Dark Reign Commentary

I’m sure by now everyone’s seen the Online Spoilers for Secret Invasion, or at the least, read the issue themselves, if not, avoid this post as it is filled with spoiler-ific-ness.

Dark Reign Solicits

Now similar to Solicit Commentary, I’m going to talk about the various announced comics this day, coming through the following months. Now I know the ending to SI #8, even if I can’t get down to the shop…but expect it, along with various other comics, reviewed in the near future. I know I’ve fallen far behind.

Secret Invasion: Dark Reign

Damn it, damn it, damn it…I had hoped this wasn’t true, but it seems to be. Emma Frost is back to being evil. After all that development as a good guy, she’s evil just like that…but…looking beyond that major problem of mine, this looks to be good, Bendis and Maleev often = Instant Gold so I’ve got some high hopes for this. It looks to be interesting. For one, it’s great to see Dr. Doom doing something prominent like this again; he hasn’t been up to anything overly important for a while, so it’s great to see him at the front lines of Dark Reign.

Dark Reign: New Nation

This looks to be a simple “Here’s who’s in it, here is what their doing, this is what you need to know” but still good. I’m getting it despite being a big promo book, mostly for my interest in…Ronin and Mockingbird? What? I know Mockingbird is alive again, which makes me incredibly happy, but why is Clint still Ronin? I’m getting confused here…oh well; I guess this is a part of the New Avengers: Reunion coming later in 2009.

Invincible Iron Man

I’m not getting this, as the first arc didn’t draw me in much, but this still does look good. If things look good, I may check it out as Iron Man’s Status has shifted greatly come post-Invasion, seems everyone hates the old Shell head. It’s funny, Captain America was the same way after Civil War now it seems Iron Man finally looses some of the love and spotlight he got earlier. Oh well, all great heroes fall, as they say.

Mighty Avengers

That’s an incredible cover by Marko Djurdjevic, it’s a shame that he’s off as the series main cover artist as I’m sure he could turn in more amazing work. Oh well. Issue #20 sounds great and I really look forward to it, the fallout story with the new roster has my curiosity, mostly in that Vision and Stature are confirmed now and that makes me happy. Glad to also see Hulk as an Avenger again, it’s been too long. Overall, I’m really looking forward to this new generation of the Mighty Avengers, looks to be exciting.

New Avengers

So New Cap is now an Avenger eh? I’m sure everyone saw this coming, he’s against the Registration act so who better to go with then the unregistered? We also see what looks to be Luke Cage in desperate search for the baby, which is something that has me concerned as I’d really hate for a the cop-out dead baby ending like what Captain America did a few months prior. Still, the new roster looks good and I may check this out, I’m glad to see Spider-Woman is alive but I’m surprised to see her in the New Avengers, I figured she’d stay low until her debut series later next year, which I greatly look forward to. Overall, I’m not sure if I’ll be picking up New Avengers or not, it all depends really.

Secret Invasion: Requiem

I’m sad to see the Wasp go, she was a great character despite Bendis’ constant misuse of her. Hopefully Dan Slott can do her justice in the Requiem one-shot, and do a good job of putting this founding Avenger to rest.

Dark Avengers

The roster confuses the hell out of me, brown suit Wolverine, Black suit Spider-man, Hawkeye while Ronin is around, just what the hell is going on here? It’s a roster put together by Norman Osborn, which spells trouble…I think the Wolverine is Daken judging by the odd way his claws pop out, no idea about Spider-man and the others though. It looks to be picking up on Morgan Le Fay/Dr. Doom love affair plot prior to Secret Invasion, which I’m glad to see, and with Doom at the forefront of the Reign, this should hopefully have a reunion for the two. Overall, it looks really good and I’m pretty psyched to check it out, also, Deodato on art = Win.

Uncanny X-men Annual #2

As I stated earlier, I’m pretty pissed at Emma being evil again. I felt that all her development as a good character was very well done and that it seems to be rather unfair to just make her evil again. If the Dark Reign one-shot doesn’t sell me on it this month, maybe this will.

Secret Warriors

I’m considering getting this more….but still not sold on it, Nick’s reaction come SI #8 confused me so I’m not really sure if I want this or not, since he’s pretty much a solid jackass now. Really though, I’ll leave it to the previews to dominate if I check this out or not.

So that’s my Commentary on Dark Reign, expect reviews of these comics, at least most of them, in the future of New Age Comics.

Month's End

Yet another Month has ended, and with the Month Ending, comes yet again ,Month’s End. So put away the turkey and get out your Santa hats, it’s time for the Month’s end.

Comic of the Month: Marvel Zombies 3 #2

Rarely does a comic have such fun action and strong story telling that it has a staying power that keeps it on my mind and in my thoughts. I still remember Marvel Zombies 3#2 as if I just set it down after a first read yesterday. It was an incredible read and shows that Van Lente really has his heart in this series. Doesn’t just want to tell a story he or the editors are interested in, he wants to tell and interesting and cool story that us, the fans, are all interested in. And for that I was incredibly impressed here and look forward to issue #3 this week.

Moment of the Month: Batman #681

I know I posted this in the last post, but I have to really give some praise to this scene. This month had some great moments, from characters from Marvel, DC and Image, but really this was the best scene for me as a longtime fan of Batman and it really hit home for me.

Cover of the Month: Batman: Cacophony #1

Always greatness from the Kuberts, this cover is great, I especially love the red and black, as if contrasting between flashes of lightning and the darkness of the Arkham Asylum. Batman looks wicked as all hell and the bats beneath him is cool, overall, this is a great cover and the comic inside is great as well.

Most Anticipated Comic of the Month: Spawn: Book of the Dead Hardcover

I’m cheating a bit here, but if there was one “comic” that I am incredibly excited for, can’t wait to get my hands on it and that I’m counting down, it’s the release of the long delayed Spawn: Book of the Dead HC. I can’t even remember how far back this was solicited to release anymore, but it’s been too many years waiting and I, as a longtime Spawn fan, am very excited for this. For one, it’s David Hine’s last work on Spawn, which makes me a little sad, but at the same time, I’m sure he did a great job as he’s got a real knack for Spawn and I can’t wait to see what he wrote, I also of course look forward to the art, but really, David Hine’s name on the cover is what really sells it as an absolute must have for me as a fan of his work. So really, I’m buying this both because it’s Spawn, and because it’s David Hine writing Spawn. Expect a review of this as soon as I can.

And so ends Month’s End, as the month ends. As the Holidays roll up, expect a Christmas-oriented post or two (sorry if you don’t celebrate it, but as my grandpa said “F*** Happy Holidays it’s Merry Christmas or whatever else you celebrate”) but mostly, despite it being the season, not a lot of posts will really mention it. Maybe a Holiday Buyer’s Guide, just because there’s some great books/movies/games/collectibles I wouldn’t mind suggesting for anyone interested. So that’s all from me, see you around and enjoy the beginning of the Christmas season.

Week's End

So the thanks have been given, lets give a little more thanks today as we take a look at the best of the best this week, with Week’s End.

Comic of the Week: Thor: Man of War one-shot

A pretty good week for comics this was, and Thor stood up and took that hammer to everyone’s face! While I’ll admit, the action was a little overbearing here compared to some of the better moments we got in Reign of Blood, I can’t help but still love this. The fights where all great, characters where great despite what few moments of dialogue we got and overall Fraction and Zircher told an absolutely great story. Though I doubt this will ever tie back in to the main ongoing Thor series, unless Fraction where to ever write it, the Ages of Thunder one-shot of series was still a great read and Man of War was a great concluding chapter for these must have tales.

Moment of the Week: Batman #681

As great as the overall action to this issue was, we got some good moments from all the comics this week, this final page to R.I.P just stood out the most to me as a reviewer/fan of Batman. We’ve seen that faithful night in Crime Alley revisited again and again, and somehow it never gets old. This last moment between Bruce and his father, speaking about Zorro and how Gotham needs their own Zorro was absolutely brilliantly well done and was a great ending for the series. Though there are still many questions left unanswered after R.I.P, this ending really felt like a true grand Batman story ending and I obviously enjoyed the hell out of it.

Cover of the Week: Northlanders #12 Massimo Carnevale

I’m not even buying this series, though I have shown interest, but this cover is absolutely stunning. I can’t really find a lot to say about it, but either way, I was very impressed when I saw this cover, the coloring and effect of it all, very well done by Massimo.

Most Anticipated Comic of the Week: Secret Invasion #8

I’m sure no one is surprised by this, but yes, the conclusion to SI still has my interest. I am not as frustrated with this delay as I was with other book delays such as R.I.P, mainly because every other issue has been right on time and worth the wait each month, at least as far as the artwork. I’m not really sure where we go with this, I have a feeling this will really just be more set up for Dark Reign then really ending anything. Still, it should be interesting, I’m getting all the Dark Reign one-shots just in case and I’m ready to see what Secret Invasion’s end brings. Expect it to be reviewed as soon as I can.

So there is Week’s End for you, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving weekend and that you, like I am, are now counting down the days until Winter Break starts. But until then I’m just fine with enjoyed the beginning of December, so I’ll see you all around tomorrow for Month’s End.

Andrenn's Pull List

The first edition of Andrenn’s Pull list was a smash hit as I’d hoped, and now we return to my pull box for some new additions/drops. Now we’re going a bit to the “maybe add/Maybe drop” with 2 items, but 2 others are firmly on the list now.

Batman and Detective Comics
To be removed after “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”

DC doesn’t really have much to offer for me outside of Batman. While I’ve been somewhat interested in Superman over past storylines, the character himself is what pushed me away. The only franchise DC has left that truly kept my interest was Batman, and it looks to be shifting for the worst. While I’ll stay the course until February (that is if DC can get these comics out on time) I have no further interests invest in DC and their heroes. Outside of All Star Batman and Robin, for now, I am done with DC. Now the post-RIP stories all sound and look both interesting and well done, but really, I have no interest in Battle for the Cowl and what follows. Though if Dini and Nguyen team up again, I may poke my head in curiously, following February I’m done with Batman and his shenanigans.

Savage Dragon
Added!

Image comics is slowly becoming my new home for comic book entertainment, as I start finding it’s characters far more appealing then the “world altering” crap Marvel and DC fling each year. While I’m still faithful to Marvel, DC has lost me and Image is really grabbing my attention. Savage Dragon is officially back on the list, as I’ve mentioned a couple of times now, and looks to be one of those premier Image books that everyone invested in the future of Image United will want to check out. Though I’m not sure just where Savage Dragon goes, what with the world now going to turn against him, I can only hope it’s up to the skies.

Jersey Gods
I Am Interested in Adding It!

After reading a hilariously well done and cool looking preview in Invincible #55, I’m interested in this series. The art looks cool, though not exactly to my tastes. Still, if the ongoing series can capture the same greatness that few page preview had, I’m sold. Though I am waiting a bit, after the second or third solicit, if all sounds and looks good, this will be on the list.

Mighty Avengers
Added!

There are 3 reasons I am going to pick up Mighty Avengers.

1^st, Dan Slot is involved and while I’m sad to see him leaving The Initiative, I look forward to seeing what he does with Mighty.

2^nd, It looks to be a prominent post-SI comic, similar to others suck as Dark Avengers.

3^rd, Vision and Stature look to be on the team! That right there is pure awesome. If this is true, I will read the series forever.

Now granted, I’m not exactly sure what to think. Bendis did a good job with the first set of stories and I’m interested to see where Slott goes post-SI, but really, I’m not even sure how this all will be. Marvel has been pretty tight-lipped about it, which is odd for them, and has got my scratching my head in curiosity. So while it’s on the list, I’ll reserve judgment if I’m excited for it or not.

Dark Avengers
Added!

Added mainly for Mike Deodato’s amazing art, but also for the fact that I’m very interested in just who these people are. While we see what looks like Ultra Girl in her new Marvel Girl persona, Venom or perhaps another symbiote, classic Hawkeye and Wolverine, who the hell Iron Patriot is remains beyond me. Either way, Dark Avengers is on the pull list and has my utmost attention as far as where we go when the Dark Reign comes.

And so ends Andrenn’s Pull List, I’m glad I was able to finish this up before I go, seeing as in about 2 hours I’ll be on the road. Again, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving today and overall a great week for anyone who doesn’t celebrate the holiday. Expect Week’s End when I return Sunday, but until then, enjoy the holiday and don’t fill up on stuffing, have some Turkey.

Comic Reviews for November 26th 2008

With tomorrow Thanksgiving, outside of a Week’s End Sunday, this is the last post for the week. As I’ll be on vacation. But before I pack my bags and head out, lets enjoy 3 comics I picked up my way home today.

Batman #681

Written: Grant Morrison
Art: Tony Daniel

Opening Comments: Delays are frustrating no matter what, and Batman’s epic R.I.P storyline has been rather hurt by delays. Despite this though, something about this issue was actually well done. And, while the ending left me more frustrated then I’d hoped it would be, oddly an enjoyable read.

Story Comments: The opening with Batman in thought, going over a moment in his mind with a dark monk was…it was strange, but it set the tone of this issue nicely. Though really, it felt rather boring in that it was trying to set a far more ominous tone then it does, really, the tone here is dark, but nothing too far away from how Dark the Dark Knight has gone before…if that makes any sense to anyone but me.

Following this we have the club of heroes saving Robin’s nearly fried ass. It was great to see these guys back again, as they where absolutely great in Batman: The Black Glove and that great streak continue. Seriously, DC, make these guys series regulars, or do one better, give them an ongoing series.

We soon get back to Batman, we see Hurt and Jezebel have buried him alive and soon when they return Joker goes rogue. Now I have to give compliments to the awesome way Joker was written here, Morrison has a great handling of the character and writes him amazingly well. Also, the reveal that the Bat-radia was more then meets the eye…I’ll be honest, that scene, pure hilarity as what looked like a crappy old radio was actually Batman’s trump card all along to saving himself. It was great. I also enjoyed Nightwing saving himself nicely.

Now the scene with Batman rising from the grave was very well done and it was great to see Bats again. For a story centered around him, we haven’t seen the Caped Crusader most of the story, as Zur En Arh has been in the way. He’s great here as Batman is back and doing everything we’d hoped he would. It’s almost redeeming of the rather annoying Zur En Arh twist.

We get a nice moment with Jezebel Jet, a character I was more then relieved to find out was a villain all the time and her “love” with Bruce was as fake as we all figured it was. But this moment where Batman goes into her real origin, how he’s hurt her from it was….again, great. Though it is hard to redeem such an annoying character, these past wasted stories on her feeling worth it now just for that one moment of vulnerability and absolute hatred.

Now we see Robin on his way, and Joker on the loose. We then see…the death of the Joker? Yes, Daman runs over Joker who is in an ambulance, the ambulance falls of the bridge and explodes. Damian and Alfred of course where in the Batmobile at the time. It’s one of the stranger more random moments, but it was all right. Joker will not be missed as if he doesn’t die sooner or later, DC will have absolutely ruined the character and rung him dry like a wet cloth.

We then get the confrontation between Doc Hurt and Batman, it’s one hell of a face off. I won’t spoil it but come the end of it a helicopter goes down and explodes with these 2 on it. Ending the R.I.P part to R.I.P I suppose.

We get a great ending for Jezebel, attacked by Ninja-man-bats that, if we’re lucky, ripped her into so many pieces Banjo can’t put the puzzle back together even with Kazooie.

Then…we jump…6…months….later

UGH.

I’m sorry, but an ending that so abruptly changes is so frustrating. Though the ending itself isn’t bad, if anything, it’s kind of cool, at the same time, it’s so frustrating that we jump 6 months later with the story between to be told next time along with Final Crisis. It’s just annoying.

Though I will give Morrison this much credit, the final page with Bruce walking out with his parents from seeing Zorro was excellent and a great way to cap off the storyline. Though really, R.I.P is just the beginning as it seems and I was a little disappointed with that. But still, despite the rather poor ending to R.I.P, the story itself was all right, this issue best of all, but the ending really killed any momentum following the Jezebel Jet attack. Still, a good read.

Art Comments: With some artists, delays are well worth it. While Tony Daniel is a great artist, and his work here continues to be strong, very well done, and overall great, it wasn’t worth such frustrating delays just for the final chapter. Despite this…I can look past a little more in the fact that he’d never been known as the most timely artist ever. So while the delay holds this issue back, the art is still great as ever.

Final Comments: While I’m sure had this all been on time nicely, I could score this a little higher, as it is a good ending for R.I.P but I also was frustrated by the time jump randomly at the end. Still, for what we get here, Batman R.I.P was a good read and it’s concluding chapter was good.

3 out of 5
Check It

Savage Dragon #141

Written and Art: Erik Larsen

Opening Comments: Larsen impressed me last time with his little Image Pals get together. Now we come to the conclusion of that storyline with the final fight with Solar Man, but also the lead in for the future of the title as far as Savage Dragon is concerned.

Story Comments: I immediately have to say I was disappointed to see nothing on the She-Dragon “WTF?!” moment of last issue. Such a “holy shit” moment and yet we get no follow up this issue? Rather disappointing.

Still, with what we do get here, mostly Savage Dragon and friends taking on Solar Man, the storyline here is solid. Rex (or Robot Guy as I called him in my last review) and Shadowhawk converge with Dragon and friends by issue’s end as the plot of Solar Man is nicely resolved.

We get another “oh shit!” moment involving Dragon’s daughter, what I can only figure is the missing wife plotline Solicits described, but we’ll have to wait for the next issue to find out…which I found…frustrating.

But I return to the main plot of the issue. Rex finds the source of Solar Man’s power, other heroes! I though this was a brilliant twist on Larsen’s part as to why Solar Man was so strong, he had detained other classic comic book heroes long ago and was using them to power him. Though when Rex frees them and Solar Man’s extra strength goes out the door, things end rather messily.

Dragon punches Solar-man’s head in half, literally, which leads to a big silent shock moment, followed by the classic heroes attacking the Image heroes suddenly. Luckily, before it gets to the point where things are looking stupid, common sense flies in as Rex saves the day. I thought this was a great moment and seeing all these classic heroes like classic Thor and Captain Freedom among heroes such as Spawn and Invincible, very cool, a little funny.

So by stories end when all is said and done, the public hates Dragon for killing Solar-man, despite Rex’ explanation. Things aren’t looking to good for him, but still, should be interesting. Overall, a great story with great moments.

Art Comments: It would seem my problems as of last issue are gone. Maybe Larsen simply needed to get on his feet for handling so many characters, maybe I was just seeing it wrong, but the art here greatly improves. Characters all look great, the strong detail is there again and the art is really great here. Sure, there is still the odd little moment from time to time, such as Dragon’s Daughter looking a bit odd, but outside of that, the art here is really great and every hero looks distinct and nicely done.

Final Comments: A strong issue, though lacking a bit thanks to unresolved plotlines. I feel that the Dragon is trying to juggle a little too much for his hands, and with any luck this won’t hold the book down in the future though. Still, a great issue, even if lacking a bit.

4 out of 5
Must Read

Thor: Man of War one-shot

Written: Matt Fraction
Art: Clay Mann, Patrick Zircher

Opening Comment: Before I actually review this issue, I should state my history with the God of Thunder. While my father was always a big Thor fan, I myself never cared for him despite a lot of the comic my father gave me as a child being that of Thor’s adventures. I simply didn’t like him, and didn’t care for JMS’ reboot of the character following Marvel’s Civil War.

But I’d heard such good things of the first Ages of Thunder one-shot by Matt Fraction. Curious, I decided to check out the sequel one-shot Reign of Blood and was greatly impressed. While I’m not necessarily a Thor fan yet, these one-shots are great. Man of War, the ending of the one-shot series, is a great ending to a great series.

Story comments: The story is divided into two parts, part 1 continues off where Reign of Blood left us off, part 2 continues from there and concludes the overall storyline.

Part 1 sees Thor and Valkyre going head to head after Odin sends her after him. The action here is all right, but ends soon when a monster gets in the way.

Now what makes these more action scene based stories so good is the narration. Fraction really captures the heart of the Thor series with how strong the narration is in detailing the story, and the visual representation matching the great narration.

The first part is all right, the action great and I must admit rather funny. It shows how immature Thor and friends where at a time and how ungodly they once where. It shows that Thor hasn’t always been this golden god of virtue and greatness, and was not above more violent tendencies that most heroes nowadays lack.

It leads in nicely to part 2 where Odin dawns the Destroyer armor and takes on Thor. Part 2 is much better and it is the superior to the 2 parts the comic is divided in to. Odin is great in his wise caring self, but he is still a warrior and it seems he needed remind his son this in one of the best fights all year. Though it is somewhat short, lasting only a few pages.

Still, despite the battles shortness, the sheer epic proportion captured in it is magnificent and really is exactly what a fight among Gods should be, epic blow to epic blow, no tricky punches here, it is simply weapon to weapon or weapon to face.

Though the action and narration are good, the final moments, following Thor’s defeat at his father’s hands are what really sell this and make it a great comic. We see Odin chew out Thor for his overbearing attitude and sentence him to a life as a humble healing man who helps others.

I found this end nice, and really, it feels like an origin story for Thor. As if explaining why he was so much kinder then other gods, after experiences like this, it would hard not to be more humbled despite your great power.

To sum it up, the story is a lot of action, strong narration, and a great conclusion. The Ages of Thunder one-shots have been great and absolute must-haves, even if you are not a big fan of Thor, as I am the same. If you missed out on these spectacular one-shots, do yourself a favor, pick up the Hardcover next year.

Art Comments: The art is all around good, Clay Mann does a great job for what he can do, though is not above the lazy panel here or there. It never holds back the storytelling and he does a good job of conveying action nicely. Patrick Zircher though is the real star as he conveys amazing detail to his artwork, strong character work and really brings to life the epic scale of the story and action.

Final Comments: Thor Man of War is a great read and a good stand alone issue if your really unable to find the previous one-shot. The storytelling is great, the characters are great, and it just may have made a new Thor fan. Either way, I loved this issue and give it my highest recommendation.

5 out of 5
Must Have

And so ends our reviews, I’m sorry there will be no Collection Spotlight Friday, maybe I can post the next edition of Andrenn’s Pull list tomorrow before I go. Either way, I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and for those who do not live in America, have a great week still. So until I get back, adios and goodnight.

Andrenn's Top 5 Current Comics.

To celebrate 100 posts here at New Age Comics with Andrenn, our 100^th post is a very special one. One I’ve been bouncing around in my head for a while now. I know that when I review a comic, I’m not just saying my thoughts on it, I’m either suggesting you look into it or avoid it. That’s half the point of the reviews. But sometimes, in my reviews, it’s hard to suggest a series on the simple bias of that one issue .Sometimes I’d like to go into depth on the series as a whole, but I can’t really do that.

So what we have here is something more along those lines, in that I am giving my 5 favorite current comics. Now I had planned for this to be 10 but…I can’t seem to make up a solid 10 list. Don’t as why, I just can’t seem to…so rather then 10, I myself am simply doing 5. Though in the future when I do this again someday, it may be a solid 10.

Now I know other bloggers/reviewers have seen my blog, so before I go onto the list, I offer a chance for you all to say your top 10 favorite comics. It obviously doesn’t have to be 10, it can be 5 or if your pull list is small, 3 maybe. I’d like to see what are others favorite current comic books as well as I’m sure everyone’s list differs.

Now by “current comic book” I mean series that are currently being published. If they be ongoing or mini, but in my case, we’re going with ongoing series as the only rule is that they are currently being published this moment.

5: Ultimate Spider-man

Always a great read, I haven’t really checked in on the old web-head in a while, but for Ultimatum and the conclusion of the War of the Symbiotes arc I’m dropping in for a hello. This is one of those series that it’s hard to really fault, because over 120 issues, it’s still going as strong as ever and has yet to really lose it’s spark. That is not nothing, whereas brother and sister series UFF and UXM have lost a lot of what made them popular, Spidey keeps on rolling. While the book has suffered a bit with the loss of longtime artist Mark Bagley, Stuart Immonen is still a good replacement, despite my missing Bagley.

4: All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder

Leave it to Frank Miller to tell a story that has a strange balance of grit and grime, with campy and insane. As a long time fan of Miller’s work, I’ve always loved this series. Though I do admit delays hurt, with some series it’s become an obvious thing to expect and to actually fault the series for the delays now would be ridiculous. Jim Lee is of course an amazing artist, even if he is the biggest factor to these delays, and his art is well worth every single delay as he brings Miller’s amazing scripts to life and helps tell a wicked fun story.

3: Invincible

There are very few new heroes in this day and age that really shine above the images set by Marvel and DC. Image Comics and Dark Horse both have some good ones, but as far as new characters of the new millennium, it’s hard to compete with Invincible. Always a character that has a strong blend of Spider-man like antics and Superman like strength, the character himself is great, but what is even better is how well Kirkman has built the world around him. It’s one thing to make a good character, it’s another to make everything around him as good, and doing so compliments the character and makes his world and him even better. Characters like Atom Eve and Rex Splosion are great and they really add to both Invincible and his world, making it more then just a lone hero and his challenges in life. It also brings back to the classic days of Marvel when heroes had to deal with their secret identity and a teenage life. While the world of Invincible and his character are great, the series has had some slow tendencies, and that’s the only thing that really holds the series back from being any higher on the list.

2: Spawn

I’m sure anyone who has read the blog long enough knows enough by now that I am a major Spawn fan. Though that’s not the only thing that puts the series so high on this list. Spawn has been on a rollercoaster ride up, yet never down, ever since issue #169 last year. David Hine started what has snowballed into an epic comic. Even with the change in writers/artist and totally new direction, Spawn has kept a building momentum of strong and well told stories. Even though Al Simmons is now gone, things look bright for Spawn and it’s hard not to recommend the series to anyone who is interested.

1: Witchblade

When I look at all the comics I have collected over the last few years, read over them and think back to the stories within the pages, only one comic has kept me as excited and happily reading every single month since I started reading it earlier this year. That book as you know by now is Witchblade. Ron Marz has told an incredible story with the characters, and Stjepan Sejic has done an amazing job on telling these stories with his stunningly beautiful art.

One thing I have never gotten to mention here about the book is the relationship between Sara/Gleason. Rarely have I ever seen such an organic and well told tale as theirs. Most writers follow a simple formula of

Issue 1: new character introduced

Issue 2: Protagonist and new character date

Issue 3: Protagonist and new character are in love and getting married.

I hate to say it but it’s true, there are very few well done relationships in comics and Sara/Gleason is one of them.

Now that aside, Marz and Sejic are an incredible team, even in issues where the action is little, Marz’ dialogue can shine and Sejic’s artwork can bring out the best in even 2 people talking. That is not nothing, that is something special and helps books the comic. Characters are all great, stories are fun and serious, with strong moments, overall, the best way I can describe Witchblade is an absolute must have awesome fun comic book.

So that’s all for tonight. I hope you enjoyed seeing my top 5 favorite books out right now, and maybe in the future seeing others top current comics.

Broken Trinity, a second look.

Sometimes, as a reviewer, I don’t feel I gave a comic a fair look or didn’t do it justice in my review of it. Though that doesn’t happen often, one of the few books I feel needs revisiting is Broken Trinity. As a now fan of these characters, I was pretty excited to see what this year’s story had in store for them, what epic event would take place, and who would be broken from the Trinity.

BT #1 was one of the first comics I reviewed way back in July, and for that, the book has a bit of a special place in my heart. So put on your Angel wings and strip on your shiny gauntlets, we’re about to get dark as we take a second look at Broken Trinity.

The overall story is simple, 2 new artifacts of the thirteen artifacts that will change the world (or something along those lines) has activated and found their hosts. The first being Finn, an Irish guy hired by Jackie Estacado to follow around and keep an eye on Sara Pezzini, bearer of the Witchblade. Sara, last year, gave birth to a child name Hope whom Jackie fathered. So Jackie wanted to make everything was okay, but Sara catches on to Finn, forcing him to turn down the job, only after the Curator gives him the Ice Stone. We also see a woman named Glorianna has collected the Ember stone, the Ice Stone’s opposite.

These set in motion the Darkness, Angelus, Witchblade, Ice guy and Fire chick (I’m improvising, here) all meeting outside the Curator’s shop. After a lengthy back and forth battle, with the help of Gleason and the Curator, the Angelus’ current host Celestine is behead and the Angelus force retreats. Fire Chick disappears and Finn goes off to discover what he was meant to do, for the moment, order returns and the storm is over.

That, in a nut-shell, is the plot of Broken Trinity. Now there is obviously more then that, as the Darkness tie-in explains why Jackie comes to New York, why he is so badly beaten and that the Angelus was after him which led them to the shop.

Now there are 2 more tie-ins I have yet to get, the Angelus one-shot, which I can only figure premiers later this week or soon, and the Witchblade tie-in, following the aftermath of Broke Trinity and having Sara think about Jackie, the father of her child and her feelings of him.

Addressing this for a moment, it would seem that, come BT #3, Sara has grown more attached to Jackie and fond of him, saving his life and seemingly enjoying his company. There’s obviously something Marz wants to go into with that, and it has some serious potential to be something that tugs at Sara and strengthens the emotional aspect to her character by building a stronger connection to Jackie.

Now really BT served as the launching pad for the characters of Fin and Glorianna, or as we will call them, Ice Guy and Fire Chick. Both characters have had some good moments, Marz giving them both enough time in the spot-light for them to be distinct characters, though really, where we go from here should be interesting. I’m far more interested in how the two seem to have a yin-yang thing going. Finn is good, not wanting to cause anyone harm, and Glorianna is more evil, wanting to change the world and make it over as she sees fit.

Their both done nicely, Finn being more comedic in his lack of knowing what to do and Glorianna seeming to have everything mapped out as to what she will do. Though the ending of Broken Trinity left me confused, it seems Angelus kills Glorianna, and then we see her at the end, in some lava filled area, just fine. I was a tad confused, is she dead or alive? I can only guess she’s alive.

Now as for my complaints about Angelus’ “death” this, as I explained in last week’s reviews, was not really a death. Sure, Celestine is dead, but Angelus will simply move on and get a new host. To but it simply, Angelus can go through hosts like sharks do teeth. Just because you break some of a shark’s jaw, it still had another row to bite you with.

I found Celestine’s death rather unimportant, and for how major the death was made out to be, and how epic it was all boasted, really, it’s not that big a deal. She wasn’t that well fleshed out for a character and she didn’t really do much besides be the Angelus’ host. No one was emotionally invested in this character, as she was an unimportant throwaway villain.

So, overall, the Trinity still isn’t broken, it’s just temporarily missing a member. But Angelus will be back so there’s no real point in calling it Broken.

Now I want to address Stjepan Sejic’s artwork, teaming up with Phil Hester who did the layouts for this book.

Hester does an amazing job here for layouts, as some of the scenes, though no doubt mostly great on Sejic’s part, have some great layouts in panel work and overall, it really looks great. The artwork here is as usual stunningly beautiful and while it didn’t make up for the frustrating delays and rather poor ending, it still really enhanced the reading experience and made every panel a beautiful sight to see.

The artwork is crisp, beautiful and Sejic’s best work yet, the explosive battle scenes really shine, but as always, he makes even the most calm and personal moments enjoyable to see. It’s truly a spectacular sight for artwork and Marz’ already solid script is beautifully brought to life.

While the ending was disappointing in how it doesn’t really accomplish breaking the Trinity, I still enjoyed the story as a whole. Characters where all great, even the new ones, and it’s always great to get more Witchblade. While I had hoped for more, at the same time, you can only do so much. So for what it is, and what it does, Broken Trinity is a great solid read when you read all 3 issues as a whole and I suggest you check out the HC or TPB when they come out later next year. I know I will, as I enjoyed the stories here and look forward, even more so, to War of the Witchblade next year.