Siege #2 Review

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

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

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. 

Event Comics Reviews - January 7th 2009

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

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.

Week's End - December 6th 2009

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

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.