Comics are Awesome II

[Sparky Prime]

He did a run of Superman not quite 10 years back, and I *think* Batman.

As the artist, yeah. But I'm talking about things he wrote.

But, I was talking about his art in terms of what he designs as much as his writing. (He can draw with direction well enough. But, he should not necessarily have control.)

I like several of the redesigns he did the the relaunch. And still, being a writer/artist on a book is very different from running the whole thing. I don't see why you're even trying to draw a parallel there. And even so, by your own admittance his illustration skills are pretty good. I don't see what your issue is with him being in charge.

[Dominic]

GI Joe Cobra #7:
-ain't read it yet. I am more than a compilation's worth of comics behind. Yeah, I ain't proud of this.

Doctor Doom and the Masters of Evil #1-4:
One typical complaint about this series might be that the Masters of Evil themselvs do not show up until issue 3 in any meaninful way, and their importance to the story is not appreciably greater than that of the Circus of Crime or the Sinister 6. I am generally more forgiving that most people on this sort of point, particularly in an ongoing series with an established title....and when the story itself is better over-all. This series could have just as easily been called "Doctor Doom and a bunch of guys" or "Doctor Doom and the Quest". The high concept itself, Doom trying to rid himself of morality, is solid. But, the execution is exceptional chiefly for being bland. This would have been a passable oneshot, but 4 issues was about double what the page count should have been.
Grade: D

Amazing SpiderMan #661 and 662:
These issues bridges the core Spidey title with the Avengers and FF titles. Gage is normally a competent writer, which makes this story all the more disappointing. The concept and execution are more or less "very special episode", and run more or less by the numbers. A waste of the writer's talent, the reader's time and the characters.
Grade: D


History of the Marvel Universe:
This is a one-shot presenting a condensed history of all things Marvel going back to the Golden Age. For what it is, it is excellent, detailing various eras and important stories from those eras. While not exhaustive, (nearly impossible given how long modern 616 Marvel has existed), it is more comprehensive than one might reasonably expect. it suffers for readability, by necessity being a "and then this happens" sort of read. There are a few retro-fixes and papering-overs, but the most notable thing is that this issue makes it official that Gwen Stacy was killed by Spiderman's botched rescue and the big reveal about the Stacy clone from "The Evolutionary War" seems to be ignored. It is also kind of funny to see timeless classics like Starlin's "Infinity" books given the same priority and treatment as near univerally reviled crap like 90s "X-Men" and "Spiderman".
Grade" C


Dom
-was tempted by some "X-Men" today, owing to how thin this week was.

[Sparky Prime]

Doing a little catching up again...

Red Lantern #3
Atrocitus throws Bleez into the blood ocean of Ysmault, its liquids somehow restores her intellect, despite other Red Lanterns having been thrown in before and nothing like this happening to them. She's not happy about it when she emerges, claiming the Rage had cocooned her from feeling the pain of her loss. Atrocitus wants her to calm the fighting Red Lanterns, but she claims to be too traumatized so instead he takes her back to her home planet to work through it. Afterwords they return to Ysmault where she calms the Red Lanterns. Atrocitus wonders if she had calculated this out while still consumed with Rage and created the upheaval in the first place, and if so, then Atrocitus will have be be careful with her.

Sort of a meh issue if you've already read the Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, as this issue largely retreads Bleez's background. But then, this issue is mostly to introduce new readers to who she is that haven't read it, and it does expand on that story a bit. And obviously Bleez is manipulating the situation to get her way. This matches how she was described before becoming a Red Lantern. We're also seeing a set up for a human to become a Red Lantern in this side story between two brothers who have very different views about how to handle that their grandfather was murdered a few issues ago.

Green Lantern #3
Sinestro finally convinces Hal to help him take down the Sinestro Corps who are enslaving Korugar. It turns out Sinestro has a fail safe in the Yellow Central Battery and all they need to do in take a Green Lantern battery inside to shut down the whole Corps. Sinestro creates a distraction while Hal flies the battery to the Yellow Lantern, but once inside, instead of shutting down it disintegrates Hal. Meanwhile, the Guardians welcome back Ganthet now that he's unfeeling again. They discuss how the Green Lanterns are flawed, just like the Manhunters had their flaws. They come to the conclusion that it's time they replace the Green Lantern Corps and built a Third Army to police the Universe.

I'm assuming Hal was just transported to the Anti-Matter universe. The disintegrated effect was the same as we've seen when someone has been teleported to that universe at least. It'll be interesting see what the Guardians plan on replacing the Green Lantern Corps with, and how exactly they plan to dismantle the Corps. There are plenty of Green Lanterns I'm sure would try to fight that.

Green Lantern New Guardians #3
With the powers of all 7 rings, Kyle is easily able to fight the Guardians who are shocked Kyle and wield the powers of the entire Emotional Spectrum. He can't control it for long however, as we see he weakens quickly. Meanwhile is orbit, the others arrive demanding to know where Kyle is from Saint Walker. He tells them he's seeking answers from the Guardians. Bleez charges in but Fatality warns the rest they need to work together to face the Guardians. Back to the fight at hand, the rings shatter, leaving Kyle with only his Green Lantern ring once again, and an Orange ring circling him. Ganthet tries to revoke his ring, but something prevents him from taking it. Taking note of the Orange ring having survived as well, they find it to be an Orange Lantern construct of Glomulus. The other Corps members break in but are easily taken down by the Guardians, but then suddenly Larfleeze arrives.

Seeing as Larfleeze has Sayd with him, I'm wondering if this will set up for her return to the Guardians like Ganthet. Interesting to see someone with control 7... well 6 of the rings albeit briefly. The Orange Lantern symbol was missing from Kyle's costume so it appears Gomulus as a ring didn't actually give Kyle the power of Avarice.

[andersonh1]

Picked up comics for last week and this week since I didn't go to the shop the day before Thanksgiving. Aquaman #3, Captain America #4, Daredevil #6, and Batman and Robin #2 + #3. Reviews to follow, but I'm weeding out the new DC stuff I don't really like and sticking with what's pretty good. Generally, the less rebooted it looks, the more I like it.

[Dominic]

They come to the conclusion that it's time they replace the Green Lantern Corps and built a Third Army to police the Universe.

It won't stick.

I am also thinking that we can use the results of the Yellow Lantern battle to see how long the other Lantern teams last.


My plan to is try to read my pull-list's worth of comics each week. This week, I picked up 2, and read 7. If I can keep that up, I should be caught up by summer..... Oi.


Dom
-also plans to switch to compilations in the next year-

[Sparky Prime]

It won't stick.

You've said that before with things in Green Lantern which have stuck... I'm thinking this could turn out to be a new villain for the Green Lanterns, not unlike the Manhunters.

I am also thinking that we can use the results of the Yellow Lantern battle to see how long the other Lantern teams last.

I doubt Sinestro will succeed in shutting them down. His fail safe already failed to work. Besides, the whole concept of the 7 Corps has proved to be extremely popular with fans, and there are 2 ongoing titles directly involving those other Corps.

[Dominic]

Time will tell.

Okay, random reviews because I could not sleep last night and this post will only take a few minutes.

On FCBD back in May, I picked up a few packs of "5 or 6 random comics for $3". The idea was that I want a good pile of random stuff to sample before making the last round of cuts to my pull-list in June. But....I only got around to reading them now.

Dark Hawkeye #5:
This was part of the "Dark Reign" tie-in. And, unlike much of "Dark Reign", this is everything you woudl expect from the title. The book is pointlessly violent and laden with cliches. Seriously Andy Diggle, what the fuck? There is a "clever" Watchmen reference when Solo catches an arrow fired by Bullseye and plenty of other faux-badass moments. The main character actually has daddy issues and everything. This book reads like a flashback to the early to mid-90s, but without the grace and pizzazz of "Sabertooth: Death Hunt". At least that had ninjas dammit.
Grade: F (Well, it is better than what I normally expect of Diggle.)


Dark Wolverine #86-88:
Double random whammy here. Not only does that run include parts of 2 arcs, but both arcs are actually crossovers with other books. By all rights, this should be the worst book on the shelves. On paper, the high concept sounds like it should be worse than "Dark Hawkeye". Bastard son of Wolverine....raised by nigh immortal....hates his father....like daddy only meaner.....3rd claw pops out of his inner arms(!)....total jerk.....magical swords....emo fuck...maybe bisexual... Seriously. But, Way and Liu make it work. If I were not trying to cut comics, I would have added this book to my pull-list, if only for their run on it. As it stands now, I am seriously considering tracking down compilations.
Grade: B/C


Dom
-may or may not hit the comic shop this week.

[Tigermegatron]

even though the Choas saga is epic failure IMHO,For some strange reason I'm getting excited to buy issue #31 tommorow to see what happens.

[Shockwave]

I believe they call that morbid curiosity. You know you shouldn't look, but you can't help yourself anyway.

[Dominic]

That is what got me to read all of "Countdown".

And, sometimes, as with "Dark Avengers", it pays off and you find a legitimately good book.

And, today's haul:


GI Joe #8:
I did not actually buy this one because there was only one copy, and it was in somebody else's pull file. But, they let me flip through it. This is the issue where the new Cobra Commander is revealed. it was pretty well predictable, and Dixon did not deliver any stylistic punch to it. The gimmick cover was kind of nice. If somebody was wiling to ruin thier copy, they could scratch off Cobra Commander's mask to reveal the identity of the new Commander. Mouse-over the spoilier tag below if you are curious about who the new Commander is.

Spoiler

Krake. Yep, the most boring character in the book.

Grade: C No real suprises.


Cobra vol I (Cobra Civil War):
Yeah, I am a full compilation behind, and now have the compilation alongside the unread single issues. Costa is a good enough writer that I still plan to read this, but oi....am I ever behind.
Grade: Coming later...when I read it....someday.


Moon Knight #8:
And....it looks like next issue will wrap up the first arc with a big fight. As has been the case, I am considering this filler, but concede that my readings have been hasty and that I have probably missed a few things.
Grade: C

Captain Atom 1 Page Spectacular:
This is a compiled reprint of the "Captain Atom" backup from "Action Comics" a while ago. it really does not read much better when compiled. In fact, there are a few places where the story seems to "skip", either due to poor formatting or actual panels being missing. Either way, Captain Atom is a good guy again....because somebody said so. Yeah, it reads that arbitrarily.
Grade: C/D Some stuff happens.


Dom
-not the worst haul.