages you fight him in. While this only happens 2 times, they are all incredibly fun and really bring back the nostalgia of Super Mario Bros. 3 with how epic it really is. I loved it.

Now the final boss was just…amazing. I honestly don’t want to spoil it, it was so good. All I can say is it is easily one of the most memorable final boss fights in Mario history and it blew me away at how great it was.

I want to mention the map part of the game. Straight out of Super Mario Bros. 3 the map stage is interactive as well with the game. From you going to houses to get 1-ups or more power ups it’s great. Also though you can run into enemies on the map and you have to fight them which was just great since there is an awesome incentive to do so which makes it even more fun.

The map is more like SMB3 then Super Mari World which I think was a good choice by Nintendo. It’s fun, interactive and does more then just serve as the hub to pick what level to do which is great.

I did love the mini-games for power ups and one-ups. Really fun and creative things that again feel like a call back to SMB3. Nintendo made collecting power ups fun which isn’t as easy as you’d think.

Now for something that’s as popular in Mario as the plumber himself, the power ups. We get 3 new power ups but I’ll be honest, I only like 1.

The Penguin suit is okay for the ice world but everywhere else it feels out of place and stupid. While I get what they where going with, the Raccoon leaf would have been a thousand times better.

The Ice flower was a neat power up but because it can’t kill enemies, you have to throw them; it can get a little hectic trying to throw ice blocks when in a heated situation so it’s just okay.

I love the Copter Shroom, it’s just so awesome. While I’ll admit it makes everything a lot easier I still love it because it’s just so helpful and so much fun to use. If Nintendo keeps anything from this game, I hope it’s the Copter Shroom because it’s easily the best of the bunch.

Really I think Nintendo missed a huge chance with this game though in the power ups department. For one they didn’t bring back the blue shell from New Super Mario Bros. DS which was easily my favorite part of that game. But even more so why not bring in all the power ups? Yeah! Mega Mushroom, Raccoon Ears, Tanooki suit, all of them!

I mean it’s not like there wasn’t space for it. It’s a 2D Wii game for crying out loud. No way couldn’t they have added them. If they had then this game would have been much better.

Now before I wrap this up I need to mention a key part of this game and that’s the nostalgia to it. Lots of games have some nostalgia based to them, Sonic, Resident Evil, Street Fighter are all good examples. But Nostalgia can be a good thing or a bad thing.

When comparing this to another nostalgic game, no better game comes to mind then my favorite game of 2008, Megaman 9. Megaman 9 was both a celebration of the Megaman franchise and all it’s done before but at the same time was still a fun unique game that was distinguishable from prior games.

Whereas New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a celebration of all that once made the classic 2D Mario games great at the same time it is lacking in feeling totally distinguishable from it’s older brothers. In the end it’s trying so hard to remind me of SMB3 that it sort of loses it’s own identity in doing so.

I could play Megaman 2 and 3 and then play 9 and feel like I had 3 separate and enjoyable experiences. But I could play SMB3, Super Mario World and NSMBW and feel like I got a very similar experience with all 3 that weren’t all that easy to tell apart. NSMBW is trying so hard to be like it’s big brothers that it forgets it’s a new game and needs to do more to define itself for me and make it more memorable.

While there are a few levels and moments here and there at the same time I could just as easily put in SMB3 into my NES and have the exact same experience, minus the Yoshi. But he’s hardly there anyway. Nintendo made a great Mario game but in the run of games in general we’ve been here before and it was better back then since it was more interesting and original back then.

So while for a long time fan like myself I did love feeling the nostalgia of fighting Kamik again and stomping on the Koopalings I still think that it’s not trying hard enough to do it’s own thing. Had Nintendo put in that extra layer of more exciting new level design and more interesting new worlds I think this game would have been much better.

So time for my closing comments.

Longtime fans of Mario will find a familiar but fun game here that is up there with some of the best in the franchise. It’s got a fun difficulty, some great levels here and there and is all around a solid fun experience. If the developers had gone that extra mile it could be one of the best games out on the shelves right now, but they settled with just good and the product suffers for it. Definitely a solid fun experience that anyone with a Wii should get.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

The Week Begins - January 22nd 2009

2010-01-19T18:27:00.000-08:00

After a week of no comics I’m back and more Andrenn then ever. Lets get to this week of comics.

Jersey Gods #10

Written: Glen Brunswick

Art: Dan McDaid

Despite a one month delay I’m excited as always for more Jersey Gods greatness. Always one of the best titles out there I can’t wait to check the epic finale to The Abandoned and see how it plays out. My bet is on this being the most epic issue of the young series so far. Can’t wait to pick it up and see how it all plays out, definitely an easy pick for my most anticipated this week.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #8

Written: Paul Dini

Art: Dustin Nguyen

This story arc of Zasz and his evil reign over the abandoned children of Gotham seems like it may be running on for a little too long. But it’s by one of the best Batman writers of all time, Paul Dini so I’ll put my trust in him to still kick plenty of ass. As for the story in general I’m excited to read it, and I absolutely love that cover by Nguyen. Another highly anticipated read this week.

Mighty Avengers #33

Written: Dan Slott

Art: Koi Pham

Another anticipated read for me this week is the conclusion to this fun 2 part story. Slott’s giving us a fun Super Hero Team Up with this issue and it looks to be a lot of fun. I’m finally having a great time with this series and am excited to see more as well as the future issues as Mighty Avengers is really hitting it’s stride…damn shame it’s being canceled. I’ll have to enjoy what’s left of it.

Green Lantern Corps #44

Written: Peter Tomasi

Art: Patrick Gleason

Really tempted to pick up this issue, like I was the last issue last month. With Kyle’s death and resurrection (insert comic resurrection joke here) I’m really tempted to be reading GLC. But with a tight wallet it’s on hold for now, but hey, maybe something will change when I reach the shop this week.

New Age News: Capullo to Haunt, Avengers Cancelled, Birds of Prey Returns and Video Games!

2010-01-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

Since early last week there have been a few announcements I didn’t foresee being announced. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing another New Age News so soon. Trust me. Now sadly for all you JLI fans I don’t have anything to say on the Generation Lost bi-weekly or really much else from DC with the exception of Birds of Prey. This will be a somewhat light edition but I haven’t been able to write much all weekend thanks to hurting my wrist so I’m just glad to be writing something at all! Now lets get to the news.

Capullo the Official Haunt Artist

Birds of Prey Reboot

Avengers Cancelled

Video Game News

Greg Capullo is Haunt’s new Artist

This one blew me away when I read it this morning. I honestly didn’t believe it when I saw it, but I read it right, Greg Capullo is the official artist of Haunt as of issue #6. Awe damn. Seems Ottley was getting a little torn between both books and when he knew he had to choose one he chose Invincible, a smart choice I figure.

So then Capullo was given an alternative as well, return to Spawn or draw Haunt. To be honest I loved Capullo’s run on Spawn but I can totally support why he’s not drawing the comic that helped make him famous. He drew Spawn longer then anyone else has I believe, and he turned in amazing work, but even legends like Kirby an Romita Sr. moved on from the books that made them famous.

So Greg Capullo drawing Haunt is excellent news for me. Now mind you I’ve loved Ottley’s work as of recently, he’s really grown to the book and he fits it beautifully so seeing him leave is sad. Hopefully he’ll still do a random one-shot every once in a blue moon and turn in some covers because his art works well with the series.

Still he left on his own decision which I totally respect. Not to mention I’d hate to see him leave Invincible even though I’ve enjoyed his work so far on Haunt. So at least I’ll still be getting my Ottley greatness, even if not twice a month.

All that and Greg Capullo is drawing a monthly again! YES! Capullo has done a random comic here and there, covers for Spawn and now layouts for Haunt but as far as a monthly gig he hasn’t had that in years. Seeing him drawing the book he’s helped make popular with his strong lay out designs is excellent.

I love Capullo’s art so seeing him on a monthly basis is great. Exactly what I love and I’m more then certain he’ll excel on Haunt. He’s already done a couple of great covers so seeing him tackle the interiors and pencils will be excellent, I can’t wait to see him on a monthly basis again after all these years.

So yeah I’ve been loving Haunt and this announcement just furthers my excitement for the series. Kirkman’s excellent and fun writing along with Capullo’s great pencils are sure to make a great comic each month and while I’ll miss Ottley the sheer fact that I’ll be seeing Capullo every month just fills me with so much joy.

Birds of Prey Returns

Silly DC, thinking you could keep a good team down. Now in all honesty I never read the last series of BoP. I heard good and bad things about it. Most of the good I heard was from Gail Simone’s writing so I figure that’s a good sign for this series since she’s the announced writer.

Then there’s Ed Benes on art…I just…I don’t know to be honest. I equate him to the typical bland DC artist. The style DC so boringly sticks with and never tries to change with new and exciting artists. He’s everything I don’t like about DC art that was left over for the 90’s. But at the same time I cant’ deny that as far as artists are concerned he can turn in good work, even if it’s not to my tastes.

Still I think I may check this out. It’s written by one of DC’s best writers and it stars some of their best characters in Gotham. Also seeing Black Canary there on a regular basis is really cool as well as seeing Oracle and Huntress along with her should be a lot of fun.

Now as for the shaded in characters my guess is that the bat-shaped girl is either Cassandra Cain (would be nice if DC didn’t pretend she no longer exists) or maybe Stephanie, but I don’t know why the hell they’d black her out when everyone knows she’s Batgirl.

Still this is a really cool reboot and when this new volume debuts, if I can afford it, I’d love to check it out.

Avengers Cancelled

All Right Marvel, I concede that I did not see this one coming. I expected that the main Avengers title would return with either a new #1 or renumbering, and I knew that Dark Avengers was doomed by issue #1 but I concede that I did not see you canceling all 4 titles. Touché, you win this one.

Now if there isn’t going to be a Mighty Avengers reboot, then I’ll be pissed. It seems Dan Slott has just really started hitting his stride with it. It’s taken some time but Slott really has engrossed me in Mighty Avengers and for Marvel just to cancel it and with the possibility of them not giving Slott his Avengers still really bugs the hell out of me.

I can understand why they made Dark Avengers an ongoing just for the Dark Reign Status Quo, but Mighty Avengers is the Avengers book fans have been clamoring for as it’s fun super heroic so to see it end and get no reboot would really be a jackass move on Marvel’s part.

I do sort of wish Initiative wasn’t getting canceled. Even though I stopped reading it long ago I still have a place in my heart for that series so seeing it get canceled is sad.

New Avengers getting canceled honestly shocked me. I never thought Marvel would even consider canceling New Avengers, easily their most popular of all the Avengers titles. Hopefully Marvel doesn’t shoot themselves in the foot with this one.

Now there’s also the idea of who could write the latest Avengers ongoing that everyone speculates will happen. My best guess is that it will just be more Bendis only with the core 3 heroes, Cap, Thor and Iron Man in an Avengers ongoing and hopefully leaving Slott to do his own thing with his original team still. That’s what I hope for.

Kevin brought up Ed Brubaker and I think that one could work but at the same time Brubaker’s been a pretty busy guy and I don’t think he’s ever handled the full roster of Avengers yet. Still he’s a great writer so maybe he could do it.

Speaking of Avengers, I hope that once Heinberg and Cheung wrap up their run of the Young Avengers that we’ll finally get a damn ongoing. My writer choice is Paul Cornell with art by none other then Mark Brooks. That to me is my Young Avengers dream team, make it happen Marvel!

In the end this is a pretty big move from Marvel and I’m interested to see where it all goes in 2010.

Zero Collection, Sonic, Megaman 10

Just some random Video Game News I wanted to quickly mention my glee over. Sorry for no links, but with multiple announcements it’s better just to mention the news this time around.

First my most anticipated announcement being a Megaman Zero Collection coming in April to Japan on the DS. I absolutely loved the Megaman Zero series, easily some of the best games out there on the GBA so seeing them all together in one DS cartridge has me super excited.

It’s also funny since just the other day I was figuring I should track down 1 and 3. I have 2 and 4 and I’ve played 1 and 3 but never owned them. Now Capcom is giving us a real treat with this collection. Anyone who missed this and has a DS owes it to themselves to get 4 of the best GBA games of all time in one place…assuming it comes to America that is. Makes it happen, Capcom! Or you’ll crush my heart…

Then there’s the announcement that Sonic is the only character in his upcoming 2D side scrolling HD adventure, Project Needlemouse (Mr. Needlemouse being Sonic’s original name from creator Yuji Naka…but I’m a nerd so I remember that crap) which is easily another highly anticipated game of 2010 for me.

Now I’ve come to like a lot of the characters in the Sonic cast, Tails, Shadow, hell even Big the Cat has a place in my heart. So seeing them all get ignored like this is a little sad but at the same time I’m just excited for a console 2D sonic game so as long as it’s the blue dude with ‘tude and no one else that’s just fine with me. Can’t wait to hear more on this game.

Then finally there was the reveal of the Robot Masters from Megaman 10. Now most of them turned out pretty good, even Pumpman (the name irks me but whatever) and especially Sheepman. The only one I don’t like is Strike Man. I expected something odd, but…a baseball? I had a hard time accepting Dustman as it is, but a baseball, that’s just stupid.

Still I’m excited as all hell for this game especially in the Robot Masters department, they all look really cool and it’s going to be exciting seeing them and what they do. Can’t wait to see more for this game.

So ends the latest New Age News. It’s been nice writing again but my wrist is still acting up so I’m not sure if I’ll be writing my usual long reviews for a little while. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, everyone!

Comic Book Revolution Website!

2010-01-14T17:10:00.001-08:00

Hey everybody, Andrenn here with a quick update to keep you all in the loop about my future reviews and posts.

The Comic Revolution has been hard at work making a website and finally it has come to fruition.

You Can See It All Here

That’s where you can see all my latest stuff for the Revolution as well as posts from my blog. New Age Comics with Andrenn is linked to the Revolution’s site so all my posts are posted there as well.

Now while I’ve got your attention I should mention some up coming posts. I’ve started Year’s End and will be finishing up the Image Comics Primer hopefully sometime real soon. I have a few other things I’ve wanted to do but those are all farther in the future so it’s best to keep quiet on them until I’m sure I’ll be doing them.

So yeah, everyone check out the great new website. I’m really proud to be a member of the Comic Revolution and to work with such great reviewers. I’m looking forward to another great year of writing for you all and hope you all enjoy what I review.

-Andrenn

New age news: Brightest Day and Spider-man Reboot

2010-01-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

Week’s End has been canceled due to my laziness. Also we’ve got no comics coming in for me this week, so I’ll be taking this time to try and finish some things I meant to finish earlier such as Year’s End, as well as a gust post I’ve been meaning to write for the Weekly Crisis.

Though I may be stopped already from my writing since 2 bits of new found their way onto my computer today. With that said here are the 2 major announcements as well as my commentary on them.

“In Brightest Day” gets it’s own series!

Spider-man Movie Reboot

Brightest Day

So Blackest Night is gearing up to end in just a few months. Only 3 months and 2 issues to go, things are heating up in the war of the light. Hal Jordan has assembled all the Lantern Corps to battle Nekron and his resurrected dead and now all the resurrected heroes of earth are Black Lanterns. After Hal kicks Nekron’s sorry ass back to wherever he came, what’s to come next?

Fans have speculated a lot and finally DC answers the call with Brightest Day. A 26 issue bi-weekly maxi-series starting in April as well as with a 0 issue similar to what Blackest Night had last year on Free Comic Book Day. It will be written by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi with an unannounced group of artist as well as David Finch doing all the variants for Brightest Day and its tie-in books.

Yes, it will have tie-in books. Both Green Lantern and Green Lantern as one would expect but also Titans and the new Flash ongoing starring the recently resurrected Flash Barry Allen. All in all it sounds like a massive new project from DC and something that is looking to be really epic.

But what do I really think about?

Well Blackest Night has sort of lost me as far as exciting mega event is concerned. It’s a fun read with some great art but I figure either 8 issues was too many or Johns just didn’t want to give us all the meat of this event in the main event book since right now it’s not really doing much. Oh sure there was that kickass final page to #6 but other then that the series keeps doing the same thing over and over again.

Still I am tempted to check out Brightest Day. If it wasn’t such a huge expense to my wallet I’d probably be eager to check it out but I can’t really be sure if I can afford it. A new maxi-series is one thing, but one that’s bi-weekly would be killer one me and unless I can get a job sometime soon (been looking, trust me) I can’t see this really happening right now.

In the end I want to at least pick up the 0 issue, know what I’m missing out on, but I’ll be honest the chances of me reading Brightest Day are very slim.

Also I’ll admit 26 issues seems like excessive right now. Even if it where just 24 issues it would still be a solid year long commitment and I’m not sure that’s the best way to start up the post-Blackest Night stories with such a massive book like that. It could push away some readers who just want to read one book or the other. The idea of having to check out Brightest Day to know why this certain character showed up suddenly in Green Lantern could be frustrating to readers.

If it where a smaller mini-series or even better, an arc in Green Lantern I think it would have been a smarter move. But Johns and Tomasi seem to know what they want to do, so maybe they’ll prove me wrong with this. It could very well happen and both seem to have both their ongoings mapped up for quite some time.

I think it also depends on how Blackest Night ends. If Johns can give us a really exciting hook ending that succeeds in leaving me excited for more then I maybe more inclined to check out Green Lantern or even Brightest Day. Though still that’s an “if” at this point since so far Blackest Night has just sort of divulged into fun action but little substance at this point.

Then there’s books like Flash and Titans tying into Brightest Day. I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea. While I can understand wanting to try and sell Flash better by giving it an exciting label of the new event story going on at the same time I just think it would be better for Johns to start the new series on his own and not worry about a current status quo much.

Also as I’ve said I’m not really interested in the new Flash series. Johns’ constant love for Barry Allen and the risk of killing off Iris just for the sake of surprising the readers (seriously, can we ever have a major story without a supporting character dying? Just once? Please?) and it all just seems like a doomed series at this point. But hey at least it will look great in the art department. Maybe I’ll give the first issue a look but my interest is at an all time low.

So while in the end I’ll definitely keep an eye out for the future of the DCU with Brightest Day, for now I’m not really all that excited.

Spider-man Reboot, No More Raimi

Believe it or not I don’t really have a lot to say on this one. Not really. No. The Spider-man movies are getting a reboot. Big whoop. Spider-man 4 was doomed anyway. The writers where constantly fighting over what to do, and even when it seemed like they where close to agreeing it would fall apart all over again. That’s never a good sign for any movie.

Also I hate to say it but I’ve kind of gotten tired with the Spider-man trilogy. The first movie, while not bad in any way, isn’t anywhere near as good as when I saw it when I was younger. It’s a decent fun film but there are lots of stupid parts and it doesn’t really excite me like it used to.

2 is the movie everyone loves, and while I like it, it’s better then the first movie, it’s still not that great. Doc Ock was a great part of it but Peter’s life wasn’t as interesting as everyone else made it out to be. The only part I liked was the musical moment of Peter enjoying being normal again. That and the climax was great, but other then that it was just a solid fun movie.

3 is the one everyone hates and I liked it too. Sure it had more dumb moments, felt rushed at times and ruined my favorite villain, Venom. Though deep down I still had a good time with it and it was better then the first movie for sure and almost as good as 2.

Still deep down this trilogy doesn’t resonate with me as much as it used to. Bigger and better movies like Iron Man and the Dark Knight have taken the super hero formula and perfected them in film making whereas the Spider-man trilogy started the whole trend really so the first movie suffers from that.

So I say go ahead and reboot it. Hollywood is already a mindless shell of it’s former glory, why not just remake movies that are a few years old again and again? I think Saw could use more blood, or maybe the Sixth Sense. Only a matter of time until they get rebooted.

Also the Batman reboot worked. While Begins was in no way a masterpiece (I find it overrated) it was a solid fun film and it did a good job of rebooting the Batman film franchise and lead the way to the far superior Dark Knight. Why not try and work that magic with Spider-man? Besides it’s been a solid decade since the first film and it was a little over a decade when they made Batman Begins from the first Tim Burton film.

So lets reboot it. See if it works. Sure I’ll miss Raimi’s expertise directing but maybe now he can get back to doing Evil Dead 4. Or hey maybe even some other big horror project, that would be cool. Also I got to say I never liked Maguire much as Spider-man. He was a solid Peter Parker, but not a great Spider-man.

I’m sure if the studios put a lot of hard work and love for the characters into the reboot that it could be a great movie. So for now until I hear otherwise I am looking forward to this move and I think it was a smart move on Sony’s behalf.

But in the end I say F*** all that live action movie bullshit. Where the hell is Spectacular Spider-man season 3, Sony?! I don’t give a damn about the movies right now, I want more Spectacular awesomeness.

And so ends this edition of New Age News. Check back in the week for Year’s End (assuming I can actually write it) and hopefully maybe some other little goodies as well. Have a good week ,everybody.

Comic reviews - January 9th 2009

2010-01-09T14:41:00.000-08:00

2 more comics to review and I am home free! Whoo! Well all right folks time to wrap up this 3 part comic reviews reviewing all the comics I’ve missed over the last 3 weeks. We’ve got 2 from Image and both are usually the best comics I read each month, lets see how they stacked up from December.

Invincible #69

Written: Robert Kirkman

Art: Ryan Ottley

Opening Comments: Invincible takes a step back from it’s usual greatness this time to give us the middle part of a 3 part story. Sadly as one would expect this issue’s big flaw is that it’s sandwiched between the beginning and end, meaning it can’t do too much. Still Kirkman does his best to give us a good read, but not much else.

Story Comments: what youse on the cover is what you get. Universa is attacking and Invincible and Atom Eve fight her. Not much else really to it sadly since Kirkman also uses any spare time to develop the impending Sequid fight for next issue.

One major problem that just bugs the hell out of me is Universa’s design. She boasts about being some chosen hero from the stars that her gods picked and she has all this respect, but then she dresses like a stripper. Seriously, the G-string and tiny top just screams “respected warrior of the gods” to me.

I know it’s comics and 98% of women in comics are legally bound to wear skin tight skimpy outfits but that doesn’t make this any less annoying. It’s just such an unoriginal and boring design and while I like the Asgardian type motif they where going with, would it have killed Ottley to draw a bit more clothing on her? Maybe give her some pants? Pants are not something only humans know how to wear, trust me.

Despite her bad design I like Universa as a villain. Sadly she’s your typical Kirkman villain where she’s about as useful as the 22 page limit allows. She smacks our hero around for a few pages and then gets knocked out.

I really do wish Kirkman would make less of these one-shot villains that rarely contribute anything to the main story or do anything worthwhile. Part of the reason I loved the Conquest arc was that Conquest was an actual threat who actually was a real major villain, but we have so many villains that barely last half the comic and it seems Universa is just another one of them.

I was disappointed at there being no real follow up to Eve’s pregnancy reveal. Only real hint at it was her holding her stomach for a brief moment when she brought up her powers and that’s it. Still though she did contribute a lot to the Universa fight so I’m not complaining much, I figure Kirkman will do something with this twist in due time.

It was nice seeing Eve’s powers are still on the fritz. Clearly she’s got to be really careful so I don’t think her going into this battle was a great idea on her part. Also I am rather worried as to where will this plot point go, if it could affect her pregnancy badly.

Then there’s the building Sequid plotline. This was very simple at how it built up through the issue in the back drop of having the Guardians of the Globe fight the Sequids and then get their asses kicked at the end. Really it was just setting thins up for Invincible to take them on next time even though it was an enjoyable read still in between the Universa fight.

Really this was a good issue. Great action, some fun dialogue, but nothing really pushed it into Must Read territory. It suffers from having to set up the real epic fight next time and not being able to do anything too exciting for now like most 3 part arcs suffer.

Kirkman does a good job with what he can but still this was a good read and nothing else. It was short, simple and while good it doesn’t really have anything pushing it into something you should definitely read or that really entertained on all fronts. It definitely left me wanting more but in the bad way.

Art Comments: Ottley does his usual solid work but I’ll be honest, this was not his best. Mostly thanks to the fact that the coloring is hit and miss. For some reason there are a few moments where the coloring lacks it’s usual definition and ability to add a new depth to the already strong art. Leaving this as simply good art, but not Ottley’s best.

Final Comments: Fans of Invincible will get a usual enjoyable read but sadly this issue lacked some of the recent excitement and great character work we’ve seen over recent issues. It was still a fun read but not much else.

Story Rating: 3 out of 5

Art Rating: 3 out of 5

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

Check It

Witchblade #133

Written: Ron Marz

Art: Stjepan Sejic

Opening Comments: The Bridge was a fairly simple but enjoyable arc. Now Marz closes it on a strong note while also leaving me really excited for next time. Doing a good job of giving me a solid read and excited for more.

Story Comments: Most of the story is simple, Sara finds out the truth about the troll and the missing kids and then she stops the man who’d been terrorizing the kids. It was a solid fun read and normally would have just made this worth a Check It but what really pushes it into a Must Read is the final few pages.

We get a preview of the next issue where Aphrodite shows up again and we now know it’s got something to do with one of her creators going rogue and is on the run. As to how this involves Sara I’m not yet sure but it really gets the blood pumping and leaves me eagerly anticipating what happens next.

The issue itself was a simple read beyond that though. Nothing major really happens and it’s pretty much the definition of fun filler. Sara gets a little bit of action by fighting the troll and that’s really it.

I did love seeing the fantastical world through the troll’s recap of the how the world used to be. Marz has a real eye for fantasy and showing a really fun classical world so the way he writes the troll and his description was a lot of fun to read and I like how he’s really been building up a mystical world around Witchblade. I’m hopeful that we’ll see more of it in future issues since he’s really excelling with it.

I did like the characterization of the troll as an ancient being who wants to preserve what’s left of the magic in the world and how he was really nice to the kids. It was nice to see Marz take a step away from the cliché with trolls and actually make a somewhat compelling and likable character out of the troll. I hope we see him again in a future storyline.

Then there was the explanation as to why the kids where staying with a troll under his magic bridge. I found that to be a really creepy twist with it being them hiding from a pedophile school janitor. Marz knows how to make a creepy situation and he really creeped me out with that.

I did love how Sara takes care of the Janitor though. Rather then just rough him up, punch him in the face or something she throws him to the troll and that was really cool and it was great seeing the troll avenge the kids he was protecting by doing god knows what to the jackass janitor.

But while I really did enjoy this read, if not for the final few pages it wouldn’t have been anything special. It was a fun read but it doesn’t really go above and beyond to make it something you should definitely read. It was just a fun read and didn’t really impress me too much even though I did still enjoy it.

Marz’ usual character work was a lot of fun but at the same time it wasn’t quite as compelling as it usually has been. I think that’s because we didn’t get a real interesting quiet moment. We got some great dialogue but nothing that really left a lasting impression on me or seemed to really stand out from his usual strong dialogue.

Still I enjoyed a lot of this issue and thanks to that final few pages it really pumped me up and got me excited while I was already satisfied with the fun conclusion to the Bridge. Making a really fun read with an excellent ending that pushed it a bit up.

Art Comments: Sejic once again impresses me here. Mostly thanks to the gorgeous images of the fantastic world through the troll’s recap. Sejic really shines here when it comes to drawing the fantastic and wild parts of this world and it all looked gorgeous.

Final Comments: The Bridge itself was a fun arc but it really did a great job hyping up the next arc as well. All around making for something you should definitely read and give a shot since it was tons of fun and looking to get even better with the next arc.

Story Rating: 4 out of 5

Art Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Must Read

Comic Reviews - January 8th 2009

2010-01-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

I’ve got 5 comics to review but not enough time to review all 5 in one day. So we’re going to split this up into 2 parts. 3 reviews today, 2 tomorrow. It will be 2 posts which usually I wouldn’t do but this is much easier. So today we’ve got the other 2 comics of this week as well as my most anticipated comic of December. Let’s get to it!

Haunt #4

Written: Robert Kirkman

Art: Ryan Ottley

Opening Comments: Kirkman really amps up Haunt by giving us some real exciting stuff this issue but also gives us a great character read. Making this the best issue of Haunt yet.

Story Comments: Let’s start with my one big problem with this issue and it’s that we never see anymore discussion between Kurt and Daniel. I was expecting some follow up from last time but really all we got was Daniel saying they’ve made up for now. After such a powerful moment last issue I expected some follow up.

Though this issue was much more jammed with stuff going on to actually have that follow up so for now I am fine. This issue had a great blend of action, character work and lots of solid moments.

I was glad to see Amanda again. Seems she’ll be an important character to the cast and seeing her actually get some use in the story again was nice. I especially loved her interactions with Haunt after he saved her. Though I do think it was rather typical to have her get kidnapped, it worked well still.

Amanda is an interesting character. We see she’s clearly a strong woman (perhaps she secretly knows what Kurt was?) and it was nice to see Kirkman use her for something at least. I’m hopeful she’ll appear soon though and actually stick around more often though because I want to know more about her. She could be an essential side-character and Kirkman hopefully will have her play a more important role later on.

I did like seeing the experiments that the Dr. had been working on and getting some follow up on that. It’s a typical “good science used for evil” type of thing. Still we at least know what he was working on and that’s another piece of the puzzle. Also seeing the mutated boy was rather heartbreaking.

Seeing the mole in the agency walk around right by Daniel is worrying. I’m curious if she’ll be a major villain through the story since right now she’s doing a good job at playing nice guy.

The best part of this issue was of course when we see Haunt in action again. I absolutely loved his interaction with the director and Daniel’s reactions where priceless. Probably my favorite part had to be Daniel shouting if the car can fly (it is a spy car after all) and Daniel mentioning it’s better that the director not knowing how they are getting through traffic so fast when we see they are doing all kinds of crazy things. It was hilarious.

Kirkman is doing a great job adding his own level of strong writing and influence into the story now. It’s feeling more and more like a Kirkman comic with the strong dialogue and fun moments. Even if it’s still a violent and gritty story Kirkman is really adding that extra layer of personal touch that makes it so much fun to read.

Really this comic is turning into the perfect Robert Kirkman comic. While at first the comic lacked his style in the first issue as time goes on it feels more and more like his personal touch and it really brings Haunt to life like no other writer could making it a really unique and enjoyable experience.

Then there’s Haunts interactions with Amanda. I really like how we see the caring side of Daniel and Kurt in the more quiet moment between these 2. It’s only 2 pages but it’s really effective. We see that clearly they both still care a lot about her so this one moment really is enjoyable for it. I hope Amanda either finds out who Haunt is soon or that she and Daniel interact more real soon.

The action is a really powerful part of Haunt right now. Kirkman can write really cool action and the short fight with Cobra was much better this time then it was in issue #2. Here Cobra felt like a bit more of a real threat and the way the fight is choreographed is really impressive.

My only real complaint with the action is how they beat Cobra. They slice open his face and he runs away. The way Kurt talks about Cobra you’d think this is the guy who’d keep fighting until he’s nothing but a bodiless head so I felt that was a cheap way to wrap up the fight.

Though still the action was excellent and it was cool seeing someone who is just a normal guy (or so it seems for now) take on Haunt and is a viable threat to him. Also we get a little mention that Cobra has killed “his kind” before. Does that mean that Haunt is indeed in the larger Image universe (Kirkman himself said he’s not sure if it is yet) or maybe there are other Haunts out there? I’m curious to know.

Then there’s the reveal that Haunt’s powers weaken Daniel. I really liked this twist for the character. It means we can’t exactly have him going on a stake out and be like this all night without putting Daniel in serious danger. It’s a really interesting twist for the character and I’m hopeful that Kirkman uses it well in later issues since it is our heroes one major weakness.

On another complaint about the story I was disappointed that the assistant director Beth didn’t really have any lines or do anything in this issue. I was half expecting her to confront Daniel about Kurt or something but not seeing her do anything, just show up ina couple of panels, was rather disappointing.

I have to mention our villain, Mr. Hurg. (who I swear has Atom Eve for an assistant) we see more of him and it seems he’s a bit of a health nut. Scolding the near dead Cobra as he lays in a hospital bed about his dietary choices. It was funny but I’m not sure if this is the characters quirk or Kirkman was just writing him like this for a moment. It seems like a small insight to the character in showing he may be an old man but he’s healthy, meaning he could be a viable threat in battle to Haunt.

Then there’s the cliff-hanger. Damn, that left my jaw on the floor. It was so awesome. So yeah I called it Mirage took the Dr.’s notebook and is now looking to sell it to Hurg. Oh damn. This could give the bad guys a huge advantage and seeing that left me dying for more (bad pun I know) but I am seriously psyched for next month’s issue.

Overall this was an excellent issue of Haunt. It had everything, great action, solid character work and from page to page it was a great read that left me fully satisfied as well as excited for more next time.

Art Comments: Ottley has come a long way in these prior 4 issues. Seems he was just getting his groove and now totally has Haunt down. Every panel contains that greatness he’s always conveyed over in Invincible and even has a new level of awesome thanks to the way he handles the action.

Of course the best part though is the way he draws Haunt. He really cuts loose with Haunt and goes wild with the character and it looks absolutely awesome. I’m loving the art on Haunt.

Final Comments: Haunt is on it’s way to becoming one of the best Image comics out there just as Invincible has become. If you’re looking for fun violent over the top heroics with some excellent action and great characters then Haunt is that book and this issue is the best yet so far.

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Art Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Must Have

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #5

Written: Brain Bendis

Art: David Lafuente

Opening Comments: Ultimate Comics Spider-man closes it’s first arc with a bang (literally) and all the while gives us an exciting run read with Bendis’ usual great use of dialogue and fun character work. Oh, and there’s lots of pretty art too!

Story Comments: the opening spread of Peter narrating all about his life was an interesting idea. I don’t think we see this in many comics but it was a nice way to get out all the Bendis monologue with it getting all over the gorgeous 2 page spread by Lafuente but it is a massive load to read still.

The opening dinner table scene with our cast was a ton of fun to read though. I especially loved how Gwen mad a point that she’s dating Peter so she’s off limits and Aunt May telling Johnny no hanky panky in the house was just hilarious. Really this was an all around hilarious and fun way to help us get used to Peter’s new family situations and it was just tons of fun.

Then there was the hilarious scene of Johnny and Bobby changing their looks so no one would notice them as they go to school. That was just hilarious and I loved Bobby’s reaction, and yes I agree with many people, he now looks like Bobby Hill.

The scene between Aunt May and the principal was very interesting to read. Last time they met he had Aunt May arrested (Ouch, awkward…) so seeing some follow up to that was great and I loved the principal’s new mindset on possibly having Spider-man come to their school. Another solid excellent scene that Bendis handled really well and felt like a real conversation between 2 adults.

Aunt May is such a great character and as I’ve said in the past she must have the heart of a saint. Forget Mother Theresa, Aunt May is the real pure hearted person in the world. She’s just so great and seeing her really go out on a limb, putting herself at a total risk taking these boys in and all is just so amazing and fits her character so perfectly.

I loved how MJ reacted when she saw Jonny and Bobby. She recognized them right away and it was so awesome seeing her have a mini panic attack about it and it was just so great. Also I’m really glad to see MJ get more attention and being integrated back into the cast as I was really worried she’d become a minor character.

Also Johnny hitting on MJ was priceless. Though maybe this could actually go somewhere and if it did that would be hilarious. God knows it would put Peter through a meat grinder of emotions.

I liked seeing Peter’s Spider-sense really build up. It was a really intimidating moment as we saw the tension rise and then bam it was excellent. A perfect build up to debuting our Spider-slayer who was just awesome to see Ultimized finally as Spider-slayers are classic to Spider-man so seeing this one with the Mysterio touch was awesome.

Bendis really excels with the action here especially with how Spider-man struggles to fight the Spider-slayer while trying to keep it from destroying his school and saving his principal. It was a ton of fun to see this part as bendis really showed what a major threat the Spider-slayer here was.

Then of course the Shroud shows up and the ensuing moment of how she (yes, it is a she, more on the reveal in a moment) just totally desolates the Spider-slayer was hilarious. Also seeing Johnny show up and ruin the evidence and then the little side-joke about the Shroud person moving in with them had me chuckling.

Really this issue was just tons of fun to read. Sure the action was excellent and it got intense for a few moments but overall it was jut a lot of fun to read and I enjoyed every page of it.

Then there’s the reveal of who the Shroud is. Turns out it’s Kitty as many people speculated. I wasn’t really sure nor did I want to spend too much time speculating on it since I knew Bendis wouldn’t Loeb us (that’s what I call when you are going to reveal a big identity then totally bullshit the audience and never reveal it and just keep stringing them along) and would reveal her.

The reveal was nicely done and I’m excited to see where this goes with Kitty. We can assume she’s hardening herself as a hero and trying to be more tough, possibly like Wolverine, and it’s really exciting to see where Bendis will take the character with her new persona.

Then there’s the excellent ending. For now Mysterio has to go back into hiding but he’s got Spider-man in his sights. I’m really excited to see what Bendis does next with the excellent recreation of this classic villain.

Overall I loved this issue. All the characters where great the action was tons of fun to read and it was just everything I want from an Ultimate Spider-man comic.

Art Comments: Lafuente continues to impress. While last time some of his stuff looked a little rushed here it’s all gorgeous and that is undeniably partially thanks to a strong work from the colorist. Though really this is some excellent art and it fits both the character driven scenes and the action perfectly.

Though I’ll admit one major problem with the art is that it does sort of get lazy with smaller figures. Actually blacking out the bodies of some characters though still showing the clothes is a real lazy way to not draw the faces smaller. So while I loved the art, it wasn’t perfect.

Final Comments: Ultimate Spider-man is back on top as one of the best ongoings each month. With closing his first arc of the Relaunch Bendis has reminded everyone why this is the comic to watch and should be on everyone’s list.

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Art rating: 4 out of 5

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

Must Have

Angelus #1

Written: Ron Marz

Art: Stjepan Sejic

Opening Comments: My expectations where fairly simple for Angelus #1, I wanted a good setup with lots of strong character work and a good set up for the entire mini-series as a whole and luckily Marz didn’t disappoint on that. He gave exactly what I knew he would and it made for an great read.

Story Comments: As one would figure, Marz opens with a good little explanation of the Angelus to catch up new readers on the characters so they are aware what it is and he does a good job of doing so while also showing the character Sabine who narrates this part is clearly plotting to take down Dani.

Seeing Sabine’s preparations for defeating Dani was interesting as we actually see Hell and Angelus elite warriors taking out Cerberus. It’s a really cool moment and it shows that Sabine is clearly up to something nasty if it involves going to hell for some kind of force to take down Dani.

Also I loved seeing this twisted version of hell. It just looked so awesome and of course I loved the more creative version of Cerberus. Rather then the typical 3 headed dog it’s a 3 headed monster of sorts and it looks absolutely awesome and I loved the creativity put into this scene.

We get caught up with Dani, who she is, her past and everything when we see her moving in and it was a very efficient way of showing new readers who Dani is while also giving us some nice insight to the character that older readers can still enjoy as Marz really excels at making these scenes that normally would be boring explanation into a still interesting and enjoyable read as well as making it seem like a real important part of the characters discussion and that they are saying it for a real reason, not simple to provide exposition.

Another part I’m really interested in with this mini is the Dani/Finch relationship. By now Dani doesn’t know if there really is a relationship whereas Finch seems head over heels for Dani. I can’t help but figure this is going to go down a nasty road with one of these 2 getting their hearts broken by this mini-series’ end.

Though the moment between them shortly before a monster attack was really heartfelt and Marz has been doing an excellent job building up this possible relationship. He’s not making it feel forced or rushing it like so many other writers would and that makes it feel so much more plausible and compelling and a lot more interesting to read then a random love interest for the sake of having a love interest.

Also Finch’s little line about not hurting Dani was a nice throw back to a previous issue of Witchblade. Dani had been contemplating how it seems every relationship she’s ever been in hurt her so see Marz sort of follow up with that little comment was a good moment for the character.

But of course we’ve got to have at least a little action and Marz really does a good job of giving us a fun action scene even if it is a little too short. It was nice getting to see Dani cut loose with her new Angelus powers and it was also excellently well choreographed in the layouts.

It was interesting seeing Sabine and the warriors save Dani. We know that Sabine is up to no good and wants Dani out of the picture but we don’t know if Dani knows that and will be able to outmaneuver her. I’m hopeful she will be we don’t know yet.

Then there’s that cliff-hanger. Absolutely excellent and it did a great job of really showing this mini has big plans of shaking up the Angelus status quo and character leaving me really excited to check out more next time.

Marz does a strong job of making a lot out of enjoyable reading out of not much to read. Really with the first issue he couldn’t really put it all out on the table otherwise he’d be wasting his time for future issues so clearly his main goal was just to set things up and he would have been fine just to do the bare basics and continue from there.

Though Marz doesn’t stick with just the basics and he really goes that extra mile to make Angelus #1 a worthwhile read that while it doesn’t do much other then set up the story, it’s still tons of fun to read and really well done. Marz has a great talent for making what would be a boring read into an enjoyable read as he gives the characters and their interactions a really unique voice and makes it fun as all hell to read.

Overall this was a strong debut issue though it sadly didn’t’ get to do too much. It did it’s job and a little more by perfectly setting up the story and leaving more to excite me for next time.

Art Comments: Sejic’s art here was absolutely stunning. I’ve always loved his art but I’d go so far to as to say this is the best looking art from Sejic yet. There’s so much incredible detail here and it really adds a powerful layer to the already excellent read as this is some gorgeous work all the way.

Final Comments: Angelus is shaping up to be a really fun read and I’m already excited for more. Fans of the Top Cow universe should absolutely not miss this and anyone interested in checking out the Top Cow comics and their characters should definitely start with Angelus, it’s an excellent beginning.

Story Rating: 4 out of 5

Art Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Must Read

Event Comics Reviews - January 7th 2009

2010-01-07T17:22:00.000-08:00

3 event comics in one post, too much epico for you all too handle! And for me as well! Yeah, I’ve got a lot of comics to review from both this week and a prior week, so we’re going to cut this up into multiple parts. Tackling the 3 event comics today, I’ll try to get all the other comics into one post by tomorrow but if I can’t, I’ll post half one day and half the next.

But now onto the comics, today we’re tackling 3 major event comics from the 3 companies I love.

Siege #1

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: Olivier Coipel

Opening Comments: My expectations weren’t too high with Siege, I expected an epic and fun start to things just like with Secret Invasion. Sadly my already low expectations where not fulfilled and Siege turned out to have a painfully thin and weak start to the event.

Story Comments: It’s amazing when I look at how weak this issue was. Here Bendis started Secret Invasion off with a bang, making it feel like something that was trembling all through the Marvel Universe. Then Siege just sort of whispers to start it’s major event.

When you’ve got 4 issues to fill, a slow boring start is not the smart way to grab readers! Maybe Bendis wants to do some kind of build up, but you have to have a little payoff by the end of the first chapter if you’re going to use build up.

Another big fault is Bendis has such a small scope so far in Siege. This issue really just focuses on Norman and his Avengers. No one else. We see a few other characters but that’s not until near the end and even then it just felt like such a small storyline. If anything this issue felt like a below average issue of Dark Avengers really.

With an event that’s supposed to cover the entire Marvel U, or at least a good chunk of it, it would be wise to show more then just a small amount of characters. Really this is something obvious that I shouldn’t have to say, any good event knows to cover more then just one team of characters.

Beyond that the use of characters wasn’t all that great either. We see Norman Osborn being an idiot and then his Avengers being idiots along with him. He makes deals to clear them of all charges after the siege, a good idea but not when you’re sending them into a death trap like fighting gods!

Also I still don’t get Osborn’s direction here as to why he wants to take down Asgard. He says it’s a threat, but it’s not. It hasn’t done a damn thing wrong and yet he thinks it should be attacked? Call me crazy if that’s not poking the sleeping beast that isn’t doing a damn thing to you.

Bendis has done a really good job of showing a more calculated and clever Norman Osborn then beyond his Green Goblin persona. That Norman is a smart man who can do smart things and he generally sees himself as a hero and that’s all fine. But then you kind of ruin that whole idea when you make him do the most stupid thing of all time.

I g uses it’s something about cementing his place of power but if anything attacking Asgard is a bigger threat to it then anything else. No one likes being known as the guy who went to war with whatever country. You think any politician who has ever went to war was generally proud of it? (besides Dick Cheney but he doesn’t have a heart so it doesn’t count) no! It’s a bad move and it makes you look bad!

I was expecting Bendis to give us a feasible reason finally as to why Norman wants Asgard gone. Maybe if we see the Asgardians getting pushy or bossy to the town not far from them or something like that, but no. He’s just doing it because he’s an idiot.

Then there’s the set up with the recreation of Civil War, this time at Soldier Field. While I don’t mind it necessarily, I sort of wish something more interesting would happen rather then just “Oh look thanks to one of them we can attack the rest of them” Isn’t that…I hate to put it this way, racist? If one person of another race does something bad it’s okay to attack all of them?

When Thor shows up things get a little better. We get some solid action…for all of 2 pages. Literally, he shows up for 2 pages and then he’s taken down like that. Lovely. So glad Thor contributed so much to the story, Bendis! Thank you!

This event even fails to have any decent action for crying out loud! Even Secret Invasion, failure as it was, had some superb action and was lots of fun to look at. Bendis just seems to be rushing everything nad it’s annoying as all hell. I know he’s only got 4 issues to tell this story, but I think he could have made much better use of this issue.

Then there’s the final page, what a joke. Steve Roger gets angry! Oooh, I’m so shocked and horrified. Compare it to Secret Invasion’s final page of the first issue and it you would swear this was written by someone else.

As a matter of fact, this doesn’t really feel like a Bendis comic. None of his charming witty dialogue is here. There are no interesting or fun character moments and there is no epic and awesome action. It’s just a by the basics boring read and I feel this could have been written by anyone.

Now in the sake of fairness this issue wasn’t horrible. There was nothing about it that made it an awful read, nothing that made it worthy of a Burn It but it never really ascends from mediocrity. It just feels fine being plain and boring and doesn’t dare try to do anything, making a very boring read.

Art Comments: While the story failed I had high hopes that the art could save Siege from being a total waste of paper. Sadly even that failed. Now I was not a fan of Coipel’s art on House of M. It was rushed, muddy, just really weak stuff.

Then I saw his stuff on Thor, and it was absolutely gorgeous. So when I heard he’d be doing an event comic, I was excited just to see him get to really cut loose! Sadly that doesn’t happen here. His art once again looks very rushed, even if it’s not muddy anymore.

There are some moments of greatness, like the shots of Thor and Asgard as well as the Dark Avengers as they approach Asgard. But often characters look weird. Norman and Sentry at times have thick foreheads that make them look like the Frankenstein monster!

The art never gets horrible but compared to what I expected it’s just okay. I’m hopeful this was just Coipel having a one issue problem and that he’ll be back up to speed as the event progresses.

Final Comments: Because I’m a sucker for these events I’ll keep reading Siege in hopes it gets better. But if you’re not really into Marvel events or aren’t interested I recommend you go buy a better Bendis book, like Ultimate Spider-man. So far this is a very weak start to what could turn out to be a very mediocre event.

Story Rating: 2 out of 5

Art Rating: 3 out of 5

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5

Pass It

Blackest Night #6

Written: Geoff Johns

Art: Ivan Reis

Opening Comments: With Blackest Night hitting a one month delay at least Johns ended it off with an exciting cliff-hanger. Sadly though this issue doesn’t really do much else, but what it does do is still fun as all hell to read.

Story Comments: So this issue is pretty much just the recruitment of the earth heroes into the various Corps really. Sure we get a little bit of fighting the Black Lantern Super Heroes but not much else really.

Still Johns tells a simple issue but still adds a lot of character and personality to it to keep it from being a boring read. We get lots of great dialogue moments and little bits here and there that really are lots of fun to read.

Though as I said, not much else really happens. For one, Nekron shows up for about one panel. He’s supposedly our big bad villain but he’s on the comic for all of one damn panel. He just walks off saying he’s hungry. Wow. Real intimidating badass here folks.

Also Johns failed to fully utilize the black lantern super heroes. We got a nice scene between Wonder Woman and Mera but that was about it. Seems the heroes turned evil don’t really change much. Just more fodder for the Corps members to attack them and that’s not very exciting.

The 2^nd half of this comic is dedicated to showing the recruitment of the new Corps members, Barry Allen to Blue Lanterns, Wonder Woman to the Star Saphires, Mera to the Red Lanterns, The Atom to the Indigo tribe, Scarecrow as a Sinestro Corps, Lex Luthor as an Orange Lantern and Ganthet becomes a Green Lantern. It was all fun to see but it felt more or less like fluffing the comic up really.

Also I despise that Wonder Woman has to wear that idiotic Star Saphire costume. It’s stupid enough when on Carol Ferris (star right on her privates, people, how does no one see that as a moronic design?) but it looks even worse on Wonder Woman and it’s just frustrating to see.

Still it was nice of Johns to finally explain why he was focusing on characters like Mera, the Atom and Barry Allen and giving them a larger role in the series then just as super heroes fighting the Black Lanterns. It boosts them as more important to the story and I liked that.

Also that final 2 page spread just left me grinning. I especially loved seeing Scarecrow as a Sinestro Corps member. All of it was just so awesome and I really loved it as it left me pumped and excited for more next month.

Overall the story wasn’t mind blowing and it was very simple, but it was a fun read and that was nice.

Art Comments: Reis is doing pretty well even in the face of a delay. He really nails certain scenes with the characters and I especially loved the 2 page spread. Just all around some really solid and good art.

Final Comments: Blackest Night is looking up, but with only 2 parts left it’s time for Johns to really start firing the big guns. It’s time for Nekron’s end game to begin and time for the epic clash we’ve all been waiting for. For now though this was still a fun build up to it.

Story Rating: 3 out of 5

Art Rating: 4 out of 5

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

Check It

Image United #2

Written: Robert Kirkman

Art: Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Jim Valentino, Rob Liefeld, Marc Silvestri and Whilce Portacio

Opening Comments: After an enjoyable first issue I was really excited to see what Kirkman does next in Image United. Sadly this issue is more of the same but even with that strike against it we’ve got a fun read with gorgeous art.

Story Comments: So as I said this is pretty much more of the same, villains attack, heroes fight villains. In between are lots of character moments, most of the solid and some of them are great.

Our opening scene was my favorite as it was between the two Spawns and it was drawn beautifully by Todd McFarlane. Basically Al and Jim go head to head and Jim soon finds that the former Spawn is more powerful then he expected. The scene is really effective in showing that Al is indeed much stronger now and it’s more effective for it.

Though I’ll admit so far his dialogue is rather cheesy. Typical “I want to rule the world, bwah ha ha ha” style stuff and while that’s not necessarily bad I think Kirkman should play to the character’s strengths more and have him come off as more intimidating then just saying he’s really strong. Al can do a damn good job of putting the fear into someone, but that was lacking here. Still a great scene to kick off this issue and I still enjoyed it.

One thing we’re seeing from the villains is that they are getting absolutely ruthless. Attacking hospitals even and stopping at nothing to cause chaos. In most event comics you see villains attack typical places like a big park or a wide open area or a big city area, but the scene in the hospital was more powerful for seeing the villains really trying to do some serious damage.

Also we got a really nice scene with Die-hard. I’m not familiar with the character but his little love confession to Vogue was a really nice scene and it made me feel for the character, even if only a little bit.

One thing that is really cool is we’re seeing more then just the main cast of heroes like Savage Dragon and Spawn. We’re seeing Mighty Man, and the new hero Barricade, and other things and it’s really great seeing these characters get some time in the sun as well as the main cast of heroes and getting to see them all drawn by their creators and interact nicely.

Kirkman really has a love for these characters as well as a solid understanding for them as we see them all interact well and it’s all handled well. Also I must admit there was one line from Savage Dragon “Omega Spawn, that sounds threatening” that made me facepalm. That line just…wow.

So yeah the dialogue isn’t perfect either. While for the most part it’s solid and well done there are a couple of lines here and there that stand out or bug me and I think had Kirkman read over it a bit more maybe he would have realized what cheesy lines must have been writing at the time.

Still the dialogue never goes into horrendous or boring to read. It never drones on and on like it has in Blackest Night and Kirkman really does his best to keep things interesting even when really he’s just telling the same thing of heroes fighting villains.

I did love the scenes with Shadowhawk again. I really wish Kirkman would write the new ongoing series that is in the works, he had a great voice for the character in making Eddie sound young and fun without making him sound like an idiot though.

I was rather disappointed that Witchblade again didn’t really get a lot of page time. She showed up in a couple of pages and got a few lines but hasn’t really contributed as much as the other heroes have and that is disappointing since I really like Sara and was hopeful she’d do more by now.

I loved the scene with Cyberforce and the new character Barricade. It was awesome seeing them interact and Kirkman did a great job of helping show off the new hero and making him a fairly likeable guy as he now seems to be working with Cyberforce and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him through Image United.

One major complaint I had was how little Fortress showed up. He was literally on page for all of a few panels here and there before he was forgotten. I thought this guy was supposed to be our big hero who is our view into the Image world so why does he get all of a few panels?

I figure Kirkman wanted to focus more on the expanding Image Universe rather then just Fortress and that’s fine but I wish we could have seen a bit more of him then just what little we did since he’s supposed to play a big role in this story.

One thing I loved was how well Kirkman is showing the devastation and insanity going on all over the world. Most events just imply the world is under attack and that everyone is in trouble, but Image United is doing a damn good job of showing it and showing all these heroes around the world fighting off the villains and it was really effective in showing what a huge crisis this is.

I did like the ending a lot, it was an exciting way to end it but I’m hopeful that by next issue Kirkman can finally kick this event into high gear.

Overall this was a really fun read, but sadly it really is just more of the same from Kirkman. Villains attack, heroes fight back, rinse and repeat and if not for the great character moments this would be a very thin read.

There’s also the Bloodstrike back up. It’s exactly what you’d expect, Liefeld at his Liefeld-iest. Gore, stupid dialogue and annoying ramblings as well as lots of comments that make no sense and have no context at all. It’s Liefeld, after all. Though it was a decent enough back up to the enjoyable story.

Art Comments: Once again the Image Founders impress me with their skill here. Though I was most impressed by Todd McFarlane, everyone did a great job. Especially Jim Valentino and Marc Silvestri. Sadly Portacio didn’t really have anything to draw but oh well. And again even Liefeld did well. Image United continues to be a gorgeous looking comic.

Final Comments: This book is still something that the long time Image fans like myself will enjoy most. We recognize these characters and the moments they have resonate more with us thanks to our history with them. Still if you’re looking for a beautifully illustrated and fun read then Image United is the place to be.

Story Rating: 3 out of 5

Art Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

Check It

The Week Begins - January 5th 2009

2010-01-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

A pretty big week for comics this week. Let’s check it out and hope I can review them all. A note though, my comic reviews will be broken up over the next few days, I have a lot of comics to review.

Haunt #4 *Most Anticipated*

Written: Robert Kirkman

Art: Ryan Ottley

While this is a pretty big week for comics I’m really excited for more Haunt goodness. Last issue was a big step up as far as setting up the emotional resonance with our hero, now it’s time we really get back and have some fun action along with our newly added character developments.

While the character of Cobra was a boring villain in issue #2 I’m hopeful Kirkman can at least make him a credible threat. So far Haunt has been a real badass so getting to see a fair fight with him would be really cool. Overall I’m really excited to pick this issue up.

Siege #1

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: Olivier Coipel

I’d been debating if I would or would not get Siege for a while now, but with the event here and it now in my pull list I guess I’m ready to see what Bendis has in store for us. I’m hopeful for something at least halfway interesting, but at this point I expect Siege to be a fun epic battle and not much else.

Secret Invasion’s biggest problem was that it was far too stretched out. Had Bendis condensed the event, it probably would have been better. Not by a lot, but still. With Siege being only 4 issues it feels like a much safer event investment as it will be done just as soon as it started.

So I’m not really expecting a lot. Maybe a character death here or there, not what I really want but eh. I’m mostly expecting fun super heroes fighting super villains and not much else. You can’t expect much more out of these events these days after all.

Blackest Night #6

Written: Geoff Johns

Art: Ivan Reis

I already know what happens in this chapter of DC’s epic thanks to the magic of the internet but that doesn’t mean I’m not interested in actually reading it in my hands. Sadly my LCS delayed it by a week, not sure why, but oh well. Just something else to read tomorrow and even though I know what happens I’m really looking forward to picking it up and reading it in person.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #6

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: David Lafuente

I’m really psyched to see how Bendis ends the first arc on Ultimate Spider-man as Mysterio tracks down Spidey and attacks his school. I’m hopeful that Bendis can wrap up the Shroud’s identity as well and do a good job of giving us some closure as we move onto the next arc. All around though I’m expecting another great read.

Solicit Commentary - March 2010

2010-01-04T13:04:00.000-08:00

March is not so far away as we take a look into the future with the last solicits from 2009. A little late but still ready for the party.

Image Comics Solicits for March 2010

DC Comics Solicits for March 2010

Marvel Comics Solicits for March 2010

Image United Interlude #1

An interesting idea from Image. While it sucks that Image United hit the delay we all knew it would, it is at least really nice to see Image trying to keep the fans happy until the 2^nd half of the story comes out later in 2010. Also it’s really cool how Image is knitting their universe together as I really hope we see other heroes like Haunt and Jersey Gods at least make cameos.

Haunt #6

So my theory here is Mirage is the woman who took the bag from the doctor. If she’s good or evil though I have no idea. All I know is that Capullo is drawing Haunt and that is pure greatness!

Haunt vol. 1 TPB

The cover, great as it is, confuses me. I figured McFarlane would have his own cover for the first collection. Not that I’m complaining I like the design and cover but just confused is all. Looking forward to picking this up sometime soon.

Spawn #201

*sigh* why even bother? That’s how I feel right now about Spawn. It just feels like Spawn doesn’t know what it wants anymore so it’s just running in place. Now out of nowhere we have a new team for the book, I can assume they will be on for the long haul (or until McFarlane changes his mind….AGAIN) and it just seems like what’s the damn point by now?

I love Spawn, always have but I think McFarlane just totally lost all direction. He should have kept the masterful Brian Holguin doing scripts and if he could have, he should have kept Whilce Portacio. It was a great team for the book and now seeing 2 random guys who have never written or drawn Spawn before it just feels so out of place and random.

I remain hopeful that maybe these 2 can work some magic with the jumbled mess that McFarlane has given them but that hope seems to die a little more with each new announcement of a delay or new guest artist. It’s getting tough to be a Spawn fan nowadays.

Spawn Origins: Book One HC

Wow, this is so hilarious. So I have the original Spawn collection books, I’m now getting the Origins TPBs, and now I’ll be buying this hardcover as well. So I’ve have 3 different version s of reading the earliest Spawn stories all on the same book shelf. That’s awesome.

I am excited to pick this up though. It’s reasonably priced, collects the great 10^th issue and hopefully should be worth it. Really excited to pick this one up in March.

Invincible #71

By now I’ve said my theory on why Eve is crying in this image a few times as it is. But despite the risk of becoming repetitious I’ll say it once more. I figure either Eve is still pregnant at this point and tells Mark so he leaves her, or she gets an abortion and he is upset she’d do that without him and leaves.

I’m at least very hopeful that by now Kirkman brings up the whole pregnancy ordeal since it’s a pretty big deal for both these characters. Though I’m also excited as all hell for the Viltrumite war and seeing where Kirkman takes it.

Jersey Gods #12

Wow, 5 bucks for this issue. A little worried if it will be worth it or not. I keep loving Jersey Gods but at the same time I can’t help but worry. One of those ‘everything changes’ issues. Ugh. Let’s hope Brunswick can make the cliché work.

Looking through what Topcow has I am not seeing Angelus. Damn shame but I figured one of these 2 series that Sejic is drawing would hit a delay.

The Darkness #84

I am very interested in this with the name Whilce Portacio attached to art. He did an awesome cover for the Darkness a while back and I bet he’ll kill on the interiors, may pick this issue up just for his art.

Witchblade #136

The cover teases a new cybernetic villain to take on both Sara and Aphrodite. Sounds like lots of fun. I’m really excited to see where this arc goes and how well the fight will be handled. Should be tons of fun to read like the last time these 2 clashed.

Blackest Night #8

Hey big surprise its’ another Top Secret Cover. Well the solicit doesn’t tell us anymore then what we knew would happen. Good vs. Evil with earth as the battle field. Yawn. Looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

Batman and Robin #10

While I dropped the series I can’t deny I’m still curious to see what happens. I’m glad to hear that Morrison is bringing back Talia since she should be playing a larger role in Batman Reborn then she has so far.

Streets of Gotham #10

Still doing the Zsasz thing, really? Also why recycle that cover, DC? It’s a great cover sure but seems like you just wanted to fill the void for this issue by changing covers. Still I guess Dini has good reason for stretching out this final confrontation, I just hope it works in his favor.

The Flash: Secret Files and Origins 2010 #1

My interest in the new Flash ongoing series died when we where told it will only star Barry. DC is really screwing over the Flash franchise and with the possible killing off of Iris it all just seems so annoying right now. I was original tempted to check out the new ongoing, that’s dead by now.

Streets of Gotham vol. 1: Hush Money HC

DC really is confusing me here. I thought they delayed a volume 1 to collect the entire story of Zsasz and his plan which would make sense. But then they release this. Now if it contained the first 3 issues of Streets of Gotham that would make sense but it has issue #4 when Zsasz’ plan comes to the forefront. So…I’m confused.

But hey this also collects the Faces of Evil story from a while back and that was awesome. And it does make sense to collect that with the early issues of Streets of Gotham so I’ll definitely be picking this up.

American Vampire #1

I’ll be collection waiting on this. I love Stephen King but I’m not so sure about this. The art sounds great and the premise isn’t half bad but right now it’s all in the “looks good but I’m not sure” category. So I’ll wait to the collection and hope to hear good things about it.

Black Lantern Figures

I guess this is probably the last line of Blackest Night Action figures, unless DC Direct make ones of all the earth Lantern Recruits which would rock. These figures are cool. I may get Nekron but I will for sure get Black Lantern Batman, very nicely done.

Siege #3

So I am getting Siege for sure. It’s on the pull list and I’ll be reading it. Should be an exciting time I’m sure. I just wish the damn solicits would tell us something! Seriously, Marvel, it’s the same “everything will change” bullshit we got the last 2 months. Way to fail to hype your event.

Dark Avengers #15

“revealing their true relationship” eh? Since when was “we like having sex with each other” a relationship? I just figured they where sex- buddies and that was it. Oh well, maybe Karla just has a thing for psychotic guys who wear purple.

Mighty Avengers #35

Oh yeah, about damn time Ultron return to an Avengers comic. I don’t mean in that stupid naked chick form either. As in an actual Ultron kicking ass in the Avengers comics again. It’s been way too long really and I’m psyched as all hell to check this one out, even if it has the typical “some will die!” BS that these solicits carry.

Girl Comics

Despite the idiotic name I must admit this sounds like a great mini. I’ll be checking out the collection of it for sure if only for all of the great talent assembled on it.

Sif #1

I guess this is a one-shot but it doesn’t specify that. It seems more like a new ongoing series, but I highly doubt they would give Sif her own ongoing with no real set up. Still it does sound like an interesting read, it just came out of nowhere though.

X-23 #1

This one makes a little more sense. I like the character of X-23 but I’m not real sure if I will pick this up. It’s just a one-shot storyline and I’m not sure how much they can really cram into a one-shot so I’m on the fence about it.

Deadpool Corps #1-5

I have to give Marvel credit for being brave on this one. A stupid idea that just might work. Marvel has taken risks from time to time but this seems a little too out there even for me.

New Ultimates #1

It’s more of Loeb messing with the Ultimate U, big surprise. Though it is nice to see he didn’t randomly kill off Valkyrie like we all figured. Now to be honest I am interested in this series, if only for the gorgeous Frank Cho artwork. Other then that I couldn’t care less about this.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #8

This arc sounds like tons of fun and should be a great read. Sadly not much I really have to say on it, just looking forward to more Ultimate Spider-man greatness.

Cloak and Dagger #1

I figured Brooks was chosen for this for his awesome design of a Cloak and Dagger statue a while back. Well I’ve always had a soft spot for these 2 and I love Brooks’ art, I may pick this up since it’s just a one-shot and it sounds really good.

Wolverine: Weapon X #11

It’s really hard not to be reading this series right now. Especially with the return of Ron Garney to pencils. I keep wanting to read it, but at the same time the wallet says other wise. So for now it’s still off the list, awesome as this arc looks.

X-men: Second Coming #1

Oh hey, it’s another goddamn pointless X-men crossover that will make it impossible for anyone just to read one X-men series without it being pulled away. What fun. I didn’t miss this at all. I like never getting a chance to read Uncanny X-men or any of these other comics without the worry of a crossover ruining it all.

Now to be fair this is the long awaited final part of the Messiah Complex saga. Messiah Complex itself was an amazing crossover and I absolutely loved it. It was the best X-men crossover since Age of Apocalypse and it did a great job of stirring up the status quo, but ever since it ended Marvel has just been very crossover obsessed with the X-men again and now it’s getting on my nerves.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man: World according to Peter Parker HC

So far Ultimate Comics Spider-man has been a major pay off for Marvel. I can’t see why you shouldn’t check out this awesome first story arc. It’s been tons of fun so far and definitely worth picking up the collection.

Top 5 Most Anticipated of 2010

2010-01-02T12:37:00.000-08:00

A while back Kevin, fellow Revolutionary, contacted me and everyone else at the Comic Book Revolution for our top 5 most anticipated comic related things for 2010. I kind of lost track of the time with the holiday but got it done. I figured I’d post my top 5 here for you all, though I may post something later on to show my excitement for other upcoming things in 2010.

Happy New Year, everyone!

5. Arkham Asylum 2 Info

Funny how I’m not really all that excited with the return of the real Batman, but the return of him in a video game has me excited as all hell. Yes the recently announced sequel to my game of the year, Batman: Arkham Asylum, has me jumping with anticipation.

But sadly I’m well aware that we won’t be getting the sequel in 2010, unless it’s very late 2010. Usually game sequels are at least a good solid year apart and that’s for a steady series. So while I’m excited for the game, for now I’m just dying to find out more about it.

It would seem the original team of gave designers are behind it, and it would seem that Paul Dini, Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin will be reprising all their roles at least it would seem that way but so far we don’t really have anything definitive saying what the game will be like or any info on it.

There’s no doubt the game will be getting lots of press through 2010, trailers, behind the scenes stuff, etc. They would be crazy not to hype up this game after all the hype and praise the first one got. 2010 will hopefully give us a good amount of knowledge about the game in preparations for what I’m hoping will be an early 2011 release.

I love the first game so much and while the downloadable content has been great I’m dying for more. If Rocksteady can wake their magic wand and improve on some of the small problems the first game had then I think we could be in store for something real special here.

4. Blackest Night’s End

A typical choice I know but up until the last 2 issues of the event I probably wouldn’t have said this. Blackest Night was solid, but painfully predictable in it’s first half but now that it’s entered it’s second half it seems like the real show has begun. I’m excited as all hell to see where it goes.

One thing I’m curious about is the Earth Lantern Heroes. Could Ray still be an Indigo Lantern, or Mera still a red lantern? I know damn well that Barry will be back to normal as will Lex Luthor and probably Scarecrow as well but it’s hard not to hope this may change at least one or two of these heroes.

I’m not 100% certain I’ll be reading Green Lantern after Blackest Night. I want to, but it’s a budget thing. Either way I’m excited for this event all over again and I’m really pumped to see what Johns does next with it.

3. Batman Beyond Returns

It was announced a long while back that DC has plans for Batman Beyond in 2010. Not much else has been said since and I’ve been dying to find out what their plans are for him. I just recently picked up the animated film Return of the Joker (unfortunately it came packaged with the mediocre Mystery of the Batwoman movie) and it was great. It reinvigorated my love for the Batman Beyond series.

My real hope is that the team of Paul Dini, Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami all got together for a new animated film. While we did get a good amount of closure from the JLU/Batman Beyond story I still want one final hurrah for this series. Something really big for Terry. He deserves it.

Also I want to see Max again! Whatever happened to her? She was just as important to Batman as Bruce Wayne or Terry’s Family was. She was his main intelligence person. But she never showed up in Return of the Joker or the JLU story. What the hell, DC? She deserves to come back.

But most of all I want Terry to have his one last final hurrah that’s all him. Much as I absolutely loved Return of the Joker, that was more then just Terry’s movie. It served as filling the gap between the original cartoon and Beyond. While I loved that 10 minute flashback, it was my favorite part of the movie, Terry deserves a movie that’s 100% his.

There has also been talk about a new animated series but I think that’s a much more far off dream. DC seems to be focusing all their extra animated power into the animated films like the new Justice League film as well as the prior movies for Superman/Batman and Green Lantern. So a new animated series seems very unlikely, but if that was the case that would be even better!

Though sadly my best guess is that it’s just going to be a mini-series. While that would be nice too, I’m more used to Batman Beyond in animation so that’s how I’d love to see it. Though if the mini was written by Paul Dini with art by Bruce Timm or Glen Murakami that could be great as well.

Either way I’m excited as all hell to see what DC has planned for Batman Beyond. I’m much more excited for this then whatever the hell it is they plan to do with bringing back Bruce Wayne. We all know how that’s going to go. I’m more excited for a more interesting come back.

2. More Image

I really could fill this entire list up with Image Comics if I wanted. Jersey Gods, Invincible, Haunt, Image United, Witchblade, Angelus, Spawn, the list goes on. Image had another great year with 2009 and I expect 2010 to be no different.

Sadly Image United hit a snag as I predicted, but at least Image is trying to fill the void with new material such as Image United #0 having some extra goodies and Interlude, which will have Invincible! Everyone’s been clamoring for something with Invincible and here we go.

I’m reading Image United mostly just for the characters and the art and 2 parts in and the story has hit a snag. Already it’s feeling dull but I’m really hopeful that Kirkman can bring us back with #3 if it can make it to January on time. Supposedly something back happens there so I’ve got my fingers crossed. Though either way I’ll still enjoy the art at the very least.

Invincible returning to his old costume should be a lot of fun. Though a recent cover teases the idea of him leaving Eve over something and that of course worries me. I’m dying to find out what happens to Eve with her pregnancy. Does she keep the baby, abort it, miscarriage, who knows! Knowing Kirkman though the baby will probably die.

My best guess is that Eve either tells Mark and he leaves her. Or she gets an abortion without telling him, that upsets him that she did that without telling him first so he leaves her for that. Both would be heart-wrenching for the readers so that’s’ where I figure Kirkman is going.

Though obviously there’s a lot more to be excited over Invincible for. It’s just the pregnancy that’s at the forefront of my attention, though the looming Viltrumite war is also exciting as all hell and should be great. Also hopefully this means that we’ll have a reunion of father and son finally.

Jersey Gods hit a little delay but that’s okay. This series is good enough for the wait and it has been my favorite new ongoing series of 2009. Definitely the best new series Image is putting out (sorry but I’m not reading Chew) and it is tons of fun to read each month so I’m really excited to see where the book goes in 2010.

Witchblade seems to be taking a little bit of a breather and having more short and easy story arcs after following up on the somewhat disappointing War of the Witchblades from this year. That’s a good thing since I’ve been enjoying the shorter and more easy arcs since they are a lot more fun and interesting to read then the long dragged out stories.

Also Angelus started this year but it wraps up in 2010 and I’m really excited to see where Marz and Sejic go with the mini-series. I think it could easily have potential to be the mini-series of the year!

Haunt wraps up it’s first arc in 2 months and that should be exciting though really the entire series has me excited for more. 2010 is looking even better for the young series with Greg Capullo actually lending his brilliant pencils to issue #6 which I’m sure will look gorgeous.

Haunt has definitely been a very interesting series and where Krikman takes it after it’s first story arc is crucial. He’s built up the mystery and is slowly unraveling just a few pieces of it but he’s also got to make sure this series works for more then just it’s mystery, that these 2 brothers can still do the hero thing even after all is revealed otherwise this might as well have been a mini-series or something.

I hate to say it but I’m not very excited for Spawn actually, which is why Image is not higher on the list. Spawn for me was the flagship Image title when I was a kid. It was always my favorite Image comic and now it’s just all falling apart it seems. McFarlane seemed to know what he’s doing but now it’s all just crumbled.

For one he can’t seem to get the damn book out on time. #196 was solicited for September of this year, and now it won’t make it until January of 2010. I call bullshit. I did so on twitter and McFarlane said it was his fault. That Rob Liefeld (guest artist for the issue) had done his part but it was on Todd since he was so busy. That doesn’t make this delay any more frustrating.

Then after the big 200^th issue, we get a new team of 2 people I’ve never heard of. Now I am willing to give the new team a try, after all David Hine paid off big time and I’d never heard of him, but it really just seems like McFarlane has do idea what he’s doing with Spawn anymore.

I love Spawn and I always will but nowadays it’s just getting harder and harder to read this series. It’s the comic that got me back into a comics a few years ago and if not for Spawn I wouldn’t be writing this very post for you all. But I feel like I’m in a relationship with someone who I’m totally committed to and care about, but who doesn’t give a damn about me or anything else.

I really am glad that McFarlane gave some new changes to Spawn. It’s nice to see him trying again but really it just seems like he totally lost all focus and direction. First he fired Brian Holguin from writing the series which was a huge mistake. If McFarlane wants someone to write Spawn, get Holguin for god’s sakes. He’s a 1,000 times better writer then McFarlane ever has been and I can already tell he’s better then the new guy.

Maybe I’m just a scorned fan who feels like he’s been done wrong. But I love Spawn a lot so seeing the series just so unfocused and rocky is really hard for me. I’m really hopeful that by mid-2010 McFarlane can get his crap together and fix his series or I may do something I never thought I’d do, drop Spawn.

Image as a whole though seems to be having a really exciting year with 2010. Every series is doing something new or interesting and I can’t wait to read more as the new year rings in.

1. Young Avengers coming back

Ever since the initial first series ended the YA have been in a bit of a limbo. Inching their way through the Marvel Universe in waiting for Heinberg and Cheung to return for one last hurrah with the characters they created. It’s been a long time coming.

Now luckily Marvel hasn’t totally let the team just sit around and do nothing. A random mini-series here and there to keep them up with the current status quo. Teaming up with the Runaways and recently the excellent Dark Reign mini-series. So far the YA have still been fairly prominent but it’s obvious that they have yet to really come full circle from prior developments of the original series.

Sure Patriot and Hawkeye got together, sort of, and Vision and Stature got together but other then 2 hookups the characters haven’t been able to really go too far with the limitation that was set when Heinberg planned to eventually return to the characters. They haven’t been able to do all they can do.

But now that’s all finally changing as the creators are returning and hopefully going to wrap up all their developments and set a new status quo for the team that other writers could take and run with later on. It would be great to finally see all these points come full circle.

For one there’s Kang of the future, his younger self who wants to be a hero. We saw a glimpse of him in the second half of the first series but since then he sort of just disappeared. I can’t tell if I want him to come back or not. While he was a decent character, him coming back would create a love triangle with Kang/Stature/Vision and I’m rarely fond of a love triangle. They are often very boring.

Then there are characters like Patriot and Hawkeye who both have some legacies to live up to. With Cap coming back I’d think they should touch on Patriot’s thoughts on this and I’m sure Hawkeye wants to talk to Clint Barton some more. These seem like 2 obvious things they should touch on.

I would hope that Stature and Vision would still take place in the series but with their current roles in the Mighty Avengers it seems unlikely that the mini could change them too much since it could have trouble matching up with their current status. It’s all up in the air at this point.

There’s also Wiccan and Speed and the possible return of the Scarlet Witch. I believe Heinberg said he wanted to bring her back and since it would clearly impact these 2 that would be a really fascinating twist and a really interesting read.

There are other things like Hulkling and his ties to the Skrull and Krees but those seem like more far off possible stories. Right now I just hope the 8-issue/bi-monthly mini can wrap up all these plot points so we can have some closure and maybe even a fun shake up of the team. So while 2010 is looking to be an exciting year for new possible stories, I’m mostly excited for a story that wraps up a long developing group of stories. Go figure. Well I’ve always loved the YA so I can’t wait to see more of them come Summer 2010.

Teaser Talk: Spider-man in 2010

2010-01-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

I got home late Wednesday night and I’ve been busy hard at work with unpacking and then celebrating the new year. Yes, happy new year to you all. Though I finally got some time to finish up some posts I need to write up when this little gem of a teaser popped up onto my radar earlier today.

Awww, Marvel, it’s been too long since you did one of these headache inducing teasers. Far too long.

So to help me get back into the groove of things I figure it will be fun to dissect this a little bit.

So lets obviously talk about the most obvious point of the teaser and that’s Spider-man and MJ jumping towards each other, with MJ in a wedding dress. This could mean a lot of things. This could symbolize the end of One More Day and the couple finally getting back together or it could mean they are finally going to explain what drove them apart.

Deep down for how spiteful and cynical I’ve become over the last 2 years in regards to my childhood hero I can’t deny even the faintest idea of OMD finally ending and our 2 lovers getting back together fills me with joy. Sadly it’s not the blind joy where I automatically have faith this will happen. No I’m almost certain that OMD will never be undone as long as Joe Quesada has a say in how Marvel works.

So as much as I’d love to write to you all about how excited I am over this and how this just makes me jump for joy, I can’t. Really I would love it if this means the end of OMD, I would, I really really want to belive it could but by now I’ve learned not to have faith in Marvel. So I’m going to assume this means something else.

Now I guess it would be nice if Marvel did explain at least why they broke up. Over all the years they had rough patches, Peter and MJ endured so I’m sure all of us fans are dying to see what is the one thing that is strong enough to break them up. They lost everything in the past, their home, family, their own child, and still they persevered. So seeing the one thing that could break them up would be interesting.

Or maybe it’s just Marvel screwing with us and the former wedding won’t come into play at all and they are just bullshitting us like they have before.

Remember that infamous One More Day teaser? Here it is in case you forgot.

Funny how none of those characters really mattered to the story or had any real impact and how most of them didn’t even show up, huh? I can’t help but figure that’s the same thing Marvel is doing with this Spider-man in 2010 teaser.

Still deep down, a small flickering little fire in my otherwise cynical heart can’t help but burn a little brighter at the mere idea of OMD ending. Even if it is a tiny flicker.

But hey there’s more to this teaser then just the forefront image. We see the Spider-family together. One of them being black suit Spider-man but it doesn’t seem to be Venom. I’m curious about this but not curious enough to talk much about it.

Then there’s the baby in Doc Ock’s arms. Last I checked Octavious wasn’t doing so well and he seemed he wanted to help the world with what little time he had left. So him going and kidnapping a baby doesn’t really seem like something he’d do right now.

Though there are 2 theories so far about the baby. One is that it’s baby May. An all right idea but I’m not seeing it. My theory, the second theory, is that it’s Norman and Lilly’s child. The infant has green eyes which could be a slight hint at it having some Goblin in it’s blood.

Though Quesada recently mentioned that in 2010 there would be something involving MJ and a baby. Maybe baby May had something to do with Peter and MJ breaking up. At this point it’s still very open in the air.

There’s also some teasing for the Gauntlet storyline but I don’t really care much to mention it since I won’t be reading it. That’s all I have to say today kids, check back soon for some comic reviews, solicit commentary, Year’s End and a look at the upcoming stuff for 2010.

New Age Ideas: Bendis Teach, Dracula Sucks, Thor and Haunting Marvel Man

2009-12-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

New Age Ideas finally returns after a brief hiatus, just in time for Christmas for all you good little girls and little boys. Back and better then ever we’re tackling some good stuff and a bit of negative ranting I’ve been wanting to get out of the way.

I want to be taught by Bendis

So for those who don’t know, I live in Oregon. I am just a 2 hour drive from Portland, where the writer Brian Bendis lives. Apparently he’ll be teaching a class about graphic novels at Portland State University.

I was going to try and go to the University of Oregon, but all of a sudden, Portland here I come!

Well probably not, but it would be awesome to say “Yeah, Brian Bendis is my teacher” and every day after class have him sign a new comic. It would be awesome. I may not like everything Bendis writes but I’d suddenly have the urge to buy everything he writes just to get it signed.

I actually have met Bendis, in late 2007 at a convention in Portland. He’s a really nice guy and I bet he’ll make a great teacher. If there are any of his future students reading, do me a favor and get a me a signed copy of Ultimate Spider-man #1.

Who to write Marvel Man?

There’s been a lot of speculation since Marvel announced that they own Marvel Man as to who would write and draw it. Well I’ve got know idea who would draw it (Jesus? Allah? Vishnu? Some holy figure I’m thinking) but there’s been tons of speculation on who would write it.

One of the most recent speculations is Bendis writing Marvel Man. At first I hated this idea, but now that I think about it, it just may work. My only problem is Bendis is stretched pretty thin nowadays, with Siege, Spider-woman, New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Ultimate Spider-man, Ultimate Enemy, the new Powers reboot, a new Alias mini-series, the dude is just way too busy to take on something as big as Marvel Man I figure.

My vote is for Neil Gaiman to finish his run on the series. Gaiman himself said he’d love to finish the Silver Age story that he never got to and Marvel knows he’s a popular writer. I myself didn’t become a fan of Gaiman until Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader but I would love to see him finish his story with Marvel Man.

Some people are saying Mark Millar, and I can’t think of anything else that would make me cringe in frustration. Millar is in no way a bad writer, but at the same time I think he should stick to the over the top insanity driven stuff we’re used to from him. I just don’t know if he could handle something like Marvel Man with the respect and care it deserves. I’m not calling him out on anything, just saying I’m not sure he’s the right guy for the job really.

There are other writers like Brubaker or Ellis but I just don’t know. In the end the only writer off the bat I trust to handle Marvel Man would be Gaiman. Either way I’m going to read it of course, but still. Let’s hope Marvel makes a smart choice.

Frank Miller a hack? Seriously?

All right, mini-rant time here folks.

It’s no secret I’m a big fan of Frank Miller, DKR, Sin City, Ronin, Daredevil, even his recent stuff such as Dark Knight Strikes Again and All Star Batman. A lot of people hate these 2 stories but I think their great.

But hey, because Frank Miller has written and done a couple of things that people don’t like, he’s gone from legend in most eyes to hack in many others. I can’t see that, here’s the guy who helped reinvent Batman (as did Denny O’Neil mind you) and all of a sudden he’s a hack for a few stories you don’t like?

Stan Lee has written some stuff today, I’ve read some of it and you know what? It wasn’t good at all. Does that make Stan Lee, the father of Marvel comics, a hack? Not at all. He’s still just as much a legend no matter what.

But hey, it’s the “in” thing to hate on Frank Miller. He made 300 and The Spirit and those are just so horrendous, right? No one could like those.

Except for me and tons of other people who didn’t hate them like everyone else did. 300 was my Movie of the Year with 2007. And Spirit, while not perfect, was still a great movie experience for me.

Now look, if you don’t like Miller and his writing, that’s cool. We’ve all got different tastes and opinions and I can respect that. But just because you don’t like his work, don’t go acting like he’s a hack when he’s done more in the last 30 years of comics then most people could hope to do in a life time.

In short, show some respect.

Haunting Frustrations

This isn’t so much a rant as me just coming out and saying one of the reasons I think so many people hated Haunt right off the bat.

Todd McFarlane.

Yep. Todd McFarlane.

Now I already mentioned how unfair it is to hate Haunt for his look when Batman was already inspired heavily by something. So saying something isn’t 100% original is a bullshit argument when it comes to things like that. Because as I said, everything is inspired by something.

But I think a lot of the hate for Haunt comes from the fact that it’s Todd McFarlane and a lot of people (not saying names) have a stigma against him because they read an issue of Spawn 10 years ago and didn’t like it.

What’s funny is I see a lot of reviewers complain about it having “gritty dark violence like 90’s Image did” when these same reviewers praise Invincible. A comic that just recently had it’s main hero beat a man *nearly* to death with his FOREHEAD. That’s not gritty violence?

In the long run the only real reason people will hate Haunt so much more then Invincible is simple.

Invincible doesn’t have the name Todd McFarlane attached to it.

Now I’m not saying that if you don’t like Haunt for legitimate reasons that you’re wrong. Not at all. If you have your own reasons for not liking Haunt that’s understandable but it seems a lot of people just complain about it being 90’s Image when that’s not really an insult since 90’s Image had some awesome characters and stories.

I guess what I’m saying is you’re entitled to not like Haunt, but just because it’s co-created by Todd McFarlane is a weak excuse.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Omnibus

I’m stealing a New Age Idea from my good buddy Kevin.

I recently watched Turtles Forever, an absolutely awesome movie that rekindled my love of the TMNT. While it wasn’t perfect I still loved it and even more so it reminded me of the awesome original comic.

I’ve read some of the original comic online and I’ve read the very first issue thanks to a Free Comic Book Day copy and I really do love this comic so I’m surprised there’s no big Omnibus to celebrate the awesome series.

There was a big collection collecting the first 11 issues, I saw an add for it in the FCBD comic but I can hardly find that online at book sellers let alone actually get a copy. Why not release a massive Omnibus that the fans could all enjoy? I’d buy it for sure. That along with that DVD of Turtles Forever that needs to come out!

Todd McFarlane not feeling the Marvel Man love?

I wrote that part about Marvel Man a week ago, just recently I saw a video of McFarlane and Robert Kirkman on CBRTV talking about some things and McFarlane said he’d be having a chat with his lawyer. UGH.

I really hope McFarlane isn’t the reason we’re not getting anything done with Marvel Man at Marvel. McFarlane NEVER used the damn character when he had rights to it with the exception of a damn toy. Gee. What a great use of your character property.

Also Man of Miracles does not count, that turned out to be a totally different character.

Maybe if McFarlane was publishing a Miracle Man (Marvel Man’s other alias) comic I could understand but he’s not. He did nothing with the character so some petty legal fight over it is just denying the fans who want to get to read new material with the character and that’s just annoying in every way.

Now maybe McFarlane isn’t what’s keeping Marvel from using the character but if it turns out he is, I may just have to hit my head with a phone book.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (the movie) fails with Mina

I made a comparison to this film as well as the old Black and white Dracula film starring Bela Lugosi. I was going off my opinion of the film when I saw it many years ago and I confess I liked it more then when I was younger since I hadn’t read the book then. Though I remembered how they ruined Mina.

I recently rewatched this film and I forgot how much they ruined Mina. They don’t just ruin the character, they take one of the best characters in the story and turn her into a total moronic incompetent love sick idiot and every scene she was in made me cringe at how badly they’d done such an injustice to the character.

Now as I said the movie in it’s own right isn’t really bad. The plot is nice for the most part and other then Mina and Jonathan, the characters are all done well. Oldman is a great Dracula and Sir Anthony Hopkins steals the show as Van Hellsing. Though all other characters are just well done and nothing special.

But Mina, my favorite character next to Dracula and Van Hellsing (in the book she’s just as brave if not braver then Jonathan) is totally ruined. She’s more then a love sick puppy in this film, oh no. I’d kill for stupid love sick puppy Mina right about now. If they’d gone that far maybe I could tolerate the film but they take her idiocy to a very tall height.

A perfect example of her idiocy is her reaction when Dracula admits he killed Lucy to her. Mind you there in bed and half naked but that’s aside from the point. Rather then like in the book where mina curses Dracula and calls him a monster saying she hates him, she hits his chest for a minute then say she wants to be with him.

Seriously, Mina? This guy kills your best friend, and you just shrug it off and say you want to be with him anyway? Am I missing something here or is this not the single most idiotic thing any character could do in this situation!

Now there is the idea that Mina is Dracula’s wife’s reincarnaton but that doesn’t fly with me. They totally ruined the character to her core and made her an absolute joke. They wanted a stupid little love story so they decided it was cool to take a great character and ruin everything about her. As I said, every goddamn scene with Mina makes me cringe!

Now to be fair I recently rewatched the Bela Lugosi film and it takes just as many liberties with the story. Changing Mina to Dr. Seward’s daughter which was just a weird and dumb change. Also explaining Renfield’s madness a little better but replacing his character for Jonathan when meeting Dracula. Also Jonathan and Mina are more sub-characters compared to Renfield, Dracula and Van Hellsing.

Even with that though it’s still a great movie and it still does the novel and it’s characters justice. Mina is still loyal and strong for Jonathan and it works well. Unlike the 90’s film which totally disregards the great character of Mina and turns her into an idiot who I was rooting for to get eaten by a wolf.

Fraction on Thor

I have mixed feeling about the announcement that Matt Fraction will be writing Thor from now on, with John Romita Jr. taking on the art duties. On one hand Fraction did an amazing job on the Ages of Thunder mini-series (something I’ve been meaning to pick up in the collections) so we know he can write Thor well.

Though I also heard a lot of negative reviews about his work on Secret Invasion: Thor. Though to be fair that was a tie-in mini-series and those rarely do too well. Sure you have a good mini here or there but often they can’t do much so I’m not surprised the mini didn’t do well.

I wanted to jump on with Thor with #600 but early reviews showed it was really just more of what JMS was already doing with the title and just continuing things along so I couldn’t honestly pick it up feeling I’d just be in the middle of things.

After Siege seems like a perfect time to be reading Thor and I have been considering reading Thor for the longest time. Though another problem is the art. Of all the artist, Djurdjevic and Coipel where 2 great picks for Thor. But Romita Jr? I’m just not feeling it.

When I think of his art I think of street heroes like Daredevil and Spider-man. Not mighty Gods that shake the heavens with a clap. It just doesn’t seem like something his art fits. Though I appreciate Marvel at least trying to take the artist out of his comfort zone and maybe it could pay off.

Another thing is continuity. Fraction did great on Ages of Thunder mostly because it wasn’t bogged down by continuity. It had the freedom of being out of the main storylines and had all the characters to use properly and that made it work. I’m not so sure if Fraction can do the same with the main ongoing though.

Then there’s Fraction’s work on Invincible Iron Man, which doesn’t look bad but at the same time the series looks so painfully like it’s dumbing down Iron Man for the movie readers who jumped on. I’ve heard a lot of praise for the series but from what I’ve seen it looks mediocre.

I can’t help but wonder if Fraction might dumb down Thor as well for a wider audience. I may be fairly new to the God of Thunder but I don’t want a watered down character or book.

Still with all my complaining I won’t deny that I am hopeful that Fraction can do the series justice. I will be checking out the first issue at the very least and hopefully it will be good.

Awe crap I just realized this is a fairly negative edition of New Age Ideas. I don’t want to leave this one off on a sour note. It’s almost Christmas after all! Well to end off this edition of New Age Ideas I’m going to leave you with a Batman themed Christmas picture.

All of a sudden I’m feeling the joy of the season! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all readers of the New Age.

The Week Begins - December 21st 2009

2009-12-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

Of course the week I’m out of town is the week 3 comic I’m dying to read all come out. Life has its fair share of cruel jokes doesn’t it? Well no use complaining now. Hopefully I can find a comic shop to get these this week. Now onto 3 excellent looking titles this week.

I also wanted to state that while I do have a Most Anticipated of this week, I’m highly excited for all 3 titles. Just one more then the others a little bit.

Angelus #1 *Most Anticipated*

Written: Ron Marz

Art: Stjepan Sejic

With Dani out of the picture of Witchblade, Marz has a huge chance to really put the character into a totally new element and make an excellent story out of it. Dani’s got a lot to overcome after all (having a psychotic ancient light force in your head can be a bit of a bother from time to time I figure) and I’m really looking forward to seeing where Marz takes the character.

I figure this first issue will mostly set us up with Dani’s new status quo and set up the events that will transpire in the 5 following issues. Though Marz is great at making an enjoyable set up issue still without making it feel like the typical “putting the pawns in place” chapter that so many mini’s have.

Also really looking forward to seeing even more Sejic a month. He’s an amazing artist so seeing him on 2 books is a serious treat. Can’t wait to check this out as soon as possible.

Image United #2

Written: Robert Kirkman

Art: Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Valentino, Erik Larsen, Whilce Portacio and Marc Silvestri.

I must admit I am very impressed with the Image guys for getting this issue out. Major props to you guys for really buckling down and getting it done. I was almost certain this would be delayed by at least a month or so since this is the Image Founders we’re talking about here.

I’m really excited to check this issue out mostly for the promised battle between the 2 Spawns. McFarlane handling both his creations sounds like an amazingly fun time and I’m stoked to see more of Omega Spawn and his interactions with Jim, even if it will mostly just be punching.

Also while the story isn’t my main reason for wanting to read this series, I will say that I am hopeful that Kirkman does a good job of giving us some twists soon and really upping the ante for the series. All around I’m really excited to read this issue.

Invincible #69

Written: Robert Kirkman

Art: Ryan Ottley

Invincible has been on such a hot streak for so long I would be crazy not to be excited for more greatness this month from Kirkman and Ottley. I’m really curious about this new villain(?) and finding out what her role is in all this and what effect she will have on the Sequid invasion.

Though lets be honest here, I’m mostly excited to see if Eve tells Mark about her pregnancy or what she is going to do about it. I know they will probably be really busy with the whole invasion thing (those do tend to get in the way from time to time) but it’s the most interesting development yet and I’m dying to see what happens next. I’m doubting it’s anything good with a recent cover reveal for February showing a crying Eve. Awe damn…this series has me excited to see what happens next no matter what!

Witchblade #133

Written: Ron Marz

Art: Stjepan Sejic

Twice the great creative team in one month is awesome, but twice the great creative team in one week? Absolutely great. While last issue wasn’t anything special it was an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to seeing where Marz takes the Troll plot by wrapping it up.

Week's End - December 20th 2009

2009-12-21T00:57:00.000-08:00

No vacation can hold Andrenn from exercising his nerd rights on the internet! Yes even as I am confined to a car for hours on end of what seems like endless roads I am still hard at work for you all. I hope you all appreciate it! Now onto the comics!

Comic of the Week: Streets of Gotham #7

With only 2 comics this week this was not a hard choice. While Mighty Avengers was a very fun read, Streets of Gotham dominated this week. Dini delivered a special present this year for Christmas and it was tons of sick and twisted fun.

This issue was full of great character moments and strong art. Dini handles the characters flawlessly and all the while he tells a small story that is really part of a larger story and it’s done incredibly well.

Streets of Gotham is the best of the bat-books in my opinion. It’s Dini excelling at what he does and doing a damn fine job of it making this series a must have for everyone who loves the world of Batman.

Moment of the Week: Kyle is Back!

I know death is nothing permanent in comics but this is getting ridiculous. Though I am really glad to see Kyle back and kicking ass so soon. Tomasi stunned me last month when we thought he was dead and he stunned me twice in a row to reveal he’s alive now.

Also we should have seen this coming, Kyle is on the cover to next month’s issue of Green Lantern Corps. Though I figured that was a false cover and that the image of Kyle would be swapped with someone like Soranik.

Cover of the Week: Batman #694 by Tony Daniel

Not a great week for covers but this one stands out really well. The use of all the gravestone like crosses and the shot of a somber Batman holding a dying boy in his arms is really powerful and looks great.

Artist of the Week: Patrick Gleason

From the scans I’ve seen online, Gleason has really been doing great on GLC. Here he tackles a badass looking Red Lantern Guy and an awesome image for Kyle’s revival. He hits action and emotion incredibly well for this series.

Character of the Week: Humpty Dumpty

Talk about the last character I expected to ever make a “best” of anything. Often very boring and uninteresting the character is often just used as fodder for something to have Batman beat up. Though Dini took a boring character and used his more sympathetic side and made a really compelling character and gave us a seriously powerful and heart breaking moment.

Comic Reviews - December 19th 2009

2009-12-19T17:28:00.000-08:00

Apologies once again for the delayed reviews, but hey at least these aren’t 2 weeks late! Now I leave tomorrow for Utah but I’m going to try and post a Week’s End when I get to the Motel tomorrow night. I will have my laptop on me but I’m not sure if the place I’m going to has wi-fi. If it does I’ll post it, if not, it will have to wait ‘till Monday.

I’m also going to try and pick up next week’s comics at a comic shop in town. If I can do that I’m definitely going for some reviews as best I can. Though I may not be able to. Also I want to focus on an Image Primer guest post I’ll be doing for The Weekly Crisis so it’s up in the air if next week’s comics will get reviewed then or not.

Also thanks very much to my friend Kenny for making this new banner for the blog to help us ring in the new year with a new banner. He did an awesome job!

So now lets get to this week’s comic reviews for the day! Only 2 but 2 good ones.

Streets of Gotham #7

Written: Paul Dini

Art: Dustin Nguyen

Opening Comments: Streets of Gotham is one of the best ongoings on the shelves right now. It’s the sleeper hit of the Batman Reborn status quo and easily has been trumping all the other bat-books in my opinion. Dini took a break for 2 months and thankfully is back and better then ever to stuff our stockings with Christmas cheer the Gotham way. Did he give us a great present or a lump of coal? Let’s find out!

Story Comments: Streets of Gotham #7 was an absolutely excellent read from start to finish. All the characters, the story, how it all develops is amazingly well pulled off and some of the best story telling I’ve seen all year.

I wasn’t really expecting a Christmas themed issue with this one. I know the cover has Manhunter in winter background but I just figured that was going to tie into it being December and nothing else. But Dini really impressed me with how he took the fun idea of a holiday story and totally twisted it.

Yes this issue is far from something for the little kids kind of holiday specials. You won’t be seeing Batman drinking hot coco as Robin tries to catch Rudolph for Santa’s sleigh. This is a harsh story and while it does tie into a Christmas theme it’s far from your fun little Christmas story. Though I love it even more for it.

Dini took a fun little concept of Christmas in Gotham and turned it into a dark eerie story that also ties into the larger story of how he’s been building up a confrontation with Zsasz.

This is what I’m talking about when I praise how Dini is able to so well tell a single story in one issue but all the while advancing a larger plot. Such as Humpty being found it because of files Batman stole from the Broker in issue #4 and Zsasz’ recent plans that have been developing for quite some time now.

Dini is using this title in a brilliant way so just about each issue is it’s own solid story but it also advances a larger plot. We don’t see this a lot in major comics nowadays like the Batman titles so Dini doing this is a really fun and unique thing right now compared to all the other books.

Dini is at his A-game with Streets of Gotham. This is some of his best writing along with the Heart of Hush storyline and of course his work for the DCU animated shows. Dini is really excelling with Streets of Gotham and making it an incredible read with each issue.

Dini really nails the characters well. We can easily tell this Batman is not Bruce Wayne as he actually likes talking and comes off as more friendly even if he still has that sharp edge. Dini writes the character of Batman very well by showing how sympathetic is to both Humpty and to Robin as they both are upset over the murders and the way Batman reacts is very much in line with the character of Dick Grayson.

Dini also excels with how he shows us Humpty Dumpty. A villain I’ve never really cared for who never really contributed much to the Batman Rogues Gallery. He’s fairly plain and big and that’s his shtick. He’s a big guy, not very exciting when it comes to villains really.

Though Dini took a boring villain and made him a lot of fun to watch. Humpty isn’t really a villain but more of someone who just is on the wrong side of the law and doesn’t get it. It’s a shame as we see here he’s a really nice guy who doesn’t want to hurt people but he just ends up doing so even if by accident.

He’s a very sympathetic character and Dini makes it work without making him feel overly sappy and boring to watch. I like sympathetic characters, heroes or villains, but when you play it up too much it gets really annoying. Here Dini does it to a right level where it gives Humpty a charming quality of how we do still care about this guy.

Then there was Robin who I swear Dini gets better then his own creator, Grant Morrison. Morrison always paints Damian as this very bland and annoying character who’s just a snobbish brat who can be a badass from time to time. Dini has taken Damian’s characters and added a layer that makes him much more interesting.

He’s still a badass who could kick your ass in the dark but we finally see a more human side of him in this issue when he gets upset over the head kids. We’ve seen Damian before get upset over a failure when he failed to save Scarlet in Batman and Robin #3 but Dini really goes the extra mile and makes Damian more compelling.

In this one issue of Streets of Gotham Damian has gotten more development then he has since his debut a few years back in the Batman and Son arc. Dini hasn’t taken away the hardened young hero he’s just shown us that he, like everyone else, can be vulnerable at times and get a little emotional.

Dini is working magic for the character with making him much more interesting to read about. His banter with Batman about Christmas was hilarious and it also fit the character well since there was still that attitude of “I’m awesome” as he spoke. I really like how Damian is developing as a character and it works well to advance the character.

Dini has been using the characters very well and spotlighting more then just Batman and Robin and it’s become very effective for the series in helping show a wider range on Gotham City and its inhabitants.

We finally have an identity for the Abuse character. People speculated that it was Colin since he did get a lot of Venom in him during the Heart of Hush story arc last year. It is nice to see Dini continuing with characters from prior storylines as it’s really nice to see him building a larger story and adding more characters to Gotham even while doing a great job with already established characters.

As I said Dini is able to tell a singular story all the while advancing a larger plot. In this case the larger plot has been Zasz as he has been building up a dream he’s had for quite some time that is now being funded by Black Mask since Zsasz saved him during issue #2.

It’s really great seeing how Dini can develop a large plot even while telling a singular story like the Broker or Hush’ taking over the Bruce Wayne persona. It works incredibly well and it was cool finally seeing Zsasz’ plan and use of the abandoned Gotham children.

It’s a sick twisted and grim plan that Zsasz is doing and it fits the disgusting horrific character well. Zsasz has always been absolutely insane and seeing him finally use that insanity for something other then killing random people is really effective in finally turning this D-list villain into a credible threat.

Zsasz has always been a creepy villain but not much else. He mumbles creepy stuff then stabs people and after that he cuts a mark into his skin. An okay gimmick for any psychotic villain but it can only go on for so far until the gimmick gets worn out and we get tired of him.

Zsasz has mostly been fodder to showing Batman be badass and saving someone. Not much else. He may kill a few people and be creepy some more but not much else. He’s never ascended to the credible threat that other villains like Joker or Mr. Freeze have. He’s always just been around for a short while then he hides away until some writer wants to use him for a 10 panel fight scene and then back away.

Dini plucked Zsasz out of his boring little corner of Gotham and finally upped the ante by turning his depraved mind into a landscape where horrors are born. We see a terrifying version of Zsasz who is so mentally out of it that he’s using orphan children as gladiators in his sick rendition of a Roman Coliseum.

Zsasz has gone beyond his bland ways and has become a truly terrifying and monstrous villain. This is just plain gruesome stuff that’s beyond just stabbing someone and marking yourself. Dini took a boring villain and made him incredibly interesting and scary boosting the villain greatly.

I must admit that while I liked the grim twist this story had, others will obviously not. Batman is a dark series but while Gotham itself is a dark and horrific places there is still lots of room for enjoyable heroics.

If you’re looking for more action oriented heroic stories you probably won’t like Streets of Gotham. The series focuses on the dark corners of Gotham that only the Batman can face and while I love it, others may not.

While I liked the reveal that Abuse is indeed Colin (or so we can figure) it was a little obvious. Still it worked well.

Overall this issue was a near flawless read that was just tons of fun to read and the best issue yet of the already great young series.

Art Comments: Nguyen also shines this month with some excellent artwork to go along with the great story. Nguyen has come a long way over the years since he first did work on Superman/Batman. While his work has always had a unique style to it the recent issues of Streets of Gotham have really propelled him as a top-artist at DC.

He’s work here is nothing short of gorgeous as he does a great job with all the characters, all the emotion and important moments are conveyed beautifully here and it all looks absolutely amazing.

I did have one problem with the art and that was the snow effect which got really annoying at times. I wasn’t sure exactly how it was done. It didn’t seem to be drawn in but the snow looked like splattered paint and it was annoying at times.

Also once again the coloring is really strong to add to the already great artwork.

Final Comments: If you haven’t been liking what Morrison is doing over with Batman and Robin (I know I haven’t) and are looking for a great Batman series that focuses on Gotham City as a whole and is really interesting and compelling then this is the series for you. This issue just proved once again why Dini is a modern master when it comes to writing Batman.

Story Rating: 5 out of 10

Art Rating: 5 out of 10

Overall Rating: 5 out of 10

Must Have

Mighty Avengers #32

Written: Dan Slott

Art: Koi Pham

Opening Comments: In a lot of ways I’ve wanted to love this title but been unable to. Slott has failed in places to use the characters well and tell a fun action series that separates itself from the other Avengers titles out there. Though things seemed to be getting better at the end of the Unspoken arc.

Now Slott is giving us a fun arc that involves 2 Avengers clashing as swell as working together and it’s looking to be a fun time with great character work and a solid enjoyable read even for some of it’s flaws.

Story Comments: the cover does lie, there is no real fight between the Mighty and Dark Avengers. Though the two teams do clash in a sense they don’t actually physically fight but that actually ends up working out still.

Though I admit I was really looking forward to a big Avengers fight so that cover advertising one and us not getting it is rather disappointing. Slott can write some strong action so not seeing him take advantage of the two teams fighting on the cover was sad, though maybe we’ll still get some kind of fight next month.

This issue has more of Loki’s scheming to do wrong with “his” Avengers. Loki has been setting up a lot of things through Dark Reign and his current status has him using both Osborn and the Mighty Avengers so it makes sense that these two forces would collide sooner or later as things have been building up to this story for a while now.

Slott also does a great job of using the developing plots of Dark Reign to help set up Osborn’s fall even more so in Siege. We see Osborn is cracking under the armor and slowly is losing himself more and more and this issue was a nice little catch up to all the horrible things that he’s done so far like torture and his attack on the X-men. It’s all developing very nicely.

Also there’s Loki and his masquerade as the Scarlet Witch. I have liked this development a lot and it’s been working very well for the series especially since the team is wise to Loki’s tricks even if they don’t know it’s him yet. They are aware their being duped by the trickster and seeing them try to figure this out was a nice thing as it shows the team isn’t oblivious like Osborn is.

A nice twist was the use of the Absorbing Man. Not really a villain I was expecting to see in this story or recently really. He’s been a prominent villain every once in a while but this is probably the strongest he’s become in a long time. I don’t want to spoil the ending so I won’t say what happens but lets just say he’s become a major threat that is indeed worthy of 2 Avengers working at once to stop him.

This issue mostly was just set up though as while the 2 teams clearly show animosity towards each other it was disappointing that this 2 part arc mostly just gets set up for the first half even if it means the second half will no doubt have more action which will no doubt make it a more enjoyable read next month.

So far it really hasn’t done much but beef up our villain for the story and have some great character moments. That makes for a good read no doubt but on it’s own it’s not much else other then an enjoyable read.

As I said there are some great character moments in this issue but there are a couple of annoying ones as well. For instance I just cant’ see how Amadeus could outsmart Vision. Maybe it’s just the Vision fan in me but I can’t see how Amadeus could outthink the super intelligent library of knowledge android.

Also Stature continues to be an annoying character. She of course was somewhat designed that way to not be the most likable or interesting of the Young Avengers but most writers have still been able to keep that interesting and enjoyable character alongside with her annoying moments.

Slott seems to be ignoring her more interesting aspects and just focusing on the annoying teenager part of Stature and that in itself is frustrating that he’s not really utilizing the character to her fullest. He’s just treating her like the dumb blonde of the team and it’s a great misuse of character here.

US Agent continues to annoy me. But it seems Slott is really playing that up to make him an obnoxious tool and it actually is more effective here. Seeing him salute Norman Osborn, a known criminal just for his status is surprisingly effective and works for the character in highlighting how brainwashed he is to love anything that’s in red white and blue so Slott uses the character well here.

Then of course there’s Hank Pym, the Wasp. I loved how Slott really turned the Scientist Supreme thing into a fun joke. Sure it’s a serious status for Pym no doubt but it’s played into being comedic and it works well with how smug he gets about it and loves hearing others say it.

Hank is someone who’s been treated so bad that it makes sense that he clings to this new title and loves hearing it. He’s been seen so often as a bad guy who has been so desperate for redemption that when he finally finds it and no longer has the weight of the world on his shoulders he really exploits it and does his best to use it to make himself feel good.

Slott uses the character well as our leader of the Mighty Avengers. He leads the team well and interacts with all the teammates on a different level and it’s a lot of fun to read. Really it’s how a good Avenger leader should act and Slott does so without making the character lose any part of himself that would be sacrificed to be a good leader. This is still Hank Pym even if he’s changed a bit and it works incredibly well.

I am curious to see where Slott takes the Scarlet Witch is a fake reveal when Quicksilver finally finds out. His team can’t hide this from him forever and I’m really looking forward to seeing his reaction to the fake Wanda.

The Dark Avengers are handled fairly well but Norman Osborn is best written as we see him slowly losing it again. It’s great seeing his banter with Hank and a few lines just made me laugh so hard. Slott writes the character well and his interactions with Hank and the others are nicely done.

All around the story is well handled even if it has some weak points and doesn’t do too much Slott still does a good job with it and makes for an entertaining and fun read and handles it well.

Art Comments: Pham’s art has been all over the place somewhat like the stories for this series. He can turn in some great stuff when he works really hard on it and puts in that extra effort. Though when he doesn’t his art often falls apart and can look extremely messy and poor.

Here his work was enjoyable. He did a great job with the emotions conveyed, the characters and their looks and it was all very nicely done. Making for an all around enjoyable art serving this month.

Final Comments: While nothing amazing this was a fun read with some great character work and solid art. If you’re looking for a fun read that does a great job of using the super hero genre and telling an enjoyable story with it then this is the book for you and this is looking to be an enjoyable story.

Story Rating: 4 out of 5

Art rating: 3 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Must Read

Comics from 2 Weeks Ago Reviewed

2009-12-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

Apologies for these 2 reviews being so late (can’t seem to muster up for Ultimate Spider-man so we’re doing an Open Fire!) this is the last week of school before Christmas Break so I’ve been rater tied up with the season and shopping and all that. I got my comics today, hopefully shooting for reviews tomorrow, if not then, Friday. Now onto the 2 reviews!

Haunt #3

Written: Robert Kirkman

Art: Ryan Ottley

Opening Comments: Haunt #3 was a good example of just because a comic doesn’t do a lot doesn’t mean it doesn’t accomplish something and still prove to be a great read. Here we don’t get any major event but the moments within still are important and interesting enough to satisfy even more then some big flashy 10 page fight would have.

Story Comments:

Now the high point of the issue is what Kirkman does with Daniel and how he really flips the perspective of how we view his relationship with Kurt. We finally see that Daniel, for all his bad nasty attitude had someone he cared about once and that was Amanda, Kurt’s widow.

At first I suspected as much that Kurt stole Amanda from Daniel but I didn’t expect the actual reveal of this moment to be so powerful or well done. A random side comment about it alone would have sufficed to let the reader know but Kirkman takes what is a simple moment and really milks it for a really important and interesting moment for Daniel.

Seeing Daniel get so upset really was not what I was expecting. I half figured he’d shrug off that and wouldn’t care about it. He seemed to hate Amanda at this point (and I guess for good reason) so him finding out that Kurt cheated on her didn’t seem like something he’d cared about.

But Kirkman gave Daniel a new emotional layer, showing he’s not so cold hearted and uncaring as we believe. We see that deep down he still cared enough about Amanda to be furious at the mere idea of Kurt cheating on her. And his line about how Kurt could have any woman in the world but he had to take Daniel’s love really hits home and makes us feel his pain as we see him recollect his suffering and it all hits home nicely for us readers.

Kirkman is a talented writer and he’s always done a good job of building up his heroes even if some times he’s just setting them up to fall. Here I really liked that he’s making these characters more developed then their 10 second descriptions of “mean priest and nice CIA killing machine” and he’s showing us they are more interesting then just those 2 ideas and that’s a key element to making any character really.

We’re finally seeing that Daniel isn’t this perverse low life like we thought he was and Kurt isn’t some golden hearted nice guy who’s never done a mean thing in his life. I mean seriously, taking your brother’s girlfriend? That’s pretty low and I can’t really blame Daniel for hating Kurt and Amanda over this.

Kirkman has shown there’s a new depth to Daniel. A reason for his hatred and anger and it was nice to finally see that all come out, even if just for a couple of pages and it leaves a real emotional impact on the reader when you can establish a connection with the hero in some way through his own losses.

Though of course there was more to Haunt then just that one moment.

While we didn’t get much action I did appreciate seeing Haunt be all badass as he smacked around Kurt’s torturer. It was a short bit of action but just about every comic needs a little action at least to satisfy that action craving and this comic did a good job at that.

Of course the big reveal was that Kurt’s murder was an inside job. Honestly I can’t say I really pondered much over Kurt’s murder. I figured he got killed simply because he was tied to that doctor after saving those people, and since he didn’t have answers about the doctor’s notebook (which we saw someone steal in issue #1) so he got killed.I knew there was obviously a bigger mystery but at the same time no use over thinking it when all will be revealed eventually.

Still this was a really good twist and a great lead as to what’s going on for Kurt’s murder. We knew he was tied to that doctor as a reason for his murder but seeing this was really cool and a nice twist to leave us curious as to what will happen next. Also this was the first time this larger mystery actually got my attention really.

As to who our mystery man is and what the doctor was doing with those experiments is of course still up in the air. But at least the pieces are starting to fall into place, like Haunt knowing how the 2 brothers are connected and that’s why they can form Haunt so while things aren’t all revealed we are on our way.

It seems Haunt is getting it’s cast extended more. I’m not sure if Beth will be a reoccurring character or not but she obviously had some intimate connection to Kurt and I really hope to find out more about her and that she could return often to the series, maybe as Haunt’s back up or someone who keeps him in the loop of things.

Haunt doesn’t have a real cast outside of the 2 brothers and Amanda right now so it’s imperative that Kirkman add some extra characters for Haunt to interact with and to build upon fast since we’re already 3 issues in.

We did get some little hints dropped at a possible future character when the scientists here talking about Daniel and that was nice. Kirkman hasn’t been one to shy away from foreshadowing so I honesty was expecting some hints to be dropped by now and I’m sure it will lead somewhere sooner or later.

Haunt is 3 issues in and as I said we don’t have much of a supporting cast. I know this is the debut arc to set everything up and while it seems Beth may be a main character I just can’t help but wish we had more depth to the characters around Daniel and Kurt.

Overall Haunt #3 is the best issue of the young series and it continues to get better and better.

Art Comments: I really am loving Ottley’s work here on Haunt, but what adds to it even more is Capullo’s lay outs. Little details like Haunt reflecting on his would be killer’s knife. Some of the perspectives get really creative and it all looks cool and adds to the already gorgeous artwork.

The art did have a few little moments. Nothing major that ruined it but still it had some weird little moments.

Final Comments: If you dropped Haunt after issue #1 and wrote it off as 90’s Image crap then I highly recommend you check again as this series is easily shaping up to be another winner from Kirkman. Sure it’s had some kinks to work out but as time goes on this is looking to be one of the best new comics out there and I give it a high recommendation to all.

Story Rating: 5 out of 5

Art Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Must Have

Now I can’t seem to write up much about Ultimate Comics Spider-man, so we’ll do a quick Open Fire! Review for it.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #5

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: David Lafuente

A solid and enjoyable read but mostly held back by some of the lack of major character development. I was really disappointed to see Bendis not follow up on his reveal last month that MJ regrets dumping Peter. A really interesting plot point I wanted to see more.

The fight with Mysterio was great, very well handled and very well choreographed by Lafuente. It flowed nicely and it was great seeing the Hooded stranger thrown into the mix.

Lafuente’s art was good but not his best. He had some little issues here and there where I could tell he rushed it a bit but it was still solid stuff.

Overall this was an enjoyable read though it does develop things more I was disappointed at no follow up from past month’s moments and that Mysterio got his ass handed. Hopefully Bendis can end this arc right next month.

Story Rating: 4 out of 5

Art Rating: 4 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Must Read

The Week Begins - December 15th 2009

2009-12-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

What I thought was going to be a big week (at first it seemed like Invincible, Jersey Gods and Angelus would all be out this week) has become a very small week and I admit that has me sort of sad. I won’t be here next week to pick up any comics and NEXT week seems pretty big, Image United, Invincible, Angelus and possibly Jersey Gods (Image has taken it off the listings for December so I figure it may be delayed…) which just totally sucks for me. Oh well, lets check out the comics this week still.

Streets of Gotham #7 *Most Anticipated*

Written: Paul Dini

Art: Dustin Nguyen

My second most anticipated comic of this month is Dini’s epic return to Streets of Gotham. After a so-so 2 part story by Christ Yost I’m really excited to see Dini come back to the title he easily made a must have for me early on.

Seems this issue is getting back to where the series was with Zsasz up to no good and the other developing threads. I’m really excited to see where Dini goes next with this story even if we know it won’t conclude for another couple of months it’s still something I’m excited to read each month.

Mighty Avengers #32

Written; Dan Slott

Art: Koi Pham

Despite how harsh I’ve been on Mighty Avengers I admit I am really looking forward to reading this issue. Mostly just that I’m expecting a fun “super hero fight” 2 part story like we get from time to time but the art does look great, possibly some of Pham’s best yet, and that also has me excited.

Now this arc is probably just going to be filler, some fun fighting, maybe some important character moments. I’m not really expecting anything major until Siege or after that. But still last issue was a real return to form for the series so I’m looking forward to reading more.

New Age News: Nemesis, Batman in Time, Warring Superman and Video Games!

2009-12-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

It’s been quite some time since a New Age News. For those unaware, this is me taking a look at and commenting my own opinion on recent announcements in the comics industry. Now with links for all your information goodness.

Millar and McNiven Make Nemesis

So the big announcement of the latest project Mark Millar is working with Steve McNiven is Nemesis. A creator owned book to be published from Marvel’s Icon imprint like the Criminal and Powers books have been.

Now I’ve had some mixed reaction to this. On one hand I’m not the biggest fan of Mark Millar. He’s a solid writer who can do some good stuff but I find a lot of his stuff over hyped and uninteresting when compared to writers who make much more interesting stories.

His first story I honestly can say I loved was Old Man Logan which was absolutely brilliant but mostly for the fact that Millar did something he doesn’t do that often, interjected some real interesting and enjoyable characters. Usually his characters are lacking anything really interesting or something that makes me feel for them, but with Old Man Logan he really made me care about the characters which is partially why I loved it so much more then his usual “over the top” wild stuff.

I love over the top violent stories, that’s all great, but if the characters are all bland just for the sake of getting to do cool stuff then I couldn’t care less about the real heart of the story since the characters drive that story. That’s why I’ve disliked stories such as Wanted.

But Nemesis sounds like a very fun story. A story in the same vein as a What If in a sense that it’s what if Batman where the Joker? A simple idea and the fact that Millar is using this idea as a platform as a creator owned story is really cool and I appreciate that he seems to be focusing more on his creator owned stuff which is always nice to see.

So while I’m not a big fan of Millar’s stuff I know he can do great stuff when he puts forth that extra effort and the premise is cool enough to where I will definitely be checking this series out, also I know it will look damn good thanks to Steve McNiven.

Bruce Wayne vs. History

Big shocker, Bruce Wayne is coming back. I know, the internet totally split in half over this major shock.

So it’s a 6 issue mini-series written by none other then Grant Morrison with each issue featuring a different artist since Batman will be fighting his way through a different period of history. It’s a nice premise at least and it ties into the whole effect of the Omega Beams.

I like the idea and it sounds like a fun read but I myself won’t be reading it. Mostly for expense but also for the fact that this series is something we all saw coming so I can’t really say it’s going to be anything shocking. Batman will fight history, Batman will win then Dick Grayson will be booted back to his own corner of the DCU as if nothing ever happened, that’s how comics work.

Earth One in Graphic Novels

Announced very early this week was that Earth One would be making a big return in the form of a series of Graphic Novels. The first 2 to kick off this new series are of Superman (written by JMS and with art by Shane Davis) and Batman (Written by Geoff Johns and with art by Gary Frank)

Now my first thought about this when I heart it was “Wait, Johns and Frank aren’t handling the Superman story?” I mean it just seems like these 2 signed some kind of contract to work on Superman forever. When I hear these 2 are collaborating again I instantly think it’s on a new Superman book.

So seeing these 2 handle the last hero I think they would handle, Batman, it just seems like an odd fit. I don’t know if Johns has written a lot of Batman before but something about him handling a Batman series just seems out of place, if that makes any sense. Also Gary Frank is one of the last artists that comes to mind when I think of the dark and disturbing alleys of Gotham City.

Now JMS sounds like a nice fit for Superman though since he’s already handled Gods before over in Thor. Also Shane Davis draws a killer Superman so I think this is still a good team.

I’m also willing to give Johns and Frank a try on Batman since I’ve heard such good things about their prior collaborations.

Though here’s my biggest problem, it’s yet another “year one” style of stories. I’m so tired of these. Sure, Batman: Year One is an amazing story but we don’t need another one of these stories for Batman, his origin isn’t that interesting to keep retelling. Same thing for Superman, we’re not even done with Secret Origin for crying out loud!

Also I hate to say it but this just seems like DC’s desperate attempt at picking up the pieces from their failure to establish the All Star line with all the delayed projects that fell through like All Star Batgirl and All Star Wonder Woman. Just another attempt to have their own “Ultimate” line it seems.

Still I admit I love the idea of these debuting as a series of graphic novels, I’m a sucker for an OGN so seeing something new from DC like this sounds like a bold and interesting idea I look forward to picking up. I will definitely pick up the Batman one for sure.

War of the Supermen

Hey, big surprise, there’s another comic event with the title “war” in it. Because that’s not getting cliché or anything. Please keep them coming as I’m not getting tired of this crap at all. I like companies beating the term to death. It’s cool.

As for the event itself I can’t say I’m interested in it at all. Just seems like more DC Superman crossovers. I feel so bad for Superman readers, you guys can’t even have one title in the whole list of comics that isn’t getting dragged into a crappy crossover every few months. One of the reasons I stick to Indy comics so much nowadays, no annoying crossovers constantly.

Wonder Woman renumbered as #600

Not sure if this is really a major announcement, not something we don’t hear often. Marvel seems to be doing it all the time, any day now I expected Invincible Iron Man to get renumbered and probably a few other comics like Wolverine Weapon X at this rate. It makes sense DC would give one of their most prominent heroes a renumbering eventually.

The question is will this be a real big deal or will DC hype this all up for nothing? I’m half expecting a big anniversary issue but then Wonder Woman returning to business as usual. No real major shake ups.

Andy Clarke on Batman and Robin

Not a real major announcement but still an important one since it’s the latest artist for the series. I haven’t seen much of his work but what I have seen was good looking and I think he’ll be a really interesting fit with the series.

Though really I’m not sure if I’ll even be reading Batman and Robin by this point. I’m debating if I should just drop the series at this rate and stick to Streets of Gotham since it seems all the real important stuff will be happening later after the Return of Bruce Wayne so Batman and Robin feels like a useless series at this point.

The title of the story arc “Batman vs. Robin” implies that the dynamic duo will be fighting. An all right premise for a 3 part arc but honestly I’m just wondering what’s the point of this series now, other then introducing some new villains and plot points that I’m sure Grant Morrison will tackle with his next Batman story after Return of Bruce Wayne.

I want to give the latest arc a chance if only for Cameron Stewart’s art but at the same time it just seems so much easier to drop it at this point.

Megaman 10

Megaman 9 was my game of the year for 2008, so by no shock I’m incredibly excited for Megaman 10 in all it’s 8-bit over the top glory that I’m sure will rock. Capcom has a winning formula with the Megaman series so I can’t see how they would screw it up at this point.

One thing that really excites me is that Protoman is a playable character without that crap downloadable content. It’s really exciting that he’ll be a playable character. As for the secret third character, I’m guessing it’s Bass or Roll.

This game seems like more crazy fun with things like Sheepman and I’m sure all kinds of fun. Possibly a runner for early game of 2010? You never know, either way I can’t wait to play more Megaman greatness.

Spawn 10 to finally be reprinted

Dave Sim and Todd McFarlane’s highly interesting collaboration on spawn #10 will finally be reprinted after 14 years of being left to be found by Spawn fans in back issue bins.

I have this issue, as well as issue #9 (the comic McFarlane refuses to reprint because he’s still bitter) and I can say it’s a worthwhile issue to track down, but now it’s getting reprinted in the deluxe edition Hardcover of Spawn Origins.

At first I was pissed about this since this book is 100 dollars, not exactly something I can afford to shell out but it seems there’s a regular Hardcover for 25 bucks that will include the reprint as well as the first 25 issues so I’m not angry right now.

Spawn #10 was great read and I’m really glad to finally see it getting reprinted.

Greg Capullo to Draw Haunt #6

Capullo has been a long term collaborator with McFarlane and up to this point he’s just been providing lay outs for Haunt but now he’s taking the saddle of the art and drawing issue #6 which is a one shot story about the former agent Mirage (who got mentioned in issue #3)

My little theory is that Mirage is the woman we saw steal the doctor’s notes in issue #1 and this will fill in the blanks as to what she’s doing and her whole role in the Haunt series.

I love Capullo’s art so seeing him draw an entire issue of Haunt is an absolute treat. Much as I love Ottley’s work seeing Capullo take over for him for an issue is a great thing and I’m really excited for this issue.

Arkham Asylum 2

Not wanting to be outdone by Capcom’s big announcement of a new sequel, Rocksteady released a badass teaser for the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum featuring the Asylum right in the middle of Gotham, it’s inmates over running the city along with Joker (with that awesome Mark Hamill laugh) running the show, and also still seeming to be healing from his last beating.

Damn it feels good to be a gamer right now. As if Megaman 10 wasn’t enough, now another great game is getting a sequel. Though I doubt it will be in 2010 and even if it is, it will probably be late 2010.

Arkham Asylum for me was game of the year and I loved it so seeing a sequel from the same guys behind the first has me really excited. It seems that the gangs all here, Mark Hamill no doubt as Joker and it seems like Paul Dini is in for it so I’m really excited to see this game.

My hopes are that we’ll get a more expansive world, new ranges of enemies and ways to fight them and to take on even more of Batman’s rogues. Hopefully Mr. Freeze and Two-Face will have prominent roles as well.

Either way I can’t wait to find out more about this game and I already have high hopes for it.

Week's End - December 6th 2009

2009-12-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

A small week but still some great comics to look back on for this week of December. So let’s set the candy canes aside for now and look back at this week.

Spoilers for Haunt #3 and Jonah Hex #50

Comic of the Week: Haunt #3

There where some great reads this week but Haunt wins mostly for a really powerful moment that just really impressed me. More on that moment just down but it really impressed me and made what was a fairly simple issue great.

Kirkman gave us a few answers here, like that Kurt’s murder was an inside job and we also get a view of our big villain who was behind it all. Pretty exciting and cool stuff for the series to move on into with the future and just an excellent read. Also some damn good art on top of it all.

Moments of the Week: Kurt ruined Daniel’s life, Jonah Hex is awesome and Hex baby.

This is that big emotional moment I was telling you all about, where Daniel finds out that Kurt cheated on Amanda and we finally find out that Daniel and Amanda where indeed together but Kurt stole her from him. Ouch. Stealing a friend’s girl is one thing ,but your brother? OUCH. Guess Kurt isn’t the great guy we thought ht was.

This moment was great for it’s emotion and how Kirkman has now flipped the reader’s perception on the characters. We originally weren’t to like Daniel, the bad mouth whore loving priest and we where supposed to like Kurt the CIA killing machine who seemed really nice. Turns out Kurt isn’t as great as he seems.

Kirkman reaches a new emotional level with the story and really makes us feel for this character and puts us in his place and it’s an amazing moment for what it accomplishes and really is probably one of the most emotional character moments Kirkman has ever written.

A friend gave me his copy of Jonah Hex #50 this week, telling me I’d love it since it was Darwyn Cooke and I did love this issue but for more then just the gorgeous artwork. This issue had tons of great moments but this was by far one of the funniest as Jonah is going around killing 50 men in a bounty and this page was great. I especially loved that final page of the guy getting out of the out house, that’s just cold, Jonah.

Jonah’s badass close up after having killed all 50 men. Just a really cool shot by Darwyn Cooke but I really loved it and it reminded me of all those classic badass hero shots after he did the job and saved the day. A really cool scene to close Jonah’s little adventure.

Then there was the heart breaking ending to this issue. It really left an impact on me after I put this issue done and was almost good enough to make this comic of the week. I loved this moment.

To put it into context for anyone who didn’t read the issue, that’s Jonah’s would be daughter in the box. She was kidnapped by a crazy religious lady who killed the baby. Jonah got his revenge and dropped the baby off with her mother in that little coffin. A really powerful moment that was done well even with no words spoken in it. Also a strong way to end the issue.

Cover of the Week: Siege: the Cabal one-shot by David Finch

Not a lot of great covers this week but Finch did a great job of really capturing the spirit of this issue with this covered. Basically the Cabal having a big fight. Nothing too major but things like the detail and striking poses make this a really cool cover. Finch does a great job with both the 2 main forefront characters and the background characters.

Artist of the Week: Darwyn Cooke

There where some great artists this week but I have to give it to one of the best artists out there right now. Cooke is currently working on adapting the Parker novels and while that looks good I hope he does another mini-series for DC sometime soon.

His art here was amazing. While not quite like his usual style it was still some amazing stuff. He excelled both with some superb action scenes and some really powerful emotional moments as well for our characters and sometimes his art tells the story just as well as the actual words. Some truly great art and I hope to see more from him soon in the future.

Character of the Week: Aunt May

This woman is a saint, seriously. Now I’m talking about Ultimate Aunt May from this week’s Ultimate Spider-man. She’s done a lot for Peter and his friends but now she’s taken in not just Johnny Storm but Iceman as well. Someone give this woman a prize or something.

Comic I wish I Got of the Week: Jonah Hex #50

Though I got to read this issue thanks to a friend I really wish I had picked up this issue at the shop. It was an excellent read and while I’ve never read the series I know it’s based around the Clint Eastwood Westerns and I loved those movies. This was an amazing read with amazing art, may pick it up next time I’m in the shop.

The Week Begins - December 1st 2009

2009-12-01T19:41:00.000-08:00

It’s a new month, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all! What better way to get into the season then with some new comics! Now I may not be able to get all my comics this month but I’m sure going to try (got to still get presents though!) but lets take a look at this week’s comics.

Haunt #3 *Most Anticipated*

Written: Robert Kirkman

Art: Ryan Ottley and Greg Capullo

Haunt looks to be slowly improving after a much better issue last month I’m hopeful that Kirkman can really step up this time and make Haunt the Must Have comic it has all the potential to become. All he really has to add is an extra layer of depth and intrigue to the story beyond “there’s some big mystery” and he could sell it.

Supposedly we’ll be getting some answers in this issue even if the entire puzzle won’t be solved. Still I do look forward to seeing what we can and I hope we at least get an explanation as to why Daniel and Kurt can do what they do. Also from the preview it does seem like they may get some answers.

Haunt is easily one of those comics I’m keeping my eye on each month and am anticipating to read each month. I have high hopes that Kirkman can finally take this series to it’s full potential.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #5

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: David Lafuente

After 4 issues I can once again say it feels good to read Ultimate Spider-man again. Finally Bendis is blending the stellar fun action with great character drama and fun moments. I can’t wait to get my hands on this issue and see what else he has in store as Spider-man goes head to head with Mysterio.

Siege: the Cabal One Shot

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: Michael Lark

I’m really wrestling with if I should get this or not. Siege itself is still up in the air as to if I buy it or not. This seems more like just one domino that starts the rest falling in the main mini-series next year. So while it will be an important story to Siege, at the same time I know I could pick up that mini without this.

Though at the same time I really love Bendis’ Dr. Doom. He’s all powerful, he’s a major badass and seeing a one-shot that’s basically set around him fighting the other members of the Cabal seems really awesome to me. Though I’m not sure who’s on who’s side really.

Also it seems we’ll get a reveal as to who Norman’s “secret weapon” is and while I could just read it on a forum at the same time if it’s some major reveal it’s never quite as awesome as reading it for yourself in the comic.

Though of course there’s the fact that I’m trying to spend as little as I can on things besides Christmas gifts so if I do or do not pick this up all will be determined when I get to the shop later this week.

Still it does look good to say the least. Bendis seems to be starting out this Siege event with a bang and seeing Michael Lark out of his comfort zone after so long on Daredevil and taking on something as big as this one shot does seem great. In the end we’ll see when I reach the comic shop.

Week's End - November 29th 2009

2009-11-29T20:48:00.000-08:00

Week’s End is here, and with it a note that I’m taking another Month off from Month’s End, rather I’m just going to say the comic of the month and the most anticipated comic of next month. Month’s End is sort of tricky because often it feels like I’m recycling old Week’s End posts so I want to boil it down to just 2 key parts of the end of the Month and see how that works out.

Now with that said let’s move onto the comics.

Comic of the Week: Image United #1

I’ve stated in the past that some comics aren’t going to get the win just for a higher score. Image United is a good example of that as this week’s issue really blew me away with some gorgeous art and a lot of great character moments but at the same time the plot was very thin.

Though the thing plot was made up for as the characters where all written incredibly well and the artwork was absolutely gorgeous. A stunning view to the eyes and having each character drawn by their creator was such a brilliant idea.

While this issue was really something that Image fans will probably appreciate more then anyone else I still loved the hell out of it and for me it was the best comic this week.

Moments of the Week: Black Lantern Batman, DIE and Omega Spawn

Seeing Batman as a Black Lantern was absolutely awesome this week. It’s a damn shame he wasn’t a major player in the story because I really did love this moment and it was just so awesome seeing him. DC Direct, take note of this and make this figure with Blackest Night series 3.

Of course the awesome final 2 page spread that just left us all excited for more. Sure, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow are all sure to be back to normal pretty soon but I’m certain that Ice will stay dead or maybe even Donna Troy.

What really makes this moment work is the build up. We see all the heroes assembled to fight this great menace, you’ve got the heavy hitters like Superman and Wonder Woman, Nekron doesn’t stand a chance. Then we get thrown over a loop and they good guys are now the bad guys, with very few major heroes left to combat this threat. Awesome way to end the issue.

While this moment was spoiled a month ahead of time as well as with that awesome Jim Lee cover I still loved it. I’m dying to know why Al went bad and even more so I’m dying to see Jim and him go head to head. This moment just appealed to the Spawn fan in me in so many ways, I can’t wait for more next month.

Cover of the Week: Image United #1 Jim Lee variant

Santa, if you’re out there, this baby is at the top of my Christmas list. Seriously this cover is just so awesome in so many ways. For one Lee does a great job of putting in all the characters without making it feel cramped in any way.

Of course what really makes it work is how wicked Omega Spawn is, that evil laugh you can tell he’s chuckling as Ripclaw desperately tries to wound him but fails. It all just looks so great and seeing Lee draw all these characters again was so much fun, I love this cover.

Artists of the Week: Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio and Todd McFarlane.

Making a rare exception here by giving 6 artists the spot rather then 1. But I give top billing to Rob Liefeld, yes that Rob Liefeld the same Liefeld who’s art usually brings me sorrow and anger but really impressed me with some incredible lay out work and solid work on his characters.

Though everyone impressed me. From Erik Larsen, to Todd McFarlane. Marc Silvestri even with his 2 pages of extra character art from outside the opening scene. It was all gorgeous looking stuff from all the artists and I loved every page of it.

Character of the Week: Nekron

Much as I loved the character work in Image United #1, I have to give it to Johns for revealing Nekron to be a serious badass who turns out to be a more major threat to the DCU then anyone figured. I wasn’t sure how this villain would come across but Johns did a great job making him a total badass and making me want to see more of him.

Comic of the Month: Invincible #68

This month had plenty of good and great reads but I have to give it to Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley for really impressing me this month with a great way to start back up with Invincible. Some jaw dropping moments and beautiful art made this one an easy choice.

Movie of the Month: Turtles Forever

I rarely get to go to the theater, but when I do I often review whatever movie I just saw. Now this one will probably be a rarity at the end of the month but it’s still something I want to try and what better movie to kick this off then a movie that really does feel like the end of an era.

If you missed my Turtles Forever review, to sum it up, it had some issues but deep down I still loved it and it really appealed to the TMNT fan in me. I really hope we get a DVD of this one real soon as it is a really great movie that no TMNT fan should miss.

Most Anticipated Comic for December: Angelus #1

While this series hasn’t been at the forefront of my radar, I still added it to the pull list as it’s Ron Marz and Stjepan Sejic the great team behind Witchblade. Though lately Witchblade hasn’t been quite as enjoyable as when I started reading, so I’m really excited to see them with this mini-series in hopes that they can recapture some of that magic while focusing on Dani and making her a more interesting character.

Blackest Night #5 review

2009-11-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

Blackest Night started out very strong earlier this year but over the past 4 months the main series devolved into “Dead rise, people die, feel sad for dead people, rinse and repeat” and while it never got bad per say, it was just boring by it’s 4^th month.

Now with the big baddie finally revealed and ready to take his vengeance upon the DCU it’s hard not to be hopeful that Johns can get Blackest Night’s main mini-series back on track. Let’s take a look and see if he did.

*happy 300th post, this blog is Sparta! I look forward to making many more for you all in the future.

Creative Team

Writer: Geoff Johns

Art: Ivan Reis

Opening Comments: This is the first issue of the main mini series that feels absolutely important to the Blackest Night saga since issue #1. Finally we’re done with the same shtick and things are getting interesting again. Blackest Night #5 may not be a perfect read but it’s on it’s way to making Blackest Night an important and interesting event again.

Story Comments: Our opening scene with all the different corps members (red, blue, orange, green, Sinestro, star sapphires and Indigo) going to charge up was a nice scene. I read up that they all got together in Green Lantern this week so it makes sense that this issue would pick up from that.

This scene is pretty cool when seeing all the different Corps oaths but it’s made more comedic when Larfleeze doesn’t have one. I really like the character of Larfleeze, he’s so funny even when he’s so badass at times. Seeing him confused as he interacted with the others was a nice scene.

When we jump back to earth with Barry Allen and later Wally West (the two Flashes) fighting hordes of Black Lanterns and Nekron talking I liked this scene a lot two. Usually the dialogue between characters in Blackest Night varies from good to just plain annoying but here Johns really uses the dynamic between these two nicely and it actually has me hopeful for his upcoming Flash ongoing series.

Also we seriously need a Flash Corps. Just saying.

One moment I didn’t like was that for some reason Jean takes Atom and Aquaman’s ex-wife (I’m sorry I can’t remember her name right now) into the ring of Black Lantern Damage. It was just really weird and I’m sure it will make sense in future issues but at the moment it was seriously out of place and annoying.

I did like seeing this series tie into things like the Blackest Night: Titans mini where the new Dove has the strange ability to kill Black Lanterns whenever they go after her. It’s nice to see that Blackest Night does have a fairly tight story where all the things like what happened to the Titans will come into play during the main mini-series.

Also it seems that thanks to the Flashes the Guardians are now free, I wonder if that will play into anything in a future issue of Blackest Night.

When all the Corps show up to destroy Scar, it was absolutely awesome. Easily one of the best moments of the week as it was really cool seeing Johns bring them in now rather then wait until next issue and say “well you got your Green Lantern in the opening, that’s all you need for this month”

Again Johns’ character writing is much better this time around when Hal and Barry meet up and when the Corps attack the Black Lantern power battery. I don’t know why the past few issues had so much useless and uninteresting dialogue as right now we can see that Johns knows how to write important and interesting dialogue as we see right here.

One thing that really confused me about this issue was that somehow the Lanterns attacking the power battery mad it stronger. What’s with that? How does that make sense and why? I don’t mind that it makes Nekron stronger at all, that’s a cool twist really but could you at least give us a quick comment as to why?

Then of course there’s the splash page that left everyone’s jaw dropping, even if only for a moment. Black Lantern Batman. This was a really cool moment and what made it even better was how Nekron uses Black Lantern Batman to create an emotional tether to all the heroes. A brilliant twist.

But then there comes my big complaint, after the tether is made, Nekron lets “Bruce Wayne” (even he uses quotes) to rest. What the hell was all that build up for if he’s not going to be a big villain or power in this story?

It’s the same problem I had with Abin Sur getting destroyed last month. Here we get all this build up to these people coming back as Black Lanterns and you’d think someone like Abin Sur would be a big deal and would make a big splash just as you would think Batman would.

Then they get killed off right away and it’s like wasting all that opportunity to have a cool villain for the story even if he won’t last beyond this storyline. It would be great to see Black Lantern Batman face Dick Grayson Batman and Abin Sur be a major player in this story but that’s been ruined now.

Maybe Johns wasn’t trying to milk the idea of these Black Lanterns but I still wish they would have had a bigger role in this then they did.

Then there’s that other jaw dropping splash page that ends our comic for us. I was expecting some major characters to die. Like I knew one Green Lantern would die (Kyle Rayner was not the one I figured but oh well) and I figured maybe one not so major DCU hero would die but damn, this was epic.

Now we all know Superman, Wonder Woman and Kid Flash should be fine and back to normal by the end of this series but characters like Ice and Animal Man, probably won’t be so lucky and are probably going to stay dead which would make this final moment have a little more impact.

It was still a really awesome way to end this issue and left me excited to see what happens next month as it was just a really cool ending to what was a really great read.

Overall this was a great read and the most interesting issue of Blackest Night yet. Johns didn’t’ just get the ball rolling, he kicked that thing into overdrive and there’s no stopping it now!

Art Comments: Ivan Reis really does have his work cut out for him. Even when he turns in rushed art it still looks damn good. Though as I said it does at times look pretty rushed, a lot of the regular detail is not there but it’s still damn good looking and he really excels with some gorgeous splash pages.

Final Comments: While Blackest Night still isn’t back to Must Have territory for me this issue was a great step in the right direction for the series and if Johns can keep the momentum going we may just have the most exciting event comic ever.

Story Rating: 4 out of 5

Art rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

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