Comic Reviews 08/21

[Guest starvenger]

Music Recommendation: Bif Naked's "Tango Shoes" and Treble Charger's "Hundred Million". If you check out the video for "Hundred Million" you'll see cameos by Sum 41, Swollen Members, Avril Lavigne and... some other guys. It could be Smash Mouth, but somehow I doubt that. So help me out here - what Canadian group has a fat guy in it? Barenaked Ladies aside, of course.

 

- These reviews may contain SPOILERS. I'll try not to mention anything earth-shattering.

 

- Since I don't collect too many comics on a regular basis I'll try to add in some TPBs as well. I'm currently working on writing a review on the 4 Transformers TPBs out from Titan, but first I'm heading to the Toronto Comicon and getting autographs from (as well as marking out at) Joe Kubert AND Billy Dee Williams...

 

- And as a note the "Overall" rating is simply how I felt about the book as a whole. The writing and art can be stellar, but if I still come away feeling like the book was kinda blah, I'll give it a lower rating.

 

 

This week's comics:

 

Thundercats #1 (of 5)

Creators: Ford Lytle Gilmore(W)/Ed McGuinness(P)/Jason Martin(I)

Company: Wildstorm/DC

Notes: - There is an alternate cover by Arthur Adams.

Plot: Taking place almost immediately after the end of the cartoon, New Thunderra is restored into Thunderra. Meanwhile, those wacky Ancients are pissed of at Mumm-ra's contant failures, so they call on the Shadowmaster to defeat the Thundercats. Needless to say, he gets his ass kicked, and they call for Mumm-ra anyway.

 

Writing: 6/10

Art: 8/10

Cover: 8/10 (McGuinness)

Overall (not an average): 7/10

 

Comments: Ed McGuinness art is a refreshing change from the craptastic art that Campbell gave us in #0. Just as a comparison, head over to Wildstorm Comics and check out the T-Cats covers.

 

Gilmore's writing is getting better, but I still object to treating Wilykit and Kat like kids - they may be young, but they're definitely not inexperienced. Even worse, he gives them a role similar to the Wonder Twins in the Superfriends. Well, at least he hasn't reduced them to a Wendy and Marvin-type role.

 

 

Uncanny X-Men #411 - "Hope" (2 of 4)

Creators: Chuck Austen(W)/Ron Garney(P)/Mark Morales(I)

Company: Marvel

Plot: The X-Men face off against Juggernaut, but as it turns out, they've got an even worse problem. Oh, and ANOTHER X-Man returns from the dead, while another one may BE dead. Again.

 

Writing: 8/10

Art: 7/10

Cover: 8/10

Overall (not an average): 8/10

 

Comments: OK, so Havok wasn't dead. I mean, his mind was tranferred into an alternate version of himself, and the X-Men thought he was dead, but he wasn't dead. How did Mutant X end, anyways?

 

Anyways, after the first page, a few things should be obvious to a few readers:

- Why M was on this mission

- Who else is gonna show up in this issue

Even if you don't get it right away, there's enough hints that you'll probably get it before he shows up. And if not, well, it's Plant-Man. No, wait, that's Black Tom Cassidy, who got mutated into a half-plant thing early on in Generation X, I think.

 

Also in this issue, Iceman's mini-push begins, Wolverine heals, and Stacy X gets stuff shoved up her... nostrils.

 

Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do #2 (of 5)

Creators: Silent Bob(W)/The Cheesecake Artist(P)/And His Wife(I)

Company: Joey and Billy

Notes: "I've never had anyone try to french me through my mask before"

Plot: Spidey and Cat continue their quest to find Mr. Brownstone, but run into (surprise!) a super-villain.

 

Writing: 8/10

Art: 8/10

Cover: 9/10

Overall (not an average): 8/10

 

Comments: Kevin Smith shines in continuing the plot to find Mr. Brownstone while layering in the subplot of the Spider-Man/Black Cat relationship. Of course, since Peter's married, that's a bit of a complication. What was that thing about marriage making men more attractive to women?

 

Terry Dodson provides us with the cheesecake shots that we expect from him, plus the rest of the book is well drawn as well, save for a few pages where things looked rushed.

 

Scorpia seemed to be randomly thrown in there to further the subplot. No real complaints, though. If I wanted dialogue with nothing else going on, I'd watch Dawson's Creek or read The Ultimates or something.

 

From Weeks Past:

The Ultimates #6 - Giant-Man vs. Wasp

Creators: Mark Millar(W)/Bryan Hitch(P)/Andrew Currie(I)

Company: Marvel Ultimate

Plot: The Ultimates deal with the aftermath of the Hulk's rampage - by having dinner.

 

Writing: 7/10

Art: 8/10

Cover: 7/10

Overall (not an average): 7/10

 

Comments: The Henry Pym - Wifebeater story starts HERE. While it seems a bit early for this, I would guess that this is helping to set up the introduction of Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye into the team. The Newsarama interview with Millar a few weeks back indicated that he was going that route, so this may be a way of getting Hank and Janet out of the way later on. I'm also certain that Millar has talked with the Ultimate X-Men writer to free up Wanda and Pietro for him.

 

As I alluded to above, the major problem here is that nothing is really going on. As Raptor mentioned, it's nice to see heroes that are mentally flawed, but a married couple fighting should not be the main reason why you buy a comic book. Hey, if it's Francine and Katchoo fighting then maybe it's justified, but this is a superhero book, so let's see more Hulking up, dammit...

 

 

Agent X #1

Creators: Gail Simone(W)/UDON Studios(A)

Company: Marvel

Plot: A guy with an 'X' carved in his face may or may not be Wade Wilson, but he want's to be the best mercenary around.

 

Writing: 7/10

Art: 8/10

Cover: 8/10

Overall (not an average): 7/10

 

Comments: Good first issue, which introduces a new cast plus gets the plotlines going. I guess the entire "is he Deadpool?" thing is gonna be an ongoing plotline with this book. Makes sense, since the book DID replace Deadpool. The book made me want to pick up the second issue, and with a #1 issue, that's exactly what you want the readers to do.

[Guest Karnage]

Could you review the recent issue(s) of GI Joe or TF?

 

Btw, that other band in the Treble Charger video is Gob.

[Guest starvenger]

Could you review the recent issue(s) of GI Joe or TF?

 

Btw, that other band in the Treble Charger video is Gob.

Thanks, I knew they looked familiar.

 

You'll have to ask Raptor about G.I. Joe. Both of us will do reviews of TF, though, as it comes out.

[Guest raptor]

I don't do G.I. Joe, sorry. My reviews will be posted later on. Great job, Starvenger.

[Guest raptor]

Here’s Part II of me playing catch up.

This weeks Soundtrack: Disturbed, Prayer and Jimmy Eat World, A Praise Chorus (Two Singles). Both are endlessly fantastic, and Prayer may be the best of Disturbed’s short scareer.

 

Daredevil #36

Creators: Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev

Publisher: Marvel Comics/Knights, PG

Auxiliary Facts: A: Black Widow

Plot: Matt Murdock faces the press, and meets with Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow.

Comments: I’m becoming increasingly more jaded with Bendis’ DD run. “Underboss” was great, but this “Outing” storyline is dragging far too much. The only action was a very weak Spider-Man team up, and the dialouge is failing to keep me involved. It seems to be still suffering from Bendis’ increasing workload. Oh, well, at least Ultimate Spider-Man and Powers are both good. *1/2

 

Uncanny X-Men #411

Story Title:: Hope Part II of III

Creators: Chuck Austen, Ron Garney

Publisher: Marvel Comics, PG

Auxiliary Facts: A: Juggernaut, Cyclops, Phoenix; R: Havok

Plot: The X-Men are forced to aid Juggernaut against a mutated out of control Black Tom Cassidy.

Comments: This is everything that X-Treme X-Men should be. Austen has presented a great old-school X-Men story here, and it should onlyget better when they add Havok to the mix. Havok has always been one of my favorites, but I never got into that god awful Mutant X series. I hope that Austen will finally get Havok out of Cyclops’ shadow, and use him to his potential. Also, he’s doing a great job bringing Stacy X along as a sympathetic character, as well as finally giving Iceman the “push” (tm Starvenger) that he deserves. ***

 

Ultimate X-Men #21

Story Title:: Hellfire and Brimstone: Part I of V

Creators: Mark Millar, Adam Kubert

Publisher: Ultimate Marvel Comics, PG

Auxiliary Facts: 1st: Ultimate Kitty Pryde

Plot: Kitty Pryde joins Professor Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters as Jean Gray becomes plagued by visions of a firebird...

Comments: Mark Millar has a habit of starting his storylines with a gripping opening issue, and then losing steam as he progresses . He’s true to form here, as this issue is a very good way to introduce the readers to Kitty Pryde, while setting up the X-Men’s conflict with Jean’s Phoenix force. I just hope Millar can give the Phoenix force the epic storyline is deserves. ****

 

Thundercats: Reclaiming Thundera #1 (of 5)

Creators: Ford Lytle Gilmore, Ed McGuinness

Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm

Auxiliary Facts: A: Shadowmaster

Plot: Shadowmaster replaces Mum-Ra as the champion of evil and launches an attack on the Thundercats.

Comments: This is much better than the previous issue, but it still leaves something to be desired. It’s still entertaining, though. This issue seemed a little too brisk, and there wasn’t a lot going on. Shadowmaster was really weak, as Lion-O seems to hand him his ass in one panel. Well worth three bucks, though. One gripe: where the hell was Tygra? ***

 

Spider-Man: Blue #4 (of 5)

Story Title:: Book Four: Autumn In New York

Creators: Jeph Loeb

Publisher: Marvel Comics, PG

Auxiliary Facts: A: Vulture II

Plot: On his way to a housewarming party, Spider-Man is attacked by The Vulture.

Comments: This is the best issue of the series. It finally seemed as if Loeb was presenting something new to the Spider-Man mythos, instead of retreading old Stan Lee plots. It’s still based on a former issue, but Loeb really brought something to Spider-Man’s psychology here. The internal dialouge presented made this issue shine, and showed exactly what this series should have been doing the entire time.

 

Spider-Man and the Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do #2 (of 5) Uber-Book of the Week!

Story Title:: A Ruse By Any Other Name

Creators: Kevin Smith, Terry Dodson

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Auxiliary Facts: A: Scorpina

Plot: Spider-Man and Black Cat battle Scorpina at a 9-11 related awards show, only to find that the man they saved is not who he seems...

Comments: Smith is doing a pretty daring thing here. He seems to be the first author at Marvel to associate anything bad with 9-11. In the case of his villain, the man seems to use the tragedy only to bolster his public image as a cover up for his drug trafficing. Nothing mind-blowing, but enough of a step forward to help comics get over the tragedy. Also, I’m really enjoying the interplay between Felicia and Peter too, as she always seemed more interesting than MJ to me. The dialouge seems so natural, and the fact that Spider-Man has to battle his feelings for Black Cat, as well as a new villain should make for some interesting dynamics. *****

 

Captain America #4

Story Title:: Never Give Up

Creators: John Ney Rieber, John Cassaday

Publisher: Marvel Comics/Knights, PG

Auxiliary Facts: N/A

Plot: Captain America seeks out the remnants of the terrorists, but will soon find out that he has outlived his usefullness to S.H.I.E.L.D...

Comments: Another interesting 9-11 premise. It seems as if Cap’s little stunt last issue has S.H.I.E.L.D. a little upset. So now does Captain America still have to solve the mystery of the terrorist’s involvement with the organization, he has S.H.I.E.L.D. itself after him. Rieber is actually making me enjoy Captain America, something I’ve never done before. The potential was always there, but other writers injected too much jingoism into the stories for my taste. Finally somebody is really examining what it means to be a country’s symbol, and greatest hero, and sacrifices involved in such an act. Captivating stuff, here. ****1/2

 

Ultimate Adventures #1 (9 Page Dot Comics Preview)

Story URL:: http://dotcomics.marvel.com/getissue.htm?i...w&format=master

Creators: Ron Zimmerman, Duncan Fegredo

Publisher: Ultimate Marvel Comics, PG

Auxiliary Facts: 1st: Hank Kipple, Hawk-Owl

Plot:We are introduced to the life of Hank Kipple, and how it changes in an instant...

Comments: Well, Zimmerman has yet to show me any talent. This was okay, and I’ll be picking up the full issue, but it’s mainly for Fegredo’s art. Zimmerman seems unable to write a comic book well, but given time, could develop into a decent storyteller. The plot elements are all cookie cutter, but I did see glimmers of hope, so I suppose we shouldn’t bury Zimmerman... yet. **

[Guest Vyce]

I really dug Agent X. It has the Deadpool feel to it. I never really picked up Deadpool, so I'm sort of new to it all....but I like what I see here.

 

Ultimates #6: This one really stuck with me. I agree, this is like the Seinfeld of superhero comics - the cast just pretty much hangs around, not doing much of anything.....but this one issue really....hell, it pretty much disturbed me.

 

On one level, I applaud Millar for finally going the distance here. In the past issues, I've noticed and remarked about how generally....well, repugnant....this version of the Avengers really is. EVERYONE on the team (with the exception of maybe Cap) is fairly reprehensible. It's sort of why I was pulling for Hulk last issue - they all treated Banner like SHIT (but of course, in this issue he's become something like an object of pity / sympathy).

 

Anyway, to get back on track....the Hank / Janet stuff really disturbed me. Speaking as someone who knows the horrors of domestic violence & spousal abuse, that whole segment was just difficult to get through. It was chilling, in its own way, to me. Hank, with his ridiculous looking Ant-Man helmet on, muttering "You shouldn't have made me look small, Jan. You shouldn't have made me look small.", with this bizarre, blank look in his eyes.....rough stuff.

 

It's kind of nasty. Not the usual super-hero fare, but very compelling.

[Guest raptor]

I agree about the Hank/Jan thing. Hitch turned in some brilliantly chilling pencils. I also enjoy the ambiguity of the ending. Is Jan dead? Is that how they plan to bring in Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch?