The Week Begins - October 26th 2009

Forgive me for being gone so long, yours truly came down with a nasty case of swine flu. But I’m better now and ready to bring you all my comic thoughts. Also don’t worry about the Halloween posts, they are still on I assure you. Now onto the comics!

Dark Reign: Young Avengers #5 *Most Anticipated*

Written: Paul Cornell

Art: Mark Brooks

With it being a small week it was this or Blackest Night #4 and I am definitely more excited for this issue. The conclusion to what has been, in my opinion, the best mini of the year. Even though it hit a delay I remain excited for this issue.

This mini has been great so far and I’m really excited to see how Cornell ends it all. Hopefully he closes all the plot threads that he opened with issue #1 and resolves the points like Enchantress and Melter’s place in the world. It’s been a hell of a great ride so far and I can only hope it ends as great as it began.

Blackest Night #4

Written: Geoff Johns

Art: Ivan Reis

My excitement for this series has dwindled greatly over the past 3 issues. While the firs 2 where great reads, last issue was just standing around talking and nothing else. We got one death scene but besides that I remain bored and am losing my excitement fast and Johns has to work fast to win it back.

The mid-point of any event comic is crucial. If Johns can really amp the danger level again and throw some big bombs out there then I think he could easily win me back. If he gives us more useless chatter and standing around like last time then I’m going to be annoyed.

Negative as I am about this issue I do remain hopeful. Blackest Night has yet to turn into a bad event for me, just slowed down is all. So I am really hopeful that Johns can save this issue fast and return this event to prominence.

Horror and Comics: A Match made in the Crypt

Comics and Horror are an interesting blend when you think about it. Horror can be very effective in novels as the descriptive nature of a good author can help build the tension that some of the classics (Dracula, Frankenstein, the works of Stephen King) have been best at.

In a film horror can go 2 ways, really building tensions and making you care about characters like the books usually go for, or it can go for jump scares. Jumps scares seem to be most of horror movies nowadays sadly.

Why do I bring this up? Because I want to distinguish that those 2 forms of medium are very different usually with how they use horror. Novels have to be creepier and build tension slowly if they want to be fully effective and movies can go either way. Though comics can have a mix.

Horror comics can both build strong tension and give us jump scares because comics are both a literary and visual medium that blends storytelling like a book and visual medium like a movie. You read and see. So a horror comic is a very unique and special thing since it can 2 both 2 elements of horror easily.

Now I wanted to get that out of the way so I can mention the elements of horror and how they work with comics. I want you to know how that affects my judgment on the horror comics I’ll be talking about right now.

While I don’t have too much to say on them, the old EC horror comics of the 50’s obviously deserve at the very least a mention for being such a vital horror source of the time. Also helping inspire the great movie Creepshow.

I actually have a few EC horror comics such as Tale from the Crypt and I must admit they are incredibly dark and creepy. While they lack the over the top punch that most horror comics nowadays have they still have their own brand of horror that hasn’t been seen in years. Making it a really creepy and fun experience to read.

Now when talking about the horror comics of today I should warn you all my experience is probably more shallow then others. I haven’t fully immersed myself in every horror comic out there nor am I fully aware of every horror comic out there nowadays.

So if I skip a favorite of yours then feel free to let me know about it in the comment section. Just try not to chew me out too hard or you’ll draw blood, and that will attract the zombie sharks.

One of the first major horror comics that comes to mind when I think of this current generation of horror comics is 30 days of night. The little vampire comic that blew everyone away and has since become one of the biggest Indy comics out there. Even going so far as to make a movie.

I could make an entire post all about the 30 days of Night series but I’m going to try and condense this as much as I can since I have other comics to talk about.

The first mini was not the best for me, it was a great read but mostly for Niles doing a good job of establishing his characters. I always feel a horror story is only as good as it’s main characters, not just the villains. If I don’t care about the heroes what’s the point of watching their story of being in danger?

Eben and Stella are 2 great memorable characters that give us a great window into Barrow and the struggle as the vampire hordes attack. Niles succeeds most there for sure. Though he also gives us some great villains with the more ruthless monstrous vampires. My favorite being Vincente, their leader.

Overall the first comic was more like a good start to something that would become better really as I enjoy it’s sequels more. Well specific ones.

Dark Days was just all right, not much I really want to say on this one since I haven’t read it in a long time.

Return to Barrow is undeniably the best of all the sequels and mini’s out there. I hope to one day do a full on big review of this but for now I want to leave it at this. It has the best and most memorable cast of characters, it has the most memorable scenes, the art was much better even though I already loved Templesmith’s earlier work and it has a twist ending that was absolutely awesome.

Long story short if you had to buy one 30 days of night book (and there are quite a few out there) this is the one I give the highest recommendation.

The only other sequels I went through the trouble of buying after that where Eben and Stella as well as Red Snow. The others I’ve just read in my book store and I can be honest and say I wasn’t too impressed with them.

Eben and Stella wasn’t too great either to be honest. I only enjoyed it for filling in the gaps between Dark Days and Return to Barrow.

I already reviewed Red Snow and while I don’t want to completely restate it, I do find it to be the best of the sequels since Return to Barrow. It’s Nazi’s vs. Vampires with memorable and cool moments and beautiful art, what more could you want?

Since 30 Days of Night, Ben Templesmith has gone on and become a very popular artist. Mostly with horror comics as he’s done covers for Halloween, the art for the Dead Space comics, Aliens and even a Silent Hill comic.

I could make  the rest of this post about Templesmith’s horror work, but rather I’m going to pick one: Welcome to Hoxford, his werewolf mini-series from 2008.

I actually skipped this mini in order to collection wait for it. I finally got a chance to read it just recently and I must say I am impressed. Now I’ll do a much bigger more full review of this sometime in the future but for now here are my brief thoughts on it.

Templesmith did a great job with this mini in the span of 4 issues. Building tension nicely for when we finally see the werewolves. We get some really messed up characters that, to be honest, we don’t root for. The only character I can say I cared about was the doctor though she seemed to be the least developed.

Still this has some great villains with the werewolves and I really dig Templesmith’s designs with them. They looks great and wicked as all hell. Of course like always Templesmith’s art here is great.

I’d have to say the werewolf hasn’t benefited much from this resurgence of horror in movies and comics in the last decade. There haven’t been any memorable horror movies recently or horror books or comics. This is the first werewolf story I’ve seen in a long while and it’s certainly a great one. Werewolf fans shouldn’t pass this one up.

Now keeping to the indy comics of horror I want to briefly talk about The Walking Dead. Sadly I haven’t actually picked up this comic, I’ve just read online spoilers, scans and skimmed through it at the book shop.

Friends have told me again and again I should read this and that I would love it. They are probably right. For one thing it’s in Black and White like one of my favorite films, Night of the Living Dead. While I really appreciate the hard work of colorists to me there’s always been some kind of special appeal of a black and white horror story.

I have kept up to date on the characters and it does sound like a heart wrenching story that I would love to read. I’ve been considering picking up the hardcover collections for the longest time now and I think it’s about time I do.

I am a huge zombie fan and even more so I am a huge fan of the Romero films. No offense to Return of the Living Dead, great movie, but I prefer the classic “shoot them in the head and their dead” zombies. Kirkman gives us that and for that I really would love this series if where to start reading it.

What’s kept me from reading it? Really just expense. I have a long list of collection books I want to buy and rarely do I start reading a series I’ve never read before when it comes to collection books. Though I am going to make an exception here.

Robert Kirkman is a writer who I respect a lot so his name on Walking Dead also helps. I will be giving this series a read and trust me, you will all be the first to know my thoughts on it after I read volume 1.

Now there are some comics that are considered horror like Hellboy. Sadly I’ve never read a Hellboy comic except a couple of Free Comicbook Day one-shots. I really want to read Hellboy, but so far my only exposure was the good 1^st movie and the absolutely awesome 2^nd movie.

Now there have been horror comics from Marvel and DC. DC usually it’s just something like a creepy Batman story or a Halloween one-shot and I never read their holiday specials so I can’t chime in on them.

Marvel usually uses it’s MAX line for horror comics. Stories such as for Man-thing (personal favorite of mine) or Werewolf by night. That’s all good but I think Marvel’s most prominent horror comic in recent years is the ever so popular Marvel Zombies.

I’ve talked quite a lot about the Marvel Zombies series and by now it’s no understatement to say that Marvel has milked this undead cow for all it’s worth and the milk is starting to go bad.

The first mini was an awesome read that proved the concept could work and was fun and over the top. It was insane and really went above and beyond what one would expect. It wasn’t amazing writing, but it was great for what it was.

The prequel comics where all decent to enjoyable. Dead Days was a useless one-shot though and the Army of Darkness crossover was really just a dumb idea that only worked out because of how funny it was seeing Ash’ reactions.

Marvel Zombies 2 was a more serious approach and surprisingly it worked very well. Making one of the best and most enjoyable horror sequels since Return to Barrow.

Marvel Zombies 3 saw a different writer in charge with Fred Van Lente and I must admit he did a great job. Sure Kirkman set the bar pretty high but Van Lente gave us a comic that I can only describe as Evil Dead 2 if Machine Man where Ash.

It was the same over the top greatness only in a different way. We had an actual hero this time and it worked incredibly well. Also Kev Walker’s art was gorgeous even if it didn’t mimic Sean Phillips’ darker moody art.

Then we have Marvel Zombies 4…which in all honest is Midnight Sons simply picking up a Marvel Zombies thread. It was a good read but in the long run a forgettable one. It had none of the Marvel Zombies charm and by now I was getting bored.

I’ve read through most of the Marvel Zombies Returns one shots and I can honestly say BLEH, the fad is officially dead and if Marvel has any good sense on them they’ll leave it dead and buried.

Marvel Zombies was an awesome idea that started out very strong. If Marvel hadn’t quite overdone it so much I’m sure it would remain in fans memories as one of the coolest and funnest comics in a long time.

 

Now I want to end this off by talking about a couple of younger horror based comics.

The Astounding Wolfman is a series I’ve really wanted to read for a while but the first few issues never really did anything with me. Kirkman’s use of the characters wife just as a dramatic death really irked me as it’s more typical writing from Kirkman and what one would expect.

Kirkman is a great writer but this series seems like something more I should be reading in the collection books. Which is what I’ll probably be doing sometime in the future.

Scarlet Veronica is similar to Astounding Wolfman in that it takes elements of horror but adds the super hero twist to it. Though Scarlet Veronica is much more closer to the original idea of playing within the realms of horror.

I’ve reviewed this comic already and I can’t say much more of how much I enjoyed it. It wasn’t the smartest or most brain picking comic but it wasn’t trying to be the next Watchmen or anything. The writers set out to tell a fun cool story with enjoyable characters and they did so.

Often horror can work when it has some lighter tones and gives us some fun along with the scares. While this comic never actually scares, it does do a great job of giving us a more fun and enjoyable outing like horror can do so well. So for that I really did enjoy the hell out of it.

I wanted to briefly mention Haunt, the new comic from Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman. Looking back at my review of issue #1 I do think I may have been a tad too harsh on the art. Though still all around I stick by the rest of what I said .

Despite issue #1 being a bit of a problematic start I remain hopeful for this series and fairly excited to read #2. I love the twist of ghosts and whatever other horrors Kirkman has in store so I’m really excited to check this book out.

Overall horror and comics has been an interesting marriage. Sometimes it works really well, other times it seems comics just play with themes of horror but don’t go all the way to be a fully scary comic. Either way it’s a great pairing and I love horror comics.

Now excuse me as I go face the greatest fear of all comic readers, watching Batman and Robin from start to finish!

Resident Evil 5 And Degeneration Reviews

We’ve got an evil 2 in 1 post for all you zombie lovers out there. Rather then separate posts I’m merging the Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil: Degeneration review into one post! Twice the daily dose of zombie!

Now I’m not newbie the Resident Evil franchise. I’ve loved it’s frightening settings and desperate situations. Along with great characters and even though at times cheesy, enjoyable stories. So 5 was my most anticipated game of 2009. Did it live up to the hype as well as pass the amazing 4^th game? Let’s find out!

Story – Mild Spoilers

Building on developments from the very first game up to 4, this story picks up with Chris in Africa. He’s got a new partner and is now a member of the BSAA, an organization made to keep outbreaks under control. It starts out as a simple mission of finding the scientist known as Irving and it all goes to hell fast.

Now a side note before I continue the review, I will call the enemies in this game zombies. I am well aware that technically they are not zombies. Just regular people with Last Plagas making them evil. But it’s easier to call them zombies so their zombies now.

Now this story isn’t anything spectacular. If you’re a fan of the prior RE games like me then you’ll probably love it as it does a solid job of tying up all the loose ends and is a very satisfying conclusion to the saga.

We see new characters such as Sheva and she’s a great addition to the RE cast. Not just a variation of Jill or anything like that. She’s fleshed out nicely and by the end of the game she fits nicely with the rest of the RE characters.

Chris isn’t too special in this game. He’s got some inner monologue for all of 10 seconds and he’s his usual nice self but as far as the character is concerned he’s just all right.

Of course the real shining star was Wesker. Always a glorious bastard who deserves to get killed. He was great in this game both as a badass and as a real credible threat. Better then any villain in the RE series for sure.

The story does a great job of tying up all the loose ends that have been hanging since Wesker returned in Code Veronica. From Wesker’s survival to his use of Las Plagas this game does a great job of taking what has been established and using it well to tie all the bits up and end off with a strong note of the saga.

All in all the story is enjoyable but more for longtime Resi fans like myself. It has a strong beginning middle and end and it does a great job of taking us from point A to point B and still being an interesting and enjoyable ride in between.

Game play

This game is mostly a pure action game as far as design is concerned and it plays to those strength. You get bombarded by loads of enemies and get plenty of ammo to take them down. It’s simple, it’s fun and it’s incredibly well designed.

Though the key aspect to the gameplay is the co-op play between Chris and Sheva. While at some points the story will make them split up so Sheva can do one thing while Chris does another usually Sheva is by your side at all time and it can be very helpful often.

Though the way I’ve played the game Sheva’s helpfulness is like this: 60% of the time she’s great and really helpful, 40% of the time you want to put a bullet between her eyes for her stupidity and she makes me miss carting Ashley around from Resident Evil 4.

Now first is that she can’t mix herbs. At first this doesn’t seem too annoying but when you realize that half her inventory box is full of herbs she could easily mix on her own you have to swap stuff with her to mix them which is tedious and annoying.

Also and I swear this is true, with a regular handgun she will shoot at near rapidfire speed as if it where a TMP. (the gun, not to be confused with the company that can’t get  books out on time) but when you give her a TMP, a gun that’s very existence is to burn through ammo at rapid fire and eat up ammo, she shoots it one bullet at a time like a handgun. That’s more then a glitch, that’s switching up what the AI is supposed to do and that is just hair pullingly annoying.

Chances are Sheva will run out of ammo much more then you do. I have a theory that whenever you’re not looking at her she grabs the boxes of ammo and eats them. If not then she just wastes bullets like it’s nobody’s business. She’ll be shooting at enemies that are 10 miles away.

Then there’s helping your partner. When I was being eaten by Uroboros Sheva was standing right next to me. I waited a solid 10 seconds and she didn’t stab the creature or anything to help me. Seems half the time she doesn’t really give a shit.

Then there’s her lack of subtlety. Sheva can’t seem to understand that you don’t always want to engage an enemy. That sometimes you should be quiet and sneaky. There is a hallway full of Lickers that you can indeed get past if you walk slow and steady. About…1/4^th the way in Sheva decided this was a bad idea, so she shoots a Licker and makes my life a living hell by having to spring while being attacked at by every angle.

Sheva will heal you over every little scratch. So I suggest not giving her healers. Especially first aid sprays. While this is helpful if I’m halfway down on health or something it’s incredibly frustrating that she’ll waste healers on me for getting a little scratch.

These all seem like things the designers should have caught easily enough in beta testing. Especially the gun mix up. So what the hell went wrong?

Well luckily that’s just 40% of the time as the rest of the time she’s usually really helpful in tight spots. A useful ally and can save your ass and also is really helpful in boss fights. So besides her problems she’s really useful in co-op and it’s a lot of fun when you’ve got  friend playing as Sheva.

Now I both like and dislike the shooting here. On one hand the aiming is very nice with the lasers and it handles like a dream. I’ve had zero problems when handling the guns. On the other hand I want to walk and shoot! I don’t have to run and shoot, just walk, please. At first this didn’t bug me but now it’s really strange and I can’t see why the developers left this simple idea out.

Quick time events thankfully make some rare appearances in this game. They where great in 4 but nowadays they’ve become painfully overdone and I have come to despise them now. While the ones we got here weren’t bad I really wish we didn’t even have to use Quick time events anymore. It works in God of War, it worked in RE4, but now the idea has been overplayed and I’m ready for them to stop.

All in all the controls are solid and for it’s few faults the gameplay is very strong.

Design

Resi 5’s biggest flaw isn’t in the gameplay or anything like that. It’s that it fails to deliver the scary Resident Evil experience we’ve all come to love. Even 4, sure it was more action oriented, had a constant flow of great tension and eerie creepy moments that kept you on edge.

5 ditches that after you escape the mining area. From the 1^st chapter to that point there is some great atmosphere and tension. Especially for being out in broad daylight. But after that point all the tension and fear is pretty much lost. With the exclusion of building up to your first Licker encounter but besides that one point near the end the game loses it’s fear.

What really bugs me about this is the game’s slogan is Fear you can’t Forget. Well Capcom sadly it is Fear I can Forget and I can Forget it Fairly easy which makes this Fairely unFun Fear….F.

Puzzles are pretty much gone. To be fair I wasn’t too surprised as RE4 had laughably easy puzzles so at this point it seemed pointless to even have puzzles now.

You don’t have any other save slots, so then you get the ability to replay certain chapters. A really smart move by the developers so that I can enjoy certain chapters and it really enhances the replayability.

Despite this one major flaw the design of the game is still great. Buildings in the distance look incredibly real even and the shanty town to the top secret medical labs are all designed incredibly well. A huge amount of detail was put into this game and it looks great.

Enemies

The enemies vary from good to frustrating. My favorite would have to be the simple villagers who have no specialty. They just come off as so much more creepier and haunting and they don’t look like killers. It’s creepy and at the same time unsettling.

Now bosses, there isn’t much I can really say. Some bosses like the Executioner or the Spider are both easy but fun. Others like the Ndesu (African El Gigante basically) are tedious and annoying. Ndesu sucks because you fight him in a car the whole time and don’t ever take him face on. It’s more like going through the motions and chances of dying are slim.

Though the final fight with Wesker was at least worth it but even that is more of going through the motions as well. Once you know what to do Wesker is incredibly easy since there is no skill in fighting him outside of do A B C D and E then he’s dead.

There are 3 enemies I have to complain about. Instant Kill Ants, Elephant Heads and Machine  Gun Zombies.

Instant kill ants are a variation of the Ants from RE4 in that they are ants with hiding abilities. The different being that these things kill you if you get even mildly close. Bullshit. If they did a lot of damage maybe I’d be okay with it but if you fail to hit them right away you’re dead.

Elephant Heads are bullet eaters. Shotgun shells will practically move past them. Magnum is the only way to kill them fast and even then their still durable. More tedious and annoying then a good challenge.

Then there’s Machine gun zombie, similar to Elephanthead a Magnum is the best way to put him down. But the developers decided to throw us for a loop and right before the final fight you face 2, along with a horde of their buddies. There’s challenging, and then there’ just unfair.

Though all in all the enemy design and AI is pretty good.

Final Thoughts

Overall Resident Evil 5 is a great action game with some strong atmosphere at first. Fans of the franchise will be happy that the story wraps up all the loose ends. It’s got great action, but at the same time is definitely a new kind of animal unlike it’s predecessors. Still that doesn’t stop it from being a great game that’s worth the price and will give you hours of fun.

Score: 8 Racist Zombies out of 10

Resident Evil: Degeneration Review

Resident Evil is by far one of my favorite video game franchises. Great games, characters, and silly as they may be at times I do love the stories to these games. A lot of people hate the 3 live action films from Hollywood and while I don’t hate them, I must admit that they don’t satisfy the craving I have for more brain munching zombie goodness with beloved RE characters.

Seems Capcom realized this little problem and finally gave the hunger what it wanted. A CG film starring 2 characters from what some say is the best Resident Evil game #2. Leon and Claire reunite and hopes are high for an enjoyable experience. Let’s bare our teeth and dig into the flesh of Resident Evil: Degeneration (and yes, every horror oriented review will have these campy zombie jokes, get used to them now)

(Spoilers ahead!)

Taking place between 4 and 5, Degeneration starts with a zombie infestation in an airport.  Now we don’t start with that right away. Rather we get some brief exposition with Claire arriving and we find out about the company that’s been taking heat from protestors.

Like most zombie movies the story starts out calm. Though by the time the plane crashes and the zombies being to infest the airport things are great. Such a confined place like an airport as opposed to a city is a great place to have zombies. The same works with a mall or any other big building.

Claire is her usual strong self. Not in the mood to be ripped to pieces she starts off and we figure she’s the main hero. Though Leon shows up and it turns into more of a rescue mission really as he’s accompanied by a couple of officers into the airport.

I’ve split this movie into 3 main parts, the 1^st is great as it does a strong job of building atmosphere. We get a good claustrophobic feel to the airport and even with a guy like Leon in there it’s hard not to feel the tension these characters are feeling. I especially liked the moment when they are getting surrounded by zombies in an office room.

We get the typical sacrifice moment and while the writers try to give it some weight later on by the end of the movie the guy who sacrifices himself is completely unmemorable and you don’t really give a damn that he’s zombie chow.

We have a few villains here. Our first villain, the pharmacy head CEO is a real slimy guy. The typical bad guy you look forward to seeing the zombies rip apart. He’s especially unlikable when he p

ushes a little girl into a horde of zombies to save his own skin.

Our second villain is given the more sympathetic route as his family died in the Raccoon City incident. We also tie him to the main cop character who is his sister but it never really feels all that sad.

The only characters we end up caring about are Leon and Claire and that’s just because of their prior events in Resident Evil 2, Code: Veronica and 4. These characters have been fairly well developed to the point where you do care about them to an extent and the writers of the film had that in mind.

Now all in all the 1^st part of the film was pretty good but it was the only part of the film that really qualified this as a zombie flick. Everything after this is more about the evil corporation, though we do get a monster, more on that later.

My least favorite of the 3 parts is the 2^nd which is the middle. Now it’s common in horror films to really use the middle part of a movie to build the tension or suspense so we can have an epic climax. And that is sort of what we get here.

Though mostly it’s just giving us exposition that really doesn’t interest us or make us care anymore about the more throwaway characters that we’ll never see after this film.

We get a love interest introduced between Leon and Short Haired Cop (I can’t care enough to remember her name she’s so damn bland) but again it never goes anywhere. Not even the annoying cliché “kiss before we may die” type thing.

All this exposition does eventually lead us to our thrilling 3^rd act but it just feels like such a slow burn in between. We find out some vital stuff but in the long run you’re just waiting around for something to happen and it’s not interesting to watch.

Now to the thrilling 3^rd act. Curtis injects himself with the G-virus and goes batshit insane. Turning into a monster not unlike William Birkin’s transformations in Resident Evil 2. From there it’s an all out action fest and it’s awesome.

Really there is no progression of the plot after this point. It’s Leon and Short Haired Cop trying to escape the monster and doing all kinds of impossible stunts. But it gets the blood pumping and it’s so great.

In the tradition of the Resident Evil games the final enemy is defeated and the area they where in self destructs.

Our ending is fairly peaceful though the cliff-hanger ending just lets us know how Tricell fits into all this for Resident Evil 5’s storyline.

Overall the story was solid and enjoyable. If the middle where better and didn’t drag so much it could have been a lot better as it seemed like we got a lot of useless exposition. Also sadly this movie, for being a zombie type movie, doesn’t really scare much if at all.

Of course when comparing it to the games that had a lot of scares it’s hard. The game immersed you whereas your only immersion here is if you like the characters. Though all in all it’s not a scary movie, and that does hurt it a bit, it’s still a good movie.

Design

The CG for this film is great. Capcom goes above and beyond to really make this look realistic all the while still having a bit of the non realistic feel that video games always carry.

My only complaints are some people do some odd gestures for humans. Also that Claire’s lips look so full that if you poked them it seems like globs of lipstick would burst out.

Though besides that the design is really impressive.

Final Thoughts

While not a great movie, Degeneration is still enjoyable. It uses it’s 2 main characters well. For fans of the Resident Evil franchise like myself this is a must see. Though if you’re a more casual fan or are not familiar with Resident Evil this probably won’t appeal that much to you.

Score: 7 Zombie News Anchors out of 10

Comic Reviews - October 8th 2009

Yesterday I posted my review of Haunt #1, but I didn’t forget about the rest of the comics this week. So let’s get to it!

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #3

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: David Lafuente

Opening Comments: After all right enjoyable reads I wasn’t too excited for this issue. However with Bendis finally giving us some answers it seems like this series is finally on it’s way to being the greatness I had been hoping for.

Story Comments: The opening does nothing for me other then give us some mediocre reactions to the Mysterio video from last issue. Definitely a weak way to open the issue though it was at least nice seeing MJ make an appearance of more then 1 page.

I also wasn’t too fond of the Aunt May/Jonny Storm discussion. Definitely a bit too long as it’s more of Bendis speak but here it isn’t really entertaining. This could have been one solid page to catch us up on Jonny and that’s all it would need to be really.

As I said earlier we get answers finally and it turns out MJ broke up with Peter after Ultimatum. Why? We still don’t know. But Peter doesn’t know either. I’m assuming it was the trauma of Ultimatum but for now it remains a mystery.

This scene was actually well handled as Bendis did a great job of showing us the tension between these two. The argument alone was something that I felt should have happened in the 1^st issue but I can be forgiving as it was nice just getting the answers finally and this was all around a really great moment.

Bendis uses the two very well so that you feel their past relationship still is in there somewhere between the confusion and anger. Emotion is conveyed really well and that made this an awesome scene between them. I am hopeful that we see something like this again soon.

One a side note about the characters I was very annoyed that Kitty didn’t make any appearance at all.

We get our monthly dose of action this time with Mysterio rather then the Bombshells. Mysterio has released some hallucinogenic gas making everyone see giant Spiders. After a hilarious scene of Spider-man figuring out they aren’t real he goes to face Mysterio.

Spider-man catches Mysterio in the act of trying to steal from a bank. The fight that ensues was just a taste of the pure awesome I’m excited to see in later issues. We do get some insight that Mysterio doesn’t really like to kill which was a nice little character moment for him.

As I’ve sad Mysterio is a badass. Though the best part was how angry he got that the police didn’t arrest Spider-man when it was set up to look like he’d tried to steal the gold. Just a fun moment for me.

My biggest issue with the final page is that while it’s really funny, the comic just sort of…ends. Not a real cliff-hanger or anything. It just ends and then we’re done. Is this going to be a trend for the series, weak cliff-hangers that don’t excite me at all? I hope not.

All in all the story was a vast improvement over the past 2 issues. Much more bang for the buck as far as price is concerned and it just all around was a great issue on it’s own even while continuing the plot threads from issue #1.

Art Comments: Lafuente’s art continues to impress but sadly he had some weak spots. Mostly a close up with Mysterio and once again Spider-man’s head is rounder then it should. He just had some bad moments and while it doesn’t ruin the art it was a tad odd when I’ve seen him do better in the past 2 issues.

Final Comments: Definitely the best issue so far in the young series. While the plot is still a slow burn this series has finally become the comic I was hoping for with issue #1. Definitely highly recommended to all.

Writing: 5 out of 5

Art: 5 out of 5

Overall: 5 out of 5

Must Have

Witchblade #131

Written: Ron Marz

Art: Stjepan Sejic

Opening Comments: Disappointing is one way I could describe this issue of Witchblade.  While in no way a bad read, if anything it had some strong moments, compared to what I’ve come to expect from this series it was definitely weak. Though on the up side it is very new reader friendly at least.

Story Comments: This issue juggles a couple of things, we see Sara save a little girl from a kidnapper, Sara says her goodbyes to Dani (as she goes off to star in the Angelus mini) and this all happens as Gleason is talking to Sara’s sister Julie. So we have dialogue over lapping scenes which is nice.

Most of the dialogue isn’t too important if you’re familiar with Witchblade like I am. We get a lot of re-explaining things like the Angelus and all that. Though we do get some nice dialogue all the way between Gleason and Julie and we get some real great moments in between the blatant restating.

We see that Sara doesn’t have the Witchblade totally under control and I must admit this is a pretty good new twist for her status quo. If it will really affect her in any important way has yet to be seen but it’s still a really interesting dynamic that I look forward to seeing Marz use.

The scene with Sara and Dani was nice too, leaving me excited for the Angelus mini come December. Though I was sad that Finch just sort of sat around until the very end of it. Finch is a very interesting new character and I hope she gets good page time over in the Angelus mini.

My biggest problem comes from not any bad points ,just at how average it is. Nothing ever gets annoying or dumb but it’s all just so average and okay. Nothing exciting or overly interesting. Just average.

Now maybe this is unfair of me  but ever since I started reading Witchblade with #116 it’s been great. Even the slow talking issues between characters has been incredibly well done. Both interesting and still fun to read.

This issue was a fun read and it had it’s interesting points but compared to what Marz has done and can do it was disappointing. Character work didn’t have it’s usual flair of intrigue as usually I really like reading what the character have to say. Here half of it felt like throwaway dialogue.

While as I said I am glad this is new reader friendly to hopefully entice new readers to the book at the same time it’s so new reader friendly that I felt like I was rereading the opening to #116 which already told me everything I need to know about the Witchblade mythos.

So all in all while it’s a good story for me it wasn’t up to the same level of greatness I’ve come to expect from this series. Still a good read though.

Art Comments: I’d have to say the part that hurt most was seeing Sejic turn in washy muddy looking art. Now I love his art for being clean, detailed and just all around beautiful. We see glimpses of his former greatness here and there, especially with the final 2 pages but a lot of bits and pieces here just looked muddy.

Maybe he was in a rush or something but wow this is definitely the worst his art has been so far on Witchblade. A lot of the detail is gone and at times it looks just plain flat. While the art never get awful, its’ definitely very weak.

Final Comments: A good read with some artistic issues. It was disappointing for me but I’m sure others will enjoy it at least. Not bad but still it could have been better.

Writing: 3 out of 5

Art: 3 out of 5

Overall: 3 out of 5

Check It

Batman and Robin #5

Written: Grant Morrison

Art: Phillip Tan

Opening Comments: After a solid read last time Morrison gives us an enjoyable read with glimpses of greatness. Though at least Tan’s art was great once again. Still this issue was not as great as it could have been.

Story Comments: the story doesn’t do much, Batman and Robin fight Red Hood and Scarlet. Flamingo shows up. Turns out Red Hood is indeed Jason Todd, shit hits the fan. All in all a solid middle point for the story arc.

Honestly there really isn’t a lot I can say about this issue. It was very average and enjoyable. It had some good moments mostly with Flamingo at the end. He was an absolute badass and left me excited to see him next time.

But for the most part this issue was a simple read. Nothing really stood out and impressed me and while the character work was mostly well I hated how Penguin was squawking. I guess it’s safe to say Morrison hasn’t paid much attention to Penguin since the 70’s.

All in all it was also a shorter read then the prior issues. There wasn’t much extra to make it feel like a long interesting read. It’s one of those comics that you read, your done with it and you’re left with no impression.

Overall a good story but not a lot I can honestly say other then that for the most part it was good.

Art Comments: Tan continues to impress. While the coloring works I must admit the inking gets in the way at times. There where some mild muddy moments when Dick was talking to Alfred. Though other then that the art was great.

Final Comments: I really hate to give you guys such a short review but it was a short sweet and enjoyable issue but not much else.

Writing: 3 out of 5

Art: 4 out of 5

Overall: 3 out of 5

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Jersey Gods #8

Written: Glen Brunswick

Art: Dan McDaid

Opening Comments: After last issue left off on a typical annoying cliff-hanger my excitement for this issue had dwindled a bit. Though luckily I’m won back over as the quirky fun action comedy is back and better then ever.

Story Comments: I have to talk about the twist to the Abandoned arc, that the villain Hecticus is *SPOILER!* Helius’ son. An awesome twist. It also gives us a reason for Hecticus, explaining why he’s such an angry person. Though I’m still not sure how this ties to Barock.

The rest of the issue was more comedy oriented and a lot of fun at that.

My only problem was the final panel with the scene of Zoe’s parents. It felt like Brunswick was trying to shove in one last bit of comedic flare into the already funny moment and it didn’t work as well.

Barock’s crazy mother was great. She’s so over the top and nutty. Like the crazy in-law everyone loves and hates. She’s insane sure but at the same time she’s an awesome kind of insane.

One thing that bugged me was Barock fighting with his brother. Last time I checked it seemed like they where on fairly good terms. That they trusted each other and where very close so seeing them like this just seemed out of character for either of them.

Overall the story was really great. It had some minor things like obviously Zoe is just fine, and the cliff-hanger left me scratching my head rather then excited. But all around a great story.

Art Comments: McDaid’s art has gotten a lot cleaner over the last few months. I’d have to say his art this issue was his best yet. It looks great with some great character designs. Only real complaint I have is the Juggernoth doesn’t look anywhere near as badass as it does on the cover. Besides that it was great art.

Final Comments: Jersey Gods is one of the best comics on the stands right now. The characters are all great and the art is really hitting a stride. No one should be missing out on this one.

Writing: 4 out of 5

Art: 4 out of 5

Overall: 4 out of 5

Must Read

Haunt #1 Review

My most anticipated comic of 2009 is here! Yes with a lot of hype as the epic return of Todd McFarlane (even though he returned to comics a year ago with Spawn #185, whatever) Haunt debuts looking to impress. As a fan of McFarlane’s Spawn and Kirkman’s Invincible I was very excited to read this issue. Does it blow me away or is this a weak debut? Let’s find out!

Also check back tomorrow for the rest of my comic reviews to be posted. I’ve had a long tiring day so I’ll write them up and post them in a separate post tomorrow.

Haunt #1

Written: Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane

Pencils: Ryan Ottley

Layouts: Greg Capullo

Colorist: FCO Plascencia

Inks: Todd McFarlane

Opening Comments: Despite how excited I was for this issue I came in with the open mind that it very well could be a slow start. Not surprisingly this issue didn’t blow me away but I can definitely say it was an enjoyable start to what could be a great new series.

Story Comments: Our story basically introduces us to our 2 main protagonists. Daniel and Kurt Kilgore. Daniel is a priest who sleeps with hookers and is all around a major ass-hole. Kurt is a CIA killer but at the same time has morals and seems like a fairly nice guy.

I really love the dynamic between these two. Kirkman spares nothing in showing they do not like each other at all. Daniel is very much so hateful of Kurt and the second they meet you can tell there’s a deep history of hatred between them that I look forward to seeing as the series progresses.

Kurt is captured, killed, and after his funeral he’s haunting Daniel. I hated the transition from a mysterious woman saying “Kill him” to Daniel talking to Kurt’s ghost in a limo. It was very jarring and we got not scene of Kurt first showing up to talk to Daniel. A really bad transition that bugs me.

Daniel is convinced by Kurt to go comfort Kurt’s widow Amanda. I enjoyed this scene for how well the awkward tension builds. You can tell there is a history between these two. I’m guessing Daniel and he where lovers but Kurt stole her away or something. Though that’s a random guess.

My favorite part is the final 3 pages, Daniel is shot at as someone is coming to kill Amanda. Kurt jumps into Daniel, they  become Haunt, Haunt rips the 2 killers’ heads off and we get a badass scene to end the issue. Definitely a great way to end the issue.

Though all around I really did enjoy this issue I can’t deny there wasn’t a lot there to it. It was just an enjoyable read. We got some solid character work but really not much else. Kirkman does well with what he can but really there isn’t a lot of extra substance other then the basics.

Now the flashback with Kurt when he goes and rescues the people was a nice scene. It gave us some cool action but really it was just an enjoyable but at the same time cryptic scene with some hints as to what happens in future issues. I’m guessing Kurt’s actions along with the doctor’s experiments are what lead to him becoming Haunt.

What little we did meet of the cast was fairly well done. Daniel is a jackass but at the same time he’s at least interesting. I liked the idea of Kurt having morals and I am curious to see what happened between the brothers and if Amanda has anything to do with it.

Though in the long run try as I might I just can’t really say this was a great read. It was a good read, very good, but not great. With some annoying transition such as Daniel and Amanda talking to suddenly Daniel sleeping on her couch. It’s all very annoying and moments like that take me out of the story.

I know we don’t have to show every moment of the conversation but a quick panel of Amanda going to bed and Daniel laying on the couch or something would have been nice. She just begs him to stay since she’s so sad and the next page she’s sleeping on the couch.

I was also annoyed that we didn’t get any build up to Kurt’s ghost. One minute Kurt is dead the next he’s talking to Daniel. Again, a little panel or even a solid page of Kurt haunting Daniel would have been appreciated as this jarring storytelling is very weak and frustrating to see coming from Kirkman. Even though he’s had similar problems in the past with Invincible.

All in all the character dynamic only goes so far. While I can handle that we don’t know everything about these characters I do think a little more fleshing out of Daniel could have helped. He’s pretty much just a solid jackass and we see no redeeming qualities to him at all.

Now I don’t think every hero needs to be a nice guy with a heart of gold. Even Spider-man and Batman have their bad moments or can do bad stupid things but in those actions we can see a glimmer of a good person. Daniel is just a hateful guy who doesn’t really interest me as much as Kurt does.

I am hopeful that this is more intentional so that as the series progresses Daniel becomes more interesting as the series goes on. For now he’s fairly one dimensional when compared to Kurt.

Overall the story was a good read but nothing that made me go “wow, that was awesome!” aside from the great final 3 pages. Those pages excited me and left me eager to read more next month. Exactly what any comic should do. So for all it’s problems it has a solid story and a great ending really.

Art Comments: When I heard Ryan Ottley was going to be doing the art for Haunt I was ecstatic. Ottley has been doing a great job on Invincible and seeing his art 2 times a month is a real treat for me. Even better is lay outs by Capullo.

Though I have some major criticisms for the art. Half the time it looks pretty good, with some great detail, emotion conveyed nicely and nice dark mood in the coloring. The other half is just…bad. While the layout designs by Capullo are distinct and work well I think the inking by McFarlane is the main culprit here.

Half the time the art looks overly lined. I think someone who works better with Ottley would have been a smart choice to Ink his work here. I love McFarlane’s art but his style of inks and Ottley’s style of pencils are like mixing oil and water.

Still for the most part the art never got terrible. It was just weak half the time. The coloring was still great. Though all around the art was messy and we need a new inker here ASAP.

Final Comments: Haunt #1 is a start to something that could be the next big Image comic along with Jersey Gods and Invincible. It’s got solid character work, great talent behind it. But it still needs to work out some kinks before it becomes the next big must have comic.

With that said I still give this a fairly strong recommendation if you are like me, a big fan of McFarlane and Kirkman. There’s a lot of dark sinister stuff to read and the art will hopefully get cleaned up sooner then later. All around making for a comic that I recommend.

Writing: 3 out of 5

Art: 3 out of 5

Overall: 3 out of 5

Check It

The Week Begins - October 5th 2009

A pretty big week for me with the release of my most

anticipated comic of the year. Though Haunt doesn’t overshadow everything this week.

I was thinking about mentioning the new ongoing starring Dr. Voodoo but really there isn’t much to say about it. Not yet at least. It’s on the Collection Consider list.

Haunt #1 *Most Anticipated*

Written: Robert Kirkman and Todd McFarlane

Art: Ryan Ottley and Greg Capullo

Despite some negative early reviews I remain incredibly excited for this issue come Wednesday. Now I am going in with the knowledge that this is a first issue and I’m half expecting the cheesy “our hero revealed!” cliff-hanger that writers like to do every so often. Though I am hopeful we’ll get more then that.

With so much going on since it’s the Halloween season I was half expecting to lose interest in the comics this month but Haunt helped pull me back into being very excited for this month. I’m hopeful for the story but either way I know the art will look great. Definitely something I will be reviewing as soon as possible.

Witchblade #131

Written: Ron Marz

Art: Stjepan Sejic

Wasn’t expecting this issue to come out this week but I’m pleasantly surprised. Now Image’s website doesn’t say it’s coming out but the IGN release schedule does so I’ll take their word for it.

After War of the Witchblades was a dud that only succeeded in giving us an enjoyable ending I’m more excited for this issue. It seems like it’s going to be a more character oriented issue all about Sara adjusting with the aftermath of the event.

This is a good time for Marz to win me over again and deliver the solid read that Witchblade once was. Though with an added bonus we’re getting the Image United Prelude part 2. I’m tempted to pick up Savage Dragon this week just to get part 1 but that’s something I doubt I’ll do. Either way really excited to read this issue.

Batman and Robin #5

Written: Grant Morrison

Art: Phillip Tan

I’m looking forward to this issue but to be honest this story arc doesn’t seem like it’s going to be as major as I thought it might. Still I’m excited to see more gorgeous artwork from Tan and I’m hopeful we get a reveal as to who Red Hood is.

Jersey Gods #8

Written: Glen Brunswick

Art: Dan McDaid

Last issue bugged me by ending with a “is Zoe dead?!” cliff-hanger when clearly anyone with half a brain could tell she’s just fine. Mostly thanks to the solicitations. Still this issue itself does sound great with Zoe meeting Barock’s mother. Should be hilarious.

I know there’s some other stuff about the villains but right now I’m just looking for more fun comedy. Though what action we do get I’m sure will be good I just really am looking forward to reading the new dynamics Brunswick creates.

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #3

Written: Brian Bendis

Art: David Lafuente

My excitement for this series has dwindled greatly. It looks all right from the preview but at this point I’m not too excited to be reading more. With a slow burning pace and what looks to be a rather dull read. With the promise of a big Mysterio fight coming up soon in the next 2 issues it’s hard not to want to skip this issue as I’m guessing it will be nothing more then transition.

To be fair I’m certain the art by Lafuente will continue to impress me. He’s one of the best young artists Marvel has and 2 issues in and I’m already loving this style. Not only is his art great but he seems to be a very timely guy. So even if the story is as dull as I’m figuring it will be, at least we’ll get some good art.

Month's End and October Plans!

Month’s End. October is here! Yes! The Halloween season! More on that in a bit. But on even more important news, on the 3rd is a certain person’s birthday. His name starts with an A and ends with an N and has a NDREN in the middle. Not that I’m saying you should tell me happy birthday or anything on the 3rd. Not at all.

Now onto the comics of September!

Comic of the Month: Dark Reign: Young Avengers #4

September was a great month with some great comics. Picking just one was tough but I have to give it to the Young Avengers for dominating. This wasn’t too hard when I looked over this great issue again. What really made me pick this was even with a delay I still loved this comic. That’s rare as usually delays put me in a sour mood on a comic. But with this comic it’s hard not to love every moment.

Moment of the Month: the goddamn Spider-man

I know I just used this in the last Week’s End but…come on! Spider-man rarely is this awesome. Especially since the BND era began. Lately he’s been the unlovable loser who really you just don’t give a damn about. But Bendis all reminded us why he’s Spider-man and why he’s awesome. Why isn’t he in the Spider-brain trust?

Cover of the Week: Wolverine First Class #19 by Skottie Young

This cover is awesome in so many ways and it will never be topped. Until Young's next c over that is.

Most Anticipated of October: Haunt #1

All too easy. Haunt has been my most anticipated comic of 2009 so with it’s debut in less then a week how could I not be excited? Add that to the timing that this is October and it’s a nice marketing move. Annoyed as I was with the setback from it’s original June release date I can forgive them as this is a nice late birthday present.

Now as for the first issue I’m coming into this expecting the basics of a first issue. Get to know the characters, some action and by the end of it we’re all set up for the real show come #2. Even with that I’m still excited for the debut issue as it’s a great team with Kirkman, McFarlane, Ottley and Capullo. You can bet this will be my first read next Wednesday.

Now for a little extra to this Month’s End. I’m announcing my plans to celebrate the Halloween season this year as I did last year. This will be posted at New Age Comics as well as the Revolution and here is the rundown.

I love Halloween. I’m a big horror guy so obviously this month is my time. Last year I did horror themed reviews of books like 30 days of night, Marvel Zombies and a Nightmare on Elm Streets. This year I’m not going quite as over the top. Here’s the list of what to expect this October.

Resident Evil: Degeneration review

I got this last year when it debuted but I never got around to reviewing it though I wanted to. Since this was around Christmas time it felt a little out of place. But right now is the perfect time. Expect my review of the direct to DVD CG Resident Evil film soon.

Resident Evil 5 review

I got this opening day but again I put off a review. This time on purpose to save it for Halloween. I’ve beaten and played it several times over and I’m ready to finally review it for you all. Easily my most anticipated game of 2009, did it meet my standards? You’ll have to read to find out.

Horror and Comics

A look at some noteworthy horror comics. While I can’t do a lot for this I will be noting some of the more recent well known ones such as Walking Dead, 30 Days of Night and I’ll even mention the horror oriented David Hine run of Spawn.

Horror Movies and their Remakes

A comparison of several horror films from Texas Chainsaw Massacre to my thoughts on the upcoming Nightmare on Elm Street remake.

Horror Series Reviews

I will be reviewing the entire franchises of A Nightmare on Elm Streets, the Romero Dead Films, the Halloween series, the Friday the 13th series and finally the Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. All in one post and this will be posted on Halloween.

So that’s it for my Halloween plans. I wanted to do some more comic oriented horror stuff but this year is a bad time. I’m just now going to start picking up the Walking Dead Hardcovers so maybe I can do a massive review of those next year. But that’s all for now kids. Now grab your boomsticks and chainsaws, it’s going to be one HELL of a month!