February Comic Reviews

[Guest raptor]

Soundtrack: Well, I’ve been listening to a lot of stuff lately:

- Chevelle, Wonder What’s Next: Decent rock/metal.

- Various Artists, Daredevil: The Album: Not a lot of nu-metal like everyone says. Just a lot of Rock and Roll of the Fuel/Nickelback variety.

- Boysetsfire, Live For Today EP: Again, decent rock/metal.

- Trustcompany, The Lonely Position of Neutral: Decent rock/metal. Notice a trend?

- Fuel, Sunburn and Something Like Human: Unfortunately pidgeonholed into the nu-metal category. They’re doing some interesting things with the rock sound, actually.

- Seether, Disclaimer: A couple of really good tracks, but derivative over all.

 

Ultimate Spider-Man#36

Story Title: Today (The Ultimate Venom Saga Part III)

Creators: Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley

Publisher: Ultimate Marvel Comics

Comments: I’ve been enjoying Ultimate Venom, but after last issue I thought Bendis might have been going down the wrong path. I learned something then: DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE BENDIS. Glad to see Eddie Brock as king dick again.**** (Reccommended)

 

H-E-R-O#1

Story Title: Powers and Abilities

Creators: Will Pfeifer, Kato

Publisher: DC Comics

Comments: Picked this up on Geoff Johns’ glowing recommendations, and was not dissapointed. I must say that the Hero Dial is one of the goofiest plot devices ever, yet I can wholly forgive it since it resulted in such a good story. I reccommend you give it a try, especially since Johns will buy it back from you if you don’t like it. **** (Reccommended)

 

Firebreather#2

Story Title: Growing Pains: Part II

Creators: Phil Hester, Andy Kuhn

Publisher: Image Comics

Comments: If you like Ultimate Spider-Man and aren’t buying this yet.. why? Hester is doing some neat stuff with the teen-angst hero genre, and I think this character could go places.***** (Highly Reccommended)

 

Daredevil #43Uber-Book of the Week

Story Title: Lowlife Part III (of V)

Creators: Bendis, Alex Maleev

Publisher: Marvel Knights

Comments: Lowlife just keeps getting better. If this is the storyline they’re banking on to grab new readers, they’ve put their money in the right place. Bendis is hitting a stride where it seems that he can write emotional dialogue in his sleep. Pick this up just for the confrontation between Cage and DD.***** (Highly Reccommended)

 

Other stuff I bought:

Wolverine/Hulk: 6 Hours #2: Not blowing me away, but it’s still a fun mini-series, involving Wolverine actually being in an X-Title. I mean what the fuck Morrisson? *** Mildly Reccommended

 

The Truth: Red, White and Black #3: After a couple plodding expository issues, this series is starting to get really good. Plus, it’s spinning off into the recently announced The Crew Tsunami series, written by Priest and starring War Machine and Kole. Might have to pick that up to see what the big deal with Priest is. **** Reccommended

[Guest starvenger]

The Truth: Red, White and Black #3: After a couple plodding expository issues, this series is starting to get really good. Plus, it’s spinning off into the recently announced The Crew Tsunami series, written by Priest and starring War Machine and Kole. Might have to pick that up to see what the big deal with Priest is. **** Reccommended

I was never really a big Owsley/Priest fan, but he does seem to bring a credibility to black characters that you don't normally see in comics.

 

Not comics-related, but I'll be posting a capsule review of "Tonight... In This Very Ring" once I'm finished it. I'm about halfway through, and my current thoughts are that it's a good read, but nothing special. Or about *1/2 to go by Keith's take on the 5 star ratings.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Guess what guys?

 

Ultimate Spider-Man is still Bendis' masturbation hour. For the life of me I cannot remember a time where a writer in bendis' league started out so well on a book, and fell so hard.

[Guest raptor]

I love when people use the masturbation analogy out of context. It makes me nostalgic for the days of sixth grade...because when I think of masturbation in a metaphoric/analogic context, it would mean that he's doing it only for his own pleasure. Ultimate Spider-Man, I think, is being enjoyed by a great deal of people. So you may not like it, but that doesn't mean that it's Bendis iconically masturbating for 22 pages.

 

Now that I'm done being an ass, I'm wondering why you think he's fallen so hard. For my buck, it's still the same quality of dialogue, art, and pacing that it always was. I suppose it could just be different tastes in dialogue and pacing, since I seem to remember you disliking Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra, which I thought was a fantastic story.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

I love when people use the masturbation analogy out of context. It makes me nostalgic for the days of sixth grade...because when I think of masturbation in a metaphoric/analogic context, it would mean that he's doing it only for his own pleasure. Ultimate Spider-Man, I think, is being enjoyed by a great deal of people. So you may not like it, but that doesn't mean that it's Bendis iconically masturbating for 22 pages.

 

Now that I'm done being an ass, I'm wondering why you think he's fallen so hard. For my buck, it's still the same quality of dialogue, art, and pacing that it always was. I suppose it could just be different tastes in dialogue and pacing, since I seem to remember you disliking Ultimate Daredevil/Elektra, which I thought was a fantastic story.

I think Bendis haslost something in the stories themselves. They feel like they're being done just to make a quick buck, and they've felt like that since the 2nd Goblin arc. My problems with Ultimate Spidey fall into one of these catogories:

 

 

1. Bendis blowing his load on several scenarios FAR TOO early. (Capt. Stacy death, Gwen scenario, Venom)

 

2. Ridicoulously bad pacing (Same issue twice, that horrible Rhino issue)

 

3. Not-So secret Identity: He took up a secret identity to protect Aunt May. So far she's the only one who DOESN'T KNOW.

 

4. Use of token teen stereotypes (Kong, Gwen, Flash)

[Guest raptor]

Fair enough, I can actually see your points in some issues. Although, I must disagree with the Teen Sterotypes. I think it's really just a literary device to make Peter more sympathetic, since we've all met someone like those characters.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

I must disagree with your disagreement.

 

 

The stereotypes are there because it's a lot easier than creating a supporting cast of characters that is likeable and fleshed out like the Lee/Ditko and Lee/Romita issues did. Say what you will about him, but Lee knew how to build characters like Aunt May, Flash Thompson, and George Stacy.

[Guest raptor]

I contend that Stacy and Flash were both stereotypes in their original forms. Flash, very much the same as he is in Ultimate Spider-Man, and Gwen, is the anti-ultimate version. In the originals, from my experience, she was very much a sterotype girl of the times, like Ultimate Gwen is now.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

I contend that Stacy and Flash were both stereotypes in their original forms. Flash, very much the same as he is in Ultimate Spider-Man, and Gwen, is the anti-ultimate version. In the originals, from my experience, she was very much a sterotype girl of the times, like Ultimate Gwen is now.

Flash is anything but a stereotype, as he has proven that he can be just as heroic as Peter. (Moreso, when you remember he has no powers.)

 

Stacy was locked in the group with Flash and Harry but she always really wanted to be with Peter.

 

 

Neither are stereotypes the way their counterparts are.

[Guest raptor]

Perhaps I should have phrases what I said better. Flash, certainly, has grown a great deal over the years, but in the time period that Ultimate inhabits during Peter's life, he was a stereotype, much as Gwen was before she grew into Peter's girlfriend.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

Yeah, but his love for Spider-Man was an intimation of the deepness of his character. He wanted to be heroic. He admired what Spider-Man did, he just found it too easy to be a bully.

 

That's not what Bendis is doing here. Bendis is making him a cookie-cutter stereotype.

[Guest raptor]

When did Flash begin hero-worshiping Flash? Just wondering...

 

I don't want to sound like I'm attacking you, because I actually do agree with some of the things you've said. I think Bendis may be spending more time on the Spider-Man aspect of things, which is leading to a more one dimensional Flash (and Kong), but Gwen is growing.

[Guest TheZsaszHorsemen]

When did Flash begin hero-worshiping Flash? Just wondering...

 

I don't want to sound like I'm attacking you, because I actually do agree with some of the things you've said. I think Bendis may be spending more time on the Spider-Man aspect of things, which is leading to a more one dimensional Flash (and Kong), but Gwen is growing.

Within the first dozen issues. I believe Issue 8.

[Guest starvenger]

OK, let's do some capsule reviews. YOUR soundtrack is the Grammy Awards, since the lack of a host seems to have made it better. The presentations themselves still suck, but what can you do? My personal highlights thus far: Diana Krall wins best Jazz Vocal Album and Robin Williams - he is ON tonight. And Norah Jones destroyed the competition in the major categories. If this results in more of a push for Jazz-Pop to the detriment of bubblegum pop, then I'm all for it.

 

 

Uncanny X-Men 419, "Dominant Species" Part 3

Chuck Austen/Kia Asamiya/Steve Uy (cover)

Well, it's apparent that the Guthries are very hard to kill, as Husk isn't dead yet at the beginning of the book. Austen weaves between two main storylines and crafts a very good story. Iceman continues his push and I'm liking it. A great build to what presumably the end of this story arc. Asamiya's art is quite good, but the noses still bother me. I love Steve Uy's covers, and I hope he's on board for a while in that capacity.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

Truth part 4 (of 6), "The Cut"

Robert Morales/Kyle Baker

I'm not really a big fan of the art but the story is quite gripping. Basically we get to see some of the side effects that the serum has on the recruits, which in the end results in a suicide mission. A pretty good book, and actually makes me want to read up on the treatment of blacks during WWII.

 

Rating: 8.5/10

 

Ultimate War part 4 (of 4)

Mark Millar/Chris Bachalo/Tim Townsend, Andy Owns and Aaron Sowd

If you wanted to see lots of fighting, pick this book up. Lots of repercussions for the X-Men, but apparently not too much for the Ultimates - most likely due to Bryan Hitch's chronic lateness. Bachalo has been "on" this entire series, and if he could hack this quality on a monthly then I'd love to see him take over on Ultimates. Cap is bad-ass and I'm loving it, and it will be missed as I'm off of Ultimates until I see some regularity in the shipping.

 

Rating: 9/10

 

Transformers: The War Within #5

Simon Furman/Don Figueroa/Elaine To

Lots of fighting, a look into which parts of original continuity Dreamwave kept (fyi, most of "More Than Meets The Eye" and the movie), more of Grimlock being a badass and honourable counterpart to Starscream, and Starscream being, well, Starscream. Lots of TF goodness to hold you until next month, maybe.

 

Rating: 7.5/10

[Guest Sassquatch]

So what's your call on Austen's work on Uncanny so far starvenger?

[Guest starvenger]

He hasn't done a bad job so far. He's keeping storylines tight and seems to have a good idea of where he's headed 6 months down the road, so no real complaints there. Ideally I'd like some more action, but it's not exactly the gabfest that Ultimates has become.

 

Anyways I'll give him a thumbs up, but that may change given how many books he's gonna be writing...