SmartMarks Comic Reviews 10/30

[Guest raptor]

Oh yes, I am back from my self imposed exile, seeing as how I have no classes on Thursdays, and am now officially BORED OUT OF MY SKULL. ON WITH THE UNPRODUCTIVE REVIEWS!

 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #50

Story Title(s): Note From The Underground Part IV (of IV); The First Time; Mall Rats

Creators: Main Feature: Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Cliff Richards; The First Time: Fabian Nicieza, Paul Lee; Mall Rats: Andi Watson

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Plot: Buffy and Pike race against time to save the rest of the Scooby Gang from the clutches of a reborn Adam.

Comments: After all the buildup, this conclusion is pretty weak. Angel and Faith basically did nothing the entire time, ruining a guest appearence that should have been special. Pike was wasted too, but he seems to be staying around for the near future, so Lobdell could redeem himself. “Mall Rats,” by the first series writer Andi Watson, was just horribly stupid, but there is one reason to buy this issue. “The First Time” is a touching prose peice with a few Paul Lee drawings. I was mesmerized by the piece,and every fan of the shoe should give it a try. Star Breakdown: “Notes” **; “The First Time” *****; “Mall Rats” *. Full Issue Score: **1/2

 

The Avengers #59

Story Title(s):World Trust Part III (of IV): Friends And Enemies

Creators:Geoff Johns, Kieron Dwyer

Publisher: Marvel Comics, PG

Plot: As Yellowjacket and The Wasp fight for their lives in Scorpio’s black hole, the rest of the team faces of against Order in an attempt to bring the world’s capitals home.

Comments: Johns continues to impress me with his ability to redefine the team superhero genre. The dynamics of his Avengers is really the major selling point for me, with them being less a team than a bunch of autonomous heroes who can’t stand each other. Plus, Doom is in it, and I always enjoy a good Dr. Doom appearance. Once again, Johns delivers a tremendous final panel. Worth the price of admission to get there, too. ***

 

The Ultimates#7 Uber-book of the Week!

Creators:Mark Millar, Brian Hitch

Publisher: Ultimate Marvel Comics

Plot: The Ultimates continue to deal with the after math of the Hulk’s attack, and try to grapple with the horrors Hank Pym has inflicted upon the Wasp.

Comments: It was a surreal thing to read The Ultimates and The Avengers in one week. Especially since Johns’ Avengers really seem to be tackling the same issue as Millar’s Ultimates, although Millar packs much more realism. I believe this series will be much stronger when all is said and done, as it should hold up as one of the better case studies on realism in superhero comics, as Squadron Supreme was. Consistantly good stuff when it comes out, but its schedule detracts from the presentation for me. ****

 

The Punisher #17

Story Title(s):Aim Low

Creators:Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson

Publisher: Marvel Comics, PG+

Plot: Punisher and Wolverine face off against the midget mob. Yes, I just wrote “Midget Mob.”

Comments: Ugh. That’s my description of this book. I thought Garth Ennis was above this kind of Sh*t. Essentially, he punks out Wolverine’s character (ignoring twenty years of characterization in the process) only to make Punisher look like more of a badass. This is the same problem I have with Grant Morrisson’s killing of Magneto to further the rep of Cassandra Nova, you don’t spit on another writer’s (or in these cases writers’) work on a character just because you want to make yours look better. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Even killer midgets couldn’t save this one. 1/2*

 

Thundercats #3 (of 5)

Creators:Ford Lytle Gilmore, Francisco Herrera

Publisher: DC/Wildstorm Comics

Plot: The Thundercats, still oblivious of Mum Ra’s plans, fend of an attack from the Lunatics.

Comments: Nice and simple: THIS COMIC BLOWS. The art is beyond horrid, the dialouge is tepid, and Mum Ra’s newly-revealed plan is just about the worst he’s ever come up with. I was really digging this series as a nice nostalgia kick for the first two issues, but Gilmore has basically ran it into the ground. Here’s the plot of this issue: The Lunatics show up and get their asses handed to them by the ‘Cats. That’s it. Look elsewhere for nostalgia, please. 1/2*

 

EDIT: Fixed my horrid grammar

[Guest starvenger]

Nice to see you back, raptor. I'll probably be doing some reviews of stuff that you didn't cover. eventually.

 

Some thoughts:

- Hit the nail on the head about Ultimates. It's a great book, but Hitch is soooooo sloooow. Of course, if he drew faster, then he'd probably revert to his "Davis-lite" style, which frankly was fucking awful.

- Wasn't Ennis the same guy who wrote "Punisher Kills the MU"? If so, then Punisher punking Wolverine makes some sense. Well, not really, but at least there's a precedent.

- wrt Thundercats, I'm impressed that you hung onto it for one issue longer than I did.

- Hey, doesn't anyone here buy CrossGen? Never having bought it, I'm of the opinion that it likely blows, but I've always wondered if it's the real deal, or simply a neo-Valiant...

[Guest Sassquatch]

Raptor, welcome back.

 

"Hit the nail on the head about Ultimates. It's a great book, but Hitch is soooooo sloooow. Of course, if he drew faster, then he'd probably revert to his "Davis-lite" style, which frankly was fucking awful."

 

- starvenger

 

 

Miller would be the main culprit in this case but we've already gone over his faults/weaknesses.

 

"Wasn't Ennis the same guy who wrote "Punisher Kills the MU"? If so, then Punisher punking Wolverine makes some sense. Well, not really, but at least there's a precedent."

 

- starvenger

 

 

Garth did write "The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe" and Frank used almost move-for-move the same way to kill Wolvie in this issue that he did in PKTMU. This beatdown on Wolvie was justified and many fans have always considered Frank to be the best fighter out of the two if Logan did not have his claws or healing factor.

 

"Hey, doesn't anyone here buy CrossGen? Never having bought it, I'm of the opinion that it likely blows, but I've always wondered if it's the real deal, or simply a neo-Valiant..."

 

- starvenger

 

 

I do not like Mark Alessi. I think he is a bullshit artist who promises creators all of these wonderful incentives but in reality has them locked up in contracts that are one-sided from the start. The only positive thing I can say about Crossgen and their business is that their books are never late and have not been late since their inception in 2000. In today's market, this type of consistency is rare to find and I appreciate their efforts in that respect.

 

Crossgen's books are decent and have more of an epic style of storytelling to them, which is not for every fan of comic books. Unlike Valiant, Alessi seems to have his company under control and does not have to worry about being kicked out of the company like Jim Shooter was with Valiant.

 

I think they'll go on for a couple more years and then from there it's all up in the air.

[Guest Mattdotcom]

Now this thread has even MORE Mattitude~!

 

Since we're discussing The Ultimates, my friend recommended the first TPB. I'm not too familiar with the characters, but I know it's a restart, so will I enjoy it as a newbie?

[Guest raptor]

I think you'd enjoy it a lot in TPB form. The only thing that keeps it from being one of my favorite titles is the distance between shipping dates.

[Guest areacode212]

Welcome back, raptor.

 

Speaking of Squadron Supreme, did you all hear that JMS and Gary Frank will be working on a NEW ongoing Squadron Supreme title? How groovy is that?

[Guest raptor]

I was floored when I read that. Should be awesome.

[Guest BA_Baracus]

Bored...so here are some reviews of what I picked up yesterday (note, many of these didn't come out this week or even this month).

 

Savage Dragon #101

Creator: Erik Larson

Publisher: Image Comics

Plot: 2 stories in 1! Back in the original Dragon universe Dragon's son Malcolm (after being told an issue or two ago that the Rapture raising him isn't his real mother) runs off and Special Operation's Strikeforce try to bring him back, but not before he does something very naughty. In the Savage world universe, Dragon re-unites with that world's Jennifer and Angel.

Comments: Larsen really has to start printing a re-cap on the inside of the front cover, because this comic has become really confusing. I own all 100 issues that precede this one and I still wasn't sure exactly what was going on. Didn't everyone in the original Dragon universe lose their powers? Anyways...once you get past the confusing parts, the Malcolm story was pretty fun...and actually had a relatively shocking ending. The Jennifer/Dragon/Angel stuff was not as amusing. Larsen's strength is definitely not writing family drama. Art-wise, the Malcolm story's art was slick and full of life and action...on the other hand, the Jennifer story featured overly cross-hatched, stiff faces and extremely sketchy backgrounds. Larsen's schedule is obviously getting to him. Anyways, not bad...but hopefully the stories become more coherant soon.

Rating: **1/2

 

Cannon God: Exxaxion #9

Creator: Kenichi Sonoda

Publisher: Darkhorse Manga

Plot: Gun fires off Exxaxion's cannon for the first time and destroys Sorosarm, but he's horrified by the destruction the shockwave from the cannon caused, gives up his power and runs back to his school where he witnesses various attrocities comitted by the alien invadors.

Comments: Thankfully they've switched over to a 48 page format for this book. Since comics are published in large volumes in Japan, often almost nothing would happen over the span of a 22 page book. Anyways if there's one thing that can be said about this book, it's that unlike say Savage Dragon, it's easily to follow. There's never any confusion as to what's going on, even with several story threads going at once. Gun abandoning Exxaxion because of the innocents he killed is actually pretty toughtful stuff for Sonoda, who's usually more interested in big guns, cars, boobs and explosions (which isn't to say this book doesn't have lots of big guns, boobs and explosions, because it does). As far as the art goes...its nice and clean and features some great character designs for the alien's robot minions, but on the other hand Sonoda is capable of better as much of the art is overly simple and lacking in his trademark attention to detail. Overall, a fairly fun, sexy book even if it's just setting up bigger things later on...

Rating: ***

 

Detective Comics #775

Creators: Greg Rucka, Rick Burchett, Jim Royal.

Publisher: DC Comics

Plot: Batman puts some heavy pressure on Checkmate to get them to cough up Sasha, and it works...but will it be a happy reunion?

Comments: Well, it's Rucka's final issue...and he doesn't exactly go out with a bang, but he doesn't go out with a whimper either. I thought the final scene between Sasha and Bruce was pretty good, but personally I'd have preferred it wasn't the final scene between them and that Rucka didn't take the most interesting character he created while on Detective Comics with him when he leaves, but oh well. Also I kind of felt that the scene between Sasha and Bruce got a bit too melodramatic and soap opera-ish at times. Batman's a manly, man of a man...and us manly men keep our emotions bottled up. Burchett's art was pretty un-impressive too...he just doesn't have the skills to draw an extended emotional scene like the one in this book, as many of the expressions looked either wrong or just silly (plus his Bruce looks like Roger Moore or something, making the scene feel like some cheesy thing out of an old James Bond movie). The back-up story featuring the red Predator rip-off ends after only 4 parts in a completely unspectacular fasion (except for an appearance by Mr. Zasz). I hope this story wasn't supposed to get us excited for some new series...because it failed miserably. All in all, a decent resolution to the Sasha storyline...Rucka's final issue of Detective comics was a tribute to the "characters first, action second" type of stories he's told while on the book.

Rating: ***1/2

 

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order #2

Creator: Yukito Kishiro

Publisher: Viz comics

Plot: Alita wakes up after being rebuilt by Dr. Nova, only to find his brutally murdered corpse. But she doesn't have much time to ponder this mystery as 3 strangers burst in out of nowhere and she gets to test her fancy new body out against a big ol' robot!

Comments: Rather confusing...but in an intentional "all will be revealed in time" sort of way. Really...not all that much happens in this issue, so I'll just focus on the art...which is great. Nobody draws better action scenes that Kishiro...nobody, and this issue has a decent little one (as well as a great cover and a kick-ass full spread of Dr. Nova's disemboweled corpse). Good looking, fun book that makes me want to read more...what more can you ask?

Rating: ***1/2

 

Lone Wolf and Cub TPB #25: Perhaps in Death

Creators: Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima

Publisher: Darkhorse

Plot: Retsudo is under house-arrest after the secret of the Yagyu letters was revealed by Abe...who also happens to the man who has been given the job of watching over Retsudo. Abe uses his position to try and starve Retsudo. Meanwhile the Yagyu grass from all over Japan gather in Edo and Itto trains his 3-year old son Diagoro to defend the spot where he and Retsudo will have their final battle...

Comments: After the epic battle between Retsudo and Itto in volume #23, things kind of got off track in #24 and bogged down in polotical stuff. This volume doesn't get things completely back on track either, and while it seems strange to say this of a 300 page TPB, this is more or less a filler issue building to the big battle in the next volume. Abe's plot of starve Retsudo is rather dull and the stories of the Yagyu grass, while interesting, are stories that would be better suited for earlier on in the series...not so close to the end. The final chapter where Itto trains Diagoro is quite good though. Of course Kojima's art is great as always, and this volume is by no means bad...it just kind of seems like the story's dragging it's heels a bit.

Rating: ***

[Guest Vyce]

The Ultimates#7 Uber-book of the Week!

Plot: The Ultimates continue to deal with the after math of the Hulk’s attack, and try to grapple with the horrors Hank Pym has inflicted upon the Wasp.

 

I still say that last issue was one of the most chilling comic issues I've read in a long time. Pym, calmly watching as his wife is brutally attacked by ants at his command: "You shouldn't have made me feel small, Jan. You shouldn't have made me feel small."

Here's hoping that Cap beats the ever-luvin' shit out of Pym, as it appears he's going to.

 

The Punisher #17

Comments: Ugh. That’s my description of this book. I thought Garth Ennis was above this kind of Sh*t. Essentially, he punks out Wolverine’s character (ignoring twenty years of characterization in the process) only to make Punisher look like more of a badass. This is the same problem I have with Grant Morrisson’s killing of Magneto to further the rep of Cassandra Nova, you don’t spit on another writer’s (or in these cases writers’) work on a character just because you want to make yours look better. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Even killer midgets couldn’t save this one. 1/2*

 

I didn't mind this issue that much.

True, Frank got a ton of offense in on Wolverine, but then again, that's pretty much always how I'd imagine a "real" fight happening between the two of them. Besides, Wolverine is portrayed as damn near invincible in other books, so I can forgive Ennis for his temporary treatment of Logan.

 

As for the Nova business....I'm sorry, I think some of you know where I stand on that one. Magneto was tired. I'm glad SOMEONE finally killed him off, although I'm sure he'll be back by the end of next year.

 

Thundercats #3 (of 5)

Comments: Nice and simple: THIS COMIC BLOWS. The art is beyond horrid, the dialouge is tepid, and Mum Ra’s newly-revealed plan is just about the worst he’s ever come up with.

 

I picked up the preview book (or maybe it was issue #0). That was enough to convince me to not pick up the series.

 

I don't share the Crossgen hate, though (well....the Alessi hate, I suppose I should say). I'm a fan of a few of their books.

[Guest raptor]

I agree that Magneto was probably out of stories for a while, but I felt that he deserved a better send off. Even having Wolverine kill him at the end of Lobdell's last storyline seemed more fitting than being Nova's b*tch.

 

Never read Crossgen, so I can't comment. I'd like to see somebody review them though, for variety's sake.

[Guest Goodear]

Hey, I have read some CrossGen...

 

Ruse: Enter the Detective TPB 1

Plot: Introducing Simon Archard and his lovely assistant/partner Emma Bishop! Thrill as they engage in a battle of intrege with the deadly Miranda Cross that can control mens' minds and cause them to soptaniously combust using the magnetic leylines that run through the world. Then witness what happens when Emma has to solve a grisly murder on her own. And finally, introducing the one villian that can cause Simon to lose his cool, Lightbourne ...

Comments: It's like a fantastical version of Sherlock Holmes with a assisant who can evidentally stop time. Anyway, it all seems a pretty mundane if anjoyable trip... if only for the witter banter between the two leads.

Rating: **

 

Sojourn: From The Ashes TPB #1

Plot: The evil Mordath has risen from the daed and he looks a whole lot like Boris Karloff in the Mummy. Needless to say, he's pissed off and leads his Troll armies to destroy the Five Lands. In the chaos, Arwyn's husband and daughter get killed. So she's pissed off. She takes a bow and her dog to kill Mordath, but that falls through and she ends up with Gareth the Bowman and Neven the deus ex machina. Neven hands her a magicall y bow and gives her a quest to find 5 pieces of an arrow that can summon a legendary king (who killed Mordath the first time) back to save the day.

Comments: Damn, splash pages EVERYWHERE. If I bought these things individually, I would be pissed. Must take 2 minutes to read them. Anyway, story is pretty paint-by-numbers and Arwyn just isn't a sympathetic character since she's too busy making insane choices and getting pulled out by extreme examples of luck.

Rating: * 1/2

[Guest starvenger]

Thanks for the CrossGen reviews, and I'm sorry that you had to suffer for it...

[Guest starvenger]

OK, having read Ultimates #7, I'm gonna have to give it a 6/10. There's the -1 for being quite late, and the issue was decent, but didn't really jump out at me. Possibly because I'm getting tired of the interpersonal dynamics while waiting looong periods in between issues. I guess I'm just petty...

[Guest Sassquatch]

"As for the Nova business....I'm sorry, I think some of you know where I stand on that one. Magneto was tired. I'm glad SOMEONE finally killed him off, although I'm sure he'll be back by the end of next year."

 

- Vyce

 

 

Ironically it might be Grant "The hypocrite" Morrison who brings Magneto back in the future. Morrison apparently wants to tell his own "perfect" Magneto story.

[Guest Vyce]

"As for the Nova business....I'm sorry, I think some of you know where I stand on that one. Magneto was tired. I'm glad SOMEONE finally killed him off, although I'm sure he'll be back by the end of next year."

 

- Vyce

 

 

Ironically it might be Grant "The hypocrite" Morrison who brings Magneto back in the future. Morrison apparently wants to tell his own "perfect" Magneto story.

 

I'm so totally NOT surprised.

 

You know....Magneto is like the HHH of X-men comics. Eventually, EVERYTHING must return to, and center around, him.

[Guest Sassquatch]

Magneto the HHH of comic books?

 

 

 

If Magneto is the HHH of comic books than Bob Harras is/was the Vince McMahon of Marvel.

 

Come to think of it, that was scary and true. Harras shoved Magneto down everyone's throats while he was in power and over the years that intrigue became hate.

 

I can't say I blame fans who dislike Magneto today.